The daily gazette., 1876-06-03
ROSES.

In one OF the books attributed to
Solomon eternal wisdom is compared
to the plantations of rosetrees at Jer-
icho. Princess Nourmahal. the most
lovely lady the in harem of a great
mogual, had 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 OBJ
served the fact invented ottar of roses.
The Emperor Heligabalus filled fish
pond with rose-water: it is nowhere
said whether the fishes approved of
this proceeding. When the Soldan
Saladin, who had so much trouble with
hard-fisted English King Richard and
his turbulent Christian friends, took
Jerusalem in 1883 he would not enter
the temple, which he profanely called
a mosque, till he had had its walls
washed with rose-water, and Sanut as
sures us that 500 camels were no more
than sufficient to carry the purifying
liquid. Also, after the taking of Con-
stantinople by Mohammed H., in 1455,
the Church of St. Sophia was solemn.
ly purified with rose-water before it
was converted into q mosque. The
high priest of the Hebrews wore a
crown of roses when he offered up GER
tain sacrifices under the Mosaic dis
pensation; and it was perhaps in rel
membrance to this fact that the Synod
of Nismes, which was held in the third
century, enjoined every Jew to wear a
rose on his breast as distinguishing
mark OF lnferiority.
In many countries the Jews still cele-
brate the festival of Easter Flowers,
during which they ornment their
lamps, chandeliers, and beds with
roses. Thus it happened that these
flowers were hateful to the early
Christians. and are often condemned
in the writings of the Fathers, who
professed that they could not UNDER
stand that pious people could think
with equanimity of roses when they
remembered the crown of thorns; af-
terwards this hostile feeling seems to
have died out. When Marie Antoi.
nette passed through Nancy on her
way to be married with Louis XVI,
the ladies of Morraine prepared her a
bed strewed with roses. In the Middle
Ages roses were held so precious in
France that royal license was neces-
sary to grow them. Charlemagne re-
commended the cultivation of the
rose In his "Capitulation." The
Persians of Shiraz stop their wine bot.
ties with roses, which give the wine a
pleasing smell; and during the festival
of Adrian, which takes place during
the equinox, Persian ladies throw
roses at each other when they pay
visits, At Rome it was the practice OF
the church to bless the rose on a spe,
cial day set apart, which was called
Rose Sunday. The custom of blessing
the golden rose seems to have begun
in the 11th or 18th century. The
| benediction was pronounced with par.
ticular solemnity on the 4th Sunday in
Lent, and the golden rose thus conse'
Grated was given as a mark of the
sovereign pontiff's favor to some
prince or princess. Alexander l l l.,
who had been received with great
honor during journey which he made
in France, sent the golden rose TO
! Louis the Young as sort of graceful
compliment, Subsequently the giving
of the golden rose became an authori-
tative act by which the Pope officially
| recognized the rights of Christian
sovereigns. Thus Urban V. gave the
golden rose to Joan, Queen of Sicily
in 1868. thereby preferring her over
the King Of Cyprus. Henry VIII. of
England received golden rose both
from Julius II. and Leo X. Towards
the close of the last century the golden
rose appears to have been given almost
indiscriminately TO any travelling
prince who would pay sum equiva-
lent to about e400 in fees for it.-PaU
Mall Gazette.