46 BIRDS IN LEGEND 



the accepted symbol of French power in the eyes of the 

 common folks of France. One medal bore the motto 

 Je veille pour le nation. 



Napoleon soon returned from Elba only to be extin- 

 guished at Waterloo, after which, during the regime of 

 Louis Philippe, the figure of the Gallic cock was again 

 mounted on the top of the regimental flagstaffs in place 

 of the gilded eagle; an illustration of this finial is given 

 in Armories et Drapeaux Frangais. Louis Philippe could 

 do this legitimately, according to Rothery and others, 

 because this bird was the crest of his family — the Bour- 

 bons — in their early history in the south of France. The 

 Gallic cock continued to perch on the banner-poles until 

 the foundation of the second Empire under Louis 

 Napoleon in 1852. Since then the "tricolor," originating 

 in 1789 as the flag of the National Guard, and dispensing 

 with all devices, has waved over France. Officially bold 

 chanticleer was thus dethroned; but in the late World 

 War, as in all previous periods of public excitement, the 

 ancient image of French nationality has been revived, as 

 the illustrated periodicals and books of the time show; 

 and, much as they revere the tricolor, the soldiers still feel 

 that it is le coq Gaulois that in 19 18 again struck down 

 the black eagles of their ancient foes. 



Juvenal's sixth Satire, in which he castigates the 

 Roman women of his day for their sins and follies, con- 

 tains a line, thrown in as a mere side-remark — 



Rara avis in terris, negroque similima cygno — 



which has become the most memorable line in the whole 

 homily. It has been variously translated, most literally, 

 perhaps, by Madan: "A rare bird in the earth, and very 



