The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift/Volume 7/A Rebus

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The next poem, The Dean's Answer, is a response to this poem.

A REBUS.By VANESSA.


CUT the name of the man[1] who his mistress deny'd,
And let the first of it be only apply'd
To join with the prophet[2] who David did chide;
Then say what a horse is that runs very fast[3];

And that which deserves to be first put the last;
Spell all then, and put them together, to find
The name and the virtues of him I design'd.
Like the patriarch in Egypt, he's vers'd in the state;
Like the prophet in Jewry, he's free with the great;
Like a racer he flies, to succour with speed.
When his friends want his aid, or desert is in need.

  1. Jo-seph.
  2. Nathan.
  3. Swift.