Till he saw his pretty lady
Lying dead in despair.
“He hanged Belinkin
Out over the gate;
And he burnt the fause nurice,
Being under the grate.”
We would refer our reader to a beautiful Syrian legend in the “Household Words,”[202] in which a ring is made to play an interesting part upon the fingers of a maiden, who is able to know of the good or ill fortune and faith of her absent lover through its changes. He, in giving it, had informed her: “If good fortune is with me, it will retain its brightness; if evil, dim. If I cease to love, and the grave opens for me, it will become black.” Fitful changes then come and go upon the ring, as the light and shadow of life accompany the roving lover.
There is a like notion in the ancient Scotch ballad of Hynd Horn:[203]
“And she gave to me a gay gold ring,