The Poetical Works of the Right Hon. George Granville, Lord Lansdowne/75
TO FLAVIA.
WRITTEN ON HER GARDEN IN THE NORTH, &c.
What charm is this, that in the midſt of ſnow,
Of ſtorms and blaſts, the choiceſt fruits do grow?
Melons on beds of ice are taught to bear,
And ſtrangers to the ſun yet ripen here:
On frozen ground the ſweeteſt flow’rs ariſe,5
Unſeen by any light but Flavia’s eyes:
Where’er ſhe treads, beneath the charmer’s feet
The roſe, the jaſmine, and the lilies, meet:
Where’er ſhe looks, behold ſome ſudden birth
Adorns the trees, and fructifies the earth!10
In midſt of mountains and unfruitful ground
As rich an Eden as the firſt is found.
In this new paradiſe the goddeſs reigns
In ſovereign ſtate, and mocks the lover’s pains:
Beneath thoſe beams that ſcorch us from her eyes15
Her ſnowy boſom ſtill unmelted lies:
Love from her lips ſpreads all his odours round,
But bears on ice, and ſprings from frozen ground.
So cold the clime that can ſuch wonders bear,
The garden ſeems an emblem of the fair.20