160 THE SHAKESPEARE GARDEN 



adorned the brides of Greece and Rome. The pro- 

 fusion of roses used for decorations at feasts astounds 

 us even to-day. No epicure was satisfied with the 

 cup of Falernian wine unless it were perfumed with 

 roses; and the Spartan soldiers at the Battle of 

 Cirrha actually refused wine because it was not per- 

 fumed with roses. This makes us wonder if those 

 Spartan mothers, of whom we hear so much, were 

 really as severe as they are reputed to have been. Red 

 roses were dedicated to Jupiter; damask roses to 

 Venus ; and white roses to Diana or the moon. The 

 rose was given to the Virgin Mary as her particular 

 flower; and many Italian painters as well as Flem- 

 ish, Spanish, and German, have painted the Ma- 

 donna of the Rose, the Madonna of the Rose-hedge, 

 the 'Madonna of the Rose-bush, and the Madonna 

 of the Rose-garden. The rosary, introduced by St. 

 Dominick in commemoration of his having been 

 shown a chaplet of roses by the Virgin, originally 

 consisted of rose-leaves pressed into balls. 



II 



"Lilies of All Kinds" 



THE LILY (Lilium candidum). The fact that 

 Perdita calls for "lilies of all kinds" shows that 



