ROSES 187 



not know why it should be so, but the sweet-brier is 

 seldom grown near the house, probably because it will 

 grow anywhere, and house-walls are valuable for more 

 tender plants. Bacon recommended it as ' very delight- 

 ful to set under a parlour or lower chamber window,' 

 and so I saw it onco at Tintern not under a window 

 only, but trained to the top of the house (a two-storied 

 one), and surrounding both upper and lower windows. 

 The effect was very charming, and I was told that 

 when once established it was very easily kept in 

 order. 



It would bo inexcusable to omit all mention of the 

 musk rose among the single roses. Its native homo 

 is the north of Africa, but it must have spread into 

 Europe in very early times, and it was brought into 

 England from Italy. So we arc told by Hakluyt: 

 4 The artichowc was brought in time of King Henry the 

 Eight, and in later times was procured out of Italy tho 

 Muske Ho*e plant/ As soon as it came it established 

 itself as a chief favourite, and became the typical 

 emblem of floral beauty. Shakespeare makes it tho 

 special rose of Queen Titania. Milton names it among 

 the choicest flowers to 1x5 strewn on Lycidas' hearse, 

 though perhaps he only uses the name in a general 

 way his knowledge of flowers was very limited, for 

 in Comus he makes the shepherd speak of ' musk roses 



