we must class most of the
mediaeval stories of the saints and of the Virgin--to ardent and
imaginative temperaments the Virgin took the character of Venus,
and is frequently represented as the patroness of love. One of the
religious stories tells us that some young men, while playing ball in
front of a church, approached the porch of the edifice, upon which was
a beautiful statue of Our Lady. One of them laid down his ring, which
he had received from his lady-love. Then, to his amazement, he saw
the image, which was "fresh and new," fix its eyes upon the ring. He
became enamored of it, and, after due obeisance, he addressed Our Lady
thus:

"I promise duly,
That all my life I'll serve thee truly;
For never saw I maiden fair
Whose beauty could with thine compare,
So courtly and so debonaire:
And she who gave this ring to me,
Though fair and sweet herself, than thee
A hundred times less fair, I trow,
Shall yield to thee her empire now.
'Tis true I've loved her long and well,
As many a fond caress can tell;
But now, forgotten and neglected,
Her meaner charms for thine rejected,
I give her ring--a lasting token
Of faith which never shall be broken,
Nor shared with maid or wife shall be
The love I proffer unto thee.'"

With this address, he placed the ring upon the finger of the image.
Our Lady appeared flattered by the conquest she had made, and bent the
finger on which the ring had been placed in order that it might not
be withdrawn. The lover was astounded by the miracle, and was advised
by his friends to retire from the world and to devote himself to the
adoration and service of the Blessed Virgin. Neglecting this advice,
he allowed love to resume its place and led to the altar the maiden
who had given him the ring. But Our Lady was not to be deprived of
her adorer, and when he laid himself upon the nuptial couch she
immediately threw him into a profound slumber, and when he awoke he
found her lying between him and his bride:

"She showed him straight her finger, where
Was still the ring he'd given her;
And well became her hand that ring
Upon her soft skin glittering.
'Instead of love, thou'st shown,' said she,
'But falseness and disloyalty.
And ill hast kept thy faith to me.
Behold the ring thou gavest, for token
And pledge of love fore'er unbroken,
And call'd me a hundred times more fair
Than ever earthly maidens were.
I have been ever