8 GAEDEN FLOWERS. 



sunbeams, and the laurnstinus and the rose- 

 mary bring theii' flowers to form the winter 

 nosegay. 



There is a sweet fragrance in the rosemary. 

 So thought our forefathers when they used it 

 at table, and infused it in their ale. George 

 Herbert considered it a good addition to cook- 

 ery, for while he saj's that the country parson 

 should be well skilled in the knowledge of 

 plants, he recommends this and other herbs. 

 " As for spices," says he, " the parson doth not 

 only prefer this and other homebred things 

 before them, but condemns them for vanities, 

 and so shuts them out of his family, esteeming 

 that there is no spice comparable for herbs, to 

 rosemary, thyme, savory, and mint ; and for 

 seeds, to fennel and carraway seeds." The 

 troubadours, too, prized the winter fragrance 

 of the rosemary, and regarded both this flower 

 and the violet as emblems of constancy. In 

 many parts of Germany it is still grown in 

 large pots, that small sprigs of it may be sold 

 during winter and the commencement of spring, 

 as it is used there for some religious ceremo- 

 nies. 



From the cottage maiden, who wore a wreath 

 of this plant to the altar, to the royal bride of 

 the king, the rosemary was once the customary 

 ornament of the wedding ceremony; and in 

 funerals it was often used. Its sprigs mingled in 

 the coronal which bound the hair of Anne of 

 Cleves, on the day when she became the -wife 

 of the tyrannic Henry ; and it was intended 



