Debitae nymphis opifex coronae.-Hor.
Imitation.
Constructor of the tributary wreath
For rural maids.
Bring, Flora, bring thy treasures here,
The pride of all the blooming year;
And let me thence a garland frame,
To crown this fair, this peerless dame!
But, ah! since envious Winter lowers,
And Hewell meads resign their flowers,
Let Art and Friendship's joint essay
Diffuse their flowerets in her way.
Not Nature can, herself, prepare
A worthy wreath for Lesbia's hair,
Whose temper, like her forehead, smooth,
Whose thoughts and accents form'd to soothe,
Whose pleasing mien, and make refined,
Whose artless breast, and polish'd mind,
From all the nymphs of plain or grove,
Deserved and won by Plymouth's love!
