The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1875-06-26
ROSES.

quiet, ana even SAD, because their gayety
Is so diifent from ours, and their manners
are more grave and digni6ed. But they
are fond Of amusements, and one Of their
yearly festivals is the "Feast Of the Ro-
ses," which takes place during the Rose
season, which is June, July, and indeed
the greater part Of the Summer. will
try to tell you something about it.
The climate being very warm, the peo-
Pile live much out Of doors, and during this
feast tents are pitched; every one wears
his or her prettiest dresses, and, as all
Eastern people are fond Of bright colors,
the scene is very gay one.
During this festival everything betok-
ems mirth and enjoyment. The cymbals
and lutte are heard from morning till night,
the story-tellors recount their most beaati-
ful tales, and the dancing girls dance for
hours at time. Then, when the night
comes, and the moonlight covers every
thing like a silver cloud, the people stretch
themselves on their soft carpets and listen
to the songs Of the nightingales and soft
serenades on the women's lutes.
In some parts of Turkey whole fields Of
roses are cultivated, from which the Turks
make the famous "attar Of roses which is
so fragrant that a vessel or anything
touched with drop Of 1t seems never to
lose the smell; and the Hindoos scatter
roscleaves in the water they drink to give
it pleasant appearance.
There are more than two hundred kinds
Of roses, and they are of all sizes, from the
tiny "Picayune rose" SO called because it
is no larger than Eye-cent. .piece,-which,
in the South, is called picayune,--to the
immense cabbage-rose; Of all shades Of
color, bright yellow, pink, red, and almost
black. The Rose of Damascus, or damask
rose, is the one first brought to this coun-
try, and is very deep red, with a strong
perfume. Then there are the Egyptian
sea-roses, tea-roses, rock-roses, which grow
in dry, rocky places, where no other flower
can live; and the Alpine rose, growing by
the eternal snow-drifts Of the Alps.
Roses are hardy plants, and viii live a
long time, If properly cared for. There is
a rose-tree in Germany, which is known to
be eight hundred years old, and it is still
blossoming.
We all know and love the pretty moss
rose, with its mossy, green veil, that gives
it such shy, modest air; and the tea-rose,
which, in the South and West, grows on
large trees. The writer had, in her garden
in Arkansas, one which grew to be over
seven feet high, and would bear as many
as five hundred blossoms at once.
But there is one rose more curious than
all the others--the Rose of Jericho. Il
has another name which botanists call it,
that is, Anastatiea, Greek word, mean.
ing resurrection; and the Arabs call it the
symbol Of immortality, because it comes to
life again long after it has seemed to be
dead. Il lives in the hot sands of the
Desert of Sahara, and when the dry season
comes it withers, folds It's leaves, and draws
up its roots, like little feet, into light
ball, and the winds Of the desert carry ii
until it reaches moist soil, and then, we
are told, it drops, takes root, and its leaves
become green, and its blossoms open,
delicate pink.
There is flower in Mexico, known as
the Resurrection Flower, which is very
much the same. It may be carried about
in your pocket for year and more, and
yet, when put into saucer of water, in a.
few hours will blossom out as bright and
fresh as if ID had just come out of the
garden.
When the Romans conquered Britain,
more than eighteen hundred years ago,
they introduced many curious customs
into that country, ry,-among others, that Of
carving the figure of q rose on the ceilings
Of their banqueting- halls, or suspending
natural rose over the dining-table, with
the Latin motto, ".Sab rosa,p written
above it, to indicate that whatever was
said there among friends, or under he
rose,-for that was the meaning Of the
words, should not be repeated, the white
rose being the symbol Of silence.
The rose is the national emblem Of
England, as the thistle is of Scotland, and
the shamrock, or clover, of ireland. Every
one who has studied history knows Of the
Wars Of the Roses in England, when the
two rival families Of York and Lancaster
fought for the English crown, the house
of York having for its badge the white
rose, and the house Of Lancaster the red.
Many of my young readers have heard
Of the language Of flowers, in which peo-
pie can hold conversations with each other;
for instance "A white rose is the emblem |
of silence; withered rose of any color
means, "Let us forget" and yellow rose,
Despair" and so on. A rose handed to
person means one thing when handed
upright, another when its position is re-
versed. With its thorns il has certain |
meaning; without them, still another
Among these Eastern people--the Per
slams, Turks, and Hindoos--this language |
of flowers is 50 perfectly understood that,
by means Of bunch of their fayorite
roses, long conversations may be carried
on without word being spoken. This
suits these people, who do not like 70 talk
very much, but who are, nevertheless, |
very romantic, dreamy, and poetic race.
Lilv De .S0sia Mood, IN 81. Nicholas far