“And when Eleazar would persuade and demonstrate to the spectators that he had such a power, he set a little way off a cup or basin full of water, and commanded the demon, as he went out of the man, to overturn it, and thereby to let the spectators know that he had left the man; and when this was done, the skill and wisdom of Solomon was shown very manifestly.” In the popular old ballad of _Lambert Linkin_,[201] rings give proof of a terrible coming event by bursting upon the fingers: * * * * * “The Lord sat in England A drinking the wine. “I wish a’ may be weel Wi’ my lady at hame; _For the rings o’ my fingers_ _They’re now burst in twain_. “He saddled his horse, And he came riding down; But as soon as he viewed, Belinkin came in. “He had na weel stepped Twa steps up the stair, Till he saw his pretty young son Lying dead on the floor. “He had na weel stepped Other twa up the stair, 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, With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan; With three shining diamonds set therein, And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie. * * * * * “What if these diamonds lose their hue, With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan, Just when my love begins for to rew, And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie. “For when your ring turns pale and wan, With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan, Then I’m in love with another man, And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie. * * * * * “Seven long years he has been on the sea, With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan; And Hynd Horn has looked how his ring may be, And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie. “But when he looked this ring upon, With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan, The shining diamonds were both pale and wan, And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie.