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plant Tsore, Tsegcq^/, oniR Isijrlc/.
of Rosemary, a red Rose, a white Rose, a blue flower, a yellow
flower, nine blades of long Grass, and a sprig of Rue, all of which
are to be bound together with a lock of the maiden’s hair who
wishes to work the spell. This nosegay is to be sprinkled with the
blood of a white pigeon and some salt, and laid beneath the maid’s
head when she retires to rest. Her dreams will then portend her
fate. Rosemary is deemed a herb of the Sun.
R O S E O F JE R IC H O . - -From the Casa Nuova Convent of
Jerusalem pilgrims bring away little dried-up plants, which after a
time appear to be quite dead, but if they are placed in water their
branches will soon be covered with fresh bursting buds. These are
the Roses of Jericho, or Resurrecition Flowers, which grow among
the sands of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, and are also found in B a r bary.
The + nastatica Hievochuntina is cruciform ; and when its flowers
and leaves have withered and fallen off, the branches as they dry
curl inwards, and form a round mass, thence called a Rose. The
roots d ie ; the winds tear the plant up, and blow it about the sands
till it lodges in a moist spot, or is wetted with the rain ; then the
curled-up globe expands, and suffers the seeds to escape from the
seed vessel in which they were enclosed, and becoming embedded
in the sands, they germinate anew ; hence its name Anastatica—Re-
surrecffion. The Holy Rose of Jericho is regarded with peculiar
reverence in Palestine and other places in the East, and is supposed
to be the plant alluded to in Ecclesiasticus : “ I was . . . . as a
Rose-plant in Jericho.” The Arabs call this ffiani K a f Maryam [i.e.,
Mary’s hand); it is also known as Rosa-Marie (Rose of the Virgin).
The pilgrims to the Holy Sepulchre fancied it sprang up wherever
the Holy Family rested in their flight into the Egypt, and called it
the Rosa Hierosolymitana. There is a cherished legend that it first
blossomed at our Saviour’s birth, closed at the crucifixion, and
opened again at Easter, whence its name of Resurrecffion Flower.
The tradition that it blossomed at the moment when our Lord was
born, and was endowed with qualities propitious to nativity,
caused the plant to be greatly esteemed by the Eastern women,
who, when occasion requires, are anxious to have one of these
dried plants expanding in a vase of water beside them, firmly
believing it has a salutary effecit. In like manner, the matrons of
Bologna, who call the plant the Rose of the Madonna, believe in
its efficacy at the birth of children. They place the plant in water
at the bedside with the convicffion that at the moment when it has
fully expanded itself the expecited infant will first see the light.------
In Germany, a similar belief exists, and the Rose of Jericho is
called (after its Arabic name) Mary’s Hand, in allusion to the office
assigned to the Madonna of patroness of matrons.
R O S E O F SH A R O N .—The Hebrew word rendered in
Canticles ii., i, and Isaiah xxxv., i, as “ Rose,” is thought by some
to signify “ Tulip.” Interpreters, indeed vary between Rose, Lily,
plant Tsoro, begeì^bj-, ani. bijric/, 5 29
Narcissus, and T u lip ; so that it is impossible to say with any
certainty what flower we are to understand by the Rose of Sharon,
According to travellers, the Narcissus, or Jonquil [Narcissus
Jonquila), grows abundantly on the plain of Sharon, yet so low that
it may be unobserved among more showy plants ; and again we
find it stated that, in the season, the plain is literally covered with
Tulips. Though Palestine abounds in flowers, it is doubtful
whether the Rose of our gardens is alluded to in the Bible. In the
Apocrypha (Wisdom xi., 8), it may, perhaps, be intended, but
more probably the Oleander is there referred to.
R O W A N -T R E E , or M O U N T A IN -A SH .—The Mountain
Ash [Pyrus Aucuparia), called also by the old names of Rodden,
Rowan-tree, Quicken-tree, and Witchen-tree, is a tree of good
omen. In Scandinavian mythology, it is Thor’s Helper, because
it bent to his grasp when he was crossing the river Vimur, on his
way to the land of the Frost Giants. The wood of the Rowan was
also used to preserve the Norse ships from Ran, who delighted in
drowning mariners. The Rowan is generally considered to have
been one of the sacred trees of the Druids. Stumps of the Mountain
Ash have frequently been found within or near the circle of a Druic^
temple, thus proving that the tree must have been an objedt of
great veneration with the Druids, who doubtless pradtised their
sacred rites beneath its shade. This connedtion of the tree with
Druidic customs affords some explanation of the many superstitious
ideas appertaining to the Mountain Ash which are still extant.
Lightfoot tells us that the Rowan-tree is discovered in the Druidic
circles of North Britain more frequently than any other, and that even
now pieces of it are carried about by superstitious people as charms
to protect them from witchcraft. Like the Indian Mimosa (a tree
of the same genus and of a similar character), or the Palasa, which
it resembles in its graceful foliage and berries, the Mountain Ash
has for ages been held in high repute as a preservative against
magic and sorceries. Thus we find in Jamieson’s ‘ Scottish Dictionary,’
that “ the most approved charm against cantrips and
spells was a branch of the Rowan-tree planted and placed over
the byre. This sacred tree cannot be removed by unholy fingers.”
The Scotch peasantry considered the Rowan a complete antidote
against the effedts of witchcraft and the E v il Eye, and, in consequence,
a twig of it was very commonly carried in the pocket; but
that it might have complete efficacy, it was necessary that it
should be accompanied by the following couplet, written on paper,
wrapped round the wood and secured by a red silk thread ;—
“ Rowan Ash and red thread
Keep the devils frae their speed.”
Another version of this charm renders it thus
“ Roan-tree and red thread,
Haud the witches a’ in dread.”
2 M