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FIDELITY IN ADVERSITY. 99 
and scatter them to the winds, The bar- 
barians, after breaking open the sacred tombs, 
were affrighted at the sacrilege, and went 
and hid their spoil in an obscure corner 
behind the choir of the church, where they 
were forgotten amid the horrors of the revo- 
lution. The poet, Treneuil, some time after 
visited the spot, and found the sculptured frag- 
ments covered with the wallflower. This 
plant, faithful in misfortune, diffused sweet 
perfumes in that religious receptacle, which 
might be likened to an offering of incense 
ascending towards heaven. This scene pro- 
duced the following lines from the inspired 
poet’s pen :— 
Mais quelle est cette fleur que son instinct pieux 
Sur Vaile du zéphyr améne dans ces lieux ? 
Quoi! tu quittes le temple ot vivent tes racines, 
Sensible girofiée, amante des ruines, 
Et ton tribut fiddle accompagne nos rois ? 
Ah ! puisque la terreur a courbé sous ses lois 
Du lis infortuné la tige souveraine, 
Que nos jardins en deuil te choisissent pour reine; 
Triomphe sans rivale, et que ta sainte fleur 
Croisse pour le tombeau, le trone, et le malheur. 
Ww 
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