al dispute in the Temple Gardens,
Somerset, on the part of Lancaster, says ("1 Henry VI." ii. 4):

"Let him that is no coward, nor no flatterer,
But dare maintain the party of the truth,
Pluck a red rose from off this thorn with me."

Warwick, on the part of York, replies:

"I love no colours, and, without all colour
Of base insinuating flattery,
I pluck this white rose with Plantagenet."

The trailing white dog-rose is commonly considered to have been the one
chosen by the House of York. A writer, however, in the _Quarterly
Review_ (vol. cxiv.) has shown that the white rose has a very ancient
interest for Englishmen, as, long before the brawl in the Temple
Gardens, the flower had been connected with one of the most ancient
names of our island. The elder Pliny, in discussing the etymology of the
word Albion, suggests that the land may have been so named from the
white roses which abounded in it. The York and Lancaster rose, with its
pale striped flowers, is a variety of the French rose known as _Rosa
Gallica_. It became famous when the two emblematical roses, in the
persons of Henry VII. and Elizabeth of York, at last brought peace and
happiness to the country which had been so long divided by internal
warfare. The canker-rose referred to by Shakespeare is the wild
dog-rose, a name occasionally applied to the common red poppy.

_Rosemary._ This plant was formerly in very high esteem, and was devoted
to various uses. It was supposed to strengthen the memory; hence it was
regarded as a symbol of remembrance, and on this account was often given
to friends. Thus, in "Hamlet" (iv. 5), where Ophelia seems to be
addressing Laertes, she says: "There's rosemary, that's for
remembrance." In the "Winter's Tale" (iv. 4) rosemary and rue are
beautifully put together:

"For you there's rosemary and rue; these keep
Seeming and savour all the winter long:
Grace and remembrance be to you both,
And welcome to our shearing!"

Besides being used at weddings, it was also in request at funerals,
probably for its odor, and as a token of remembrance of the deceased.
Thus the Friar, in "Romeo and Juliet" (iv. 5), says:

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

This practice is thus touchingly alluded to by Gay, in his "Pastorals:"

"To shew their love, the neighbours far and near
Followed, with wistful look, the damsel's bier:
Sprigg'd rosemary t