Monterey, Cradle of California’s Romance: The Story of a Lost Port That Was Found Again and a Dream That Came True (1914)

Firstly, to dream of white flowers has been supposed to prognosticate death; with which may be compared the popular belief that if a white rosebush puts forth unexpectedly, it is a sign of death to the nearest house; dream-omens in many cases reflecting the superstitions of daily life. In Scotch ballads the birch is associated with the dead, an illustration of which we find in the subjoined lines: …