ROSE. 261 



tice, we believe, is not yet quite obsolete. Tn some parts of 

 the kingdom the bride is welcomed on her first appearance by 

 strewing her path with roses. 



The rose must not be forgotten as the national emblem of 

 England ; it is also rendered interesting from its connexion 

 with the armorial bearings of some of the most ancient and 

 noble families of Europe. The Roman emperors appear first 

 to have constituted it a symbol of honour, by allowing their 

 distinguished generals to inscribe it upon their shields. A 

 golden rose has been considered a fit present from one sove- 

 reign to another : particularly when consecrated by the Pope. 

 Henry the Eighth received such a gift from Alexander the 

 Sixth. In no country is the rose more cherished and cul- 

 vated than in Persia, and no where is it found in greater plenty 

 and profusion *. The Eastern poets generally associate this 

 flower with the nightingale, and represent the rose as bursting 

 forth from its bud at the song of her tuneful lover f . 



Chaucer has written much in praise of this charming flower, 

 and has given us a " Romaunt of the Rose," to which we 

 must refer our readers. Spenser and Shakspeare have several 

 beautiful allusions to the rose, both in its infant and mature 

 loveliness ; and there is a fine simile in Tasso's Gerusalemma 

 Liberata (Canto XVI.). Milton has introduced it in his Para- 

 dise Lost, especially on two occasions, with exquisite effect J. 



Qualities. — The petals are the only part used medicinally. They are 

 gathered before expansion, deprived of the claws, and dried quickly by 

 means of a gentle heat. In this state, they are pleasantly bitter and au- 

 stere to the taste, and possess a more fragrant odour than in their recent 

 state. Boiling water extracts their odour, colour, and flavour ; and the in- 

 fusion takes a dark colour with sulphate of iron, and forms a dark precipi- 

 tate with sulphate of zinc. Rectified spirit also extracts their virtues. 

 The extracts are bitter, astringent, and sub-austere. 



According to the analysis of M. Cartier, the petals of Rosa Gallica contain 

 tannin, gallic acid, colouring matter, volatile oil, fatty matter, albumen, 

 salts of potash and lime, silicic acid, and oxide of iron. 



The substance called attar, otto or uttir of roses is chiefly prepared from 

 the different varieties of R. centifolia, but other species afford it, such as R. 

 damascena. According to Dr. Ainslie, the attar of the Levant and Tunis 

 is obtained from R. sempervirens. 



* See Moore's Lalla Rookh ; Sir R. K. Porter's Persia in Miniature ; 

 Sir W. Ouseley's Travels in the East, 

 f See Byron's Giaour ? and Bride of Abydos. 

 $ Paradise Lost, Book ix, 1. 424—34, and 1. 888. 



