he committed during the three years that he was governor of Sicily, but yet more with his effeminacy and licentiousness. "When spring commenced," said the Roman orator, "that season was not announced to him by the return of Zephyr, nor by the appearance of any heavenly sign; it was not until he had seen the roses bloom, that spring was visible to his voluptuous eye. In the voyages which he made across the province, he was accustomed, after the example of the kings of Bithynia, to be carried in a litter borne by eight men, in which he reposed, softly extended upon cushions made of transparent material and filled with roses of Malta, having in his hand a net of the finest linen, and equally full of these flowers, whose fragrance incessantly gratified his eager nostrils." Latinus Pacatus, in his eulogium on the Emperor Theodosius, inveighs against the luxury of the Romans, whose sensual desires, he says, were not satisfied until they had reversed the order of the seasons, and produced roses in the winter season to crown their cup of wine, and until their Falernian during the summer, was cooled in large vessels filled with ice. The forcing of roses in winter, is no longer extensively practiced in Rome; but during the summer they are more abundant, and we recollect being much struck with admiration of some beautiful hedges of the Daily rose in the villas near Rome. After reading the preceding statements of the abundance of roses among the ancient Romans, it is with some surprise that we recollect the great scarcity of that flower during the gayest and most animated festival of the modern Romans-the Carnival. As we slowly walked along the Corso, submitting with as quiet a grace as possible to the various fantastic tricks of the masqued figures around us, and occasionally pelted with handsful of sugar-plums from the windows, or passing carriages, we looked in vain for roses or camellias in the numerous bouquets that were cleaving the air around us. Little bouquets of violets were numerous, and the air was thick with them, as our eyes, nose, and mouth could bear striking witness; and we recollect, too, the contemptuous curl of the lip, and rush of the aris tocratic blood into the face of a fair English girl, in one of the carriages, whose blue eyes had been nearly closed by an awkward cast of one of these petits bouquets from the hand of a plebian performer. But we only recollect catching a glimpse now and then, of a single rose or camellia, skilfully passed by a cavalier below, into the hands of some dark-eyed beauty in the balconies above; the bright sparkle of whose eye convinced us that the single flower was of value, and a mark of especial regard. The Rose appeared to be valued as some rare exotic, and not to be idly bestowed where there was small probability of its due appreciation; it was indeed a "rara flora in urbe,” and quite superseded by the very pretty and abundant violets. The modern Romans have not only lost many of the good qualities of their early ancestors, but they have also escaped much of the effeminate softness which characterized the Romans under some of the later emperors; and as belonging to this state of luxury, the cultivation of the Rose has in modern times been much neglected. The homage of the Romans is now reserved for art, and the beautiful products of nature are in their opinion, worthy only of secondary consideration. The Rose is now mostly confined in that city to the residences of the wealthier classes, and can scarcely be said to have resumed its old place in Roman esteem, until it is again a favorite with the mass of the people. When Cleopatra went into Cilicia to meet Marc Antony, she gave him for several successive days festivals, in which she displayed a truly royal magnificence. She caused to be placed in the banqueting hall twelve couches, each of which would hold three guests. The walls were covered with purple tapestry, interwoven with gold; all the vases were of gold, admirably executed and enriched with precious stones. On the fourth day, the queen carried her sumptuousness so far as to pay a talent (about six hundred dollars) for a quantity of roses, with which she caused the floor of the hall to be covered to the depth of eighteen inches. These flowers were retained by a very fine net, in order that the guests might walk over them. In connection with this fact, it is curious to notice the following anecdote related by Pliny. "At the time that Marc Antony was preparing for the battle of Actium, he felt suspicious of Cleopatra, and made her taste of all the dishes which were served up to him, she all the while ridiculing his fears. "One day, while giving him a banquet, she placed on his head a crown, bordered with poisoned flowers; and when Antony was heated with wine, she proposed that each should drink his crown. He at once consented, and hastening to tear off his crown, placed it in his cup and was about to drink it, when the queen stopped him, saying: 'Why do you suspect me of deadly intentions towards your person? if it were possible to live without you, see how easy I could send you from the world.' At the same time having ordered a criminal from prison, she gave him the cup to drink, and he expired in a moment." At a later period, and after the loss of the battle of Actium, Antony, not wishing to survive his defeat, from fear of falling into the hands of Augustus, thrust himself through with his sword, and requested Cleopatra to scatter perfumes over his tomb and to cover it with roses. The greatest profusion of roses mentioned in ancient history, and which is scarcely credible, is that which Suetonius attributes to Nero. This author says, that at a fête which the emperor gave in the gulf of Baiæ, when inns were established on the banks, and ladies of distinction played the part of hostesses, the expense incurred for roses alone, was more than four millions of sesterces-about $100,000. Since Nero, many of his successors have nearly equalled him in prodigal enjoyment of the luxury of roses. Lucius Aurelius Verus, whose licentiousness and destitution of every manly quality equalled that of the worst emperors, but whom no one reproaches with any act of cruelty, was the inventor of a new species of luxury. He had a couch made, on which were four raised cushions, closed on all sides by a very thin net, and filled with leaves of roses. Heliogabalus, celebrated for luxury and vice of every kind, caused roses to be crushed with the kernels of the pine (Pinus maritima), in order to increase the perfume. The same emperor caused roses to be scattered over the couches, the halls, and even the porticoes of the palace, and he renewed this profusion with flowers of every kind: lilies, violets, hyacinths, narcissus, &c. Gallien, another equally cruel and luxurious prince, lay, according to some authors, under arbors of roses; and, according to others, on beds covered with these flowers. And finally, Carrius, another licentious and prodigal emperor, who reigned only a few months, caused roses to be scattered over the chambers of his palace, and on the couches upon which were placed his guests. CHAPTER III. THE ROSE, IN CEREMONIES AND FESTIVALS, AND IN THE ADORNMENT OF BURIAL PLACES. MONG the ancients, the Rose was conspicuous in all the sacred ceremonies, and in public and private fêtes. The Greeks and the Romans surrounded the statues of Venus, of Hebe, and of Flora, with garlands of roses. They were lavish of these flowers at the festivals of Flora; in those of Juno, at Argos, the statue of the Olympian Queen was crowned with lilies and roses. In the festivals of Hymen, at Athens, the youth of both sexes, crowned with roses and adorned with flowers, mingled in dances which were intended to represent the innocence of primeval times. At Rome, in the public rejoicings, they sometimes strewed the streets with roses and other flowers. It is thus that Lucretius gives a description of the man. ner in which was celebrated the festivals of Cybele.1 To scatter flowers on the passage of the funeral procession of a private citizen, was an honor not common at Rome. Pliny informs us, however, that a Scipio, belonging to the illustrious family of that name, who while he was tribune, fulfilled 1" Ergo cum primum, magnas invecta per urbes LUCRETIUS, lib. ii., ver. 625. |