pPant "bore, Tseqef^/, anci 1s)qnc/. 523 



Herrick probably refers to this charm in the ' Hesperides,' when, in 

 allusion to a bride, he says : — 



" She must no more a-maying, 

 Or by Rosebuds divine 

 Who'll be her Valentine." 



There is a curious old divination rite to be employed on the 27th of 

 June, according to which maidens are enjoined on that morning to 

 gather secretly a full-blown Rose, between three and four o'clock. 

 The flower is then to be held for about five minutes over the 

 smoke of a chafing-dish containing some brimstone and charcoal ; 

 then, before the Rose gets cool, it is to be placed on a sheet of 

 paper, on which is inscribed the maiden's name and that of the 

 swain she loves, together with the date of the year, and the name 

 of the morning star. This paper, having been folded and thrice 

 sealed, is to be buried at the foot of the Rose-tree from which the 

 flower was plucked, and allowed to remain there until the 6th of 

 July, when it is to be taken up, and placed beneath the maiden's 

 pillow, with the result that, before morning, she will, in a dream, 

 have her fate revealed. The Rose is utilised as a love-charm in 

 Thuringia ; there a maid who has several lovers will name a Rose- 

 leaf after each, and then scatter them upon the water; that which 

 sinks the last representing her future husband. 



It was a common belief formerly, that when Roses or Violets 

 flourished in Autumn, there would be a plague or some pestiferous 

 disease during the ensuing year. Lord Bacon points out that a 

 profusion of Roses in their season predicfls a severe Winter, and the 

 belief is still extant. 



" The Thorns and Briars, vermilion hue, 

 Now full of Hips and Haws are seen ; 

 If village prophecies be true, 



They prove that Winter will be keen." 



A writer in the Gardener s Chronicle tells us, that "in some parts 

 of Germany it is customary to throw Rose-leaves on a coal-fire as 

 a means of ensuring good luck. In Germany, as well as in France 

 and Italy, it is believed that if a drop of one's blood be buried 

 under a Rose-tree, it will ensure rosy cheeks. The Rose is also 

 associated in Westphalia with a charm against nose-bleeding and 

 other haemorrhages. This charm consists in the repetition of the 

 words : ' In Christ's Garden stand three Roses, one for the good 

 God, the other for God's blood, the third for the angel Gabriel : 

 blood, I pray you, cease to flow.' In Suabia, it is somewhat 

 different: 'On our Lord's grave spring three Roses; the first is 

 Hope, the second is Patience, the third is the w^ill of God: blood, 

 I pray you be still.' " 



Strangel}' enough, the Rose has the reputation of being a death 

 portent. In England, it is on that account deemed very unlucky 

 to scatter the leaves of a red Rose on the ground. In Italy, this 

 flower is deemed an emblem of an early death ; and it is thought 



