IX

—In the midst was seen

A lady of a more majestic mien,

By stature and by beauty mark’d their sovereign Queen.

And as in beauty she surpass’d the choir,

So nobler than the rest was her attire;

A crown of ruddy gold enclosed her brow,

Plain without pomp, and rich without a show;

A branch of Agnus Castus in her hand,

She bore aloft her symbol of command.

“The Flower and the Leaf”

—In the midst was seen A lady of a more majestic mien, By stature and by beauty mark’d their sovereign Queen.

And as in beauty she surpass’d the choir, So nobler than the rest was her attire; A crown of ruddy gold enclosed her brow, Plain without pomp, and rich without a show; A branch of Agnus Castus in her hand, She bore aloft her symbol of command.

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