WALLFLOWER. 83 
WALLFLOWER. 
(Fidelity in Misfortune.) 
A COMMON garden blossom, that seldom receives 
all the attention it is worthy of, is the Wallflower, 
symbolical of fidelity in misfortune. It was a great 
favorite in the Middle Ages, when troubadours and 
minstrels wore it as an emblem of the unchangeableness 
of their affection. Wallflowers belong to the Stock 
family ; and by far the finest is the common one, which 
Thomson, in his “‘ Seasons,” describes as— 



“The yellow wallflower, stained with iron brown.” 
Bernard Barton says of the wallflower : 

“An emblem true thou art, 
Of love’s enduring luster, given 
To cheer a lonely heart.” 
And elsewhere : 
“To me it speaks of loveliness, 
That passes not with youth, 
Of beauty which decay can bless, 
Of constancy and truth. 
** But in adversity’s dark hour, 
When glory is gone by, 
Be It then exerts its gentle power, 
The scene to beautify.” 


