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pie of the true God, the high priest was formerly crowned with 

 roses. The Catholic church has still preserved the use of these 

 flowers in its most sacred ceremonies, as it is always the rose 

 that they strew before the holy sacrament in solemn processions. 

 There is now to be seen at Rome in the church of Saint Susan, 

 an old Mosaic, which represents Charlemagne kneeling, receiv- 

 ing of St. Peter, a standard covered with roses. The custom of 

 blessing the rose is still preserved at Rome, and the day is called 

 Dominica in rosa. They make in that city artificial rose-trees of 

 pure gold, which are blessed by the Pope on the first Sunday in 

 Lent, while they sing Lsetera Jerusalema, and which after mass, 

 he carries in procession, and then sends it to sovereigns, or pre- 

 sents it to princes who visit his capital : and it was the custom 

 until about these last forty years, for the prince who received 

 this rose tree, to give a sum equal to five hundred pounds to the 

 person who brought him this present from the pope ; but the rose- 

 tree itself was worth twice that sum. 



Pope Julius the Second sent a consecrated rose of gold, dip- 

 ped in chrism, and perfumed with musk, to Archbishop Warham, 

 to be presented to Henry the Eighth, at high mass, with the 

 apostolical benediction. The king received the precious rose, 

 and more precious benediction, with profound reference and ex- 

 cessive joy. But every body knows how soon the remembrance 

 of this rose faded with this capricious monarch. 



Mary Stuart, queen of Scots sent a magnificent rose-tree to 

 Rosnard, the French poet, of the sixteenth century which was 

 valued at two thousand crowns, with this inscription : Rosnard, 

 V Apollon cle la Source des Muses. 



Bayle relates an accident which happened at the baptism of 

 Rosnard. In those days it was customary to bring large vases 

 full of rose water, and baskets of flowers to christenings ; and as 

 the nurse was going to church with the infant bard, she let her 

 flowers fall, and in turning to recover them, she touched the at- 

 tendant who carried the vase of rose water, and spilt it on the 

 child; and tins says Bayle, was since regarded as a happy pre- 

 sage of the good odour that would some day scatter his poetry. 



Painters represent Saint Dorothy holding a nosegay of roses, 

 because it is told in her life that an angel gave her a bunch of 

 roses ; and a prodigy is related of Saint Louis the Ninth of 

 France. It is pretended that a rose was seen to come out of his 

 mouth after his death. 



