FRUIT OF OLD.
47
But shows her budding jewelry of green,
And smooths the damask of her leafage sheen.
Such days, I trow, at the infancy of earth, 400
Shone forth, and kept the tenor of their birth;
True Spring was that, the world was bent on Spring,
And eastern breezes check'd their wintry wing:
While cattle drank new light, and man was shown
A race of iron from a land of stone; 405
Wild beasts anon leap'd forth upon the grove,
And constellations on the heaven above:
Nor could young Nature have achieved the birth,
Unless a period of repose so sweet
Had intervened betwixt the cold and heat, 410
And heaven's indulgence greeted the new earth.
For what remains—whene'er you plant be sure
To mulch abundantly with rich manure,
And bank them up with earth, or mingle well
With porous stone dug in, or grimy shell; 415
For so the rain shall trickle, and the breeze
Steal in, and buoy the spirits of the trees.
And some there are, who cover up awhile
With rocky slab, or breadth of massive tile;
Protection this against the pouring rain, 420
And smooths the damask of her leafage sheen.
Such days, I trow, at the infancy of earth, 400
Shone forth, and kept the tenor of their birth;
True Spring was that, the world was bent on Spring,
And eastern breezes check'd their wintry wing:
While cattle drank new light, and man was shown
A race of iron from a land of stone; 405
Wild beasts anon leap'd forth upon the grove,
And constellations on the heaven above:
Nor could young Nature have achieved the birth,
Unless a period of repose so sweet
Had intervened betwixt the cold and heat, 410
And heaven's indulgence greeted the new earth.
For what remains—whene'er you plant be sure
To mulch abundantly with rich manure,
And bank them up with earth, or mingle well
With porous stone dug in, or grimy shell; 415
For so the rain shall trickle, and the breeze
Steal in, and buoy the spirits of the trees.
And some there are, who cover up awhile
With rocky slab, or breadth of massive tile;
Protection this against the pouring rain, 420
