virtues, and cramps in the legs would be cured if the afflicted part were merely touched with such a ring.
As
to the mode in which the elk-hoof should be used for curative rings for
epilepsy, the old authorities differed, Goclenius affirming that a
piece of the hoof should be set in a ring, while others believed that
the entire ring should be turned out of this material. The proper way
of wearing it was to place it on the fourth finger, so that it could
come in contact with the palm of the hand. The choice of the particular
hoof was also matter for debate, some favoring that of the left hind
foot and others that of the right one. Rings set with teeth of the
sea-horse were recommended by Johann Michaëles, a famous physician of
Leipsic. A ring made of pure silver, of " the moon," as the astrologers
said, if set in a piece of elk-hoof, under the zodiacal sign of Pisces
and during a favorable conjunction of the planets, would prove a
certain cure for epilepsy and all brain diseases.40
The
Tyrolean hunters have the same superstitious fancy as to the talismanic
power of an antelope's tooth set in a ring as is (or was) held in some
other parts of the world regarding elks' teeth set in rings. Of the
Tyrolean rings, four examples were disposed at the sale in New York in
1913, of the fine collections of Mr. A. W. Drake."
A
gold ring specially designed for a physician's use in counting
pulse-beats is to be seen in the collection of Dr. Albert Figdor,
Vienna. It is set with a watch, below which, on the bezel, is inscribed
the name of the watchmaker, Kossek in Prague. The aperture for the
40 Ibid., p. 32 ; Sec. I, cap. ii.
41 " Illustrated Catalogue of Mr. A. W. Drake's famous collections," New York, 1913, Pt. I, Nos. 1757, 1758, 1759, 1760.
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