184 



PARSONS ON THE ROSE. 



if such were wanting, that nothing can be advanced too 

 monstrous or too incredible to be entirely without be- 

 lievers. 



If the sight of roses, or their delicate fragrance, has 

 been generally delightful and pleasing, there have also 

 been those who could not endure them. Anne of Austria, 

 wife of Louis XIII., of France, although otherwise very 

 fond of perfumes, had such an antipathy to the rose, that 

 she could not bear the sight of one even in a painting. 

 The Duke of Guise had a still stronger dislike, for he al- 

 ways made his escape at the sight of a rose. Dr. Ladelius 

 mentions a man who was obliged to become a recluse, and 

 dared not leave his house, during the season of roses ; be- 

 cause, if he happened to imbibe their fragrance, he was 

 immediately seized with a violent cold in his head. 



The odor of the rose, like that of many other flowers, 

 has often occasioned serious injury, particularly in closed 

 apartments ; and persons to whose sensitive organizations 

 the odor is disagreeable should not sleep with them in the 

 chamber. Some authors of credibility mention instances 

 of death caused by a large quantity of roses being left 

 during the night in a sleeping apartment. 



