Democratic Sentinel, Volume 6, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 July 1882 — Under the Rose. [ARTICLE]

Under the Rose.

This expression took its origin from the wars between the British houses of York and Lancaster. The parties respectively swore by the red or the white rose, and these opposite emblems were displayed as the signs of the two taverns, one of which was by the side of, and the other opposite to, the Parliament House in Old Palace Yard, Westminster. Here the retainers and servants of the noblemen attached to the Duke of York and Henry YL used to meet. Here, also, as disturbances were frequent, measures, either of defense or annoyance, were taken, and every transaction was said to be done “ under the rose,” by which expression the most profound secrecy was implied. According to others this term originated in the fable of Oupid giving the rose to Harpocrates, the god of silence, as a bribe to prevent him betraying the amours of Venus, and was hence adopted as the emblem of silence. The rose was, for this reason, frequently sculptured on the ceilings of drinking and feasting rooms, as a warning to the guests that what was Baid in moments of conviviality should not be repeated; from which, what was intended to be kept secret was said to be held “under the rose.” Roses were consecrated as presents from the Pope. In 1526 they were placed over confessionals as the symbols of secrecy. Hence, according to some, the - origin rff the phrase. Thh average yield of wheat per acre in 1881 was only 10* bushels, against 13* for 1880. This of itself would be equivalent to a falling off of 100,000,000 bushels in the total wheat crop of 1881,