Excerpt from The Poetical Works of John Dryden, Vol. 4 of 5 The Flower and the Leaf, Or, the Lady in the Arbour. A Vision. Now turning from the wintry signs, the sun His course exalted through the Ram had run, And whirling up the skies, his chariot drove Through Taurus, and the lightsome realms of love, Where Venus from her orb descends in showers, To glad the ground, and paint the fields with flowers: When first the tender blades of grass appear, And buds, that yet the blast of Eurus fear, Stand at the door of life, and doubt to clothe the year: Till gentle heat, and soft repeated rains Make the green blood to dance within their veins: Then, at their call, embolden'd out they come, And swell the gems and burst the narrow room; Broader and broader yet, their blooms display, Salute the welcome sun, and entertain the day. Then from their breathing souls the sweets repair To scent the skies, and purge the unwholesome air: Joy spreads the heart, and, with a general song, Spring issues out, and leads the jolly months along, In that sweet season, as in bed I lay, And sought in sleep to pass the night away, I turn'd my weary side, but still in vain, Though full of youthful health, and void of pain: About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.