Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-01-02
The Queen Of Flowers.


The Queen Of Flowers.
ROSE LoyE-HIsTORICAL, ROMANTIC AND
sUrERsrITIoUs-ATTAR OF ROSES
From the Lonion Society,"
A rose from the earliest times has been
regarded rs the symbol of all that is
sweet and lovely, and many volume has
been written descriptive of its history
and countless charms. Indeed, there is
scarcely writer Of any note who has not
made the beauty of the rose his theme
and drawn from thence many impressive
moral lessons. The rose has had an
evcntful history, having played an I'M
portant part in the wars of the roses, at
the close Of which it became the national
badge of England The king of Navarro
and count Of Champagne, Thibault ~,
surnamod the song maker, brought from
the Holy Land. on his return from the
crusades, II rose-tree, which he planted i'll
the city of Provins This fiourished 30
that ill after times the city became IA
nous for it, and the provins rose is still
much in request. The phrase sub-rosa--
under the rosc-implying secrecy, is said
to have originated during the wars of
York and Lancaster. 1t is il also attrib
disusc. of hanging rose over the heads
of guests at feasts to signify that what
ever was the subject of conversation was
TO he regarded as of confidential charac-
ter.
In the days gone by the rose entered
largely into the customs and superstitlons
of most nations, and even nowadays
there is extensive folk lore associated with
it. Among the Greeks it was regularly
used for funeral purposes, and the tombs
of the dead We're frequently decorated
with it, under the superstitious belief
that it protected the remains OF the dead
The Romans, too, were so fond OF the rose
that they left legacies in their wills that
their tombs might be decorated with it
practice said to have been introduced
by them into England. Camden and
Aubrey both speak of the church-yard of
their time as being thickly planted with
rose trees. Evelyn who lived ut Wotton
place, near Ocklev, alludes to the custom
for maidens yearly to plant and deck the
graves of their deceased swecthearts with
rose bushes. in Wales it is customaryto
the white rose on the grave of M un-
married i'll female and red rose ID ap-
propriate to any one distinguished for be
nevolence. The Roman pontiff, when he
wishes to confer special distinction to a
crowned head, consecrates garden rose
and presents it TO the fortunate monarch
"a mark of honor bestowed both on
Henry VI. and Henry VIII. Napoleon
I'LL, emperor of France, had also this
badge of distinction conferred on him.
1t WAS anciently the fashion to stick
rose in the ear At Knitting. i'll Cam
bridgeshire, the magnificent residence of
the first Lord North, says Brand, there is
n juvenile supposed to be of Queen
Elixabeth) with red rose sticking in her
ear. Roses were formerly picked with
much ceremony on midsummer eve, and
used for love divinations. While speak
ing of the moss rose We may mention
pretty legend which accounts for its on
gin. One day the angel of the flowers.
who watches over them and bathes them
in the sweet dews from heaven, slept be-
meath n rose tree Awakening from his
repose, he whispered to the rose 90,
fonGest object Of my care, l thank thee
for thy cool, refreshing shade, in return
for which ask what thou wilt and l will
grant it." Then the rose, with deepen
ing blush, replied "Bestow on me an
other grace" The angel paused for n
moment, wondering what grace there was
which this flower had not, whom suddenly
he threw n veil of moss over 1t, and thus
robed in natures most modest attire, the
moss rose became 80 universally loved.
The first white rose was sprout from
red moss rose discovered in the nursery
of Mr.. Smaller, Kings road, Chelsea.
II was carefully propagated and realized
fl 900 to the original proprietor Ac-
corling to all old tradition the thorn
crown of Christ was made from thorn
brier, and the drops of blood that st arted
from under it and fell to the ground bios
somed To roses
In Germany there are numerous super
stitions connected with the rose, of which
We subjoin few as specimens. Rose
leaves are thrown on a coal fire for good
luck, and great Importance is attached to
the ceremony and the reverent manner in
which it il performed. The relations of
this flower to blood are widely believed
In Germany, rs well as in France and
Italy, a drop of ones blood buried under
rosebush is said in short time to pro-
duce rosy cheeks.
There, was, too, an ancient charm once
prevalent i'll Germany, and frequent i'll
Swabia and Westphalia. against nose
bleeding. 1t is also believed in Germany
that white rose appears in the chair of
any one about to die, and it would seem
that the soul was thought occasionally to
take the form of n white rose. 1t ID also
German notion that if a white rose bush
blossoms unexpectedly it is sign of an
approaching death in the nearest house |;
whereas the blossming of red rose in
autumn is said to denote an early mar.
riage Many, too. dislike throwing
rose in grave, as it is supposed to be
unlucky To scatter rose leaves on the
ground has been held to be ominous. As
an illustration of this We may quote the
following sad incident from the Life and
Correspondence of NJ G.. Lewis" Tho
lady to whom the portent happened was
Miss Ray, who was murdered at the
piazza entrance of Covent Garden theatre
April I, 1879. When the carriage was
announced and she was adjusting her
dress, Mrs Lewis made some remark on
a beautiful rose which Miss Ray wore in
her bosom Just rs fireworks were utter
ed the rose fell to the ground. She I'M
mediately stopped to regain it, but MS she
picked it up the red leaves scattered
themselves on the carpet and the stalk
alone remained i'll her hand. The poor
girl, who had been depressed in spirits
before, was evidently afflicted by this
incident, and said, in slightly faltering
voice, Il trust | am not to consider this
nh evil omen" But soon rallying, she
expressed 10 Mrs. Lewis in cheerful
tone her hope that they should meet
again after the theatre-a hope, alas
which was never realized. In Italy the
red rose is considered Us an emblem of an
early death, and it is regarded as an evil
omen TO scatter its leaves on the ground.
The rose is not without its weather lore,
and it WIS formerly common idea that
when roses and violets tourished in
autumn there would be some epidemic i'll
the ensuing year The training white
dog rose is commonly considered to have
been the most chosen by the house of
York. The white rose, however, has n
very ancient interest for Englishmen, for
long before the brawl i'll the Temple gar
dens the flower, says n writer III the
Qnarterly Rcrier, Ind been connected
with one Of the most ancient names of the
island. The elder Pliny, i'll discussing
the etymology of the word Albion, sug-
gests that the land may have been so
named from the white roses which |
abounded i'll it. The white variety Of the
cabbage rose became the emblem of the |
house of Stuart upon the accession of the |
duke of York to the throne of England az |