The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1884-11-06
ROSES.
A Beautiful Tribute to O Classic
Flower.
GRADUATING ESSAY BY MISS CORRIE
JOHNSON, READ AT THE COM
MESCEMENT OF wHITwoRTH
COLLEGE. JUNE, 1884.

No flower, by its beauty ant
sweetness, has inspired the poet:
pen or lent inspiration to the artist:
pencil more successfully than tn,
rose. The rose shall be my theme
to-day, but II have here Only made
no6egay Of culleh flowers, anG
have brought nothing of my own
but the string that ties them " Like
Ruth, of old, / have CLEANED in the
field aud beat out that ] cleaned
"A wreath of dswy roses, fresh and
sweet
Just brought from out the gardens cool
retreat"
In the garden of the sunny cline
of the Orient the fair and most
numerous roses first found their
home. Persia and Cashmere were
known as the "Paradise OF Roses.
The cold stones Of the palaces
blushed into life at the ciinglng
touch of the fower-ladcn vines;
and the lowly cottages and ungain
ly novels became things of beauty
and fairy bowers in the green land
scapes.
Books of travel arc replote with
stories of romaLce and song glow
ing with the sensual beauty aud
fragrance of the Rose. Even our
owr Irving's most exquisite pen
pictures of Romantic Spain are
those in which he brings 50 ciearl,
TO our view the market place made
sweet With the freshly plucked
roses for sale, for says he, "no dame
or damsel OF Audalusla thinks hel
6 ala dress complete without a rost
shining like Il gem among her raven
tressas."
Into the gardens Of Palestine VIZ
wander guided By the wise old
King Solomon, from whom We heal
the praises OF the Rose of Sharon
and the exclamation, Let US cover
ourselves with rose buds before they
be Withered." In those ancient
days the Priests bound wreaths OF
roses upon their brows when certain
sacrifices were to be offered, and
not ONLY the priests, but the victims
were led by the garlands of the
same sweet fnwe". In the holy
rites of oar Easter morn our altars
are enshrined with roses. Lille Barr
thus sings
Eve have no frankincense, no myrrh
We have for Thee no oil,
But here are snowy roses, Christ,
Without Stainor soil;
Oh, tairest Lord, for thy dear SAKE
A poet tells us that even "Tht
graces love to wreath the rose and
Homer bOrrows the blush OF the
rose to paint the beautiful tinge ot
the morning; and according to him.
Aurora is represented with finger,
of roses which fills the fresh morn
ing air with ambrosial fragrance.
Owen Meredith says, in "A Vision o
the Morning" "
"Like a rose,
Red morn began to blossom and enclost
A flushing brightness in the dewy
steep"
We are told that all roses were
white before love came to walker
the slumbering hearts and mantle
the white purity Of the rose Will
bushes. Tradition tells US thal
The rose drew it's vermeil hue from
the beautiful red lips of Eve wher
she stopped to kiss its white petal,
in the morning hour of Eden. In s
lovely song, sung by Emma ThurSby
we have this traditions:
"Why are roses reds
For roses once were white
Because the loving nightingale,
Sang on their thorns all night
Sang till the blood they shed
Had dyed the roses red"
The white rose is used for tn
bridal morn, and the evening O
death. l heard a lovely lady ex
claim once, Il went from my father
hall wreathed in Bridal Roses
came again before their bloom ha'
shed with breaking heart to bur
under their white sweet cover m
home treasures-Father, Mother
sister, brother.
Byron immortafzes the flower 70
the grave In the Bride of Abydos
he says that above the tomb OF ~
lieka,
"A single rose is shedding
Its lovely luster, meek and pale"
The phrase "under the Rose" i'm