ODE. THE charms which blooming Beauty shows From faces heavenly fair, W to the lily and the rose With semblance apt compare: With semblance apt; for ah! how soon, How soon they all decay! The lily droops, the rose is gone, And beauty fades away. But when bright Virtue shines confess'd, With sweet Discretion join'd; When Mildness calms the peaceful breast, And Wisdom guides the mind; When charms like these, dear Maid, conspire Thy person to approve, They kindle generous, chaste desire, And everlasting love. Beyond the reach of Time or Fate, These graces shall endure, Still like the passion they create, Eternal, constant, pure.