Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/354

 338 RING RIO DE JANEIRO probably that of a seal or signet ring. In Germany it has been common for the wife to wear the betrothal ring after marriage, and the husband the wedding ring. Widows for- merly wore the wedding ring on the thumb, as an emblem of widowhood. Betrothal rings were frequently exchanged in ancient times by lovers. Gimmal, jimmal, gimbal, or gimmon rings are twin (gemelli) or double rings, made of gold wire twined together ; but sometimes three and four rings were thus joined. It is also believed that the Romans originated the custom Of giving rings with mottoes or posies engraved on them to their lady loves. In the 14th and 15th centuries the posy was usually inscribed on the outside of the ring, but after- ward on the inside. Among the most com- mon posies on old rings are the following : "Let lyking laste;"'"Let us share in joy and car"e;" "I like my choice;" "A faithful wife preserveth life ;" " Love and live happy ;" "United hearts death only parts;" "I'll win and wear you ;" " In Christ and thee my com- fort be;" "This and the giver are thine for ever ;" " Knit in one by Christ alone ;" " As God decreed, so we agreed." Sometimes stones are so arranged as to form a posy, tho first letter of each being read like an acros- tic, thus: L apis lazuli, O pal, V erde antique, E inerald. Many superstitions have been con- nected with wedding rings. The once preva- lent notion that an artery or nerve extended from tho ring finger to the heart is of very ancient origin, and is probably due to the Egyptians. It has been thought too that the wedding ring is possessed of curative powers, and some persons still believe that a stye on the eyelid will disappear after being rubbed with a gold ring. Other rings than wedding rings were also used to cure diseases ; a gold ring was supposed to be efficacious against St. Anthony's fire, and one made of silver col- lected at the communion was good against convulsions and fits. They sometimes owed their virtue to the stones with which they were set : thus diamond was believed to be an antidote against all poisons ; ruby changed its color if any evil was about to befall the wear- er of it ; sapphire and the bloodstone checked bleeding at the nose ; amethyst was an antidote against drunkenness; coral hindered the de- lusions of the devil ; topaz cured and prevent- ed lunacy ; and the toadstone was considered a sovereign remedy against many disorders. Rings were also believed to possess magical virtues and to be full of occult significance. Plato records that Gyges, king of Lydia, pos- sessed a ring which rendered him invisible when the stone was turtied inward. The same story is told of Midas, the mythical king of Phrygia. The Arabians have a book called Salcuthat, which treats of magic rings. Among them is mentioned Solomon's ring with which he sealed up refractory jinns in jars before they were cast into the sea. Magic rings were manufactured in great numbers in Athens, and endowed with whatever charm the purchaser required. The Gnostics engraved ring gems with mystic symbols, names, monograms, and legends, which were supposed to have peculiar values ; and in the early ages the names of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph on rings were deemed to be preservatives against the plague. Rings were sometimes made hollow to contain poi- son. Hannibal died of poison which he car- ried in his ring. The ring of Ca3sar Borgia had a slide within which he is said to have carried the poison that he sometimes dropped into the wine of his guests; and it is said that his fa- ther Alexander VI. possessed a key ring which had a concealed poisoned needle within it, and which, when he desired to rid himself of a person, he gave him to unlock a casket. RINGGOLD, a S. county of Iowa, bordering on Missouri, and intersected by Platte river and by the E. and W. forks of Grand river ; area, 576 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 5,691. The surface is undulating and the soil fertile. The chief productions in 1870 were 40,381 bushels of wheat, 340,735 of Indian corn, 79,159 of oats, 27,894 of potatoes, 52,856 Ibs. of wool, 163,485 of butter, and 14,325 tons of hay. There were 2,612 horses, 2,306 milch cows, 4,112 other cattle, 14,219 sheep, and 8,764 swine. Capital, Mount Ayr. BIXGWORM. See EPIPHYTES, vol. vi., p. 689. RIO ARRIBA, a N. W. county of New Mex- ico, bordering on Arizona, and intersected in the southeast by the Rio Grande ; area, about 5,500 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 9,294. The E. part is watered by tributaries of the Rio Grande, the "W. part by affluents of tho San Juan, and it is crossed by several mountain chains. The chief productions in 1870 were 5,249 bushels of wheat, 10,351 of Indian corn, and 19,663 Ibs. of wool. There were 399 horses, 749 mules and asses, 547 milch cows, 1,532 working oxen, 1,573 other cattle, 40,772 sheep, and 256 swine. Capital, Los Luceros. RIO BRAVO DEL NORTE. See Rio GRANDE DEL NORTB. RIO DE JANEIRO. I. A province of Brazil, lying between lat. 20 50' and 23 25' S., and Ion. 40 50' and 44 40' W., bounded N. by Es- pirito Santo, N. W. by Minas Geraes, S. W. by Sao Paulo, and E. and S. by the Atlantic ; area, about 18,000 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 1,050,000, of whom 306,000 were slaves. (These num- bers, and some others, are according to the Almanack de Gotha for 1875 and other recent authorities, those in the article BRAZIL hav- ing been derived from earlier sources.) The surface of the province is mountainous, being traversed by the Serra dos Orgaos (the local name of the Serra do Mar), and bounded W. by the Serra Mantiquiera. In the latter chain, about 5 m. from the N". W. corner of the prov- ince, is Itatiaiossu, the highest peak in Bra- zil (10,300 ft.) Many isolated hills rise from tho plains, which are low and marshy. The only important river, the Parahyba do Sul, rises near Paraty, and, after a circuitous and