TRE ROSEMARY 
8r 
CHAPTER V. 
Rosemary — Fortner use of Rosemary at Funerals — Funeral 
customs in South Wales — Virtues formerly attributed to 
Rosemary — Its use on Festive occasions — Roney of Nar- 
bonne — Derivation of name of Rosemary — Introduction 
of Riant into England — Labiate Flowers — ■ W lid 
Thyme — Betony — Ground Ivy — Cat Mint — Gipsy Herb 
— Sage — Mint — Mint ] ulep of the Americans — Use of 
Mint by the Amcient Jews — Balm. 
“ Come, funeral flower ! who lov’st to dwell 
With the pale corse in lonely tomb, 
And throw across the desert gloom 
A sweet decaying smell; 
Come, press my lips, and lie with me. 
Beneath the lowly alder tree 
And we will sleep a pleasant sleep. 
And not a care shall dare intrude 
To break the marble solitude. 
So peaceful and so deep.” 
■ - — Henry Kirke White. 
It is almost exclusively to times gone by that we must 
refer the practice alluded to by the poet, of placing rose- 
mary in the coffin of the dead. There are, however, still 
a few' retired villages of England wdiich retain the customs 
of other days, and the funeral flower is there plucked, 
wdien the village mourners gather round the remains of 
the deceased. 
In South Wales it is yet common for those who accom- 
pany the burial to carry each a sprig of rosemary or yew', 
\Yhich, when the body is laid in its last resting-place, they 
