Chapter THREE (1)

RINGS HAVING SUPPOSED CHARMS OR VIRTUES, AND CONNECTED WITH
DEGRADATION AND SLAVERY, OR USED FOR SAD OR WICKED PURPOSES.

1. Antiquity of Amulets and Enchanted and Magical Rings;
Samothracian Rings; Double Object in Amulets; Substance and Form
of them. 2. Precious Stones and their Healing or Protective
Powers; Jasper; Diamond; Ruby; Carbuncle; Jacinth; Amethyst;
Emerald; Topaz; Agate; Sapphire; Opal; Cornelian; Chalcedony;
Turquoise; Coral; Loadstone; Sweating Stones. 3. Enchanted Rings;
those possessed by Execustus; Solomon’s Ring; Ballads of Lambert
Linkin and Hynd Horn. 4. Talismanic Ring; Elizabeth of Poland;
Ring against Poison offered to Mary of Scotland; Rings from the
Palace at Eltham and from Coventry; Sir Edmund Shaw; Shell Ring.
5. Medicinal Rings. 6. Magical Rings; Ariosto; Ring of Gyges; Sir
Tristram; Cramp Rings; Rings to cure Convulsions, Warts, Wounds,
Fits, Falling Sickness, etc.; Galvanic Rings; Headache and Plague
Rings; Amulet against Storms. 7. Ordeal. 8. Punishment in time of
Alfred. 9. Founding of Aix-la-Chapelle. 10. Ring on a Statue. 11.
Bloody Baker. 12. The Borgia Ring. 13. Rings held in the Mouth. 14.
Rings used by Thieves, Gamblers and Cheats. 15. Roman Slave.

§ 1. Rings were made use of by way of charm and talisman in remote ages.

Their potency was directed against fascination of every kind, but more particularly the evil eye, against demons and witches, to excite debility, against the power of flames, against wounds in battle and, indeed, every danger and most diseases. Nor was it the ring alone, for the supposed virtue existed also in the material or in some device or magical letter engraved upon its circumference.

Shakspeare is thinking of the fascination of the eye in “Titus Andronicus,” when he makes Aaron say:[162]

“And faster bound to Aaron’s _charming_ eyes.”

It has been observed that even Solomon was not exempt from the dread of the fascination of the evil eye, and reference is made to Proverbs xxiii. 6: “Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, nor desire thou his dainty meats.” A writer, however, remarks how the context clearly shows that nothing more is intended than to express the disquiet with which a niggardly person regards what another consumes at his table.[163] This dreaded fascination still perplexes the minds of Orientals; and is not banished from Spanish and Neapolitan superstitions. Naples is the headquarters for charms and amulets. All the learning has been collected by the Canon Jorio and the Marques Arditi.[164]

We read of the Samothracian talismanic iron ring, engraved with magical characters, inclosing an herb cut at a certain time or small stones found under particular constellations.[165] Samothrace is an island of the Ægean sea, opposite the Trojan territory, and celebrated for its mysteries. An initiation into those mysteries was supposed to have efficiency in preserving persons from dangers by sea.[166]

It has been observed that inscribed rings, commonly called talismanic or cabalistic rings, are improperly so designated. The mixed term is much more appropriate, _annuli virtuosi_. Perhaps _mystical_ might be a suitable name.

Although true “Abraxas” stones have that word engraved upon them, and most of these are as old as the third century, yet this term is now applied to gems which bear supposed talismanic emblems, although it would be most proper to call them Abraxoids.

According to Caylus, amulets were always made with a double object: to flatter the superstition of the people and serve for seals; thus holding on to the charm itself, while they were able to spread a supposed effect through impression; and this idea, he observes, is strengthened by the fact that the subjects cut upon them never appear in relief.

Philostratus says: “The Indian Brahmins carry a staff and a ring, by means of which they are able to do almost any thing.” Here may be the origin of similar articles received by Christian kings and ecclesiastics as emblems of power?

Stones and conglomerated earth were mostly used for amulets.

Wherever the living man turns up the remains of past ages, superstition is shown to belong to them through the appearance of amulets; and no matter whether the subjects be Pagan or Christian--for still we find this proof of weakness. Even in our own day, men will carry these things under some creed that allows or custom which defends their use. It is a pity such persons do not feel, as they must know, that he is nearest heaven whose conduct is his talisman.

Many of the ancient amulets are in other shapes than rings; often in the form of perforated cylinders, worn round the neck; and we presume they were set in rings for convenience.

Werenfels, in his Dissertation on Superstition,[167] where he speaks of a superstitious man, says: “He will make use of no herbs but such as are gathered in the planetary hour. Against any sort of misfortune he will arm himself with a _ring_, to which he has fixed the benevolent aspect of the stars and the lucky hour that was just at the instant flying away, but which, by a wonderful nimbleness, he has seized and detained.”

A ring, being a circle, was given to the initiated in the Eleusinian mysteries as an amulet possessed of the power to avert danger.[168]

We find amulets referred to in Isaiah: “In that day will the Lord take from them the ornaments of the feet-rings and the net works and the crescents, the pendents and the bracelets and the thin veils, the tires and the fetters and the zones and the perfume boxes and the _amulets_.”

Fosbroke[169] says that the makers of talismanic rings generally used to have the sealing part made of a square shape; we, however, find many of an oval form.

“Amulet” with us, is _talisman_ with the Arabians. The Jews were extremely superstitious in the use of them to drive away diseases; and the Mishna forbids them, unless received from an approved man who had cured at least three persons by the same means.

The use of charms and amulets to cure diseases or avert danger and mischiefs, both from the body and the fruits of the earth, was even common among ignorant and superstitious Christians: for Constantine had allowed the heathen, in the beginning of his reformation, for some time, not only to consult their augurs in public, but also to use charms by way of remedy for bodily distempers, and to prevent storms of rain and hail from injuring the ripe fruits, as appears from the very law where he condemns the other sorts of magic (that tended to do mischief) to be punished with death. St. Chrysostom thundered against the use of amulets and charms, as did St. Basil and Epiphanius, which shows that this piece of superstition, of _trying to cure diseases without physic_, was deeply rooted in the hearts of many Christians.[170]

We here give an enlarged specimen of one of these complicated amulets--an amulet against evil, to act favorably and fortunately.[171]

The emblems are thus made out. The hare, rustic head and head of a goat are to be considered as representing the god Pan, and to be a guard against fear and certain sudden terrors called _panics_, which were thought to be occasioned by this god.[172] The cornucopia (erect) is to confirm abundance and happiness. In Memphis a white cock was held to be a sacred animal. He was consecrated to the sun: according to the Egyptians, to Osiris. It was made an emblem of the soul. When Socrates hoped to be able to unite the divinity of his soul with the divinity of the greater world, he ordered a cock to be sacrificed to Æsculapius, as to the physician of souls. This animal was sacrificed to Annubis, who was the sailor’s Mercury. The dolphin, fed from food thrown away by sailors, is to represent those seeming friends who swim with and follow our fortunes until they get depth of water sufficient for themselves. Here the cock, by treading upon a dolphin, with a palm branch over him, represents the power of wisdom in the soul over a feigned or evil friend.

We are inclined to present the reader with another of these remarkable combinations, which is said to be an amulet of health.[173]

The bird Ibis appears here as it is seen in the hieroglyphics upon obelisks. It was dedicated to Osiris and Isis, good and salutary genii. This creature treads upon the crocodile, emblematical of Typhon, who was reckoned among the Egyptians as the cause of every evil. The two-headed Janus may signify the power of the sun and of Osiris from east to west in the day and in the night (although it has been questioned whether the faces are not those of Pythagoras and the magician Apollonius). The goat’s head, which also appeared in the last gem, is said to be an amulet of health and intended to have power to defend against evils which malice might work, and such its power is marked by holding in its mouth a monstrous crested dragon allied to hatred and coupled with poisonous qualities and carrying a terrible appearance.

§ 2. Jasper, set in rings, took the lead of all other precious stones in its supposed healing power; and this power was supposed to be strengthened when combined with silver in preference to gold.

Even Galen has recommended a ring with jasper set in it and engraved with the figure of a man wearing a bunch of herbs round the neck. Many of the Gnostic or Basilidian gems, evidently used for magical and talismanic purposes, were of jasper. Rings of this material, and to be used as marriage tokens, are said to be made at Wesingburg, the materials being supplied from the shores of Lake Wetter.[174]

Pierre de Boniface, a great alchemist and much versed in magic, who died in 1323, is the reputed author of a manuscript poem on the virtues of gems, of which the celebrated Nostradamus gives the following pretended extract:

“The diamond renders a man invincible; the agate of India or Crete, eloquent and prudent, amiable and agreeable; the amethyst resists intoxication; the cornelian appeases anger; the hyacinth provokes sleep.”[175]

In a scarce poem, by T. Cutwode, entitled _Calthæ Poetarum_, or the Humble Bee, (1599,) the goddess Diana is introduced, modestly clothing and attiring the heroine:

“And with an emerald hangs she on a ring,
That keeps just reckoning of our chastitie.

* * * * *

And therefore, ladies, it behoves you well
To walk full warily when stones will tell.”

The ancients have had a very high esteem of the diamond, “champion of the precious stones,” insomuch as they have thought it to be endued with divine virtues, and that if it were but worn in a ring or carried about a person near his heart, it would assuage the fury of his enemies and expel vain fears, preserve from swooning, drive away the vanity of dreams and terrors of the night and frustrate all the malign contagious power of poisons.

According to Josephus, the high-priest of the Israelites wore a ring on his finger of inestimable value and celestial virtue; and Aaron had one whereof the diamond, by its virtues, operated prodigious things, for it changed its vivid lustre into a dark color when the Hebrews were to be punished by death for their sins, when they were to fall by the sword it appeared of a blood-red color, while, if they were innocent, it sparkled as usual.

It is reported of the diamond that it is endued with such a faculty as that if it be in place with a loadstone, it bindeth up all its power and hindereth all its attractive virtue. Also, that if a diamond be put upon the head of a woman without her knowledge, it will make her, in her sleep, if she be faithful to her husband, to cast herself into his embraces; but if she be an adulteress, to turn away from him.

We take the above from a quaint work, by Thomas Nicols.[176] He goes on to say: “It hath been by the ancients esteemed powerfull for the driving away of _Lemures_, _Incubos_ and _Succubos_; and for the hindring of contentions and to beget in men courage, magnanimitie and stout-heartednesse.”

A species of ruby, called _Balassius_, or _Palatius_,[177] is said to restrain fury and wrath. There is a story of this stone by Ælian.[178] Heraclis had cured the fractured thigh of a stork. The creature flying in a dark night by a palace where one of these stones lay flaming like a lamp, took it up and brought it to Heraclis and cast it into her bosom, as a token of the acknowledgment of the favor which it had received from her in the cure of its harm. Andreas Baccius, speaking of a rubine of his inclosed in a ring, says that on the fifth of December, 1600, he was travelling with his wife Catharina Adelmania to Studgard, and, in his travel, he observed his rubine to change its glory into obscurity, whereupon he told his wife and prognosticated that evil thereupon would ensue either to himself or her, which accordingly did; for, not many days after, his wife was taken ill with a mortal disease and died. After which, he saith, his rubine, of its own accord, did again recover its former lustre, glory, beauty and splendor. A perfectly pure deep carmine-red ruby often exceeds in price a diamond of the same size[179] It has been written, that, if the carbuncle be worn in an amulet (or drunk) it will be good against poison and the plague, and will drive away sadness, evil thoughts, terrible dreams and evil spirits; also that it cleareth the mind and keepeth the body in safety, and that if any danger be towards it the stone will grow black and obscure, and that being past, returns to its former color again.[180]

The jacinth or hyacinth is said to have the faculty to procure sleep when worn in a ring on the finger. Cardanus says he was wont to wear one to the intent to procure sleep, to which purpose “it seemed somewhat to confer, but not much.” The amethyst is said, by Aristotle, to hinder the ascension of vapors; and that this is done by the stone drawing the vapors to itself and then discussing them. Andreas Baccius says that it sharpens the wit, diminishes sleep and resists poison.

The emerald is said to be at enmity with all impurity; and will break if it do but touch the skin of an adulterer. We cannot forego Nicols’ description of this stone: “The emerald is a pretious stone or gemine of so excellent a viridity or spring-colour as that if a man shall look upon an emerald by a pleasant green meadow, it will be more amiable than the meadow, and overcome the meadow’s glorie by the glorie of that spring of viriditie which it hath in itself. The largeness of the meadow it will overcome with the amplitude of its glory, wherewith farre above its greatnesse it doth feed the eie; and the virescencie of the meadow it will overcome with the brightnesse of its glory, which in itself seemeth to embrace the glorious viridity of many springs.” It is reported of Nero that he was wont to behold the fencers and sword players through an emerald as by a _speculum_ or optic glass and that for this cause the jewel is called _gemina Neronis_. According to Pausanias,[181] the favorite ring of Polycrates, a tyrant of Samos, contained an emerald. He was advised by Amasis, king of Egypt, to chequer his continued prosperity and enjoyments by relinquishing some of his most favorite pleasures; and he complied by throwing into the sea this most beautiful of his jewels. The voluntary loss of so precious a ring affected him for some time; but a few days after, he received, as a present, a large fish, in whose belly the jewel was found.[182]

Albertus Magnus observes: “If you would sharpen the understanding, increase riches and foresee the future, take an emerald. For prophesying, it must be placed beneath the tongue.”

The topaz is said to free men from passions and sadness of mind; and that, if it be cast into boiling water, it will suddenly “astonish it into coldness.”

The agate is stated to be good against poisons. It is reported of the eagle that it doth carry this gem into her nest to secure her young from the bitings of venomous creatures. “If,” says Albertus Magnus, “you would avoid all dangers and overcome all earthly things and possess a stout heart, take an agate. It causes danger and opposition to vanish and makes a man strong, agreeable and of good cheer.”

The sapphire, according to St. Jerome, will procure the wearer the favor with princes and all others, pacify enemies, free him from enchantments, bonds and imprisonments and it looseth men out of prison and assuageth the wrath of God. It is reported of it that it is of so contrary a nature to poisons that if it be put into a glass with a spider or laid upon the mouth of the glass where it is, the spider will quickly die.[183] It is said to keep men pure and, therefore, is worn by priests.[184] The Gentiles consecrated this gem to Apollo, because, in their inquiries at his oracle, if they had the presence of this gem with them, they imagined they had their answer the sooner.

The opal is said to sharpen the sight of its possessor and cloud the eyes of those who stand about him, so that they can neither see nor mind what is done before them; for this cause it is asserted to be a safe patron of thieves and thefts. Albertus Magnus says, “If you wish to become invisible, take an opal and wrap it in a bay-leaf, and it is of such virtue that it will make the bystanders blind, hence it has been called the patron of thieves.” Nicols gives a glowing description of this stone.[185] “The _opalus_ is a pretious stone which hath in it the bright fiery flame of a carbuncle, the pure refulgent purple of an amethyst, and a whole of the emerauld’s spring glory or virescency, and every one of them shining with an incredible mixture and very much pleasure.” It is reported of Nonius, a Roman senator, that he had rather been deprived of his country and senatorship than part with an opal which he had from Antonius.

It is asserted of the cornelian that it causeth him that weareth it to be of a cheerful heart, free from fear and nobly audacious and is a good protection against witchcraft and fascination.

“Chalcedony procureth victory to him that is the possessor of it and carrieth it about him. It is much used for signets, for it sealeth freely without any devouring of the wax.”[186]

The report on jaspers is that they preserve men from drowning; and “divers do very superstitiously attribute much power and virtue to them if figures, images and characters be engraven upon them. The effects which by this means are wrought in or for any, Andreas Baccius doth attribute to the devil.”[187]

We might presume that the ring of Gyges held the opal or the stone known as the Heliotrope or Oriental jasper; for Pliny gives the report of magicians that if this gem be anointed with the juice of the marigold, it will cause him that carrieth it to walk invisible.

The forget-me-not stone, turquoise or Turkey stone, “ceruleous like unto a serene heaven,” if worn in a ring of gold will, it is said, preserve men from falls and from the bruises proceeding of them by receiving that harm into itself which otherwise would fall upon the man; yet these virtues are said not to be in the gem except it has been received as a gift. “The Turkeys,” says Fenton, in his Secrete Wonders of Nature,[188] “doth move when there is any peril prepared to him that weareth it.” Ben Jonson and Drayton refer to the same superstition. Rueus says, that he saw a _Turchoys_, which, upon the death of its master, lost all its beauty and contracted a cleft, which, a certain man afterwards buying at an under price, returned again to its former glory and beauty, as if, observes he, by a certain sense, it had perceived itself to have found a new master. The same author says of it that it doth change, grow pale and destitute of its native color if he that weareth it do, at any time, grow infirm or weak; and again, upon the recovery of its master, that it doth recover its own lovely beauty, which ariseth of the temperament of its own natural heat and becometh ceruleous like unto a serene heaven. According to the ancients, the wearing of the turquoise had a most excellent quality: it destroyed animosity and, in particular, appeased discord between man and wife.

It is possible that Shakspeare had in his mind the seeming influence of the turquoise (as well as its value):

“_Tubal._ One of them showed me a ring, that he had of your
daughter for a monkey.

“_Shylock._ Out upon her! Thou torturest me, Tubal; it was my
turquoise; I had it of Leah, when I was a bachelor: I would not
have given it for a wilderness of monkeys.”

The Arabs value the turquoise chiefly for its reputed talismanic qualities; and they seek for large pieces, without particular reference to purity of color. The stones intended for amulets are usually set in small rings of plated tin.

The wearing of coral in a ring has been thought of power to “hinder the delusions of the devil, and to secure men from _Incubus_ and _Succubus_.”[189]

All remember Shakspeare’s beautiful exposition of adversity:

“Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.”[190]

Fenton, writing in 1569, says: “There is found in heads of old and great toads a stone which they call borax or stelon: it is most commonly found in the head of a he-toad.” They were not only considered specifics against poison when taken internally, but “being used in rings, gave forewarning against venom.” This stone has often been sought for, but nothing has been found except accidental or perhaps morbid indurations of the skull. Lupton says,[191] “You shall know whether the _tode-stone_ be the right and perfect stone or not. Hold the stone before a tode, so that he may see it, and if it be a right and true stone, the tode will leap toward it and make as though he would snatch it. He envieth so much that man should have that stone.” Nicols, in his Lapidary, observes:[192] “Some say this stone is found in the head of an old toad; others say that the old toad must be laid upon the cloth that is red, and it will belch it up, or otherwise not; you may give a like credit to both these reports, for as little truth is to be found in them as may possibly be. Witnesse Anselmus Boetius in _Lib._ 2, in the chapter of this stone; who saith that to try this experiment in his youth, he took an old toad and laid it upon a red cloth, and watched it a whole night to see it belch up its stone, but after his long and tedious watchful expectation, he found the old toad in the same posture to gratifie the great pangs of his whole night’s restlessness.

“Some of the toads that carry this precious jewel must be very large, for Boetius says the stone is found of the bigness of an egg, sometimes brownish, sometimes reddish, sometimes yellowish, sometimes greenish.” It is reported that if poison be present, the alleged stone will go into a perspiration. In connection with this sensitiveness, it may be observed that precious stones are said to sweat at the presence of poison. We are told that the jewels which King John wore did so in his last sickness. There is no doubt, however, although Shakspeare makes him cry out, “Poison’d--ill fare,” that John got his death from unripe pears and new cider. His living about three days from his attack, is a reasonable proof of not dying by poison.[193]

In a strange old book, and from which an interesting article appears in “Household Words,” it is said, the use of a ring, that has lain for a certain time in a sparrow’s nest, will procure love.

§ 3. That kind of fortune-telling, called Divination, has held an empire over the mind of man from the earliest period. It was practised by the Jews, Egyptians, Chaldeans, Persians, Greeks and Romans, and is known to all modern nations.[194]

The species of divination by rings is called Dactylomancy.[195]

Scott, in his work on Demonology,[196] observes, that in the now dishonored science of astrology, its professors pretended to have correspondence with the various spirits of the elements on the principles of the Rosicrusian philosophy. They affirmed they could bind to their service and imprison in a ring some fairy, sylph, or salamander and compel it to appear when called and render answers to such questions as the viewer should propose. It is remarkable that the sage himself did not pretend to see the spirit; but the task of reviewer or reader was intrusted to a third party, a boy or girl usually under the years of puberty.

As to divination by means of a ring, in the first place the ring was to be consecrated with a great deal of mystery: “the person holding it was clad in linen garments to the very shoes, his head shaven all round, and he held the vervein plant in his hand,” while, before he proceeded on any thing, the gods were first to be appeased by a formulary of prayers, etc. The divination was performed by holding the ring suspended by a fine thread over a round table, on the edge of which were made a number of marks, with the twenty-four letters of the alphabet. The ring, in shaking or vibrating over the table, stops over certain of the letters, which, being joined together, compose the required answer.[197]

Clemente Alexandrino speaks of enchanted rings which predicted future events--such were two possessed by Execustus, the tyrant of Phocis, who was able, by striking them together, to know, by the sound, what he ought to do and what was to happen to him. He was, however, killed through treason. The magnificent rings had been able to tell the time of his death, but they could not point out the means of avoiding it.

Arabian writers make much mention of the magic ring of Solomon.[198] It is said to have been found in the belly of a fish; and many fictions have been created about it. The Arabians have a book called _Scalcuthal_ expressly on the subject of magic rings; and they trace this ring of Solomon’s, in a regular succession, from Jared the father of Enoch to Solomon.[199] Josephus,[200] after extolling the wisdom and acquirements of Solomon, and assuring us that God had enabled him to expel demons by a method remaining of great force to the days of the historian, says:

“I have seen a certain man of my own country whose name was Eleazar, releasing people that were demoniacal, in the presence of Vespasian, his sons and his captains and the whole multitude of his soldiers. The manner of the case was this: he put a _ring_, that had a part of one of those roots mentioned by Solomon, to the nostrils of the demoniac; after which, he drew out the demon through his nostrils; and when the man fell down, immediately he adjured him to return unto him no more, making still mention of Solomon and reciting the incantations which he composed.

“And when Eleazar would persuade and demonstrate to the spectators that he had such a power, he set a little way off a cup or basin full of water, and commanded the demon, as he went out of the man, to overturn it, and thereby to let the spectators know that he had left the man; and when this was done, the skill and wisdom of Solomon was shown very manifestly.”

In the popular old ballad of _Lambert Linkin_,[201] rings give proof of a terrible coming event by bursting upon the fingers:

* * * * *

“The Lord sat in England
A drinking the wine.

“I wish a’ may be weel
Wi’ my lady at hame;
_For the rings o’ my fingers_
_They’re now burst in twain_.

“He saddled his horse,
And he came riding down;
But as soon as he viewed,
Belinkin came in.

“He had na weel stepped
Twa steps up the stair,
Till he saw his pretty young son
Lying dead on the floor.

“He had na weel stepped
Other twa up the stair,
Till he saw his pretty lady
Lying dead in despair.

“He hanged Belinkin
Out over the gate;
And he burnt the fause nurice,
Being under the grate.”

We would refer our reader to a beautiful Syrian legend in the “Household Words,”[202] in which a ring is made to play an interesting part upon the fingers of a maiden, who is able to know of the good or ill fortune and faith of her absent lover through its changes. He, in giving it, had informed her: “If good fortune is with me, it will retain its brightness; if evil, dim. If I cease to love, and the grave opens for me, it will become black.” Fitful changes then come and go upon the ring, as the light and shadow of life accompany the roving lover.

There is a like notion in the ancient Scotch ballad of _Hynd Horn_:[203]

“And she gave to me a gay gold ring,
With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan;
With three shining diamonds set therein,
And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie.

* * * * *

“What if these diamonds lose their hue,
With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan,
Just when my love begins for to rew,
And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie.

“For when your ring turns pale and wan,
With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan,
Then I’m in love with another man,
And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie.

* * * * *

“Seven long years he has been on the sea,
With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan;
And Hynd Horn has looked how his ring may be,
And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie.

“But when he looked this ring upon,
With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan,
The shining diamonds were both pale and wan,
And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie.

“Oh! the ring it was both black and blue,
With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan;
And she’s either dead or she’s married,
And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie.

“He’s left the seas and he’s come to the land,” etc.

John Sterling, whose life has been written by the Rev. Julius Charles Hare, composed a fiction which is worked up through a supposed talismanic Onyx Ring. The hero had been reading an old book on necromancy; it caused him to long to change his lot; he appears to be able to do this, through the appearance or apparition of an old man. “Would you,” says this figure, in a sweet but melancholy voice, “in truth accept the power of exchanging your own personal existence at pleasure for that of other men?” After a moment’s pause, he answered boldly, “Yes.” “I can bestow the power, but only on these conditions. You will be able to assume a new part in life once in each week. For the one hour after midnight on each Saturday, that is, for the first hour of the new week, you will remember all you have been and whatever characters you may have chosen for yourself. At the end of the hour you may make a new choice; but, if then deferred, it will again be a week before the opportunity will recur. You will also be incapable of revealing to any one the power you are gifted with. And if you once resume your present being, you will never again be able to cast it off. If, on these terms, you agree to my proposal, take this ring and wear it on the forefinger of your right hand. It bears the head of the famous Apollonius of Tyana. If you breathe on it at the appointed hour, you will immediately become any person you may desire to be,” etc. The hero hesitates and says, “Before I assent to your offer, tell me whether you would think me wise to do so.” “Young man, were I to choose again, my choice would be to fill the station where nature brought me forth and where God, therefore, doubtless, designed me to work.” The ring is taken; it is supposed to be at a time when this same hero is in a suspense of love, and he appears successively to take the form of those who are around the maiden of his affections. All this, in fact, is imagined by him while in sickness. He secures his lady love; and sees upon her finger an onyx ring like the one which had appeared to have allowed of his visionary changes. She held up her hand before his face, which his first impulse was to kiss; but he saw that on one of the fingers was an onyx ring. “How on earth did you come by that? It has haunted me as if a magic Ariel were fused amid the gold or imprisoned in the stone.” “I will tell you.” And then the lady, somewhat lamely for the story, informs him how she came into possession of it. The author acted cleverly in coupling Apollonius with this ring: for he is reputed to have been a most potent magician; not only miracles have been imputed to him, but one writer dares to rank him above Jesus in superhuman powers.

§4. Crowned heads have believed in amulets.

When Elizabeth of Poland could not induce her son Andrea to leave his lustful wife of sixteen, Joan of Naples, and he was determined to be and act the King of Sicily and Jerusalem, she drew from her finger a richly chased ring, took Andrea aside, placed it upon his finger, and, clasping him in her arms, “My son,” she said, in a trembling voice, “since you refuse to accompany me, here is a talisman which I never make use of but in the last extremity. While you retain this ring upon your finger, neither steel nor poison can injure you.” “You see, then, my mother,” answered the prince, smiling, “thus protected, you have no reason to fear for my life.” “There are other deaths besides those by poison or steel,” replied the queen, sighing. When the course pursued by Andrea had determined Joan that he should be killed, her paramour Bertrand d’Artois told her of the talisman. “Nevertheless, he dies,” cried Joan. The next day, and in the castle of Aversa, this Queen of Naples was working, with her delicate hands, _a rope of silk and gold_.

When conspirators flew upon him, they attempted to strangle him with their hands, for it was supposed he could not be slain by steel or poison, owing to the amulet which his mother had given him. Struggles and terror were about to allow of his escape, when Bertrand d’Artois seized the prince round the body and, after a desperate resistance, felled him to the ground; then dragging him by the hair of the head to a balcony which looked out upon the gardens and placing his knee upon his victim’s breast, “This way, barons!” he cried; “I have got something to strangle him with!” and, after a desperate struggle, he succeeded in passing _a rope of silk and gold_ round the unfortunate man’s neck. When strangled, his body was cast over the balcony. Charles of Duras was the mainspring of this tragedy; and he afterwards died on the same spot, and was thrown over the same balcony. Years after and while Joan was a prisoner in the castle of Aversa, two Hungarian barons, in complete armor, presented themselves before her, making a sign that she should follow them. She rose and obeyed in silence; but a dismal cry burst from her when she recognized the place where Andrea and Charles of Duras had each died a violent death. Recovering herself, however, she inquired, in a calm voice, why they had brought her to that place. One of the barons showed her _a rope of silk and gold_. “Let God’s justice be accomplished!” cried Joan, falling on her knees. And in a few minutes she had ceased to suffer. This was the third corse that was thrown over the balcony of Aversa.[204]

Patrick, Lord Ruthven, a man suspected of occult practices and who had been appointed of the privy council of Mary, Queen of Scots, offered her a ring to preserve her from the effects of poison.[205]

Amulet rings have been used by persons calling themselves Christians even in, comparatively, late times. Caylus gives one covered with letters of the twelfth century. The body of the ring is simple and square; each of its surfaces is completely filled with characters, skilfully engraved.

The words are barbarous and the whole is senseless--the name of Jesus Christ abbreviated with the words Alpha, Adonai and Agla and the cross repeated appear here as they frequently do upon amulets. At the end of the lines, two Arabic characters are distinctly marked 7. I. These sort of characters did not pass, according to common opinion, from Africa to Spain until the tenth century; and it was through Spain that they were communicated to other parts of Europe. Rings of the shape of this one and for similar use often inclosed sprigs of some herb or hair or other light substance. The present one, however, is said to be solid and does not contain any foreign matter.

A gold ring has been found in the palace at Eltham in Kent, England.[206] It is set with an oriental ruby and five diamonds, placed at equal distances round the exterior. The interior is plain, but on the sides is this inscription:

Qui me portera exploitera
Et a grand joye revendra.

or,

Who wears me shall perform exploits;
And with great joy shall return.

From these lines it is evident that the ring has been worn as an amulet; and there is a very probable conjecture that it may have been presented to some distinguished personage when he was on the point of setting out for the Holy Land, in the time of the Crusades. The inscription is in small Gothic letters, but remarkably well formed and legible. The shape of the ruby, which is the principal stone, is an irregular oval, while the diamonds are all of a triangular form and in their native or crystallized state.

A ring of gold was found at Coventry in England. It is evidently an amulet. The centre device represents Christ rising from the sepulchre, and in the background are shown the hammer, sponge and other emblems of his passion. On the left is figured the _wound of the side_, with the following legend: “_The well of everlasting lyffe._” In the next compartment two small wounds, with “_The well of comfort_,” “_The well of grace_;” and afterwards, two other wounds, with the legends of “_The well of pity_,” “_The well of merci_.” On the inside is an inscription in Latin which embraces the amulet, having reference to the three kings of Cologne.[207]

Sir Edmund Shaw, goldsmith and alderman of London, directed by his will _circa_ 1487, to be made “16 Rings of fyne Gold, to be graven with the well of pitie, the well of mercie and the well of everlasting life.”

Benvenuto Cellini mentions that, about the time of his writing, certain vases were discovered, which appeared to be antique urns filled with ashes. Amongst them were iron rings inlaid with gold, in each of which was set a diminutive shell. Learned antiquaries, upon investigating the nature of these rings, declared their opinion that they were worn as charms by those who desired to behave with steadiness and resolution either in prosperous or adverse fortune.[208] (By way of parenthesis: This dare-devil man of fine taste, Cellini, having finished a beautiful medal for the Duke of Ferrara, the patron of Tasso, the magnificent Alfonso sent him a diamond ring, with an elegant compliment. But the ring was really not a valuable one. The Duke threw the mistake upon his treasurer, whom he affected to punish, and sent Cellini another ring; but even this was not worth one quarter of the sum he owed him. He accompanied it with a significant letter, in which he ordered him not to leave Ferrara. The artist, however, ran away as fast as his legs would carry him, and was soon delighted to find he was beyond the fury of the “Magnifico Alfonso.”)

§ 5. Ancient physicians carried signets or rings, frequently wearing them upon the thumb, upon which were engraved their own names, sometimes written backwards, or the denominations of the nostrums they vended. With regard to one of these seals, we find the word _aromatica_ from _aromaticum_, on another _melina_, abbreviation of _melinum_, a collyrium prepared with the alum of the island of Melos.[209] A seal of this kind is described by Tochon d’Annecy bearing the words _psoricum crocodem_, an inscription that has puzzled medical antiquaries.

It has been suggested that the use of talismanic rings as charms against diseases may have originated in the phylacteries or preservative scrolls of the Jews, although it is easy to imagine that, in the earliest days of medicine, the operator, after binding up a wound, would mutter “thrilling words” in incantation over it, which, in process of time, might be, as it were, _embodied_ and perpetuated in the form of an inscription, the ring, in some degree, representing a bandage.[210] It appears to us this is much further from fact than that a barber’s pole represents an arm with a bandage.

Amulet rings for medicinal purposes were greatly in fashion with empyrics and ancient physicians.[211]

In Lucian’s Philopseudes, one of the interlocutors in a dialogue says that since an Arabian had presented him with a ring of iron taken from the gallows, together with a charm constructed of certain hard words, he had ceased to be afraid of the demoniacs who had been healed by a Syrian in Palestine.

In another dialogue, a man desires that Mercury should bestow a ring on him to insure perpetual health and preservation from all danger.

These rings were to be worn upon the fourth or medical finger.

Marcellus, a physician who lived in the reign of Marcus Aurelius, directs the patient who is afflicted with a pain in the side to wear a ring of pure gold inscribed with some Greek letters on a Thursday at the decrease of the moon. It is to be worn on the right side, if the pain be on the left; and _vice versâ_.

Trallian, another physician who lived in the fourth century, cured the colic and all bilious complaints by means of an octangular ring of iron, upon which eight words were to be engraven, commanding the bile to take possession of a lark. A magic diagram was to be added, which he has not failed to preserve for the certain advantage of his readers. He tells us that he had had great experience in this remedy and considered it as extremely foolish to omit recording so valuable a treasure; but he particularly enjoins the keeping it a secret from the profane vulgar, according to an admonition of Hippocrates that sacred things are for sacred purposes only. The same physician, in order to cure the stone, directs the wearing a copper ring, with the figure of a lion, a crescent and a star to be placed on the fourth finger; and for the colic, in general, a ring with Hercules strangling the Nemean lion.

In the Plutus of Aristophanes, to a threat on the part of the sycophant, the just man replies that he cares nothing for him, as he has got a ring which he bought of a person, whom the scholiast conceives to have been an apothecary, who sold medicated rings against the influence of demons, serpents, etc. Carion, the servant, sarcastically observes that this ring will not prevail against the bite of a sycophant.[212]

As to medicinal rings, Joannes Nicolaus, a German professor, has most unceremoniously ascribed the power of all these medical charms to the influence of the devil, who, he says, by these means, has attracted many thousands of human beings into his dominions.[213]

Lucati has attributed the modern want of virtue in medicated rings to their comparative smallness, contending that the larger the ring or the gem contained in it, the greater the medium power, especially with those persons whose flesh is of a tender and penetrable nature.

Lord Chancellor Hatton sent to Queen Elizabeth a ring against infectious air, “to be worn,” as the old courtier expresses it, “betwixt the sweet dugs” of her bosom.

Ennemoser, in his History of Magic, a work made more visionary by the unsatisfactory additions of the Howitts, gravely speaks of coming events manifested in diseases. We have a betrothal ring in the following extract:[214]

“In the St. Vitus’s dance, patients often experience divinatory visions of a fugitive nature, either referring to themselves or to others and occasionally in symbolic words. In the ‘Leaves from Prevorst,’ such symbolic somnambulism is related, and I myself have observed a very similar case: Miss v. Brand, during a violent paroxysm of St. Vitus’s dance, suddenly saw a black evil-boding crow fly into the room, from which, she said, she was unable to protect herself, as it unceasingly flew round her as if it wished to make some communication. This appearance was of daily occurrence with the paroxysm for eight days afterwards. On the ninth, when the attacks had become less violent, the vision commenced with the appearance of a white dove, which carried a letter containing a betrothal ring in its beak; shortly afterwards the crow flew in with a black-sealed letter. The next morning the post brought a letter with betrothal cards from a cousin; and a few hours after, the news was received of the death of her aunt in Lohburg, of whose illness she was ignorant. Of both these letters, which two different posts brought in on the same day, Miss v. Brand could not possibly have known any thing. The change of birds and their colors, during her recovery and before the announcement of agreeable or sorrowful news, the symbols of the ring and the black seal, exhibit, in this vision, a particularly pure expression of the soul as well as a correct view into the future.”

§6. Some of the finest scenes in Ariosto are brought out through a magic ring. When it was worn on the finger, it preserved from spell; and carried in the mouth, concealed the possessor from view. Thus, in the Orlando Furioso, where Ruggiero had Angelica in the lone forest and secure from sight, she discovers the magic ring upon her finger which her father had given her when she first entered Christendom and which had delivered her from many dangers.

“Now that she this upon her hand surveys,
She is so full of pleasure and surprise,
She doubts it is a dream and, in amaze,
Hardly believes her very hand and eyes.
Then softly to her mouth the hoop conveys,
And, quicker than the flash which cleaves the skies,
From bold Rogero’s sight her beauty shrouds,
As disappears the sun concealed in clouds.”[215]

The ring of Gyges is taken notice of both by Plato and Tully. This Gyges was the master shepherd to King Candaules. As he was wandering over the plains of Lydia, he saw a great chasm in the earth and had the curiosity to enter it. After having descended pretty far into it, he found the statue of a horse in brass, with doors in the sides of it. Upon opening of them, he found the body of a dead man, bigger than ordinary, with a ring upon his finger, which he took off and put it upon his own. The virtues of it were much greater than he at first imagined; for, upon his going into the assembly of the shepherds, he observed that he was invisible when he turned the stone of the ring within the palm of his hand and visible when he turned it towards his company. By means of this ring he gained admission into the most retired parts of the court; and made such use of those opportunities that he at length became King of Lydia. The gigantic dead body to whom this ring belonged was said to have been an ancient Brahmin, who, in his time, was chief of that sect.

Addison, in one of his Tatlers,[216] playfully declares he is in possession of this ring and leads his reader through different scenes, commencing thus: “About a week ago, not being able to sleep, I got up and put on my magical ring and, with a thought, transported myself into a chamber where I saw a light. I found it inhabited by a celebrated beauty, though she is of that species of women which we call a slattern. Her head-dress and one of her shoes lay upon a chair, her petticoat in one corner of the room and her girdle, that had a copy of verses made upon it but the day before, with her thread stocking, in the middle of the floor. I was so foolishly officious that I could not forbear gathering up her clothes together to lay them upon the chair that stood by her bedside, when, to my great surprise, after a little muttering, she cried out, “What do you want? Let my petticoat alone.”

To have the ring of Gyges is used proverbially sometimes of wicked, sometimes of fickle, sometimes of prosperous people who obtain all they want. It is alluded to in Beaumont and Fletcher’s Fair Maid of the Inn:

“---- Have you Gyges’ ring,
Or the herb that gives invisibility?”

The Welsh Sir Tristram is described as having had, from his mother, a mystical ring, the insignia of a Druid.

Let us now look particularly at the subject of cramp rings.

St. Edward, who died on the fifth of January, 1066, gave a ring which he wore to the Bishop of Westminster. The origin of it is surrounded with much mystery. A pilgrim is said to have brought it to the king and to have informed him that St. John the Evangelist had made known to the donor that the king’s decease was at hand.[217] This “_St. Edward’s Ring_,” as it was called, was kept for some time at Westminster Abbey as a relic of the saint, and was applied for the cure of the falling sickness or epilepsy and for the cramp. From this arose the custom of the English kings, who were believed to have inherited St. Edward’s powers of cure, solemnly blessing every year rings for distribution.

Good Friday was the day appointed for the blessing of rings. They were often called “medycinable rings,” and were made both of gold and silver, and the metal was composed of what formed the king’s offering to the Cross on Good Friday.

The prayers used at the ceremony of blessing the rings on Good Friday are published in Waldron’s Literary Museum; and also in Pegge’s _Curiatia Miscellanea_, Appendix, No. iv. p. 164.

Cardinal Wiseman is in possession of a MS. containing the ceremony of blessing cramp rings. It belonged to the English Queen Mary. At the commencement of the MS. are emblazoned the arms of Philip and Mary, around which are the badges of York and Lancaster and the whole is inclosed within a frame of fruit and flowers. The first ceremony is headed: “Certain Prayers to be used by the Queen’s Leigues in the Consecration of the Crampe Rynges.” Accompanying it is an illumination representing the queen kneeling, with a dish--containing the rings to be blessed--on each side of her; and another exhibits her touching for the evil a boy on his knees before her, introduced by the clerk of the closet; his right shoulder is bared and the queen appears to be rubbing it with her hand. The author of the present work caused an application to be made for leave to take a copy of this illumination, so that his readers might have the benefit of it: the secretary of the Cardinal refused.