Some Flowers of Fancy,

Tuapeka Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1216, 23 January 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

Some Flowers of Fancy,

(From All T^e Year Round.') That the lily should symbolize purity seems appropriate enough, but why should parsley in olden times have been associated with death ? It is recorded, as we know, that a few bundles of parsley onoe threw a whole Greek army into panic, because in Greece the tombs of the dead were strewn with the herb. With them "tobe in need of parsley" was equivalent to being beyond hope. The name itself offers little explanation of thia superstition, for it is derived from the Latin retroselium, whick again was taken from the Greek name, signifying the "pl^nt of the rooks." According to the myth, however, it sprang from the blood of Arohemorua, or Orpheltes, the son of Lycurgus of Nemroa. Archemorus was killed by & serpent while bis foster-mother was,showing the soldiers of Adrastus where they might find a fountain. On the place where he died there sprang up the parsley, which the Greeks, in grief for his loss, wove into ohaplets for the victors at the Nemroan games. At these games it was always customary to deliver a funeral oration in memory of Arohemorua, while the participatora were dressed in mourning. Hence the association of parsley with death among the Greeks, and the long-prevailing Western belief that the plant is "unlucky" is only another instance of the marvellous longevity of superstitions. Professor Dyer tells us that in Devonshire to transplant parsley is accounted a serious offence against the tutelary spirit of the herb, and is certain to be punished within the year by some great misfortune. In South Hampshire, the countrypeople will never give parsley away, for fear of trouble ; and in Suffolk it is believed that if it be sown on any other day than Good Friday, it will not grow double. The Folklore Record, not long ago, gave the case of a gentleman near Southampton, whose gardener refused to sow some parsley- seed when ordered, because "it would be a bad day's work" for him to do so ; the most he would do was to bring a plant or two, and throw them down for the master to pick up if he chose. To give them, however, the man regarded as fatal. But even to move parsley is regarded in some places to'be unluoky, and we have read of a psrißh-clerk in Devonshire, who was bedridden, and who was popularly supposed to owe his trouble to having moved some parsley-beds. There is a similar superstition, we believe, in Germany, and many of our readers have probably often come across an old saying, that " Parsley fried will bring a man to his saddle and a woman to her grave." The allusion to the saddle is obsoure; but it is obvious that all the superstitious dread of parsley is a survival of the old Greek fable immortalised in the Nemcean games.

That the rose should be associated with death may appear strange to some of our readers, yet so it was. The Greeks certainly used the rose in their funeral rites and for the decoration of their tombs. The Romans nsed it for similar purposes, and, we are told, often left legacies for the' express purpose of keeping their tombs adorned with the flower. Whether it*was by them that the practice was introduced into England is not capable of direct proof, but it is worthy of note that at Leokley, a place where the Romans were often located in large numbers, it was a cuatom of comparatively recent experience for girla to plant roses upon the graves of their dead lovers. Hence, no doubt, its origin in Gay's riddle : ' What flower is that Which royal honour

craves ? Adorn the Virgin, and 'tis strewn on graves. , The answer ia " Rosemary," which, although | sometimes understood to mean the Rose of the Virgin Mary, was neither a rose, nor in any. special way associated with the Virgin. : On the other hand, the rose is associated by most Catholics with the Mother of the Saviour, and in Italy especially, during the celebrations of May, the rose is abundantly used. By some it has been thought that the early association of the rose with death led to the expression ■" under the rose," applied to any- \ thing to be done in secret or silence. Others, ' again, have ascribed the origin of the expression to the perfect beauty of the flower^which, as language is unable to portray it, is; a symbol of silence. Sir Thomas Browne, r ' however, says the origin was either in the old custom of wearing ohapleta of roses during the " Symposiack meetings," or else because the rose was the flower of Venus, " wbioh Cupid consecrated unto Harpoerates, the god of pilence." There is a basis of probability in both theori#, and we know that the rose was peculiarly the property of the goddess of love. Indeed, according to the 1 old fable, the flower was originally white until dyed by the blood which flowed from the foot of Venus, pierced by a thorn as she ran to the aid of her loved Adonis. Hence, Spenser says : White an the native rose, before the change Whioh Venus' blood did in her leaves im-

press. Acoording to others, however, it was the blood of Adonis which dyed the flower. Thus Bion, in hiß Lament : " A tear Ac Paphian sheds for each blood-drop of Adonis, and tears and blood on the earth are turned to flowers. The blood brings forth the rose, and the tears the wind flower. Woe, woe, for Adonis 1 he hath perished, the lovely Adonis I" This tradition ia preserved in the German name, Adonis-blume, which, however, is usually applied to the anemone. The rose, however, being the emblem of love, and love having a natural abhorrence of publicity, it is not* difficult to see the connection with silence. It is said that the Romans used to place a decoration -of roses in the centre oi their dining-rooms, as a hint to the guests that all that was said at the banquetingtable was in the nature of " privileged communications," and in old Germany a similar custom long prevailed. In the sixteenth century a rose was placed over confessionals, and the inference is that the hint was then well understood. There waa also an obvioua meaning in the adoption by the Jacobites of thia flower as the emblem of the Pretender, to whose service they were secretly sworn. It was the white rose which was especially affected by tha Stuarts, and the Pretender's birthday, the 10th of June, was for long known aa "White Rose Day," 'much as " Primrose Day" is now definitely associated with the late Lord Beaoonsfield. Of course the story of the Wars of the Roses is known to everybody, and how, in consequence, the rose became the emblem of England, as the thistle is of Scotland, and the shamrock of Ireland.

In the East there is even more of poetio significance attached to a rose than with us. It is related of ~Sadi, the Persian poet, that, when a slave, he earned his freedom by the adroit use of the flower. One day he presented a rose to his master, with the remark, made with all humility, "Do good to thy servant whilst thou hast the power, for the season of power ia often aa transient as the duration of this flower." Tbia was in allusion to the Eastern fan oy, whioh makes the white rose the emblem of life— transient and uncertain. In Persia they have a festival called "The Feast of the Roses," which lasts, as Moore tells as, daring the blooming of (be flowers. One of their great works is called " The Garden of Roses," and everybody knows how closely th,ey associate the rose with the bulbul or nightingale. The belief is* that the bird derives his melody from the beauteous flower, and they say, " Yon may place a handful of fragrant herbs and flowers before the nightingale, bat be wants nothing more than the odour of hie beloved rose." -

Thomas Moore seizes, with happy effect, on this legend in Lalla Rookh, whioh poem, indeed, is almost redolent of roses. But poetry generally is as full of the rose as the rose is of poetry, and it would take a great deal more space than we oan spare to mention all the fancies and superstitious associations of tfce queen of the flowers. Before quitting the subject, however, we should not omit to mention the Oriental traditions of how the rose received its various colours. It is said that when Mahommed was journeying to heaven, the sweat whioh fell from his forehead produced white roses, and that which fell from Al Borak produced yellow roses. 9 But an older tradition is given by Sir John MandeviHo. It is that of Zillah, the beauteous maiden of Bethlehem, who, being falsely accused, was condemned to be burned alive. At the stake the flames passed over her and shrivelled up her accuser, while, on the spot where she stood, sprang up a garden of roses— red where the fire had touched, and white where it had passed. " And theise werein the first roseres that ever ony man saughe." We have referred to the lily as ihe emblem of purity, but curiously enough, thia innocentlooking flower has ita baleful superstitions as we'll. In Devonshire it ia accounted unlucky to plant a bed of lilies- of- the-valley, and to do ao is to ensure misfortune, if not death, within a year. Yet thia flower haa always been closely associated with the Virgin Mary, and according to one legend, it sprang from some of the milk whioh fell to the ground as she was nourishing the infant Jesus. The Greeks, however, had a similar legend, ascribing the origin of the flower to a drop of Juno'a I milk. The Greeks have always been a favourite of the lily, and even to this day use it largely in making up bridal-wreaths, while the saored significance which Christians have found in the flower may be traceable to Our Lord's U3e of it in imagery. In thia connection, the legend of the budding lily of St. Joseph will be remembered, and we know that the medieval painters generally depicted the Madonna with a lily in her hand. There is also a tradition that the lily was the principal ornament in the crown of Solomon, and typified loye? charity, purity, and innocence —a combination of virtues hardly to be found in the character of the wise King himself. Nor must we forget that the sacred flower of the East— the lotus— i 3 a lily, and that even to name it eeems to oarry ineffable consolation to the Buddhist. Thus, the universal prayer of the Buddhists— that prayer which is printed on slips and fastened on cyclinders which are incessantly moving in Thibet — " Om mani padrue hum ! " means simply, " Oh, the jewel in (or of) the lotus I Amen 1 " So Mr. Edwin Arnold, in The Light of Asia : Ah, Lover I Brother ! Guide 1 Lamp of the law ! I take my refuge in Thy name and Thee I I take my refuge in Thy Law of Good I I take my refuge in Thy Order ! Om 1 The dew ib on the lotus. Rise, Great San, ■ And lift my leaf, and mix me with the wave. " Om mani padrue hum," the sunrise oomes. The Dawdrops slids into the shining sea I

IS seems that the lily, or lotus, waa held saored also in ancient Egypt, and the capitals of many of the buildings bear the form of an open lotus-flower. And naturally, in a land of Buddhism like China, the lotus oocupiea an important place, both in art, in poetry, and in popular fancy. It is reoorded that the old Jews regarded the lily, or lotu3 (Lilium oandit]um), as a protection against enchantment, and it is said that Judith wore a wreath of lilies when she went to visit Holofornea, by way oEcounteractant charm. The lotus which ia the saored lily of the East must not be confounded with the mysterious plant mentioned by Ulysses, and of which Tennyson has sung— the plant of oblivion and sensuou3negs. That there is an element of enchantment about the lily we have seen ia still believed in our own country, but the association of misfortune with it is not universal. On the contrary, in some parts the leaf of the lily is supposed to have curative virtues in oases of cuts and wounds, and Gerarde, the old herbalist, even says " the flowers of lily-of-the-valley, being close stopped up in a glass, put into an ant-hill, and taken away again a month after, ye shall find a liquor in the glass, which being outwardly applied., helpeth the gout." We confess that we have heard of no experiments having been made wiih this remedy. But if not to cure gout, the flower has, it appears, been used to pay rentß, for Grimm says that some land in Hesse were held upon the condition of presenting a bunch of lily-of-the-valley every year. This, of course, would not be th 6 whole burden, and the custom had, no doubt, a religious origin and significance. The flower is often associated with the sword of justice, and both the Dominicans and the Cistercians held it in high honour. It is worth noiiog, too, that some traditions make the lily the favourite flower of St. Cecilia, although the popular legend makea the angel bring her a bouquet of roses every night from Paradise. But how did the lily become the badge of France? One tradition ia that it waa adopted by the French kings because it was the emblem of purity, and closely associated with both Christ and Solomon. One old legend has it that after one of the great battles of the Crusaders, the French banners were found covered with lilies. According to others, the Fleur de lys is merely a corruption of Fleur de Luce, or Fleur de Louis, and was not a lily at all, but the purple iris, which Louis the Seventh adopted for his emblem on his departure to the Holy Land. On the other hand there is a legend that a shield of azure bearing the devioe of three golden lilies was presented by an angel to Clothilde, the wife of Clovis, and it is claimed that the lily has been the true national emblem since the time of that sovereign. Whatever the origin, however, of Fleur de lys, it certainly means lily now, and the " Lily of France " is a symbol as definite as the " Rose of England." Or as the shamrook of Ireland.

It is curious how much superstition and romance has clustered round the humble clover-leaf. Not one of us, perhaps, but, as a child, has spent hours in looking for the four-leaved clover that was to bring untold luck. What trouble to find it ! What joy when found ! And what little profit beyond the joy of the search ! As the old couplet had it, somewhat inconsequently With a four-leav'd clover, double-topp'd ash, and green-topp'd seave, Yon may go before the queen's daughter without asking leave. The advantage here is not very obvious, but the Devonshire people had a more defined idea of the virtue of the double clover, and they state it thus : An even-leaved aßh, And a four-leaved clover You'll see your true lover Before the day's over. Bat in Cambridgeshire it seems that the twoleaved clover is the object of desire, for there, the saying goes: '

A clover, a clover of two, Put it on your right shoe ; , The first young man you meet, < In field, or lane, or street, You shall have him, Or one of his name. « This, while presenting a considerable amount of uncertainty in the result, at least has the merit of presaging something. In other part*, however, and in more ancient days, the oarry> ing of the fonr-bladed clover was believed to bring luok in play and in bnsiness, safety on a journey, and the power of detecting evil spirits. In Germany the clover was held almost sacred whenever it had two or four blades. Now, as to lack, a curious thirjg is stated by the author of The Plant Lore of $bftkespe»re, He fays that clover is a cor-

ruption of « olava," a club, and that to this day. we preserve the emblem of luck on our playing- cards in painting the suit of clubs 1 Somehow the etymology here does not seem very satisfying ; but at any rate we all know what " living in clover means." Yet, perhaps, everyone does not know that in rural districts the clover ia looked upon aa a capital barometer, the leavea beooming rough to the feel when a storm is impending. Professor Dyer, indeed, quotes a writer who says that when tempestuous weather ia coming, the clover will " start and rise up as if it were afraid of an assault." It is probable that the association of good luok with the four bladed clover arose from its fancied resemblance to the cross. Support is given to thia hypothesis by the traditional origin of the shamrock as the badge of Ireland. In the aooount given of St. Patrick in The Book of Days, it ia stated that onoe when the saint wanted to illustrate the dootrine of the Trinity to his pagan hearers, he plucked a pieoe of the oommon white clover. Now it seems that the trefoil is called ■' shamrakh " in Arabio, and was held sacred in Persia. And it is remarkable that Pliny says the trefoil is an antidote agaipst the bites of snakes and scorpions. It is not by any means certain that the common clover was thg original shamrock of Ireland ; and even to this day many claim the title for the wood-sorrel. Still, for fifty years, at any rate, the popular belief haß beep that the trefoil- clover is the plant which waa plucked by St. Patrick who drove ont the snakes from Ireland, who ia Btill her patron saint, and whose badge is worn to this day. But how did the name come from Arabia, and what ia the connection between Pliny's theory and the legend of St. Patrick's victory over the vermin ? These remain among the unsolved mysteries of folklore.

With the emblem of Scotland— the thistle — we shall not find so many classical associa tions and active superstitions, but yet it is not devoid of folk-lore. Of course opinions differ as to what was or is the trae Scotctr thistle, but of the several varieties of thistles many beliefs are entertained. One variety— the Carline— is esteemed in some parts as a barometer, as it closes up when rain is I approaching. In Tartary there is a variety whioh grows to such a size that it is planted for a shelter on the windward sides of the- hut a on the Steppes. The thistle ia called the " Wind Witch," because, after the heat of the summer ia past, the dried portions take the form of a ball, with which the spirits are supposed to make merry in the autumnal gales. The origin of the name thistle is probably Soandanavian, and associated with Thor. The plant was at any rate sacred to the Soandanavian god, and was believed by the old Vikings to reoeive the colour of the lightning into its blossom, which thereupon beearned endowed' with high curative and protective virtues. If we mistake not, it was a species of thistle on Dartmoor whioh used to be called Thormantle, and was used in the district as a febrifuge. We have also read that in Poland some infantile disorders are supposed to be the work of mischievous spirits using thistle-seed. The Lady's Thistle,, which some believe to be the true Sootoh thistle, was one of the many plants associated with the Virgin. t The tradition, according to Brand, is that the white spots on the leaves are doe to the falling of some drops of the Holy Mother's milk, a legend we have seen to be attached also to the lily. Then the great Emperor Charlemagne's pame is blended with that of the Carline Thistle, the story being that during the prevalence of an epidemic among his troops, he prayed to God for help. An angel appeared, and indicated, by firing an arrow, a plant which would allay the disease. This was the Carlina aoaulis, which, of course, cured all the sick soldiers, and possibly may have some of the febrifuge viituea which the Dartmoor people fancied existed in some kind of thistle. Nettle-soup, as we know, is still a familiar housewife's remedy for some childish ailments. In Germany there is said to be a superstition that sorea upon horse's backs may be cured by gathering four red thistle blossoms before daybreak, and placing them in the form of a square upon tha ground with a stone in the middle. It is not easy to trace the probable origin of this belief, but many of the old herbalists mention the thistle as efficacious in oasea of vertigo, headaohe, jaundice, and " infirmities of the gall." Says one, "It is an herb of Mars, and under the sign of Aries." Therefore, "it strengthens the attractive faoulties in man, and clarifies the blood, because the one is ruled by Mars. The continual drinking the decoction of it helps red faces, tetters, and ringworms, because Mars causeth them. It helps the plague' sores, boils, itches, the bitings of mad dogs and venemous beasts, all which infirmities are under Mars." The same writer agrees with Dioscorides, that the root of a thistle carried about " doth expel melancholy and removes all diseases connected therewith." In other words, the thistle was held to possess all the virtues now claimed for podophyllin, bine-pill, and dandelion— a universal antibilious agent. But how did the thistle become the emblem of Scotland ? Well, there are as many traditions on the subject as there are opinions as to whioh variety of the plant is the true Scotch thistle. It is impossible here to refer to all, ao we may mention that although the Cardnua Marianua, or the Blessed or Lady's Thißtle— the origin of whoae name we have given— ia very commonly accepted, so competent an authority as the author of Nether Loohaber rejects both that and all other varieties in favour of the Cnicus acaulis, or the stemless thistle. In doing this, he founds his belief upon the following tradition : Once during the invasion of Ssotlandby the Norsemen, the invaders were stealing a march in the dark upon the Soots, when one of the barefooted scouts placed^his foot upon a thiatle, which caused him to cry out so loudly that the Soots were aroused, and, flying to their horses, drove back the Danes with great slaughter. Now, this could not happen, says Nether Lochaber, with any of the tall thistles, but only with the stemless thistle, which has sharp, fine spikes, and grows close to the ground. This, at least, is as reasonable an explanation as any of the great national badge of Scotland. It but remains to add that the first mention of the thistle as* a national emblem occurs in an inventory of the. jewels and other effsots of James the Third, about 1467, and its first mention in poetry in a poem by D unbar, written about 1503, to commemorate the marriage of James the Fourth with Margaret Tudor, and called the The Thrissell and the Roia. The Order of the Thistle dates from James the Seventh of Scotland and Second of England, about 1687.

And now, as we began with the wreath of parsley, which symbolises "death, let us end with the crown of orange-blossoms, which, among us, now symbolises the two-fold life of the married state. Among the Greeks, the brides need to wear garlanda of myrtle and roses, because both of these plants were associated with the godeess of love. In China the orange* has, from time immemorial, b9en an emblem of good luok, and ia freely used to present to friends and guests. But although the orange is said to have been first brought by the Portuguese from China in 1547, nevertheless this fruit ia supposed to have been the golden apple of Juno, which grew in the Garden of Hesperides. As the golden apple w^aa presented to the Queen of heaven upon her marriage with Jupiter, we find here a definite explanation of the meaning attached to the fruit. But, besides this it seems that orange-blossom was U3ed cen. turies ago by Saracen brides in their personal decorations on the great day of their lives. It was meant to typify fruitfulness, and it is to be noted that the orange-tree bears both fruit and bloetom at the same time, and it is re-

mark»t)le tor Ht> jjt'i.tfurmbhe.M If ia possible, then, that the Mea oE orange-bJo<«om for bridal decoraUon wa<4 brousht ffom the East by the Crusaders ; bat we have been unible to trace at whan dura the onstotn taaan to be followed in England. However introduced, jind whether retained as a flymbol or merely lor the exqoiftite beauty of the flower, »t will continue to hold itn place-in the aff oeions of the maiden bride, to whom it seems to sing : Honour, riches, marriage-blessing, Li-tor enntinnanca and increasing, Hourly joys be utill upon you, " Juno Bit>ff° her M^wlm? on vnxi.