Resurrection-Flower.—See [Rose of Jericho].
RHAMNUS.—The Rhamnus Spina Christi, or Syrian Christ’s Thorn, has acquired that name because it is supposed by many to have supplied the crown of Thorns at our Saviour’s crucifixion. An English species, Rhamnus Paliurus, is also called by Miller Spina Christi. (See [Thorn] and [Buckthorn].)
RICE.—Among Orientals, Rice is esteemed the symbol of life, generation, and abundance. The Dyaks of Borneo and the Karens of Burmah look upon it as a divinity, and address prayers to it to ensure a good harvest. In Siam, Rice and honey are offered to trees before they are felled.——Rice plays an important part in the marriage ceremonies of India. At the altar, the bride is three times approached by her friends, who on each occasion place Rice in her hands. They also scatter Rice on the head of the bridegroom. On the last day of the nuptial ceremonies, the bride and bridegroom together offer the sacrifice of Soma, during which they throw in the fire Rice moistened with butter. The Brahmans, when performing the marriage rites, after having recited a variety of prayers, consecrate the union of the couple by throwing a handful of Saffron mixed with the flour of Rice on their shoulders. Offerings of Rice and Saffron are made by married women in India to obtain healthy children, and to procure from the divinity exemption from the maladies of their sex. On the birth of a son, the Brahman father, after having banished the females from the apartment, takes the infant and places on its head Rice coloured red: this is done in order to avert the Evil Eye. Another method is to envelope small portions of Rice in cloths marked with the names of women suspected of being witches, and to place the whole in a nest of white ants. Should the ants devour the Rice in any of these mystic bundles, the charge of sorcery is thereby established against the woman whose name it bears. Young girls desirous of husbands offer dressed Rice to the gods. At the consecration of a Brahmanic disciple, the father of the candidate carries in his hands a cup filled with Rice, and the assistants, after the bath, cover the candidate with Rice. Rice is employed in many of the Hindu sacrifices and religious ceremonies, and is regarded as sacred: no one would touch it without having first made his ablutions. At the time of sowing it, certain ceremonies are solemnly observed.——In China, during the Spring Festival of the Fire, the priests of Tao march round the brasier, carrying
a basket filled with Rice and salt, of which from time to time they cast a handful into the fire, to conjure the flame and to obtain an abundant harvest.——A Japanese legend relates that in ancient times the Bonzes (priests) of Nikko, like the other natives, lived solely on herbs and roots, not knowing any other kind of nourishment. One day, however, a Bonze observed a mouse hiding some Rice and other grains in a corner. He could not understand where the mouse could have obtained it, so he set a trap, and having caught the little creature, he tied to one of its hind legs a silken thread; and then, holding the other end of the thread in his hand, he set the mouse free, and determined to follow wherever it should run. The mouse led the priest into a remote and unknown land, where Rice grew in abundance. The Bonze learnt how to cultivate it, and speedily introduced it into his own country, where it proved such a blessing, that the inhabitants worshipped the mouse as a god, under the name of Daikoku-sama. From that day the mouse has been held sacred by the Japanese poor, and its effigy is found suspended in many of their houses as a fetish.——Among the Arabs, Rice is considered as a sacred food, and tradition runs that it first sprang from a drop of perspiration which fell from Mahomet in Paradise. Another tradition current among the Arabs is, that the national dish, composed of a mixture of Rice with other ingredients, and called Kuskussu, was revealed to Mahomet by the angel Gabriel himself.——The Bushmen of Central Africa have the following legend concerning Rice:—A pretty woman having eaten a certain Bushman-rice, called “ant’s-egg,” became transformed into a lioness; but after the spell was broken by reason of her little sister and her brothers also eating this particular Rice, she regained her original form, and from that day detested the Bushman-rice. This beautiful woman is supposed to have been the wife of the star called Heart of the Dawn.——In England, the Oriental practice of employing Rice at wedding festivities has of late become very general; and it is customary for showers of Rice to be thrown after the bride and bridegroom, as the happy pair quit the bride’s home; this is thought to promote their success and future happiness.——According to a work on the subject, to dream of eating Rice denotes abundance of instruction.
ROCKET.—This is a name given to several different plants the most noted of which are the London Rocket (Sisymbrium Irio) and the Dame’s, or Garden Rocket (Hesperis matronalis). The former plant is said to have first appeared in the metropolis in the Spring succeeding the Great Fire of London, when young Rockets were seen everywhere springing up among the ruins, where they increased so marvellously, that in the Summer the enormous crop crowding over the surface of London created the greatest astonishment and wonder.——The Garden Rocket (Hesperis) boasts of many other old-fashioned names:—Dame’s Violet, Damask Violet, Queen’s Gilliflower, Rogue’s Gilliflower, Winter Gilliflower, and Close Sciences (originally Close Sciney). It is the Cassolette (smelling-bottle), Julienne, and la Juliana of the French; and the Bella Giulia and Giuliana of the Italians.——According to Pliny, as quoted by Gerarde, “whosoever taketh the seed of Rocket before he be whipt, shall be so hardened that he shall easily endure the paines.” Turner remarks that all sorts of Rockets, but especially the seed, quicken nature and excite the passions; the seed he recommends as efficacious “against the bitings of the shrew-mouse and other venomous beasts.” Moreover, if mixed with vinegar, it is stated to remove freckles and pimples from the face.——Rocket is held to be under the dominion of Mars.
Rogation-Flower.—See [Gang-Flower] and [Milkwort].
Root of the Holy Ghost.—See [Angelica].
ROSE.—It is worthy of notice how little the name of the Rose varies amongst different nations. The Greeks call it Rodon, the Latins Rosa (a form adhered to by Italians, Russians, Spaniards, and Portuguese), the English, French, Germans, and Danes, Rose, the Poles Roza, the Dutch Roos, and the Swedes Ros. Roses embellish the whole earth, and are natives of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America; Nature having apparently, in this generous distribution, designed to offer these flowers to all people, as the type of grace and beauty. The origin of the queen of flowers is told us by the Jesuit poet Rapin, according to whose verse—
“She was a Grecian born, gave Corinth laws,
And fame proclaimed her worth with such applause,