The Washington herald., 1908-05-31
By RUDOLPH DE ZAPP.

his freedom by the adroit use Of the
flower. One day he presented "A rose To
his master. with the remark. DO good
10 thy servant whilst thou hast the
power, for the season Of power is often
as transient as the duration OF this
flower" This was In alusion 10 the
Eastern fancy which makes the white
rose the emblem of Hfe-transieDt and
uncertain.
Persian Feast of Roses.
In Persia they have a festival called
THE feast OF the roses" which lasts
during the blooming Of the flowers OF
interest is the Oriental tradition Of how
the rose received its various colors. II is
said that when Mohammed was Journey
Ing 70 heaven, the sweat which fell from
his forehead produced white roses. But
an older tradition is given by Sir John
Mandeville. It is that Of Zillah. the
beauteous maiden Of Bethlehem. who.
being falsely accused, was condemned TO
b. burned alive. At the stake. the flames
passed over her and shriveled up her ac-
cUser' while on the spot where she stood.
sprang up a garden of roses-red where
the fire had touched. and white where II
had passed.
The lily symbolizes purity. and. ac-
cording 70 one legend, It sprang from
some OF the milk which fell TO the ground
as the Virgin Mary was nursing the in
fant Jesus The Greeks. however. had a
similar legend ascribing the origin OF
the flower 10 drop of Juno's milk. The
a
the lily. and even 10 this day use IL large
ly in making up bridal wreaths. while the
sacred significance which Christians have
found in the flower may be traceable TO
our Lords use Of 70 I'm imagery.
There is also a tradition that the lily
was the principal ornament in the crown
Of Solomon, and typifed love. charity.
purity. and innocence. The sacred flower
Of the East-the lotus-is lily. and even
the name seems TO convey consolation
20 the Buddhist. Thus. the universal
prayer Of the Buddhist-that prayer which
is printed on slips and fastened on cylin-
ders which are necessarily revolving in
Tibet-"Om mani padrue hum'-meaus
simply, "Oh, the jewel in Cor OF the lotus.
Amen
Lotus Sacred in Egypt.
The lily. or lotus. was held sacred also
in ancient Egypt. and the capitals Of
many OF the buildings bear the form of
an open lotus flower. And naturally. in
a land of Buddhism like China. the lotus
occupies an important place. in art.
poetry. and in popular fancy. Il IS re-
corded that the old Jews regarded the
lily. OF lotus. as a protection against en-
chantment, and Judith is said 20 have
worn wreath Of lilies when she went 20
visit Holofernes, by way Of coUnteractiye
charm. The lily is often associated with
the sword OF justice and both the Do
minIcans and the Clsterciaus held Il I'm
high honor. Tradition SAYS that the lily
was adopted by the French kings because
It was the emblem Of purity and closely
associated with both Christ and solomon.
one old legend has II that after one OF.
the great battles Of the Crusaders. the
French banners were found covered with
lilies According 70 others. the Fleur-de-
lys is merely a corruption Of Fleur-de-
Luce. or FleUr-de-LOuis. and was not 4
lily at ALL but the purple iris. which
Louis VII adopted for his emblem on his
departure for the Holy Land. On tho
other hand there is a legend that a shield
Of azure bearing the device OF three
golden lilies was presented by an angel
20 Clothnde, the wife OF Clovis, and IL Is
claimed that the lily has been the true
national emblem since the time Of that
sovereign.
Glover Resembles Cross.
It is probable that the association os
good luck with the four-leaved clover
arose from its fancied resemblance TO the
cross. Support is given TO this hypothesis
by the traditional origin Of the shamrock
as the badge Of Ireland. The treefoH IS
called "shamrakh" In Arabic. and was
held sacred in Persia. And il IS remark
able that Pliny says the tr5fof is an anti
dote against the bite Of snakes and sc0r-
pions
With the emblem Of Scotland-the this
te-there are not many classical associa-
tions and active supersttions. but vet it
Is not devoid Of folklore. The origin of
the name thistle" is probably Scaudina-
Wan. and associated with Thor The
plant was ar any rate. sacred 90 the
Scandinavian goG and was believed by
the old Vikings TO receive the color of the
lightning into its blossom. which there
upon became endowed with high curative
and protective virtues. The author of
Neither Lochaber" argues that the cuicus
acaulis. or the stemless thistle. is the
true emblem Of Scotland. and I'm doing
this he founds his belief upon the follow
ing tradition.
Once during the invasion Of Scotland by
the Norsemen. the invaders were stealing
n march I'm the dark upon the Scots, when
one OF The barntOOted scouts placed his
foot upon a thistle. which caused MIN 20
aroused. and. flying 20 their horses. drove
back the Danes with great slaughte-
The first mention of the thistle as a ma
tional emblem occurs i'm an inventory Of
the Jewels and other effects of James III.
about 1861 and its first mention in poetry
In a poem by Dunbar. written about l513.
10 commemorate the marriage of James
" with Margaret Tudor. and called The
ThrisseIl and the ROis" The Order Of the
Thistle dates from James VII OF Scotland
and James II Of England about 1881.