er she would behead him, hang him, or marry him. Tradition
states that the ring was almost invariably the weapon chosen by
the lady.

Superstition has ordained that certain stones should cure certain
evils: the blood-stone was of very general efficacy, it was claimed,
and the opal, when folded in a bay leaf, had the power of rendering
the owner invisible. Some stones, especially the turquoise, turned
pale or became deeper in hue according to the state of the owner's
health; the owner of a diamond was invincible; the possession of an
agate made a man amiable, and eloquent. Whoever wore an amethyst
was proof against intoxication, while a jacynth superinduced sleep
in cases of insomnia. Bed linen was often embroidered, and set with
bits of jacynth, and there is even a record of diamonds having
been used in the decoration of sheets! Another entertaining instance
of credulity was the use of "cramp rings." These were rings blessed
by the queen, and supposed to cure all manner of cramps, just as the
king's touch was supposed to cure scrofula. When a queen died, the
demand for these rings became a panic: no more could be produced,
until a new queen was crowned. After the beheading of Anne Boleyn,
Husee writes to his patroness: "Your ladyship shall receive of this
bearer nine cramp rings of silver. John Williams says he never
had so few of gold as this year!"

A stone engraved with the figure of a hare was believed to be valuable
in exorcising the devil. That of a dog preserved the owner from
"dropsy or pestilence;" a versatile ring indeed! An old French book
speaks of an engraved stone with the image of Pegasus being particularly
healthful for warriors; it was said to give them "boldness and swiftness
in flight." These two virtues sound a trifle incompatible!

The turquoise was supposed to be especially sympathetic. According
to Dr. Donne:

"A compassionate turquoise, that cloth tell
By looking pale, the owner is not well,"

must have been a very sensitive stone.

There was a physician in the fourth century who was famous for his
cures of colic and biliousness by means of an iron ring engraved
with an exorcism requesting the bile to go and take possession of
a bird! There was also a superstition that fits could be cured
by a ring made of "sacrament money." The sufferer was obliged to
stand at the church door, begging a penny from every unmarried
man who passed in or out; this was given to a silversmith, who
exch