Page:The Romance of Nature; or, The Flower-Seasons Illustrated.djvu/281

179 To him that token-flower brought

Woe more than words could speak;

And the brave Rupert's true heart seemed

Full even as 'twould break.

The Ladye to her Father's Hall

Went gaily bounding back:

More pensively Sir Rupert paced

Along his homeward track.

And welcome was a gallant guest

Who that night sat him by;

They had been friends in early youth,

Brothers in chivalrie.

"What aileth thee," Sir Maurice said,

"That thou dost shun the bowl?

That cloud upon thy brow bespeaks

A sorrow on thy soul—

Ha! is it Love? that thou dost wear

Yon token on thy breast?"

For now the fatal flower peeped out

From Rupert's broidered vest.

And all the tale of woe is told—

And all Love's misery—

And Maurice cried, "The morrow's morn

Thou shalt away with me—