|Seitenumbruch|
A Curious Rose-tree.—In the wild rose-tree of
the crypt of the Cathedral of Hildesheim, said to be a thou-
sand years old, it is the root only, and not the stem, which is
eight centuries old, according to accurate information derived
rom ancient and trustworthy original documents, for the
knowledge of which I am indebted to the kindness of Stadt-
gerichts-Assessor Romer. A legend connects the rose-tree
with a vow made by the first founder of the cathedral,
Ludwig the Pious; and an original document of the 11th
century says, “that when Bishop Hezilo rebuilt the cathe-
dral, which had been burnt down, he enclosed the roots of
the rose-tree with a vault, which still exists, raised upon this
vault the crypt, which was re-consecrated in 1061, and spread
out the branches of the rose-tree upon the walls.” The stem
now living is twenty-six and a half feet high, and about two
inches thick, and the out-spread branches cover about thirty-
two feet of the external wall of the eastern crypt. It is
doubtless of considerable antiquity, and well deserving of the
celebrity which it has gained throughout Germany.—Hum-
boldt’s Aspects of Nature.