138 ROSE. 



rose, or sweet brier, seems to grow wild in some parts of the 

 Holy Land, as we have noticed in our travels; but the double 

 roses, or at least the varieties which we understand by that 

 name, are seldom seen indeed, we are inclined to think, never 

 seen wild. The cultivated rose of Syria exceeds in beauty 

 and perfection that of any other country; and the gardens 

 about Damascus are like beautiful fairy-grounds in fragrance 

 and appearance. We have often been delighted beyond de 

 scription by the peculiar delicacy and novelty of the perfume 

 as it swept by us from some garden or grove, suggesting 

 every scene of beauty described in the dreamy tales of the 

 Arabian Nights. The commingling of perfumes and the soft 

 shades of the flowers make the aspect and fragrance of the 

 Eastern roses peculiar and scarcely capable of appreciation by 

 owners of the most attractive gardens of our country. Many 

 of the poets of the East draw their similes and figures from the 

 rose; and in the writings of Sadi the following beautiful illus- 

 tion of the influence of good company occurs. &quot; One day, as I 

 was going to the bath, my friend put into my hand a piece of 

 scented clay. The fragrance was so delicious that I addressed 

 it, saying, What art thou, and whence is thy sweetness? Art 

 thou of musk? or is thy substance ambergris? It answered, 

 Alas! of myself I am but a piece of worthless clay; but I was 

 long the companion of the rose, who hath breathed her sweet 

 ness into me. &quot; Notwithstanding the extensive cultivation of 

 roses at present, they are mentioned in but two verses of 

 Scripture, in the Song of Solomon ii. 1, and Isaiah xxxv. 1, 

 in both of which places it is evident that they were not common 



