he leaves of the plant somewhat resemble those of the
juniper, which in mediaeval times was one of the plants held sacred to
the Virgin Mary. In the island of Crete, it is said, a bride dressed for
the wedding still calls last of all for a sprig of rosemary to bring her
luck.

And thus we come to find rosemary in close association with both
marriage and death, just as the hyacinth was, and perhaps still is,
among the Greeks. It is interesting to trace the connection by which the
same plant came to have two such different uses.

One of the earliest mentions of rosemary in English literature is in a
poem of the fourteenth century called 'The Gloriouse Rosemaryne,' which
begins thus:

'This herbe is callit rosemaryn,
Of vertu that is gode and fyne;
But all the vertues tell I ne can,
Nor, I trowe, no erthely man.'

Nevertheless, the poet proceeds to record at great length many
astounding virtues, including the restoration of youth to the aged by
bathing in rosemary water.

The 'cheerful rosemarie' and 'refreshing rosemarine' of Spenser was once
a great favourite in England, although now it is hardly allowed garden
space. Sir Thomas More said: 'I let it run all over my garden walls, not
only because my bees love it, but because 'tis the herb sacred to
remembrance, and therefore to friendship: whence a sprig of it hath a
dumb language that maketh it the chosen emblem at our funeral wakes and
in our burial grounds.'

The popularity of the plant was doubtless due to the long-enduring scent
and verdure of the leaves. It is one of the most lasting of evergreens,
and the pleasant aromatic odour lingers very long after the leaves have
been gathered.

Fragrance and endurance, then, are the characteristics of a plant which
came to be commonly accepted as an emblem of constancy, and also of
loving remembrance. Thus it is that Herrick sings of it:

'Grow for two ends, it matters not at all,
Be't for my bridal or my burial.'

Thus it is that we find Friar Laurence over Juliet's body, saying:

'Dry up your tears, and stick your rosemary
On this fair corse,'

which is certainly not what the nurse meant when she told Romeo of the
'prettiest sententions.'

High medicinal properties were ascribed to the rosemary, so much so that
old Parkinson writes: 'Rosemary is almost as great use as bayes, both
for outward and inward remedies, and as well for civill as physicall
purposes; inwardly for the head and hea