in botany. See Rosa.

Essence of Roses, is the essential oil of the white rose drawn off in an Alembic in the usual way, but is afforded in very small quantity, and is therefore exceedingly scarce and dear.

Rose-noble, an ancient English gold-coin, first struck in the reign of Edward III. It was formerly current at 6s. 8d. and so called because stamped with a rose.

ROSLIN, or Roselyn, a place in the county of Mid Lothian in Scotland, remarkable for an ancient chapel and castle. The chapel was founded in 1446, by St Clare, prince of Orkney, for a provost, five prebendaries, and two singing-boys. The outside is ornamented with a multitude of pinnacles, and variety of ludicrous sculpture. The inside is 69 feet long, the breadth 34, supported by two rows of clustered pillars, between seven and eight feet high, with an aisle on each side. The arches are obliquely Gothic. These arches are continued across the side-aisles, but the centre of the church is one continued arch, elegantly divided into compartments, and finely sculptured. The capitals of the pillars are enriched with foliage, and a variety of figures; and amidst a heavenly concert, appears a cherubim blowing the ancient Highland bagpipes. The castle is seated on a peninsulated rock, in a deep glen far beneath, and accessible by a bridge of great height. This had been the seat of the great name of Sinclair. Of this house was Oliver, favourite of James V. and the innocent cause of the loss of the battle of Solway Moot, by reason of the envy of the nobility on account of his being preferred to the command.

Near this place, the English received three defeats in one day under John de Segrave the English regent of Scotland in 1302. The Scots, under their generals Cummin and Fraser, had resolved to surprise Segrave; with which view they began their march on the night or Saturday preceding the first Sunday of Lent, and reached the English army by break of day. Segrave, however, had time to have fallen back upon the other division which lay behind him: but, either despising his enemies too much, or thinking that he would be dishonoured by a retreat, he encountered Roslin, the Scots; the consequence of which was, that he himself was made prisoner, and all his men either killed or taken, except such as fled to the other division.

As in this routed division there had been no fewer than 300 knights, each of whom brought at least five horsemen into the field, great part of the Scots infantry quickly furnished themselves with their horses: but, as they were dividing the spoils, another division of the English appeared, and the Scots were obliged to fight them also. The English, after a bloody engagement, were defeated a second time; which was no sooner done, than the third and most powerful division made its appearance. The Scots were now quite exhausted; and, pleading the excessive labours they had already undergone, earnestly requested their generals to allow them to retreat while it was yet in their power. Their two generals, who perhaps knew that to be impracticable, reminded them of the cause for which they were fighting, the tyranny of the English, &c. and by these arguments prevailed upon them to fight a third time; though, previous to the engagement, they were reduced to the cruel necessity of putting all the common soldiers whom they had made prisoners to the sword. The victory of the Scots at this time was less complete than the other two had been; since they could not prevent the retreat of the English to Edinburgh, nor Segrave from being rescued from his captivity.

ROSMARINUS, rosemary; a genus of the monogynia order, belonging to the diandria class of plants. There are two species, the angustifolia and latifolia, or narrow and broad leaved rosemary; of which the second has larger flowers and a stronger scent than the other. There are two varieties; one of the first sort with striped leaves, called the silver rosemary; and the other with yellow, whence it is called the gold-striped rosemary. These plants grow naturally in the southern parts of France, Spain, and Italy; where, upon dry rocky soils near the sea, they thrive prodigiously, and perfume the air in such a manner as to be smelt at a great distance from the land. However, they are hardy enough to bear the cold of our ordinary winters, provided they be planted upon a poor, dry, gravelly soil, on which they will endure the cold much better than in a richer ground, where, growing more vigorously in summer, they are more apt to be injured by frost in winter; nor will they have such a strong aromatic scent as those on a dry and barren soil. They are to be propagated either by slips or cuttings.

Rosemary has a fragrant smell, and a warm pungent bitterish taste, approaching to those of lavender: the leaves and tender tops are strongest; next to those, the cup of the flower; the flowers themselves are considerably the weakest, but most pleasant. Aqueous liquors extract great share of the virtues of rosemary leaves by infusion, and elevate them in distillation; along with the water arises a considerable quantity of essential oil, of an agreeable strong penetrating smell. Pure spirit extracts in great perfection the whole aromatic flavour of the rosemary, and elevates very little of it in distillation; hence the resinous mass, left upon extracting the spirit, proves an elegant aromatic, very rich in the peculiar qualities of the plant. The flowers of rosemary give over great part of their flavour in distillation with pure spirit: by watery liquors, their fragrance is much injured; by beating, destroyed.