Page:The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, Volume 18.djvu/450

436 In short, such dire confusion follow'd, Earth must have been in chaos swallow'd. Jove stood amazed; but looking round, With much ado the cheat he found; 'Twas plain he could no longer hold The world in any chain but gold; And to the god of wealth, his brother, Sent Mercury to get another. Prometheus on a rock is laid, Tied with a chain himself had made, On icy Caucasus to shiver, While vultures eat his growing liver.

Ye pow'rs of Grub street, make me able Discreetly to apply this fable; Say, who is to be understood By that old thief Prometheus?Wood. For Jove it is not hard to guess him; I mean his majesty, God bless him. This thief and blacksmith was so bold, He strove to steal that chain of gold, Which links the subject to the king, And change it for a brazen string. But sure, if nothing else must pass Between the king and us but brass, Although the chain will never crack, Yet our devotion may grow slack. But Jove will soon convert, I hope, This brazen chain into a rope; With which Prometheus shall be tied, And high in air for ever ride; Where, if we find his liver grows, For want of vultures, we have crows. A YOUNG