KOSE. 
165 
made of their leaves, for men of rank to recline 
upon. 
The Rose is not more celebrated for the 
richness of its beautyas the Queen of Flowers, 
than for its short-lived duration. How ex¬ 
quisitely has Bishop Taylor described its brief 
and transient reign, in the following language, 
-which, though prose, breathes all the inspira¬ 
tion of Poetry: — 
“ ‘ But so I have seen a Rose newly spring¬ 
ing from the clefts of its hood, and at first it 
was fair as the morning, and full with the dew 
of heaven as a lamb’s fleece; but when a 
ruder breath had forced open its virgin mo¬ 
desty, and dismantled its too youthful and un¬ 
ripe retirements, it began to put on darkness, 
and to decline to softness and the symptoms of 
a sickly age ; it bowed the head, and broke 
its stalk ; and, at night, having lost some of 
its leaves, and all its beauty, it fell into the 
portion of weeds and outworn faces.’ ” 
“In our country, in some parts of Surrey in 
particular, it was the custom in the time of 
Evelyn, to plant roses round the graves of 
lovers. The Greeks and Romans observed 
this practice so religiously, that it is often 
found annexed as a codicil to their wills, as 
appears by an old inscription at Ravenna, 
and another at Milan, by which roses are or¬ 
dered to be yearly strewed and planted upon 
the graves. 
It is the universal practice in South Wales, 
to strew roses and other flowers over the graves 
of departed friends. 
