“She was a Grecian born, gave Corinth laws,And fame proclaimed her worth with such applause,That youthful rivals for her favour strove,And high-born kings were suppliants for her love.”Of her numerous suitors, Brias, Orcas, and Halesus, a warrior, were the principal. Provoked at their importunities, she haughtily bade them “from arms and not entreaties seek a bride;” and then, to rid herself of them, she entered the temple of Apollo and Diana with her father and people. The lovers, not to be denied, combined in an attack upon the temple gates, and the excitement of the combat so enhanced the maiden’s beauty, that the people shouted, “Let Rhodanthe be a goddess, and let the image of Diana give place to her!” Rhodanthe being therefore placed upon the shrine, Phœbus, Diana’s brother, became so incensed at the insult to his sister, that he turned his scorching rays against the would-be goddess, who bitterly repented that she had ever appeared a deity; for—“Fast in the shrine her foot takes hold and cleaves,Her arms stretch’d out are cover’d o’er with leaves;Tho’ chang’d into a flower, her pomp remains,And lovely still, and still a queen she reigns.The crowd for their offence this doom abide.Shrunk into thorns to guard her beauty’s pride.”Her too ardent lovers were transformed respectively into a worm, a drone, and a butterfly.This account bears a general resemblance to the legend recounted by Sir John Maundevile, who visited Bethlehem in the fourteenth century, and found there the field Floridus, wherein, he tells us, a fair maiden who had been unjustly accused of wrong was doomed to be burned; and, after praying devoutly to God that, inasmuch as she was not guilty, He would help her, and make her innocence known to all men, “she entered the fire, and immediately the fire was extinguished, and the faggots that were burning became red Rose-bushes full of Roses, and those that remained unkindled became white Rose-bushes; and these were the first Rose-trees and Roses, both white and red, that ever any man saw.” “Thus,” concludes Sir John, “was this mayden saved be the grace of God. And therfore is that feld clept the Feld of God florysscht: for it was fulle of Roses.” Southey, in hispoem on the Rose, has commemorated this old story in the following lines:—“The stakeBranches and buds, and spreading its green leaves,Embowers and canopies the fair maid,Who there stands glorified; and Roses, thenFirst seen on earth since Paradise was lost,Profusely blossom round her, white and red.In all their rich variety of hues.”According to a Roumanian tradition, the Rose was originally a young and beauteous princess, who, while bathing in the sea, so dazzled the Sun with the radiance of her loveliness, that he stood still to gaze upon her, and covered her with kisses. Then for three days he forgot his duty, and obstructed the progress of night. Since that day the Lord of the Universe has changed the princess into a Rose, and this is why the Rose always hangs her head and blushes when the Sun gazes on her.Anacreon gives the following poetic account of the origin of the Rose, connecting it with the goddess of love and beauty:—“Oh! whence could such a plant have sprung?Attend, for thus the tale is sung:When, humid from the silvery stream,Effusing beauty’s warmest beam,Venus appeared, in flushing hues,Mellowed by ocean’s briny dews;When, in the starry courts above,The pregnant brain of mighty JoveDisclosed the nymph of azure glance,The nymph who shakes the martial lance;Then, then, in strange eventful hour,The earth produced an infant flower,Which sprung with blushing tinctures drest,And wantoned o’er its parent’s breast.The gods beheld this brilliant birth,And hailed the Rose, the boon of earth.”—Moore.Bion describes the Rose as springing from the blood of the slain Adonis; and the Mahometans have a legend that it was produced from a drop of perspiration which fell from the brow of Mahomet.Relative to the colour of the Rose, we find a number of stories left us by the ancients. Catullus tells us, that the Rose is red from blushing for the wound it inflicted on the foot of Venus as she hastened to the assistance of Adonis; Claudian, when Venus plucks a Rose, says it is in remembrance of Adonis; an ancient epigram mentions her wishing to defend Adonis from Mars, when“Her step she fixes on the cruel thorns;And with her blood the pallid Rose adorns.”Anacreon tells us that the flower was dyed with nectar by the gods:—“With nectar drops, a ruby tide,The sweetly orient buds they dyedAnd bade them bloom—the flowers divineOf Him who sheds the teeming Vine.”—Moore.Still another legend is to the effect that Cupid, whilst leading a dance in heaven, stumbled and overset a bowl of nectar, which, falling upon the earth, stained the Rose.The Rose—the flower of love, poetry, and beauty—was specially dedicated to Venus, who is sometimes represented crowned with Roses, and sometimes with a sceptre terminated with that flower. One of the Three Graces—the attendants of Venus—usually carried a Rose in her hand. Cupid is often depicted crowned with Roses, and the chaplet of Hymen consisted generally of Marjoram or Roses, which latter flowers were used in his feasts. The Thracians crowned Bacchus (Sabazius) with Roses, and, in the vicinity of Pangæus, held a feast calledRosalia. In the procession of the Corybantes, the goddess Cybele was pelted with white Roses.The Rose was a domestic flower sedulously cultivated by the ancients, but especially by the Romans. It is said to have early flourished at Rhodes, and possibly gave its name to that island. The Roses of Campania, Miletus, Præneste, Malta, Cyrene, and Sybaris were all noted; but especially celebrated were those of Pæstum: to this day the insignia of Pæstum—a Syren holding a Rose—remains sculptured on the ruined arch of one of its gates.Among the ancients, it was customary to crown brides and bridegrooms with a chaplet of red and white Roses. The Roman bride was decorated with a wreath of Roses and Myrtle. The shrines of the gods and of illustrious men in Rome were surmounted with wreaths of Roses. The triumphal arches were adorned with these flowers, and garlands of Roses were thrown into the chariots. At the public games, wreaths of Roses were presented to the senators, and sometimes to the performers and spectators. At the private entertainments of the ancients, the guests wore wreaths of blooming Roses. The Romans thought to impart additional relish to their feasts by the aid of the fragrance of the Rose. Pacutus relates that “even in the time of the Republic, people were not satisfied unless the cup of Falernian wine were swimming with Roses.” The Spartan soldiers, after the battle of Cirrha, were so fastidious as to refuse wine that was not perfumed with Roses. At the famed regatta of Baiæ, the whole surface of the Lucrine Lake used to be strewn with these flowers. At some of his banquets, Nero caused showers of Roses to be rained down upon his guests from apertures in the ceiling. Heliogabalus carried this practice to such an absurd extent, as to cause the suffocation of some of his guests, who could not extricate themselves from the heap of flowers. Cleopatra, in the entertainment she gave in honour of Antony, spent an immense sum in Roses, with which she had the floor of the banqueting chamber covered to the depth of an ell, and over the flowers a thin net was drawn. The Romans were at great expense to procure Roses in the Winter. Suetonius affirms that Nero spent upwards of fourmillion sesterces (about £30,000) for Roses, at one supper. Horace, alluding to this custom, says: “Seek not for late-blowing Roses; I ask no other crown than simple Myrtle.” In those days, Rose-wine was celebrated, and we learn that Heliogabalus was wont to indulge largely in this drink, and bathed himself in it. He even caused a large swimming-bath to be filled with the costly liquid.Milto, a fair young maiden, of obscure birth, was wont to deposit every morning garlands of fresh flowers in the temple of Venus, as she was too poor to make costlier offerings. Her rare beauty was once in danger of being destroyed by a tumour which grew on her chin, but in a dream she one night beheld the goddess, who told her to apply to it some of the Roses from her altar. Milto obeyed; the tumour soon disappeared, and she grew more lovely than ever; eventually attracting the notice of the younger Cyrus, whose favourite wife she became. From that time the medicinal properties of the Rose met with general recognition, and the flower formed the basis of many lotions.In classical times, the Rose was regarded as the emblem of joy, and Comus, the god of feasting, is represented as wearing a garland of bedewed Roses. As, during the intoxication of mirth, the mouth is apt to run over when the heart is full, the ancients feigned that Cupid presented a Rose to Harpocrates, the grave god of silence, as a bribe not to betray the amours of Venus. The flower thus became a symbol of secrecy and silence, and as such, a Rose was formerly suspended over the guest table, that the sight of it might remind the guests that the conversation should not be repeated elsewhere. More recently, a Rose was painted on the ceiling of dining-rooms, and in our own time the plaster ornament in the centre of the ceiling is still called a Rose. This custom gave rise to the saying “Under the Rose”—an injunction of secrecy. Hence it fell out that the Jacobins adopted the white Rose as a political symbol of the Pretender, since his adherents were compelled to help him “under the Rose.”The Rose held an important place in early ecclesiastical history. As an emblem of love and beauty, the queen of flowers was especially dedicated by the Romish Church to the Virgin Mary: she is the Rose of Sharon, the Mystic Rose (Rosa mystica), as well as the Lily of the Valley. In old Italian paintings of the Madonna, a plantation, garden, or hedge of Roses is often introduced, enclosing the principal figure. In mediæval days, the Rose had a Sunday of its own at Rome, and the reigning Pope officiated at the ceremony of the blessing of the Golden Rose upon Mid-Lent Sunday. A Golden Rose is, even in our own enlightened times, annually blessed by the Pope and sent as a mark of signal pontifical favour to some royal personage. Ecclesiastical tradition affirms that Roses and Lilies were found in the tomb of the Virgin Mary after her assumption into heaven, and Roses were conveyed by St. Dorothy, at the instance of Theophilus, from the heavenly garden.Roses replaced the alms of Elizabeth of Hungary, when her apron was rudely torn from her grasp by those who shared not her charitable zeal for the poor. A legend of the twelfth century, quoted in a German work by Wolf, relates how Iosbert, a pious monk, having fallen dead, whilst worshipping at a shrine of the Virgin Mary (in honour of whom he had been accustomed to recite five psalms every day), there sprang from his mouth, from his eyes, and from his ears, five Roses. The bishop, on his arrival, plucked one of the miraculous flowers, and solemnly placed it upon the altar. No sooner had he done so, however, than the other four Roses instantly faded away. In old paintings of the saints, Roses are sometimes introduced in allusion to the saint’s name. St. Rosalia, of Palermo, St. Rosa di Viterbo, St. Rosa di Lima, all wear the crown of Roses, or it is presented by an angel. The last-named saint, who is the patroness of America, was canonised by Clement X. According to the Peruvian legend, the pope, when entreated to canonise her, absolutely refused, exclaiming: “Indian and saint! as likely as that it should rain Roses!” whereupon a miraculous shower of Roses began to fall in the Vatican, and ceased not until the incredulous pontiff acknowledged himself convinced of her sanctity. A legend of St. Francis of Assisi relates that as the saint was one day shivering in his cell, in the depth of Winter, a demon whispered in his ear suggestions of ease and luxury. He repelled the temptations by going out and rolling himself in the snow on a heap of Thorns. From the Thorns sprinkled with his blood sprang Roses of Paradise, which he piously offered up to Christ and the Madonna.The Rosary was introduced by St. Dominick, in commemoration of his having been shown a chaplet of Roses by the blessed Virgin. It consisted formerly of a string of beads made of Rose-leaves tightly pressed into round moulds, when real Roses were not strung together. The use of a chaplet of beads as a minute of the number of prayers recited is of Eastern origin, and dates from the time of the Egyptian anchorites. Beads were also used by the Benedictines, and are to this day in use among Mahometan devotees. St. Dominick invented a novel arrangement of the chaplet, and dedicated it to the honour and glory of the Virgin Mary. A complete Rosary consists of fifteen large and 150 small beads, the former representing the number ofPaternosters, the latter the number ofAve-Marias. The Indian Buddhists use a Rosary of 99 beads: the Chinese and Japanese Buddhists one of 108 beads, corresponding to the daily prayers offered against the 108 possible sins.In the sixth century, St. Médard, Bishop of Noyon, France, instituted a festival at Salency, his birth-place, for adjudging a prize to the girl who should be acknowledged the most amiable, modest, and beautiful. The prize consisted of a simple crown of Roses, and the founder of the festival had the gratification ofcrowning his own sister as the first Rose Queen of Salency, in which obscure village this pleasant institution still exists. At the present time, however, theRosièrehas a douceur of three hundred francs presented to her. Of late years the institution of theRosièrehas been introduced into this country by a Roman Catholic priest who labours in the east of London. The Academy of Floral Games at Toulouse, founded in 1322, and still in existence, was wont to give a Rose as a prize for the best poem. From 1288 to 1589 the French dukes and peers of all degrees were obliged in the Spring which followed their nomination to present a tribute of Roses to Parliament.The association of the flower with our own country dates from a very early period; and we find Pliny doubting whether the name Albion referred to the white cliffs of our island or the white Roses which grew there in abundance. In Edward the Third’s reign a gold coin was struck called the “Rose noble,” which bore the figure of a Rose on one of its faces. As the badge of the rival houses of York and Lancaster, the flower became celebrated in English history—the White Rose being the hereditary cognisance of the house of York, and the Red Rose that of Lancaster. Shakspeare (in Henry VI.) represents the feud between the two houses as having originated in the Temple Gardens, where after a fierce altercation, Warwick addresses Plantagenet thus:—“In signal of my love to thee,Will I upon thy party wear this Rose:And here I prophesy, this brawl to-day,Grown to this faction in the Temple Garden,Shall send, between the Red Rose and the WhiteA thousands souls to death and deadly night.”Like the Gilliflower, the Rose was occasionally taken as a quit-rent; thus we find in 1576 that the then Bishop of Ely granted to Sir Christopher Hatton the greater portion of Ely House, Holborn, for a term of twenty-one years, on consideration of the tenant paying annually a red Rose for the garden and gate-house, and giving the Bishop free access to the gardens, with the right of gathering twenty bushels of Roses every year.In the East, the Rose is an object of peculiar esteem. The Oriental poets have united the beauteous Rose with the melodious nightingale; and the flower is fabled to have burst forth from its bud at the song of the warbler of the night. The poet Jami says—“You may place a handful of fragrant herbs and flowers before the nightingale; yet he wishes not in his constant heart for more than the sweet breath of his beloved Rose.”“Though rich the spotWith every flower this earth has got,What is it to the nightingale,If there his darling Rose is not?”—Moore.Persia is the veritable land of Roses: nowhere does the queen of flowers reign in such glorious majesty. Zoroaster himself, theapostle of the Persians, and the introducer of the worship of the sacred fire, is connected in a legend with the Rose. An astrologer having predicted the birth of a child who would dethrone the King of Babylon, the monarch at once gave orders for the assassination of all women who were about to become mothers. Thousands were slain; but one gave birth secretly to the future prophet. This having come to the King’s ear, he sent for the child, and tried to kill him with his own hand, but his arm was withered on the spot. Alarmed, and furious with rage, he had the babe placed on a lighted stake, but the burning pile changed into a bed of Roses, on which the little one lay quietly sleeping. Some persons present saved a portion of the fire, which has been kept up to the present day in memory of this great miracle. The king made two other attempts to destroy Zoroaster, but his temerity was punished miraculously by a gnat, which entered his ear and caused his death. A festival is held in Persia, called the Feast of the Roses, which lasts the whole time they are in bloom.“And all is ecstacy, for nowThe valley holds its feast of Roses;That joyous time, when pleasures pour,Profusely round, and in their showerHearts open, like the season’s Rose,—The flowret of a hundred leaves,Expanding while the dew-fall flows,And every leaf its balm receives!”—Moore’s ‘Lalla Rookh.’Pelting with Roses is still common in Persia during the time of the blooming of the flowers. A band of young musicians repair to the places of public entertainment to amuse the guests, and on their way through the streets they pelt the passengers whom they meet with Roses. The Persians regard theRosa centifoliaas the flower of an archangel. Zoroaster affirmed that the Rose was free from thorns until the entrance into the world of Ahrimanes (the evil spirit).The “bed of Roses” is not altogether a poetic fiction. In ancient days, the Sybarites used to sleep upon mattresses that were stuffed with Rose-leaves. A similar luxury was afterwards indulged in, both in Greece and Rome. Men would sit at their meals upon cushions, and sleep by night on beds of Roses. The tyrant Dionysius had couches stuffed with Roses, on which he lounged at his revels. Verres used to travel on a litter reclining on a mattress stuffed with Roses. He wore, moreover, garlands of Roses round his head and neck, and had Rose-leaves intertwined in a thin net, which was drawn over the litter. It was a favourite luxury of Antiochus to sleep in a tent of gold and silver on a mattress stuffed with Roses.The Indians have a tradition respecting the discovery of the mode of preparing the far-famed Attar of Roses, a perfume perhaps unrivalled in its refreshing qualities. To gratify the voluptuous Jehanghir, his favourite sultana is said to have had the royal bathin the palace garden filled with Rose-water. The action of the sun speedily concentrated the oleaginous particles floating on the surface, and the careful attendant, fearing lest the Rose-water should have become corrupt, hastened to skim it in order to remove the oily flakes. The globules burst whilst this operation was being performed, and emitted such an exquisite odour, that the idea of preparing the delicious attar was at once suggested. Avicenna, an Arabian doctor of the tenth century, was the first to extract from Roses their fragrant perfume by distillation. He selected theRosa centifoliafor his experiments, and succeeded in producing the delicious liquid known as Rose-water, which is held in such repute in the East, that when a stranger enters a house, it is considered a mark of distinction and welcome to sprinkle him over with Rose-water. When Saladin entered Jerusalem in 1187, he had the floor and walls of Omar’s mosque entirely washed with this delicate perfume.At all times, in all countries, Roses have been employed for planting and strewing upon graves. The dying Antony begged Cleopatra to scatter perfumes on his tomb and cover it with Roses; and both Greeks and Romans were desirous of having their graves bedecked every year with the fragrant flowers. So religiously did they observe the practice of planting Roses round graves, that they annexed codicils to their wills, as appears by an old inscription at Ravenna, and another at Milan, by which Roses are ordered to be yearly strewed upon the graves. In the German portions of Switzerland, churchyards are called “Rose gardens.” A Rose is sculptured on the tombs of maidens in Turkey. In Poland, the coffins of little children are covered with Roses, and Roses are thrown from the windows as the funeral procession passes along the streets. In the South of England, a chaplet of white Roses is borne before the corpse of a maiden, by a young girl of the same age as the deceased, and afterwards hung up over her accustomed seat in church. In South Wales, and in many parts of England, it was formerly customary to strew Roses and plant Rose-trees on graves, and, indeed, the custom is still extant. Camden says that at Ockley, in Surrey, the custom of planting Rose-trees on graves had been observed “time out of mind.”The Rose is one of the plants used for love divinations on Midsummer Eve. In Cornwall, Devon, and other counties, if a young lady will, on Midsummer Eve, walk backwards into the garden, and pluck a Rose, she is reputed to have the means of knowing who is to be her husband. The Rose must be cautiously sewn up in a paper bag, and put aside in a dark drawer, there to remain until Christmas morning, when the bag must be carefully opened in silence, and the Rose placed by the lady in her bosom. Thus she must wear it to church. Some young man will either ask her for the Rose or take it from her without asking; and that young man is destined eventually to become the lady’s husband.Herrick probably refers to this charm in the ‘Hesperides,’ when, in allusion to a bride, he says:—“She must no more a-maying,Or by Rosebuds divineWho’ll be her Valentine.”There is a curious old divination rite to be employed on the 27th of June, according to which maidens are enjoined on that morning to gather secretly a full-blown Rose, between three and four o’clock. The flower is then to be held for about five minutes over the smoke of a chafing-dish containing some brimstone and charcoal; then, before the Rose gets cool, it is to be placed on a sheet of paper, on which is inscribed the maiden’s name and that of the swain she loves, together with the date of the year, and the name of the morning star. This paper, having been folded and thrice sealed, is to be buried at the foot of the Rose-tree from which the flower was plucked, and allowed to remain there until the 6th of July, when it is to be taken up, and placed beneath the maiden’s pillow, with the result that, before morning, she will, in a dream, have her fate revealed. The Rose is utilised as a love-charm in Thuringia; there a maid who has several lovers will name a Rose-leaf after each, and then scatter them upon the water; that which sinks the last representing her future husband.It was a common belief formerly, that when Roses or Violets flourished in Autumn, there would be a plague or some pestiferous disease during the ensuing year. Lord Bacon points out that a profusion of Roses in their season predicts a severe Winter, and the belief is still extant.“The Thorns and Briars, vermilion hue,Now full of Hips and Haws are seen;If village prophecies be true,They prove that Winter will be keen.”A writer in theGardener’s Chronicletells us, that “in some parts of Germany it is customary to throw Rose-leaves on a coal-fire as a means of ensuring good luck. In Germany, as well as in France and Italy, it is believed that if a drop of one’s blood be buried under a Rose-tree, it will ensure rosy cheeks. The Rose is also associated in Westphalia with a charm against nose-bleeding and other hæmorrhages. This charm consists in the repetition of the words: ‘In Christ’s Garden stand three Roses, one for the good God, the other for God’s blood, the third for the angel Gabriel: blood, I pray you, cease to flow.’ In Suabia, it is somewhat different: ‘On our Lord’s grave spring three Roses; the first is Hope, the second is Patience, the third is the will of God: blood, I pray you be still.’”Strangely enough, the Rose has the reputation of being a death portent. In England, it is on that account deemed very unlucky to scatter the leaves of a red Rose on the ground. In Italy, this flower is deemed an emblem of an early death; and it is thoughtan evil omen if its leaves perchance fall to the ground. In Ireland, there is a legend of a sick man who saw a Rose pass across the panes of the window of his room: it was a death warning, and the man died. Roses not only act as portents of death, but in some cases they spring up as memorials of the dead. Thus, at Roncevalles, where Roland and thedouze pairsstained the soil with their blood, Roses are popularly believed to have sprung up:—“When Roland brave and Olivier,And every paladin and peer,On Roncevalles died.”And again, in our own country, a tradition relates that after the battle of Towton, there sprang up in the field where the Yorkists and Lancastrians fell, a peculiar kind of wild Rose, only there to be found, and which will not bear being transplanted from “the bloody meadow.”“There still wild Roses growing,Frail tokens of the fray;And the hedgerow green bears witnessOf Towton field that day.”A white Provins Rose was the emblem of the Stuarts upon the accession of the Duke of York to the throne of England as James II. It was said to come into flower on the 10th of June, a day interesting to Jacobites, as being the birthday of the Chevalier St. George.“Of all the days that’s in the year,The tenth of June I love most dear,When sweet White Roses do appear,For the sake of James the Rover.”Under the title ofRoisin dubh, the “Little Black Rose,” we find Ireland symbolised in a song composed in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.“There’s no flower that e’er bloomed can my Rose excel,There’s no tongue that e’er moved half my love can tell.Had I strength, had I skill the wide world to subdue,Oh, the queen of that wide world should be Roisin dubh!”Dream oracles tell us that nothing can be more favourable than to dream of Roses, as they are certain emblems of happiness, prosperity, and long life. To a lover, they foretell he will marry the object of his choice, and that happiness and joy will result from the union. To the farmer and sailor, the appearance of these flowers in a dream is said to predict great prosperity and ultimate independence. To dream of withered Roses, however, is ominous of decay of fortune and disappointment.Astrologers state that red Roses are under the government of Jupiter, Damask Roses under Venus, and white Roses under the rule of the Moon.ROSE-BRIAR.—The Rose-briar, orRosa canina, according to tradition, is the plant from which was formed the crown of Thorns placed on our Saviour’s brow at the Crucifixion. It has attachedto it the legend that when the sacred drops of blood trickling from the wounded Saviour fell to the ground, they blossomed into Roses.“Men saw the Thorns on Jesus’ brow,But angels saw the Roses.”The Wild, or Dog, Rose, it has also been supposed, composed the thicket in which Abraham caught the ram, as well as the bush in the midst of which the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire, and from which God addressed him. It is probably the plant alluded to in the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the desolation of Jerusalem (v., 6): “I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned or digged; but there shall come up Briars and Thorns.” Chandler tells us that he saw no other tree nor shrub within the walls of the Holy City when he visited it.——The Rose-briar is connected with an incident in the life of St. Benedict. This godly man, in his early life, lived for three years a solitary existence among the rocks of Subiaco, a wilderness forty miles from Rome. During this time he underwent many temptations, and on one occasion was so disturbed by the recollection of a beautiful woman whom he had seen in Rome, that he was well-nigh quitting his retreat and returning to the city. He felt, however, that the temptation proceeded from the devil, and, tormented by his distracting desires, he rushed from his cave, and flinging himself into a thicket of Briars, he rolled himself in them until the blood flowed freely from his lacerated flesh; then the fiends left him, and he was never again assailed by the same temptation. In the garden of the monastery at Subiaco they show the Rose-bushes which have been propagated from those very briars.ROSEMARY.—Rosmarinus, the botanical name of Rosemary, signifies the “dew of the sea,” and has been applied to the plant on account of its fondness for the sea-shore. Formerly it was calledRosmarinus coronariusbecause of its use in chaplets and garlands, with which the principal guests at feasts were crowned. In place of more costly incense, the ancients often employed Rosemary in their religious ceremonies, and especially at funeral rites. The Romans ornamented their Lares, or household gods, with this plant, and at the Palilia, or festival held in honour of Pales, the purification of the flocks was made with the smoke of Rosemary. But the plant is essentially funereal in its character: its aroma serves to preserve the corpse of the departed, and its leaves, ever green, symbolise immortality: hence, like the Asphodel and Mallow, it was frequently planted near tombs:—“Come funeral flower! who lov’st to dwell,With the pale corse in lonely tomb,And throw across the desert gloomA sweet decaying smell.”—Kirke White.In the Northern counties, mourners at funerals often carry a branch of Rosemary, and it is still customary in some rural districtsto distribute sprigs of the plant at funerals, in order that those attending may cast them into the grave. Gay refers to this custom in his ‘Shepherd’s Week’:—“Sprigg’d Rosemary the lads and lasses bore,While dismally the parson walked before.Upon her grave the Rosemary they threw,The Daisy, Butter-flower, and Endive blue.”Sprigs of Rosemary were, however, in olden times, worn at weddings, as well as at funerals. Herrick says:—“Grow for two ends, it matters not at all,Be’t for my bridal or my burial.”Shakspeare and others of our old poets make frequent mention of Rosemary as an emblem of remembrance, and as being worn at weddings, possibly to signify the fidelity of the lovers. Thus Ophelia says:—“There’s Rosemary for you, that’s for remembrance; pray you, love, remember.”Sprigs of Rosemary mingled in the coronal which bound the hair of the unfortunate Anne of Cleves on the occasion of her nuptials with King Henry VIII. In olden times, Rosemary garlanded the wassail bowl, and at Christmas the dish of roast beef, decked with Rosemary and Bays, was ushered in with the carol beginning—“The boar’s head in hand bring I,With garlands gay and Rosemary.”The silvery foliage of this favourite plant mingled well with the Holly, Mistletoe, and Bays employed in decking rooms, &c., at Christmas-tide—a custom which may perhaps be accounted for by a Spanish tradition that the Rosemary (like the Juniper in other legends) afforded shelter and protection to the Virgin Mary during her flight with the infant Saviour into Egypt. The plant is said to flower on the day of the Passion of our Lord because the Virgin Mary spread on a shrub of Rosemary the under linen and little frocks of the infant Jesus; and according to tradition, it brings happiness on those families who employ it in perfuming the house on Christmas night.——In Germany, there exists a curious custom of demanding presents from women on Good Friday, at the same time striking them with a branch of Rosemary or Fir.——It is a common saying in Sicily, that Rosemary is the favourite plant of the fairies, and that the young fairies, under the guise of snakes, lie concealed under its branches.——In the rural districts of Portugal, it iscalledAlecrim, a word of Scandinavian origin (Ellegrim), signifying Elfin-plant.——Rosemary occupied a prominent place in monastic gardens, on account of its curative properties, and in Queen Elizabeth’s time, its silvery foliage grew all over the walls of the gardens at Hampton Court. Now-a-days the plant is rarely seen out of the kitchen garden, and indeed a common saying has arisen that “Rosemary only grows where the mistress is master.” The plant was formerly held in high estimation as a“comforter of the brain,” and a strengthener of the memory. In England, Rosemary worn about the body is said to strengthen the memory, and to afford successful assistance to the wearer in anything he may undertake.——In an ancient Italian recipe, the flowers of Rosemary, Rue, Sage, Marjoram, Fennel, Quince, &c., are recommended for the preservation of youth. In Bologna, there is an old belief that the flowers of Rosemary, if placed in contact with the skin, and especially, with the heart, give gaiety and sprightliness. Spirit of wine distilled from Rosemary produces the true Hungary water. By many persons Rosemary is used as tea for headaches and nervous disorders.——An Italian legend, given in theMythologie des Plantes, tells that a certain queen, who was childless, one day, whilst walking in the palace gardens, was troubled with a feeling of envy whilst contemplating a vigorous Rosemary-bush, because of its numerous branches and offshoots. Strange to relate, she afterwards gave birth to a Rosemary-bush, which she planted in a pot and carefully supplied with milk four times a day. The king of Spain, nephew of the queen, having stolen this pot of Rosemary, sustained it with goat’s milk. One day, whilst playing on the flute, he saw to his astonishment a beautiful princess emerge from the Rosemary-bush. Captivated by her beauty, he fell desperately in love with this strange visitor; but being obliged to depart to fight for his country, he commended the Rosemary-bush to the special care of his head gardener. In his absence, his sisters one day amused themselves by playing on the king’s flute, and forthwith the beautiful princess emerged once more from the Rosemary. The king’s sisters, tormented by jealousy, struck her; the princess forthwith vanished, the Rosemary began to droop, and the gardener, afraid of the king’s wrath, fled into the woods. At the midnight hour, he heard a dragon talking to its mate, and telling her the story of the mystic Rosemary-bush. The dragon let fall the fact, that if the Rosemary was to be restored, it could only be by being fed or sprinkled with dragons’ blood: no sooner did the gardener hear this, than he fell upon the male and female dragons, slew them, and carrying off some of their blood, applied it to the roots of the king’s Rosemary. So the spell was broken: the king returned, and soon after married the charming Princess Rosa Marina.——A curious charm, or dream-divination, is still extant in which Rosemary plays an important part; the mode of procedure is as follows:—On the eve of St. Magdalen, three maidens, under the age of twenty-one, are to assemble in an upper room, and between them prepare a potion, consisting of wine, rum, gin, vinegar, and water, in a ground-glass vessel. Into this each maid is then to dip a sprig of Rosemary, and fasten it in her bosom; and after taking three sips of the potion, the three maids are silently to go to sleep in the same bed. As a result, the dreams of each will reveal their destiny. Another elaborate spell for effecting the same result on the first of July, consists in the gathering of a sprigof Rosemary, a red Rose, a white Rose, a blue flower, a yellow flower, nine blades of long Grass, and a sprig of Rue, all of which are to be bound together with a lock of the maiden’s hair who wishes to work the spell. This nosegay is to be sprinkled with the blood of a white pigeon and some salt, and laid beneath the maid’s head when she retires to rest. Her dreams will then portend her fate.——Rosemary is deemed a herb of the Sun.ROSE OF JERICHO.—From the Casa Nuova Convent of Jerusalem pilgrims bring away little dried-up plants, which after a time appear to be quite dead, but if they are placed in water their branches will soon be covered with fresh bursting buds. These are the Roses of Jericho, or Resurrection Flowers, which grow among the sands of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, and are also found in Barbary. TheAnastatica Hierochuntinais cruciform; and when its flowers and leaves have withered and fallen off, the branches as they dry curl inwards, and form a round mass, thence called a Rose. The roots die; the winds tear the plant up, and blow it about the sands till it lodges in a moist spot, or is wetted with the rain; then the curled-up globe expands, and suffers the seeds to escape from the seed vessel in which they were enclosed, and becoming embedded in the sands, they germinate anew; hence its nameAnastatica—Resurrection. The Holy Rose of Jericho is regarded with peculiar reverence in Palestine and other places in the East, and is supposed to be the plant alluded to in Ecclesiasticus: “I was ... as a Rose-plant in Jericho.” The Arabs call this plantKaf Maryam(i.e., Mary’s hand); it is also known asRosa-Mariæ(Rose of the Virgin). The pilgrims to the Holy Sepulchre fancied it sprang up wherever the Holy Family rested in their flight into the Egypt, and called it theRosa Hierosolymitana. There is a cherished legend that it first blossomed at our Saviour’s birth, closed at the crucifixion, and opened again at Easter, whence its name of Resurrection Flower. The tradition that it blossomed at the moment when our Lord was born, and was endowed with qualities propitious to nativity, caused the plant to be greatly esteemed by the Eastern women, who, when occasion requires, are anxious to have one of these dried plants expanding in a vase of water beside them, firmly believing it has a salutary effect. In like manner, the matrons of Bologna, who call the plant the Rose of the Madonna, believe in its efficacy at the birth of children. They place the plant in water at the bedside with the conviction that at the moment when it has fully expanded itself the expected infant will first see the light.——In Germany, a similar belief exists, and the Rose of Jericho is called (after its Arabic name) Mary’s Hand, in allusion to the office assigned to the Madonna of patroness of matrons.ROSE OF SHARON.—The Hebrew word rendered in Canticles ii., 1, and Isaiah xxxv., 1, as “Rose,” is thought by some to signify “Tulip.” Interpreters, indeed vary between Rose, Lily,Narcissus, and Tulip; so that it is impossible to say with any certainty what flower we are to understand by the Rose of Sharon. According to travellers, the Narcissus, or Jonquil (Narcissus Jonquila), grows abundantly on the plain of Sharon, yet so low that it may be unobserved among more showy plants; and again we find it stated that, in the season, the plain is literally covered with Tulips. Though Palestine abounds in flowers, it is doubtful whether the Rose of our gardens is alluded to in the Bible. In the Apocrypha (Wisdom xi., 8), it may, perhaps, be intended, but more probably the Oleander is there referred to.ROWAN-TREE, or MOUNTAIN-ASH.—The Mountain Ash (Pyrus Aucuparia), called also by the old names of Rodden, Rowan-tree, Quicken-tree, and Witchen-tree, is a tree of good omen. In Scandinavian mythology, it is Thor’s Helper, because it bent to his grasp when he was crossing the river Vimur, on his way to the land of the Frost Giants. The wood of the Rowan was also used to preserve the Norse ships from Ran, who delighted in drowning mariners. The Rowan is generally considered to have been one of the sacred trees of the Druids. Stumps of the Mountain Ash have frequently been found within or near the circle of a Druid temple, thus proving that the tree must have been an object of great veneration with the Druids, who doubtless practised their sacred rites beneath its shade. This connection of the tree with Druidic customs affords some explanation of the many superstitious ideas appertaining to the Mountain Ash which are still extant. Lightfoot tells us that the Rowan-tree is discovered in the Druidic circles of North Britain more frequently than any other, and that even now pieces of it are carried about by superstitious people as charms to protect them from witchcraft. Like the Indian Mimosa (a tree of the same genus and of a similar character), or the Palasa, which it resembles in its graceful foliage and berries, the Mountain Ash has for ages been held in high repute as a preservative against magic and sorceries. Thus we find in Jamieson’s ‘Scottish Dictionary,’ that “the most approved charm against cantrips and spells was a branch of the Rowan-tree planted and placed over the byre. This sacred tree cannot be removed by unholy fingers.” The Scotch peasantry considered the Rowan a complete antidote against the effects of witchcraft and the Evil Eye, and, in consequence, a twig of it was very commonly carried in the pocket; but that it might have complete efficacy, it was necessary that it should be accompanied by the following couplet, written on paper, wrapped round the wood and secured by a red silk thread:—
“She was a Grecian born, gave Corinth laws,And fame proclaimed her worth with such applause,That youthful rivals for her favour strove,And high-born kings were suppliants for her love.”
“She was a Grecian born, gave Corinth laws,And fame proclaimed her worth with such applause,That youthful rivals for her favour strove,And high-born kings were suppliants for her love.”
“She was a Grecian born, gave Corinth laws,
And fame proclaimed her worth with such applause,
That youthful rivals for her favour strove,
And high-born kings were suppliants for her love.”
Of her numerous suitors, Brias, Orcas, and Halesus, a warrior, were the principal. Provoked at their importunities, she haughtily bade them “from arms and not entreaties seek a bride;” and then, to rid herself of them, she entered the temple of Apollo and Diana with her father and people. The lovers, not to be denied, combined in an attack upon the temple gates, and the excitement of the combat so enhanced the maiden’s beauty, that the people shouted, “Let Rhodanthe be a goddess, and let the image of Diana give place to her!” Rhodanthe being therefore placed upon the shrine, Phœbus, Diana’s brother, became so incensed at the insult to his sister, that he turned his scorching rays against the would-be goddess, who bitterly repented that she had ever appeared a deity; for—
“Fast in the shrine her foot takes hold and cleaves,Her arms stretch’d out are cover’d o’er with leaves;Tho’ chang’d into a flower, her pomp remains,And lovely still, and still a queen she reigns.The crowd for their offence this doom abide.Shrunk into thorns to guard her beauty’s pride.”
“Fast in the shrine her foot takes hold and cleaves,Her arms stretch’d out are cover’d o’er with leaves;Tho’ chang’d into a flower, her pomp remains,And lovely still, and still a queen she reigns.The crowd for their offence this doom abide.Shrunk into thorns to guard her beauty’s pride.”
“Fast in the shrine her foot takes hold and cleaves,
Her arms stretch’d out are cover’d o’er with leaves;
Tho’ chang’d into a flower, her pomp remains,
And lovely still, and still a queen she reigns.
The crowd for their offence this doom abide.
Shrunk into thorns to guard her beauty’s pride.”
Her too ardent lovers were transformed respectively into a worm, a drone, and a butterfly.
This account bears a general resemblance to the legend recounted by Sir John Maundevile, who visited Bethlehem in the fourteenth century, and found there the field Floridus, wherein, he tells us, a fair maiden who had been unjustly accused of wrong was doomed to be burned; and, after praying devoutly to God that, inasmuch as she was not guilty, He would help her, and make her innocence known to all men, “she entered the fire, and immediately the fire was extinguished, and the faggots that were burning became red Rose-bushes full of Roses, and those that remained unkindled became white Rose-bushes; and these were the first Rose-trees and Roses, both white and red, that ever any man saw.” “Thus,” concludes Sir John, “was this mayden saved be the grace of God. And therfore is that feld clept the Feld of God florysscht: for it was fulle of Roses.” Southey, in hispoem on the Rose, has commemorated this old story in the following lines:—
“The stakeBranches and buds, and spreading its green leaves,Embowers and canopies the fair maid,Who there stands glorified; and Roses, thenFirst seen on earth since Paradise was lost,Profusely blossom round her, white and red.In all their rich variety of hues.”
“The stakeBranches and buds, and spreading its green leaves,Embowers and canopies the fair maid,Who there stands glorified; and Roses, thenFirst seen on earth since Paradise was lost,Profusely blossom round her, white and red.In all their rich variety of hues.”
“The stake
Branches and buds, and spreading its green leaves,
Embowers and canopies the fair maid,
Who there stands glorified; and Roses, then
First seen on earth since Paradise was lost,
Profusely blossom round her, white and red.
In all their rich variety of hues.”
According to a Roumanian tradition, the Rose was originally a young and beauteous princess, who, while bathing in the sea, so dazzled the Sun with the radiance of her loveliness, that he stood still to gaze upon her, and covered her with kisses. Then for three days he forgot his duty, and obstructed the progress of night. Since that day the Lord of the Universe has changed the princess into a Rose, and this is why the Rose always hangs her head and blushes when the Sun gazes on her.
Anacreon gives the following poetic account of the origin of the Rose, connecting it with the goddess of love and beauty:—
“Oh! whence could such a plant have sprung?Attend, for thus the tale is sung:When, humid from the silvery stream,Effusing beauty’s warmest beam,Venus appeared, in flushing hues,Mellowed by ocean’s briny dews;When, in the starry courts above,The pregnant brain of mighty JoveDisclosed the nymph of azure glance,The nymph who shakes the martial lance;Then, then, in strange eventful hour,The earth produced an infant flower,Which sprung with blushing tinctures drest,And wantoned o’er its parent’s breast.The gods beheld this brilliant birth,And hailed the Rose, the boon of earth.”—Moore.
“Oh! whence could such a plant have sprung?Attend, for thus the tale is sung:When, humid from the silvery stream,Effusing beauty’s warmest beam,Venus appeared, in flushing hues,Mellowed by ocean’s briny dews;When, in the starry courts above,The pregnant brain of mighty JoveDisclosed the nymph of azure glance,The nymph who shakes the martial lance;Then, then, in strange eventful hour,The earth produced an infant flower,Which sprung with blushing tinctures drest,And wantoned o’er its parent’s breast.The gods beheld this brilliant birth,And hailed the Rose, the boon of earth.”—Moore.
“Oh! whence could such a plant have sprung?
Attend, for thus the tale is sung:
When, humid from the silvery stream,
Effusing beauty’s warmest beam,
Venus appeared, in flushing hues,
Mellowed by ocean’s briny dews;
When, in the starry courts above,
The pregnant brain of mighty Jove
Disclosed the nymph of azure glance,
The nymph who shakes the martial lance;
Then, then, in strange eventful hour,
The earth produced an infant flower,
Which sprung with blushing tinctures drest,
And wantoned o’er its parent’s breast.
The gods beheld this brilliant birth,
And hailed the Rose, the boon of earth.”—Moore.
Bion describes the Rose as springing from the blood of the slain Adonis; and the Mahometans have a legend that it was produced from a drop of perspiration which fell from the brow of Mahomet.
Relative to the colour of the Rose, we find a number of stories left us by the ancients. Catullus tells us, that the Rose is red from blushing for the wound it inflicted on the foot of Venus as she hastened to the assistance of Adonis; Claudian, when Venus plucks a Rose, says it is in remembrance of Adonis; an ancient epigram mentions her wishing to defend Adonis from Mars, when
“Her step she fixes on the cruel thorns;And with her blood the pallid Rose adorns.”
“Her step she fixes on the cruel thorns;And with her blood the pallid Rose adorns.”
“Her step she fixes on the cruel thorns;
And with her blood the pallid Rose adorns.”
Anacreon tells us that the flower was dyed with nectar by the gods:—
“With nectar drops, a ruby tide,The sweetly orient buds they dyedAnd bade them bloom—the flowers divineOf Him who sheds the teeming Vine.”—Moore.
“With nectar drops, a ruby tide,The sweetly orient buds they dyedAnd bade them bloom—the flowers divineOf Him who sheds the teeming Vine.”—Moore.
“With nectar drops, a ruby tide,
The sweetly orient buds they dyed
And bade them bloom—the flowers divine
Of Him who sheds the teeming Vine.”—Moore.
Still another legend is to the effect that Cupid, whilst leading a dance in heaven, stumbled and overset a bowl of nectar, which, falling upon the earth, stained the Rose.
The Rose—the flower of love, poetry, and beauty—was specially dedicated to Venus, who is sometimes represented crowned with Roses, and sometimes with a sceptre terminated with that flower. One of the Three Graces—the attendants of Venus—usually carried a Rose in her hand. Cupid is often depicted crowned with Roses, and the chaplet of Hymen consisted generally of Marjoram or Roses, which latter flowers were used in his feasts. The Thracians crowned Bacchus (Sabazius) with Roses, and, in the vicinity of Pangæus, held a feast calledRosalia. In the procession of the Corybantes, the goddess Cybele was pelted with white Roses.
The Rose was a domestic flower sedulously cultivated by the ancients, but especially by the Romans. It is said to have early flourished at Rhodes, and possibly gave its name to that island. The Roses of Campania, Miletus, Præneste, Malta, Cyrene, and Sybaris were all noted; but especially celebrated were those of Pæstum: to this day the insignia of Pæstum—a Syren holding a Rose—remains sculptured on the ruined arch of one of its gates.
Among the ancients, it was customary to crown brides and bridegrooms with a chaplet of red and white Roses. The Roman bride was decorated with a wreath of Roses and Myrtle. The shrines of the gods and of illustrious men in Rome were surmounted with wreaths of Roses. The triumphal arches were adorned with these flowers, and garlands of Roses were thrown into the chariots. At the public games, wreaths of Roses were presented to the senators, and sometimes to the performers and spectators. At the private entertainments of the ancients, the guests wore wreaths of blooming Roses. The Romans thought to impart additional relish to their feasts by the aid of the fragrance of the Rose. Pacutus relates that “even in the time of the Republic, people were not satisfied unless the cup of Falernian wine were swimming with Roses.” The Spartan soldiers, after the battle of Cirrha, were so fastidious as to refuse wine that was not perfumed with Roses. At the famed regatta of Baiæ, the whole surface of the Lucrine Lake used to be strewn with these flowers. At some of his banquets, Nero caused showers of Roses to be rained down upon his guests from apertures in the ceiling. Heliogabalus carried this practice to such an absurd extent, as to cause the suffocation of some of his guests, who could not extricate themselves from the heap of flowers. Cleopatra, in the entertainment she gave in honour of Antony, spent an immense sum in Roses, with which she had the floor of the banqueting chamber covered to the depth of an ell, and over the flowers a thin net was drawn. The Romans were at great expense to procure Roses in the Winter. Suetonius affirms that Nero spent upwards of fourmillion sesterces (about £30,000) for Roses, at one supper. Horace, alluding to this custom, says: “Seek not for late-blowing Roses; I ask no other crown than simple Myrtle.” In those days, Rose-wine was celebrated, and we learn that Heliogabalus was wont to indulge largely in this drink, and bathed himself in it. He even caused a large swimming-bath to be filled with the costly liquid.
Milto, a fair young maiden, of obscure birth, was wont to deposit every morning garlands of fresh flowers in the temple of Venus, as she was too poor to make costlier offerings. Her rare beauty was once in danger of being destroyed by a tumour which grew on her chin, but in a dream she one night beheld the goddess, who told her to apply to it some of the Roses from her altar. Milto obeyed; the tumour soon disappeared, and she grew more lovely than ever; eventually attracting the notice of the younger Cyrus, whose favourite wife she became. From that time the medicinal properties of the Rose met with general recognition, and the flower formed the basis of many lotions.
In classical times, the Rose was regarded as the emblem of joy, and Comus, the god of feasting, is represented as wearing a garland of bedewed Roses. As, during the intoxication of mirth, the mouth is apt to run over when the heart is full, the ancients feigned that Cupid presented a Rose to Harpocrates, the grave god of silence, as a bribe not to betray the amours of Venus. The flower thus became a symbol of secrecy and silence, and as such, a Rose was formerly suspended over the guest table, that the sight of it might remind the guests that the conversation should not be repeated elsewhere. More recently, a Rose was painted on the ceiling of dining-rooms, and in our own time the plaster ornament in the centre of the ceiling is still called a Rose. This custom gave rise to the saying “Under the Rose”—an injunction of secrecy. Hence it fell out that the Jacobins adopted the white Rose as a political symbol of the Pretender, since his adherents were compelled to help him “under the Rose.”
The Rose held an important place in early ecclesiastical history. As an emblem of love and beauty, the queen of flowers was especially dedicated by the Romish Church to the Virgin Mary: she is the Rose of Sharon, the Mystic Rose (Rosa mystica), as well as the Lily of the Valley. In old Italian paintings of the Madonna, a plantation, garden, or hedge of Roses is often introduced, enclosing the principal figure. In mediæval days, the Rose had a Sunday of its own at Rome, and the reigning Pope officiated at the ceremony of the blessing of the Golden Rose upon Mid-Lent Sunday. A Golden Rose is, even in our own enlightened times, annually blessed by the Pope and sent as a mark of signal pontifical favour to some royal personage. Ecclesiastical tradition affirms that Roses and Lilies were found in the tomb of the Virgin Mary after her assumption into heaven, and Roses were conveyed by St. Dorothy, at the instance of Theophilus, from the heavenly garden.Roses replaced the alms of Elizabeth of Hungary, when her apron was rudely torn from her grasp by those who shared not her charitable zeal for the poor. A legend of the twelfth century, quoted in a German work by Wolf, relates how Iosbert, a pious monk, having fallen dead, whilst worshipping at a shrine of the Virgin Mary (in honour of whom he had been accustomed to recite five psalms every day), there sprang from his mouth, from his eyes, and from his ears, five Roses. The bishop, on his arrival, plucked one of the miraculous flowers, and solemnly placed it upon the altar. No sooner had he done so, however, than the other four Roses instantly faded away. In old paintings of the saints, Roses are sometimes introduced in allusion to the saint’s name. St. Rosalia, of Palermo, St. Rosa di Viterbo, St. Rosa di Lima, all wear the crown of Roses, or it is presented by an angel. The last-named saint, who is the patroness of America, was canonised by Clement X. According to the Peruvian legend, the pope, when entreated to canonise her, absolutely refused, exclaiming: “Indian and saint! as likely as that it should rain Roses!” whereupon a miraculous shower of Roses began to fall in the Vatican, and ceased not until the incredulous pontiff acknowledged himself convinced of her sanctity. A legend of St. Francis of Assisi relates that as the saint was one day shivering in his cell, in the depth of Winter, a demon whispered in his ear suggestions of ease and luxury. He repelled the temptations by going out and rolling himself in the snow on a heap of Thorns. From the Thorns sprinkled with his blood sprang Roses of Paradise, which he piously offered up to Christ and the Madonna.
The Rosary was introduced by St. Dominick, in commemoration of his having been shown a chaplet of Roses by the blessed Virgin. It consisted formerly of a string of beads made of Rose-leaves tightly pressed into round moulds, when real Roses were not strung together. The use of a chaplet of beads as a minute of the number of prayers recited is of Eastern origin, and dates from the time of the Egyptian anchorites. Beads were also used by the Benedictines, and are to this day in use among Mahometan devotees. St. Dominick invented a novel arrangement of the chaplet, and dedicated it to the honour and glory of the Virgin Mary. A complete Rosary consists of fifteen large and 150 small beads, the former representing the number ofPaternosters, the latter the number ofAve-Marias. The Indian Buddhists use a Rosary of 99 beads: the Chinese and Japanese Buddhists one of 108 beads, corresponding to the daily prayers offered against the 108 possible sins.
In the sixth century, St. Médard, Bishop of Noyon, France, instituted a festival at Salency, his birth-place, for adjudging a prize to the girl who should be acknowledged the most amiable, modest, and beautiful. The prize consisted of a simple crown of Roses, and the founder of the festival had the gratification ofcrowning his own sister as the first Rose Queen of Salency, in which obscure village this pleasant institution still exists. At the present time, however, theRosièrehas a douceur of three hundred francs presented to her. Of late years the institution of theRosièrehas been introduced into this country by a Roman Catholic priest who labours in the east of London. The Academy of Floral Games at Toulouse, founded in 1322, and still in existence, was wont to give a Rose as a prize for the best poem. From 1288 to 1589 the French dukes and peers of all degrees were obliged in the Spring which followed their nomination to present a tribute of Roses to Parliament.
The association of the flower with our own country dates from a very early period; and we find Pliny doubting whether the name Albion referred to the white cliffs of our island or the white Roses which grew there in abundance. In Edward the Third’s reign a gold coin was struck called the “Rose noble,” which bore the figure of a Rose on one of its faces. As the badge of the rival houses of York and Lancaster, the flower became celebrated in English history—the White Rose being the hereditary cognisance of the house of York, and the Red Rose that of Lancaster. Shakspeare (in Henry VI.) represents the feud between the two houses as having originated in the Temple Gardens, where after a fierce altercation, Warwick addresses Plantagenet thus:—
“In signal of my love to thee,Will I upon thy party wear this Rose:And here I prophesy, this brawl to-day,Grown to this faction in the Temple Garden,Shall send, between the Red Rose and the WhiteA thousands souls to death and deadly night.”
“In signal of my love to thee,Will I upon thy party wear this Rose:And here I prophesy, this brawl to-day,Grown to this faction in the Temple Garden,Shall send, between the Red Rose and the WhiteA thousands souls to death and deadly night.”
“In signal of my love to thee,
Will I upon thy party wear this Rose:
And here I prophesy, this brawl to-day,
Grown to this faction in the Temple Garden,
Shall send, between the Red Rose and the White
A thousands souls to death and deadly night.”
Like the Gilliflower, the Rose was occasionally taken as a quit-rent; thus we find in 1576 that the then Bishop of Ely granted to Sir Christopher Hatton the greater portion of Ely House, Holborn, for a term of twenty-one years, on consideration of the tenant paying annually a red Rose for the garden and gate-house, and giving the Bishop free access to the gardens, with the right of gathering twenty bushels of Roses every year.
In the East, the Rose is an object of peculiar esteem. The Oriental poets have united the beauteous Rose with the melodious nightingale; and the flower is fabled to have burst forth from its bud at the song of the warbler of the night. The poet Jami says—“You may place a handful of fragrant herbs and flowers before the nightingale; yet he wishes not in his constant heart for more than the sweet breath of his beloved Rose.”
“Though rich the spotWith every flower this earth has got,What is it to the nightingale,If there his darling Rose is not?”—Moore.
“Though rich the spotWith every flower this earth has got,What is it to the nightingale,If there his darling Rose is not?”—Moore.
“Though rich the spot
With every flower this earth has got,
What is it to the nightingale,
If there his darling Rose is not?”—Moore.
Persia is the veritable land of Roses: nowhere does the queen of flowers reign in such glorious majesty. Zoroaster himself, theapostle of the Persians, and the introducer of the worship of the sacred fire, is connected in a legend with the Rose. An astrologer having predicted the birth of a child who would dethrone the King of Babylon, the monarch at once gave orders for the assassination of all women who were about to become mothers. Thousands were slain; but one gave birth secretly to the future prophet. This having come to the King’s ear, he sent for the child, and tried to kill him with his own hand, but his arm was withered on the spot. Alarmed, and furious with rage, he had the babe placed on a lighted stake, but the burning pile changed into a bed of Roses, on which the little one lay quietly sleeping. Some persons present saved a portion of the fire, which has been kept up to the present day in memory of this great miracle. The king made two other attempts to destroy Zoroaster, but his temerity was punished miraculously by a gnat, which entered his ear and caused his death. A festival is held in Persia, called the Feast of the Roses, which lasts the whole time they are in bloom.
“And all is ecstacy, for nowThe valley holds its feast of Roses;That joyous time, when pleasures pour,Profusely round, and in their showerHearts open, like the season’s Rose,—The flowret of a hundred leaves,Expanding while the dew-fall flows,And every leaf its balm receives!”—Moore’s ‘Lalla Rookh.’
“And all is ecstacy, for nowThe valley holds its feast of Roses;That joyous time, when pleasures pour,Profusely round, and in their showerHearts open, like the season’s Rose,—The flowret of a hundred leaves,Expanding while the dew-fall flows,And every leaf its balm receives!”—Moore’s ‘Lalla Rookh.’
“And all is ecstacy, for now
The valley holds its feast of Roses;
That joyous time, when pleasures pour,
Profusely round, and in their shower
Hearts open, like the season’s Rose,—
The flowret of a hundred leaves,
Expanding while the dew-fall flows,
And every leaf its balm receives!”—Moore’s ‘Lalla Rookh.’
Pelting with Roses is still common in Persia during the time of the blooming of the flowers. A band of young musicians repair to the places of public entertainment to amuse the guests, and on their way through the streets they pelt the passengers whom they meet with Roses. The Persians regard theRosa centifoliaas the flower of an archangel. Zoroaster affirmed that the Rose was free from thorns until the entrance into the world of Ahrimanes (the evil spirit).
The “bed of Roses” is not altogether a poetic fiction. In ancient days, the Sybarites used to sleep upon mattresses that were stuffed with Rose-leaves. A similar luxury was afterwards indulged in, both in Greece and Rome. Men would sit at their meals upon cushions, and sleep by night on beds of Roses. The tyrant Dionysius had couches stuffed with Roses, on which he lounged at his revels. Verres used to travel on a litter reclining on a mattress stuffed with Roses. He wore, moreover, garlands of Roses round his head and neck, and had Rose-leaves intertwined in a thin net, which was drawn over the litter. It was a favourite luxury of Antiochus to sleep in a tent of gold and silver on a mattress stuffed with Roses.
The Indians have a tradition respecting the discovery of the mode of preparing the far-famed Attar of Roses, a perfume perhaps unrivalled in its refreshing qualities. To gratify the voluptuous Jehanghir, his favourite sultana is said to have had the royal bathin the palace garden filled with Rose-water. The action of the sun speedily concentrated the oleaginous particles floating on the surface, and the careful attendant, fearing lest the Rose-water should have become corrupt, hastened to skim it in order to remove the oily flakes. The globules burst whilst this operation was being performed, and emitted such an exquisite odour, that the idea of preparing the delicious attar was at once suggested. Avicenna, an Arabian doctor of the tenth century, was the first to extract from Roses their fragrant perfume by distillation. He selected theRosa centifoliafor his experiments, and succeeded in producing the delicious liquid known as Rose-water, which is held in such repute in the East, that when a stranger enters a house, it is considered a mark of distinction and welcome to sprinkle him over with Rose-water. When Saladin entered Jerusalem in 1187, he had the floor and walls of Omar’s mosque entirely washed with this delicate perfume.
At all times, in all countries, Roses have been employed for planting and strewing upon graves. The dying Antony begged Cleopatra to scatter perfumes on his tomb and cover it with Roses; and both Greeks and Romans were desirous of having their graves bedecked every year with the fragrant flowers. So religiously did they observe the practice of planting Roses round graves, that they annexed codicils to their wills, as appears by an old inscription at Ravenna, and another at Milan, by which Roses are ordered to be yearly strewed upon the graves. In the German portions of Switzerland, churchyards are called “Rose gardens.” A Rose is sculptured on the tombs of maidens in Turkey. In Poland, the coffins of little children are covered with Roses, and Roses are thrown from the windows as the funeral procession passes along the streets. In the South of England, a chaplet of white Roses is borne before the corpse of a maiden, by a young girl of the same age as the deceased, and afterwards hung up over her accustomed seat in church. In South Wales, and in many parts of England, it was formerly customary to strew Roses and plant Rose-trees on graves, and, indeed, the custom is still extant. Camden says that at Ockley, in Surrey, the custom of planting Rose-trees on graves had been observed “time out of mind.”
The Rose is one of the plants used for love divinations on Midsummer Eve. In Cornwall, Devon, and other counties, if a young lady will, on Midsummer Eve, walk backwards into the garden, and pluck a Rose, she is reputed to have the means of knowing who is to be her husband. The Rose must be cautiously sewn up in a paper bag, and put aside in a dark drawer, there to remain until Christmas morning, when the bag must be carefully opened in silence, and the Rose placed by the lady in her bosom. Thus she must wear it to church. Some young man will either ask her for the Rose or take it from her without asking; and that young man is destined eventually to become the lady’s husband.Herrick probably refers to this charm in the ‘Hesperides,’ when, in allusion to a bride, he says:—
“She must no more a-maying,Or by Rosebuds divineWho’ll be her Valentine.”
“She must no more a-maying,Or by Rosebuds divineWho’ll be her Valentine.”
“She must no more a-maying,
Or by Rosebuds divine
Who’ll be her Valentine.”
There is a curious old divination rite to be employed on the 27th of June, according to which maidens are enjoined on that morning to gather secretly a full-blown Rose, between three and four o’clock. The flower is then to be held for about five minutes over the smoke of a chafing-dish containing some brimstone and charcoal; then, before the Rose gets cool, it is to be placed on a sheet of paper, on which is inscribed the maiden’s name and that of the swain she loves, together with the date of the year, and the name of the morning star. This paper, having been folded and thrice sealed, is to be buried at the foot of the Rose-tree from which the flower was plucked, and allowed to remain there until the 6th of July, when it is to be taken up, and placed beneath the maiden’s pillow, with the result that, before morning, she will, in a dream, have her fate revealed. The Rose is utilised as a love-charm in Thuringia; there a maid who has several lovers will name a Rose-leaf after each, and then scatter them upon the water; that which sinks the last representing her future husband.
It was a common belief formerly, that when Roses or Violets flourished in Autumn, there would be a plague or some pestiferous disease during the ensuing year. Lord Bacon points out that a profusion of Roses in their season predicts a severe Winter, and the belief is still extant.
“The Thorns and Briars, vermilion hue,Now full of Hips and Haws are seen;If village prophecies be true,They prove that Winter will be keen.”
“The Thorns and Briars, vermilion hue,Now full of Hips and Haws are seen;If village prophecies be true,They prove that Winter will be keen.”
“The Thorns and Briars, vermilion hue,
Now full of Hips and Haws are seen;
If village prophecies be true,
They prove that Winter will be keen.”
A writer in theGardener’s Chronicletells us, that “in some parts of Germany it is customary to throw Rose-leaves on a coal-fire as a means of ensuring good luck. In Germany, as well as in France and Italy, it is believed that if a drop of one’s blood be buried under a Rose-tree, it will ensure rosy cheeks. The Rose is also associated in Westphalia with a charm against nose-bleeding and other hæmorrhages. This charm consists in the repetition of the words: ‘In Christ’s Garden stand three Roses, one for the good God, the other for God’s blood, the third for the angel Gabriel: blood, I pray you, cease to flow.’ In Suabia, it is somewhat different: ‘On our Lord’s grave spring three Roses; the first is Hope, the second is Patience, the third is the will of God: blood, I pray you be still.’”
Strangely enough, the Rose has the reputation of being a death portent. In England, it is on that account deemed very unlucky to scatter the leaves of a red Rose on the ground. In Italy, this flower is deemed an emblem of an early death; and it is thoughtan evil omen if its leaves perchance fall to the ground. In Ireland, there is a legend of a sick man who saw a Rose pass across the panes of the window of his room: it was a death warning, and the man died. Roses not only act as portents of death, but in some cases they spring up as memorials of the dead. Thus, at Roncevalles, where Roland and thedouze pairsstained the soil with their blood, Roses are popularly believed to have sprung up:—
“When Roland brave and Olivier,And every paladin and peer,On Roncevalles died.”
“When Roland brave and Olivier,And every paladin and peer,On Roncevalles died.”
“When Roland brave and Olivier,
And every paladin and peer,
On Roncevalles died.”
And again, in our own country, a tradition relates that after the battle of Towton, there sprang up in the field where the Yorkists and Lancastrians fell, a peculiar kind of wild Rose, only there to be found, and which will not bear being transplanted from “the bloody meadow.”
“There still wild Roses growing,Frail tokens of the fray;And the hedgerow green bears witnessOf Towton field that day.”
“There still wild Roses growing,Frail tokens of the fray;And the hedgerow green bears witnessOf Towton field that day.”
“There still wild Roses growing,
Frail tokens of the fray;
And the hedgerow green bears witness
Of Towton field that day.”
A white Provins Rose was the emblem of the Stuarts upon the accession of the Duke of York to the throne of England as James II. It was said to come into flower on the 10th of June, a day interesting to Jacobites, as being the birthday of the Chevalier St. George.
“Of all the days that’s in the year,The tenth of June I love most dear,When sweet White Roses do appear,For the sake of James the Rover.”
“Of all the days that’s in the year,The tenth of June I love most dear,When sweet White Roses do appear,For the sake of James the Rover.”
“Of all the days that’s in the year,
The tenth of June I love most dear,
When sweet White Roses do appear,
For the sake of James the Rover.”
Under the title ofRoisin dubh, the “Little Black Rose,” we find Ireland symbolised in a song composed in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
“There’s no flower that e’er bloomed can my Rose excel,There’s no tongue that e’er moved half my love can tell.Had I strength, had I skill the wide world to subdue,Oh, the queen of that wide world should be Roisin dubh!”
“There’s no flower that e’er bloomed can my Rose excel,There’s no tongue that e’er moved half my love can tell.Had I strength, had I skill the wide world to subdue,Oh, the queen of that wide world should be Roisin dubh!”
“There’s no flower that e’er bloomed can my Rose excel,
There’s no tongue that e’er moved half my love can tell.
Had I strength, had I skill the wide world to subdue,
Oh, the queen of that wide world should be Roisin dubh!”
Dream oracles tell us that nothing can be more favourable than to dream of Roses, as they are certain emblems of happiness, prosperity, and long life. To a lover, they foretell he will marry the object of his choice, and that happiness and joy will result from the union. To the farmer and sailor, the appearance of these flowers in a dream is said to predict great prosperity and ultimate independence. To dream of withered Roses, however, is ominous of decay of fortune and disappointment.
Astrologers state that red Roses are under the government of Jupiter, Damask Roses under Venus, and white Roses under the rule of the Moon.
ROSE-BRIAR.—The Rose-briar, orRosa canina, according to tradition, is the plant from which was formed the crown of Thorns placed on our Saviour’s brow at the Crucifixion. It has attachedto it the legend that when the sacred drops of blood trickling from the wounded Saviour fell to the ground, they blossomed into Roses.
“Men saw the Thorns on Jesus’ brow,But angels saw the Roses.”
“Men saw the Thorns on Jesus’ brow,But angels saw the Roses.”
“Men saw the Thorns on Jesus’ brow,
But angels saw the Roses.”
The Wild, or Dog, Rose, it has also been supposed, composed the thicket in which Abraham caught the ram, as well as the bush in the midst of which the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire, and from which God addressed him. It is probably the plant alluded to in the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the desolation of Jerusalem (v., 6): “I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned or digged; but there shall come up Briars and Thorns.” Chandler tells us that he saw no other tree nor shrub within the walls of the Holy City when he visited it.——The Rose-briar is connected with an incident in the life of St. Benedict. This godly man, in his early life, lived for three years a solitary existence among the rocks of Subiaco, a wilderness forty miles from Rome. During this time he underwent many temptations, and on one occasion was so disturbed by the recollection of a beautiful woman whom he had seen in Rome, that he was well-nigh quitting his retreat and returning to the city. He felt, however, that the temptation proceeded from the devil, and, tormented by his distracting desires, he rushed from his cave, and flinging himself into a thicket of Briars, he rolled himself in them until the blood flowed freely from his lacerated flesh; then the fiends left him, and he was never again assailed by the same temptation. In the garden of the monastery at Subiaco they show the Rose-bushes which have been propagated from those very briars.
ROSEMARY.—Rosmarinus, the botanical name of Rosemary, signifies the “dew of the sea,” and has been applied to the plant on account of its fondness for the sea-shore. Formerly it was calledRosmarinus coronariusbecause of its use in chaplets and garlands, with which the principal guests at feasts were crowned. In place of more costly incense, the ancients often employed Rosemary in their religious ceremonies, and especially at funeral rites. The Romans ornamented their Lares, or household gods, with this plant, and at the Palilia, or festival held in honour of Pales, the purification of the flocks was made with the smoke of Rosemary. But the plant is essentially funereal in its character: its aroma serves to preserve the corpse of the departed, and its leaves, ever green, symbolise immortality: hence, like the Asphodel and Mallow, it was frequently planted near tombs:—
“Come funeral flower! who lov’st to dwell,With the pale corse in lonely tomb,And throw across the desert gloomA sweet decaying smell.”—Kirke White.
“Come funeral flower! who lov’st to dwell,With the pale corse in lonely tomb,And throw across the desert gloomA sweet decaying smell.”—Kirke White.
“Come funeral flower! who lov’st to dwell,
With the pale corse in lonely tomb,
And throw across the desert gloom
A sweet decaying smell.”—Kirke White.
In the Northern counties, mourners at funerals often carry a branch of Rosemary, and it is still customary in some rural districtsto distribute sprigs of the plant at funerals, in order that those attending may cast them into the grave. Gay refers to this custom in his ‘Shepherd’s Week’:—
“Sprigg’d Rosemary the lads and lasses bore,While dismally the parson walked before.Upon her grave the Rosemary they threw,The Daisy, Butter-flower, and Endive blue.”
“Sprigg’d Rosemary the lads and lasses bore,While dismally the parson walked before.Upon her grave the Rosemary they threw,The Daisy, Butter-flower, and Endive blue.”
“Sprigg’d Rosemary the lads and lasses bore,
While dismally the parson walked before.
Upon her grave the Rosemary they threw,
The Daisy, Butter-flower, and Endive blue.”
Sprigs of Rosemary were, however, in olden times, worn at weddings, as well as at funerals. Herrick says:—
“Grow for two ends, it matters not at all,Be’t for my bridal or my burial.”
“Grow for two ends, it matters not at all,Be’t for my bridal or my burial.”
“Grow for two ends, it matters not at all,
Be’t for my bridal or my burial.”
Shakspeare and others of our old poets make frequent mention of Rosemary as an emblem of remembrance, and as being worn at weddings, possibly to signify the fidelity of the lovers. Thus Ophelia says:—
“There’s Rosemary for you, that’s for remembrance; pray you, love, remember.”
“There’s Rosemary for you, that’s for remembrance; pray you, love, remember.”
Sprigs of Rosemary mingled in the coronal which bound the hair of the unfortunate Anne of Cleves on the occasion of her nuptials with King Henry VIII. In olden times, Rosemary garlanded the wassail bowl, and at Christmas the dish of roast beef, decked with Rosemary and Bays, was ushered in with the carol beginning—
“The boar’s head in hand bring I,With garlands gay and Rosemary.”
“The boar’s head in hand bring I,With garlands gay and Rosemary.”
“The boar’s head in hand bring I,
With garlands gay and Rosemary.”
The silvery foliage of this favourite plant mingled well with the Holly, Mistletoe, and Bays employed in decking rooms, &c., at Christmas-tide—a custom which may perhaps be accounted for by a Spanish tradition that the Rosemary (like the Juniper in other legends) afforded shelter and protection to the Virgin Mary during her flight with the infant Saviour into Egypt. The plant is said to flower on the day of the Passion of our Lord because the Virgin Mary spread on a shrub of Rosemary the under linen and little frocks of the infant Jesus; and according to tradition, it brings happiness on those families who employ it in perfuming the house on Christmas night.——In Germany, there exists a curious custom of demanding presents from women on Good Friday, at the same time striking them with a branch of Rosemary or Fir.——It is a common saying in Sicily, that Rosemary is the favourite plant of the fairies, and that the young fairies, under the guise of snakes, lie concealed under its branches.——In the rural districts of Portugal, it iscalledAlecrim, a word of Scandinavian origin (Ellegrim), signifying Elfin-plant.——Rosemary occupied a prominent place in monastic gardens, on account of its curative properties, and in Queen Elizabeth’s time, its silvery foliage grew all over the walls of the gardens at Hampton Court. Now-a-days the plant is rarely seen out of the kitchen garden, and indeed a common saying has arisen that “Rosemary only grows where the mistress is master.” The plant was formerly held in high estimation as a“comforter of the brain,” and a strengthener of the memory. In England, Rosemary worn about the body is said to strengthen the memory, and to afford successful assistance to the wearer in anything he may undertake.——In an ancient Italian recipe, the flowers of Rosemary, Rue, Sage, Marjoram, Fennel, Quince, &c., are recommended for the preservation of youth. In Bologna, there is an old belief that the flowers of Rosemary, if placed in contact with the skin, and especially, with the heart, give gaiety and sprightliness. Spirit of wine distilled from Rosemary produces the true Hungary water. By many persons Rosemary is used as tea for headaches and nervous disorders.——An Italian legend, given in theMythologie des Plantes, tells that a certain queen, who was childless, one day, whilst walking in the palace gardens, was troubled with a feeling of envy whilst contemplating a vigorous Rosemary-bush, because of its numerous branches and offshoots. Strange to relate, she afterwards gave birth to a Rosemary-bush, which she planted in a pot and carefully supplied with milk four times a day. The king of Spain, nephew of the queen, having stolen this pot of Rosemary, sustained it with goat’s milk. One day, whilst playing on the flute, he saw to his astonishment a beautiful princess emerge from the Rosemary-bush. Captivated by her beauty, he fell desperately in love with this strange visitor; but being obliged to depart to fight for his country, he commended the Rosemary-bush to the special care of his head gardener. In his absence, his sisters one day amused themselves by playing on the king’s flute, and forthwith the beautiful princess emerged once more from the Rosemary. The king’s sisters, tormented by jealousy, struck her; the princess forthwith vanished, the Rosemary began to droop, and the gardener, afraid of the king’s wrath, fled into the woods. At the midnight hour, he heard a dragon talking to its mate, and telling her the story of the mystic Rosemary-bush. The dragon let fall the fact, that if the Rosemary was to be restored, it could only be by being fed or sprinkled with dragons’ blood: no sooner did the gardener hear this, than he fell upon the male and female dragons, slew them, and carrying off some of their blood, applied it to the roots of the king’s Rosemary. So the spell was broken: the king returned, and soon after married the charming Princess Rosa Marina.——A curious charm, or dream-divination, is still extant in which Rosemary plays an important part; the mode of procedure is as follows:—On the eve of St. Magdalen, three maidens, under the age of twenty-one, are to assemble in an upper room, and between them prepare a potion, consisting of wine, rum, gin, vinegar, and water, in a ground-glass vessel. Into this each maid is then to dip a sprig of Rosemary, and fasten it in her bosom; and after taking three sips of the potion, the three maids are silently to go to sleep in the same bed. As a result, the dreams of each will reveal their destiny. Another elaborate spell for effecting the same result on the first of July, consists in the gathering of a sprigof Rosemary, a red Rose, a white Rose, a blue flower, a yellow flower, nine blades of long Grass, and a sprig of Rue, all of which are to be bound together with a lock of the maiden’s hair who wishes to work the spell. This nosegay is to be sprinkled with the blood of a white pigeon and some salt, and laid beneath the maid’s head when she retires to rest. Her dreams will then portend her fate.——Rosemary is deemed a herb of the Sun.
ROSE OF JERICHO.—From the Casa Nuova Convent of Jerusalem pilgrims bring away little dried-up plants, which after a time appear to be quite dead, but if they are placed in water their branches will soon be covered with fresh bursting buds. These are the Roses of Jericho, or Resurrection Flowers, which grow among the sands of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, and are also found in Barbary. TheAnastatica Hierochuntinais cruciform; and when its flowers and leaves have withered and fallen off, the branches as they dry curl inwards, and form a round mass, thence called a Rose. The roots die; the winds tear the plant up, and blow it about the sands till it lodges in a moist spot, or is wetted with the rain; then the curled-up globe expands, and suffers the seeds to escape from the seed vessel in which they were enclosed, and becoming embedded in the sands, they germinate anew; hence its nameAnastatica—Resurrection. The Holy Rose of Jericho is regarded with peculiar reverence in Palestine and other places in the East, and is supposed to be the plant alluded to in Ecclesiasticus: “I was ... as a Rose-plant in Jericho.” The Arabs call this plantKaf Maryam(i.e., Mary’s hand); it is also known asRosa-Mariæ(Rose of the Virgin). The pilgrims to the Holy Sepulchre fancied it sprang up wherever the Holy Family rested in their flight into the Egypt, and called it theRosa Hierosolymitana. There is a cherished legend that it first blossomed at our Saviour’s birth, closed at the crucifixion, and opened again at Easter, whence its name of Resurrection Flower. The tradition that it blossomed at the moment when our Lord was born, and was endowed with qualities propitious to nativity, caused the plant to be greatly esteemed by the Eastern women, who, when occasion requires, are anxious to have one of these dried plants expanding in a vase of water beside them, firmly believing it has a salutary effect. In like manner, the matrons of Bologna, who call the plant the Rose of the Madonna, believe in its efficacy at the birth of children. They place the plant in water at the bedside with the conviction that at the moment when it has fully expanded itself the expected infant will first see the light.——In Germany, a similar belief exists, and the Rose of Jericho is called (after its Arabic name) Mary’s Hand, in allusion to the office assigned to the Madonna of patroness of matrons.
ROSE OF SHARON.—The Hebrew word rendered in Canticles ii., 1, and Isaiah xxxv., 1, as “Rose,” is thought by some to signify “Tulip.” Interpreters, indeed vary between Rose, Lily,Narcissus, and Tulip; so that it is impossible to say with any certainty what flower we are to understand by the Rose of Sharon. According to travellers, the Narcissus, or Jonquil (Narcissus Jonquila), grows abundantly on the plain of Sharon, yet so low that it may be unobserved among more showy plants; and again we find it stated that, in the season, the plain is literally covered with Tulips. Though Palestine abounds in flowers, it is doubtful whether the Rose of our gardens is alluded to in the Bible. In the Apocrypha (Wisdom xi., 8), it may, perhaps, be intended, but more probably the Oleander is there referred to.
ROWAN-TREE, or MOUNTAIN-ASH.—The Mountain Ash (Pyrus Aucuparia), called also by the old names of Rodden, Rowan-tree, Quicken-tree, and Witchen-tree, is a tree of good omen. In Scandinavian mythology, it is Thor’s Helper, because it bent to his grasp when he was crossing the river Vimur, on his way to the land of the Frost Giants. The wood of the Rowan was also used to preserve the Norse ships from Ran, who delighted in drowning mariners. The Rowan is generally considered to have been one of the sacred trees of the Druids. Stumps of the Mountain Ash have frequently been found within or near the circle of a Druid temple, thus proving that the tree must have been an object of great veneration with the Druids, who doubtless practised their sacred rites beneath its shade. This connection of the tree with Druidic customs affords some explanation of the many superstitious ideas appertaining to the Mountain Ash which are still extant. Lightfoot tells us that the Rowan-tree is discovered in the Druidic circles of North Britain more frequently than any other, and that even now pieces of it are carried about by superstitious people as charms to protect them from witchcraft. Like the Indian Mimosa (a tree of the same genus and of a similar character), or the Palasa, which it resembles in its graceful foliage and berries, the Mountain Ash has for ages been held in high repute as a preservative against magic and sorceries. Thus we find in Jamieson’s ‘Scottish Dictionary,’ that “the most approved charm against cantrips and spells was a branch of the Rowan-tree planted and placed over the byre. This sacred tree cannot be removed by unholy fingers.” The Scotch peasantry considered the Rowan a complete antidote against the effects of witchcraft and the Evil Eye, and, in consequence, a twig of it was very commonly carried in the pocket; but that it might have complete efficacy, it was necessary that it should be accompanied by the following couplet, written on paper, wrapped round the wood and secured by a red silk thread:—