A Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields/Sonnet—A Noble Exile (Ferdinand de Gramont)
Sonnet—A NOBLE EXILE.
Born in the ancient castle, there he grew
Where all his sires had ruled lands fair and wide,
And she who was his love, his promised bride,
Of the same blood, was to her kinsman true.
All that men long for, all they ever rue
When unattained, was his, no gift denied,
And he left all. Fierce rushed the torrent tide
And whirled the plant to climes it never knew.
Beneath a stranger's roof in foreign lands
He died, but never questioned the commands,
However stern, of Honour, no, nor weighed
His fortune with his conscience. Much he lost,
But nobly strove to act as Duty bade,
And that one happiness was worth the cost.