An Elegant Simile

As some fair slow'r beneath a fost'ring sky— Sweet fav'rite object of the gardner's eye! With jealous care is strongly fenc'd around, Secure from cattle, and the ploughshare wound; To lads and lasses when the flow'r is shown, Pleas'd they all wish the lovely plant their own; Snapp'd from its stem it now neglected lies, Fade its warm tint, and every beauty dies; The lads and lasses who admir'd so late, Pass the gay flowret, nor regard its fate. Thus a fair virgin whom kind heaven approves, Whom friendship fosters, guards, directs and loves, Should some curst spoiler blast her spotless fame, Sinks, the vain victim of remorse and shame. No longer friends the fair with fondness eye; The lads neglect her, and the lasses fly.