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Ring Superstitions: Hymen

Though Flora culls the fairest of her bowers, And strews the path of Hymen with her flowers, Nor half the raptures give her scatter'd sweets, The Cake far kinder gratulation meets.

The bridesmaid's eyes with sparkling glances beam, She views the cake, and greets the promised dream; For, when endowed with necromantic spell, She knows what wondrous things the cake will tell.

When from the altar comes the pensive bride, With downcast looks, her partner at her side, Soon from the ground these thoughtful looks arise To meet the cake that gayer thoughts supplies.

With her own hands she charms each destined slice, And through the ring repeats the trebled thrice.

The hallow'd ring, infusing magic power, Bids Hymen's visions wait the midnight hour; The mystic treasure placed beneath her head Will tell the fair if haply she will wed.

These mysteries portentous lie conceal'd Till Morpheus calls and bids them stand reveal'd; The future husband that night's dream will bring, Whether a parson, soldier, beggar, king, As partner of her life the fair must take, Irrevocable doom of Bridal-cake.

Rowe, in his 'Happy Village' (1796), says 'the weddingcake now through the ring was led.' The connection between the bride-cake and wedding-ring is strongly marked in the following custom, still retained in Yorkshire, where the former is cut into little square pieces, thrown over the bridegroom and bride's head, and then put through the ring.

In the North slices of the bride-cake are put through the wedding-ring, and they are afterwards laid under the pillows at night to cause young persons to dream of their lovers. Douce's manuscript notes say: 'This is not peculiar to the north of England, but seems to prevail generally; the pieces of cake must be drawn nine times through the wedding-ring.' In Brand's 'Popular Antiquities' we read: 'Many married women are so rigid, not to say superstitious, in their notions concerning their wedding-rings, that neither when they wash their hands, nor at any other time, will they take the ring off the finger; extending, it should seem, the expression of "till death do us part" even to this golden circlet, the token and pledge of matrimony.' There is an old proverb on the subject of wedding-rings, which has, no doubt, been many a time quoted for the purpose of encouraging and hastening the consent of a diffident or timorous mistress :- As your wedding-ring wears, Your cares will wear away.