University of Virginia Library

SONG 3.—The Rose.

I

How fair is the rose! what a beautiful flow'r!
The glory of April and May!
But the leaves are beginning to fade in an hour,
And they wither and die in a day.

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II

Yet the rose has one powerful virtue to boast,
Above all the flowers of the field;
When its leaves are all dead, & fine colours are lost,
Still how sweet a perfume it will yield!

III

So frail is the youth and the beauty of men,
Tho' they bloom and look gay like the rose;
But all our fond care to preserve them is vain;
Time kills them as fast he goes.

IV

Then I'll not be proud of my youth or my beauty,
Since both of them wither and fade;
But gain a good name by well doing my duty;
This will scent like a rose when I'm dead.