Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-06-03

vi course the season was named for the patron
goddess Of maidens md matrons, but equally,
| 'of course" the season here before the
| goddess of heaven born mortal, and she
| knew what month would make her advent most
| memorable. 1t is the rose month and IL was in
June the god of life. the mighty Vishnu. found
his true love in the heart Of T. white rose that
came up out of milk white sea. and that is
one of the principal reasons why love and roses
| are natural concomitants.
| There are dozens of legends of how the rose
| came to be born, and the creature who can't
| suit one of them to his fancy must be difficult
| to please. One says that the life blood of
] Adonis produced plant with wondrousy
| fragrant blossom which Venus watercd with
her tears and vowed TO wear in her bosom for
all time. 1t the white rose grown from
| the heart of her beloved One day the rose
| fell from her bosom and she trod its cruel
| thorns, whereupon her blood dyed the white
| rose red.
Ano her legend says that Flora one day found
ono of her favorite nymphs dead. a being
whose beauty was only e9ualed b. her virtue.
and. desiring TO change her into flower. Flora
! implored the O)ympinn deities to aid her in
| creating flower which should be the queen of
| all flowers. Apollo kissed her. Blcchus bathed
| her in his nectar. Vertumuus gave his perfume
| Pomona tho fruit-hip--and Flora gave tho
| Giadem OF leaves and thus Was born the queen
| OF flowers, favored Of tie gods.
| TURKS HAVE SENTIMENT.
| The Turks are 80 matter OF fact one would
hardly expect them to have any theories or
sentiment abou. flowers, but they have many.
| OF the rose they say that it born of n drop
| of Precipitation which fell to the ground from
! Mahomet. For that reason q Turk never treads
upon a rose leaf or let's one lie upon the ground.
Another legend tells how red and white roses
| were born at Nnce. A beautiful maiden, through
the vile ISLANDERS OF u rejected sutton, was con-
| deEned to burn ut the stake. -is the flames
| mounted around her she cried to heaTou fOr
/ proof of her innocence. Immediately the burn
| ing fago,s turned TO crimson roses and those
! I.ot yet igniied 10 white. and she was re-
| leased. That legend can hardly he true.
| though. because il does no: go on 10 say that
| the wicked lover was devoured by the fire he
! had kindlcd for the victim o. his disappointed
| passion.
The stories of how he rose came to be red
| are as numerous us thole OF its origin. One
| says that awkward Cupid i'll mad dance with
| an Olympian goddess, upset a vase OF nectar on
| a rose bush and the white roses turned red
| with passion, and that il why the red rose
| symboli2es passionate love. A prettier story
! about it is that whom Cupid was counting
/ Psyche he brought her roses. As all lovers do.
| One iny he held white rose against her cheek
| while his love words were waited to her ears on
/ the roses breath. The feryor OF Cupid's pas
! sion crimsoned her face. and IN turn colored
! the rose, so when the maiden blush roses bloom
| it is in memory of Psyche's bushes. That
I story has IL sequel The beautiful! uiush roses
| have some crimson sisters. aud Venus has TO
! answer for them. She was jealous Of tho rarely
| lovely Psyche and made her her slave and tried
| to keep Cupid from finding his sweetheart.
| Poor Psyche cried till the roses III her cheeks
| faded, but when Cupid found her at last he
secretly sent her some white roses and she
| kissed them into crimson, feryent the
/ passion in her heart.
| The Roumanian tradition of how the rose
| became red Is very pretty also. A beautiful
maiden-it really seems us though ali the
! maidens were beautiful then. JUS. AZ they
| nova beautiful maiden was bathing in the
| sea and the sun became so enamorcd Of her
| beauty that he forgot his business and for
| three days stood still that he might admire
her. This greatly embarrassed the princess
and she PRAYED the Lord of the universe 10
| change her into rose The sun. yet enthruicd
| by her purity, kissed her so ferventiy that she
| turned to crimson.
The Ghebers. or fire worshipers. reverence
| the rose. They say that when Niinrod threw
| Abraham into the fire it refused to burn him.
| but turned 20 red roses instead
| THE YELLOW ROSE.
The yellow rose once white, and it is from
the German that we learn how it got its golden
hue. The little white rose envied her sisters
blushing hues and complained to her mother.
| Flora, that she was not SO beautiful the pink
| rose. Make me like INV sister, she delua ndcd
| peevishly. But the flower mother tried to
make the fretfui little blossom content with her
garb OF innocence. The white rose grumbled
and made everybody quite unhappy. A. last
worn out with the opportunities Of the unrea-
sonable child, Flora said anSrily, just as mortal
mothers do something's:
| "'Henceforth no more in simple vest
| q ianocence shalt thou be dressed
TSsG 5hat f0 wh ,l Ss;S- sts by mnd
| Tie yellow rose has from that hour
| Borne evidence Of envy's power"
And to this day yellow and the yellow rose are
| considered omblems of envy and Jealousy.
There Is also a pretty legend Of how of
the rose sisters got her green lace gown. 1t is
recorded that the angel of the flowers, after he
| had worn himself out flying around among the
| PEOPLE of his kingdom, lay down to rest in the
| shade of n rose tree. His sleep refresh
ing, guarded by that charming presence. that
| grateful to the gentle queen of flowers. he told
her to ask Of him anything she wished and it
should be granted. Trembling with pleasure
the rose asked for another grace to enhance
| her loneliness.
| NJ ,rThe spirit paused in siIsn. thought
| What grace was there. that flo yer had not?
A Veil of moss the angel throws"
| Another legend SAYS that that same sun who
wooed her so ardently even now annoyed her,
! and she asked for the moss to protect her from
| his passionate kisses. There is no rose with
out thorn COOS tho old saying, but Zorro
| aSter says that the stem OF the rose had no
| thorns until the entrance into the world of
| Ahrimanus-the evil one; the oriental theory
being that the spirit Of evil affects not only
man. but animal and plant life as well. Accord
| ing to Zoroaster the red rose is consecrated to
| the chief archangel.
| Basil, another early writer. gave the same
| theory credence, that the rose was created with
! out thorns but they came as mankind became
| more corrupt Another theoryiS that the thorn
was given the rose TO protect her innocence.
| OF course Cupid is mixed up with the thorn
theory. 1t is said that they in some way repre-
| sent the sting of the bees with which his arrow
is strung Milton in Paradise LOST writes of
Flowers of all hues and without thorn the rose.n
THEMES FOR POETS.
| The nightingale and the rose have always
been themes for poets. and the myth originates
with the Persians Tho Persian poet Altar, in
Bulbul Nameh. which. being translated. means
Book of the Nightingale writes as follows:
''All the birds appeared before Solomon and
charged the nightingale with disturbing their
rest by the broken and plaintive strains which
| he warbled forth all night in a sort Of frenzy
and intoxication. The nightingale is sum-
moned questioned and acquitted by the wise
king, because the bird assures him that
his vehement love for the rose drives
him to distraction and causes him
to break forth into those passionate
| and touching complaints winch are laid to his