Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-06-09


in Chilli, whenever a stranger is received in
house, each Of the ladies Of the family offers
him rose. To show the preference which
Nine de Genls entertained for old men above
old women, she was fond of saying that oaks
improved with time, but roses faded. II may
be mentioned, In passing; that Nine de Genlis
has the credit Of having introduced the first
moss roses ever seen in France.
Among the Greeks, the Romans, and the
Gauls, parsley, ivy, myrtle aud roses were
looked upon as valuable remedies for people
who had drunk moro wine than was good for
them. In Capua roses were employed by
the local medical men as tonics good for
stomachs fatigued by over-eating. A de-
coction Of roses was supposed to have excel.
lent astringent properties. Hoffman recon.
mcnds it in pleurisy Paracesus thinks that
when mixed with honey it will lengthen life.
Princess Nourmahal, the most lovely lady in
the harem Of great magul, had a canal
filled with rose.water and rowed about on it
with her august consort. The heat Of the
sun disengaged the essential oil from the
water, and their majesties having observed
the fact invented otto of roses. The Empe.
ror Hellogabalus filled fish pond with rose
water it is nowhere said whether the fishes
approved Of this proceeding. When the
Sedan Saladin, who had SO much trouble
with hard6stcd English King Richard and
his turbulent christian friends, took Jerusa-
lem in 1888, he would not enter the temple.
which he proianely called a mosque, till he
had had his walls washed with rose water,
aud Sanut assures US that 500 camels were
no moro than sufficient 10 carry the purifying
liquid. Also, after the taking of CONSTANT.
nople by Mahomet IL. in 1455, the church
Of st. Sophia was solemnly purified with rose
water before it was converted into mosque.
The high priest Of the Hebrews wore crown
Of roses when he offered up certain sacrifices
under the Mosaic dspensation; and it was
perhaps 10 remembrance Of this fact that
the synod of Nismes, which was held in the
third century, enjoined every jew to wear u
rose on his breast as distinguishing mark Of
inferiority. In many countries the Jews
still celebrate the festival Of Easter flowers,
during which they ornament their lamps,
chandeliers, and beds with roses. Thus it
happened that these flowers were hateful to
the early christians, aud are often condemned
in the writings of the fathers, who professed
that they could not understand that pious
people could think with equanimity of roses
when they remembered the crown OF thorns
afterward this hostile feeling seems to have
died out. When Marie Antoinctte passed
through Nancy on her way to be married
with Louis XVI, the ladies of Lorraine pre-.
pared her bed strewed with roses. In the
middle ages roses were held so precious in
France that royal license was necessary to
grow them. Charlemagne recommended the
cultivation of the rose in his "Capitulation. y
The Persians Of Shirax stop their wine bot.
ties with roses, which give the wine pleas
ing smell and during the festival of Abriz-
an, which takes place during the equinox,
Persian ladies threw roses at each other
when they pay visits. At Rome it was the
practice Of the church to bless the rose on q
special day set apart, which was called Rose
Sunday. The custom of blessing the golden
reese seems to have begun in the 1lth or 18th
century. The benediction was pronounced
with particular soemnity on the fourth Sun
day in Lent, aud the golden rose thus conse'
Grated was given as mark of the sovereign
pontiffs favor to some prince or princess
Alexander Ill. who had been received with
great honor during journey which he made
in France, sent the golden rose to Louis the
Young as a sort of graceful compliment
Subsequently, the giving of the golden rose
became an authoritative act by which tbs
pope officially recognized the rights of chris.
tian sovereigns. Thus Urban V. gave the
golden rose to Joan, queen OF Sicily, in 1868
thereby preterring her over the king Of CY
prus. Henry VIII, Of England received 1
golden rose both from Julius III. aud from
Leo Y. Toward the close Of the last centu
ry, the golden rose appears to have beer
given almost unfortunately to any travel
ing prince who would pay a sum equivalent
to about G400 in foes for it.