t 
AND FLOWERS OF POETRY. 239 
and the other beaux were to make verses on the choice of each 
of the ladies. Charlotte was requested to make her selection 
of a flower; the sprightly Amelia had taken a rose, others a 
carnation, a lily, or the flowers most likely to call forth a com¬ 
pliment; and the delicate idea of Charlotte, in selecting the 
most humble flower, by placing a sprig of mignionette in her 
bosom, would probably have passed unnoticed, had not the 
flirtation of her cousin with a dashing colonel, who was more 
celebrated for his conquests in the drawing-room than the bat¬ 
tle-field, attracted the notice of the count so as to make his un¬ 
easiness visible, which the amiable Charlotte, ever studious of 
Amelia’s real happiness, wished to amuse, and to call back the 
mind of her cousin, demanded the verse for the rose. The 
count saw this affectionate trait in Charlotte’s conduct, took out 
his pencil, and wrote for the rose, 
Elle ne vit qu’un jour, et ne plait qu’un moment, 
which he gave to the gay daughter, at the same time present¬ 
ing the humble cousin with this line on the mignionette: — 
Ses qualites surpassent ses charmes, 
Amelia’s pride was roused, and she retaliated by her attention 
to the colonel, which she carried so far as to throAV herself into 
the power of a profligate, who brought her to ruin. The count 
transferred his affections from beauty to amiability; and, rejoi¬ 
cing in the exchange, to commemorate the event which had 
brought about his happiness, and delivered him from a coquette, 
he added a branch of the sweet reseda to the ancient arms of his 
family, with the motto : — 
Your qualities surpass your charms. 
Your soul is fairer than your face, 
Your genius brighter than your smile; 
