Say, was it to my spirit's gain or loss,

One bright and balmy morning, as I went

From Liege's lovely environs to Ghent,

If hard by the wayside I found a cross,

That made me breathe a pray'r upon the spot—

While Nature of herself, as if to trace

The emblem's use, had trail'd around its base

The blue significant Forget-me-not?

Methought, the claims of Charity to urge

More forcibly, along with Faith and Hope,