What Fears, what Terrors does thy Gift create!
| First Line | What Fears, what Terrors does thy Gift create! |
|---|---|
| Author | Samuel Johnson |
| Date | 1747 |
| Description | Transcribed from "On a LADY's Presenting a Spring of MYRTLE to a GENTLEMAN." The Museum : or, The literary and historical register, vol. 2, issue 26, March 1747, p. 429. British Periodicals, [ProQuest document ID:] 3911152. |
| Links |
Transcription
What Fears, what Terrors does thy Gift create!
Ambiguous Emblem of uncertain Fate!
The Myrtle, Ensign of supreme Command,
(Consign'd by Venus to Melissa's Hand)
Not less capricious than a reigning Fair,
Oft favors, oft rejects the Lover's Care.
In Myrtle Groves oft sings the happy Swain,
In Myrtle Shades despairing Ghosts complain;
The Myrtle crowns the happy Lovers Heads,
Th'unhappy Lovers Graves the Myrtle spreads;
Oh! then the Meaning of thy Gift impart,
And cure the Throbbings of an anxious Heart;
Soon must this Bough, as you shall fix his Doom,
Adorn Philander's Head, or grace his Tomb.
Beinecke Osborn c83
| Title | Untitled |
|---|---|
| Period | 1761-1790 , 1791-1820 |
| Archive | Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library |
Page: n/a; item #781.
Local title: Lines at the request of a gentleman to whom a lady had given a sprig of myrtle.
Attributed author: n/a
Adaptation: n/a
Other variants: n/a
Other: n/a
Folger MS M.a.182
| Title | A miscellaneous collection in prose and vers [...] |
|---|---|
| Period | 1791-1820 |
| Archive | Folger Shakespeare Library |
p. 29.
Local title: Lines addressed to a lady.
Attributed author: n/a
Adaptation: n/a
Other variants: n/a
Other: n/a
Folger MS M.a.53–58
| Title | Untitled |
|---|---|
| Period | 1761-1790 , 1791-1820 |
| Archive | Folger Shakespeare Library |
p. 302.
Local title: At the Request of a Gentleman to whom a Lady had given a Sprig of Myrtle.
Attributed author: Dr. Johnson.
Adaptation: n/a
Other variants: First line: "What hopes, what terrors does thy gift create..."
Other: n/a