The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1875-09-29
WHOLE NO. l266


rom ours. and tnelr manners are
more grave and dignided But they
are fond Of amusements, and one Of
their yearly festivals is the Feast Of
the Roses, " which takes place during
the rose season, which is June, July
and indeed the greater part Of the
summer | viii try to tell you some.
thing about it.
The climate being very warm, the
people live much out Of doors, and
during the feast, tents are pitched;
every one wears his or her prettiest
dress, and, as all Eastern people are
fond of bright colors, the scene is a
very gay one
During this festival everything be.
tokens mirth and enjoyment. The
cymbals and Lutte are heard from
morning till night, the story tellers
recount their most beautiful tales
and the dancing girls dance for hour;
at a time Then, when the night
comes, and the moonlight covers ev'
erything like a s.! ser cloud the peO-
pie stretch thems Ives on their soft
carpets and listen 10 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 roses" which is so fragrant
that a vessel or anything touched
with a drop Of it seems never to lose
the smell; and the Hindoos scatter
rose leaves in the water they drink
to give it a pleasant appearance.
There are more than two hundred
kinds Of roses, and they are Of all
sizes. from the tiny "PicayUne lose,
so called because it is no larger than
a fye-cent piece-which, in the South
is called a picayune-to the immense
rose; Of all shades Of color,
bright yellow, pink, red, and almost
black The Rose Of Damascus, o:
damask rose, is the one first brought
70 this country, and is 4 very deep
red, with . strong perfume. Then
there are the Egyptian sea 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 CT the
Alps.
Roses are hardy plants, and viii
live e long time, if properly cared
for. There is q rose tree in Germany
which is known to be eight hundred
years old, and It is still blooming.
We all know aud love the pretty
moss rose, with lis mossy, green veil,
that gives it such shy, modest air;
and the tea rose, which ia the South
and West, grows on large trees Toe
writer had in her garden, 10 Arkan-
sas, 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-tbe rose Of Jeri-
cho II has another name which
botanists call it, that Is, Aaasiatica,
Greek word, meaning resurrection;
and the Arabs call it the symbol Of
Immortality, because it comes to life
again loag after it has seemed to be
dead. ItliYes in the hot sand OF the
Desert of Sahara, and when the dry
season comes it withers, folds its
leaves, and draws up its roots, Ike
little feet, into a light ball. and the
winds Of the desert carry it until it
reaches q moist soil, and then, we are
told, it drops, takes root, and its
leaves become green, and its blossoms
open, q delicate pink
There is q flower in Mexico, known
as the Resurrection flower, which is
very much the same. 1t may be car
ried about in your pocket for a year
and more. and vet, wien put into a
saucer Of water, in q few hours viii
blossom out as bright and fresh as if
it had Just come out Of the garden.
When the Romans conquered Brit
ain more than eighteen hundred years
ago, they introduced many curious
customs into that couDtry,-amOng
others, that Of carving the figure Of
a rose on the ceilings of their ban
quoting halls, OF suspending natu-
raj rose over the dining table, with
the Latin motto, "SHb rosa, +" written
above it, to indicate that whatever
was said there among friends, or an
der tie r0se-for that was the mean
ing of the wOrds-shOuld not be re-
Deated, the white rose being the sym
Dol of silence
The rose is the national emblem Of
England, as the thistle is Of Scotland,
and the shamrock, or clover, Of Ire
and. Every one who has studied
history knows Of the Wars Of the
Roses in England, when the two II
7al families Of York and Lancaster
Ought for the English crown, the
house Of Yark having for its badge
he white rose, and the house Of Ian
,aster the red.
Many Of my young readers have
heard Of the language Of flowers, in
which people can hold conversation
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 hand
ID to a person means one thing when
handed upright, another when its po-
;ition is reversed. With It's thorns 1t
has a certain meaning; without them 1
,tilI another. Among these Eastern (
Persians, Turks, and (
Hindoo-this language Of flowers is
% perfectly understood that, By
means of bunch Of their favOrite .
'oses, long conversations may be ear
led on without q word being spoken. +
This suits these people who do not
Ike to talk very much, but who are,
very romantic, dreamy /
md poetic race
Professions, Poetry &C.