_Ophelia_ handed a sprig of rosemary to her brother with the words: "There's rosemary; That's for remembrance; pray you, love, remember." Probably she knew the old song in the "Handful of Pleasant Delights"[70] where occurs the verse: Rosemary is for remembrance Between us day and night, Wishing that I might always have You present in my sight. [70] See p. 127. Rosemary was used profusely at weddings among the decorations and the strewings on the floor. A sprig of it was always placed in the wine to insure the bride's happiness. The herb was also conspicuous at funerals, naturally enough as the herb was emblematic of remembrance. The _Friar_ in "Romeo and Juliet" exclaims: Dry up your tears and stick your rosemary On this fair corse.[71] [71] Act IV, Scene V. Sometimes the plant was associated with rue as when in "The Winter's Tale"[72] _Perdita_ says, Give me those flowers, Dorcas:--reverend sirs, For you there's rosemary and rue; these keep Seeming and savour the whole winter through. [72] Act IV, Scene III. Most important was rosemary at Christmas-tide. It had a place among the holly, bay, ivy, and mistletoe to which it added its peculiar and delicious perfume. Moreover, it was said that rosemary brought happiness to those who used it among the Christmas decorations. Rosemary also garlanded that most important dish of ceremony--the boar's head, which the butler (or sewer) bore into the hall of great houses and famous institutions, like the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge and the City Companies, on a silver dish, preceded by a flourish of trumpets. The carol he sung began: The boar's head in hand bring I, With garland gay and rosemary. Lyte said: "Rosemary comforteth the brain and restoreth speech, especially the conserve made of the flowers thereof with sugar." Worn on the person it was thought to strengthen the memory and to make the wearer successful in everything. The famous Hungary-water, so favorite a perfume in the days of Elizabeth and after, was distilled from rosemary. The leaves were used as a flavor in cooking (just as the Italians use it to-day). Placed in chests and wardrobes, rosemary preserved clothing from insidious moth. According to astrologers, rosemary was an herb of the sun.