The Shamrock or, Hibernian Cresses. A Collection of Poems, Songs, Epigrams, &c. Latin as well as English, The Original Production of Ireland. To which are subjoined thoughts on the prevailing system of school education, respecting young ladies as well as gentlemen: with practical proposals for a reformation [by Samuel Whyte] |
 |
 |
|
|
|
| I. | REBUS I.
|
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 | The Shamrock |  |
193
REBUS I.
To what Man is oft call'd, to distinguish the Sex,
If the Letters which signify Saint you annex;
What all Men must do, though one whimsical Elf
Will modestly plead for excepting himself;
What Heroes contend for, and all Men desire,
From the King on his Throne to the bare-footed Friar;
With the Soldier's last Refuge, in Time of Distress,
When Courage, retreating, despairs of Success:
These, added together, will give you the Name
Of a Girl, in whom Envy finds nothing to blame;
Whom I'd praise, but for Fear, and 'tis certainly true,
That she 'd laugh at my Praise, and my Poetry too;
And all I could say would be saying no more,
Than all Men, who know her, acknowlege before.
If the Letters which signify Saint you annex;
What all Men must do, though one whimsical Elf
Will modestly plead for excepting himself;
What Heroes contend for, and all Men desire,
From the King on his Throne to the bare-footed Friar;
With the Soldier's last Refuge, in Time of Distress,
When Courage, retreating, despairs of Success:
These, added together, will give you the Name
Of a Girl, in whom Envy finds nothing to blame;
Whom I'd praise, but for Fear, and 'tis certainly true,
That she 'd laugh at my Praise, and my Poetry too;
And all I could say would be saying no more,
Than all Men, who know her, acknowlege before.
The SOLUTION.
What Man is oft call'd, as I take it, is He;And Saint is express'd by an s and a t;
That all Men must ert, little Proof does require;
(The Pope's vain Pretences but prove him a Lyar )
And Power is the Thing which all Mortals desire;
194
Is as plain, in my Mind, as the Nose on your Face:
I have one Reason more, which convinces me quite,
That this same Solution I offer is right—
Having search'd through the Town, both the High, and the Low,
The Description suits Nobody else that I know.
The Rebus is on all Hands agreed to be the lowest Species of poetical Composition; the four, here offered to the Public, are, perhaps, as pardonable as most of the Kind: The two, which have no Solution annexed, may serve to exercise the Ingenuity of those amongst our younger Readers, who may delight in such Trifles.
| The Shamrock | |