170 PARSONS ON THE ROSE. 



emperors, the use of crowns of flowers was, like every 

 Other species of luxury at that time, constantly on the in- 

 crease. At first they wore the crowns interwoven with 

 leaves of flowers, then they wore them composed partly 

 of roses, and finally they were not satisfied unless they 

 'consisted of these flowers only. 



Martial, as we have already mentioned, speaks often of 

 his crowns of roses. The crown sent by this poet to his 

 friend Sabinus was composed entirely of these flowers, 

 and he was desirous that they should be considered the 

 production of his own gardens. 



From the poverty of Turkish history, little is known of 

 the early use of the Rose among them. We have, how- 

 ever, some account of its use among the Mohammedan 

 Persians. 



Although wine was forbidden by the laws of Mahomet, 

 the Persians frequently made use of it ; and in the time 

 of Tavemier and of Chardin, they frequently drank it to 

 excess. One of their kings, Soliman III., was intoxicated 

 almost every day ; and it was the custom then in Persia, 

 to serve the wine in crystal decanters, which, when the 

 season permitted, they corked with roses. 



The most interesting purpose to which roses were de- 

 voted was the adornment of tombs and burial-places. 

 The Greeks employed generally for this object, the myrtle 

 and the amaranth ; but the Romans gave the preference 

 to the lily, the saffron-plant, and, above all, the Rose. 



The ancients were careful to renew the plants which 

 were placed around the sepulchral urn, in order that it 

 might be surrounded by a continual spring. These flow- 

 ers were regarded as sacred, and as a relic of the deceased. 



The Romans considered this pious care so agreeable to 

 the spirits of the departed, that wealthy citizens bequeath- 

 ed by Avill entire gardens, to be reserved for furnishing 

 their tombs with flowers. They also often ordered that 

 their heirs, or those to whom they left a legacy for the 



