Classic Poem

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,
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!
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 eyes
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.