Page:The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, Volume 7.djvu/369



day, dear Bec, is thy nativity; Had Fate a luckier one, she'd give it ye: She chose a thread of greatest length, And doubly twisted it for strength; Nor will be able with her shears To cut it off these forty years. Then who says care will kill a cat? Rebecca shows they're out in that. For she, though overrun with care, Continues healthy, fat, and fair. As, if the gout should seize the head, Doctors pronounce the patient dead; But, if they can, by all their arts, Eject it to th' extremest parts, They give the sick man joy, and praise The gout that will prolong his days. Rebecca thus I gladly greet, Who drives her cares to hands and feet: For, though philosophers maintain The limbs are guided by the brain, Quite contrary Rebecca's led, Her hands and feet conduct her head, By arbitrary power convey her, She ne'er considers why, or where: Her hands may meddle, feet may wander, Her head is but a mere by-stander; And all her bustling but supplies The part of wholesome exercise. Rh