BETROTHAL AND WEDDING RINGS 223
third
to St. Nicodemus. The dedication of the left hand fingers was: First
joint of thumb, to Christ, second joint to the Virgin ; first joint of
the index to St. James, the second to St. John the Evangelist, the
third to St. Peter; first joint of the middle finger to St. Simon, the
second to St. Matthew, the third to St. James the Greater; first joint
of the annular to St. Jude, the second to St. Bartholomew, the third to
St. Andrew; first joint of the little finger to St. Matthaias, the
second to St. Thomas, the third to St. Philip.52
As
in Europe a couple of centuries ago, so in the India of to-day, a
wedding ring is often worn on the thumb. This is of gold, about an inch
wide. It is only worn, however, for a short period, sometimes only
during the several days devoted to the celebration of the wedding
ceremonies; in other cases, it is worn for six months, or occasionally
even for twelve months after marriage. Eventually it is melted down,
the precious metal being then worked up into some other ornament.53
The
great lexicographer, Dr. Samuel Johnson, was devotedly attached to his
wife, although the alliance can scarcely be looked upon as a love match
on the learned doctor's side. His patient devotion to his sickly and
rather ugly wife goes to show how wide is the divergence between theory
and practice, for in his dictionary Johnson defines a ring as : "a
circular instrument placed upon the noses of hogs and the fingers of
women to restrain them and bring them into subjection." After his
wife's death Dr. Johnson preserved
62 Thomas
Joseph Pettigrew, " On Superstitions Connected With the History and
Practice of Medicine and Surgery," London, 1844, pp. 36, 37.
53 Col. T. H. Hendley, "Indian Jewellery," Journal of Indian Art and Industry," vol. xii, p. 5,1907-1909.
