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3. Restless mortals | toil for | nought, Bliss in vain from | earth is | sought. 4. Idle | after | dinner, | in his | chair, Sat a farmer, | ruddy, | fat, and | fair. 5. Hail to thee, blithe | spirit! | bird thou | never | wert, That from heaven, or | near it, I pourest | thy full | heart. 6. Night and morning were at | meeting, | over | Water | loo; Cocks had sung their | earliest | greeting | faint and | low they | crew. 1095. In the last two forms, each line is usually divided into two; thus

5. Hail to thee, blithe | spirit!

Bird thou never wert.

6. Night and morning | were at meeting,

Over | Water | loo.

1096. Trochaic verse, with an additional long syllable at the end, is the same as Iambic verse, wanting a short syllable at the beginning.

ANAPESTIC VERSE.

1097. Anapastic verse, consists chiefly of anapasts, and, when pure, has the accent on every third syllable. It has different metres, as follows::

1. One foot, or Monometer; as

But too far,

Each proud star.

2. Two feet, or Dimeter; as-But his cour ǎge 'găn fail,

For no arts could avail.

3. Three feel, or Trimeter; as—

O ye woods! | spread your branch | es ǎpace,

To your deep | est recess | es I fly;

I would hide with the beasts of the chase,

I would vanish from every eye.

4. Four feet, or Tetrameter; as—

May I govern my pass | ions with absolute sway,

And grow wiser and bet | ter as life | wears away.

1098. Of these, the first is ambiguous, for by placing an accent on the first syllable, it becomes a trochaic monometer hypermeter.

1099. The second sometimes admits an additional short syllable at the end; as-

On the road by the val | lẽy,

As he wandered lament | ing;

To the green of the for | est,
He returned him repent ing.

1100. The third is a very pleasing measure, and is much used in both solemn and cheerful subjects, but it seldom takes an additional syllable.

1101. The fourth, or tetrameter, admits an additional syllable, which often has a pleasing effect; as

On the warm | cheek of youth | smiles and roses are blend | ing.

DACTYLIC VERSE.

1102. Dactylic verse consists chiefly of dactyls, and has the following varieties:—

1. One foot, or Monometer; as

Fearfully,

Tearfully.

2. Two feet, or Dimeter; as

Free from să tiěty,
Care and anxiety,
Charms in variety
Fall to his share.

3. Three feet, or Trimeter; as

Wearing ǎ | way in his | youthfulness,
Loveliness, beauty, and | truthfulness.

1103. Each of these sometimes takes an additional long syllable, and so becomes hypermeter; as—

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Pale as the lily that | lolls on the | gale.

1104. By combining these kinds, examples of tetrameter, pentameter, and even hexameter, are obtained; but they are seldom used. 1106. A dactylic verse seldom ends with a dactyl; it more commonly adds a long syllable, sometimes a trochee, as in the following

lines:

Brightest and best ŏ the | sōns of the | mōrning,
Dawn on our darkness and | lend us thine | aid.

1107. The following is an example of dactyls and spondees alternately :

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Green in the wildwood | proudly the | tall tree | lõoks on thě | brōwn plāir. The following is an example of pure dactylic hexameter:— Over the valley, with speed like the

wind, all the | steeds were ǎ | galloping.

1108. Considering the beauty of this kind of verse, and its peculiar adaptedness to gay and cheerful movements, it is surprising that it has not been more cultivated,

MIXED VERSES.

1109. Scarcely any poem is perfectly regular in its feet. Iambic verse, for example, sometimes admits other feet into the line, particularly at the beginning, as has been already noticed. The following are examples of iambic lines with different feet introduced :

Trochee... Prophet | of plagues, | forev | er bod | ing ill!

Dactyl.... Murmuring, | and with | him fled | the shades | of night.
Anapast.. Before | all tem | ples the ūp | right heart | and pure.
Pyrrhic... Brought death | înto | the world | and all | our wo.
Tribrach. And thun | ders down | impet | ňous to the plain.

1110. In iambic verse, the initial short syllable is sometimes omitted; and the verse becomes trochaic with an additional long syllable.

1111. In trochaic verse, the initial long syllable is sometimes omitted; and the line becomes iambic with an additional short syllable.

1112. If the two short syllables are omitted at the beginning of an anapæstic line, it becomes dactylic with a long syllable added. So

1113. If the initial long syllable is omitted in a dactylic verse, it becomes anapastic with two short syllables added.

1114. A pleasing movement is produced by intermingling iambuses and anapæsts, as in the following lines:

"I come, I come! | ye have called | me long;

I come o'er the moun | tains with light | and song!
Ye may trace | my steps | o'er the wāk | ĕning earth,
By the winds | which tell | of thě vi | ŏlet's birth,
By the prīm | rose stars | of the shād | ŏwỹ grāss,
By the green | leaves op | ening | ǎs I pāss."

1115. In odes and lyric pieces, verses of different kinds and different metres or measures are often intermingled, after the manner of the ancient choral odes, with a pleasing effect. "Alexander's Feast," Collins's "Ode to the Passions." &c., are examples.

POETIC PAUSES.

1116. Besides the usual pauses required to mark the sense in reading, and which may be called sentential pauses, indicated by the punctuation, there are other pauses in poetic composition, required by, and necessary to give proper effect to, the movement of the line.

1117. These are chiefly the Final pause and the Cæsural pause. 1118. The final pause is required at the end of every line of poetry, even where there is no sentential pause. When that is the case, it consists in a brief suspension of the voice, without any change in its tone or pitch. When a sentential pause occurs at the end of the line, as it does very often, it takes the place of, and supersedes the final pause.

1119. The casural pause is a suspension of the voice somewhere in the line itself, for which no rule can be given, but which will always be manifest when poetry is well read. It does not occur in very short lines. In lines of some length, it generally occurs near the middle; sometimes, however, nearer the beginning, and sometimes nearer the end; often in the middle of a foot, but never in the middle of a word. Sometimes, besides this, a sort of demicæsural pause is required, to give full effect to the expression. The following lines furnish examples of the casural pause in different parts of the line, and also of the demicæsural pause. The former is marked ("), the latter ( ́) :

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"The steer and lion" at one crib shall meet,

And harmless serpents" lick the pilgrim's feet."
The crested basilisk" and speckled snake."
"And on the sightless eyeballs" pour the day."
-"But not to me returns

Day," or the sweet approach of even or morn."
"No sooner had the Almighty ceased," but all
The multitude of angels" with a shout,

Loud" as from numbers without numbers," sweet
As from blest voices" uttering joy."

"Warms' in the sun," refreshes' in the breeze,

Glows' in the stars," and blossoms' in the trees;

Lives' through all life," extends' through all extent,
Spreads' undivided," operates unspent."

EXERCISES.

As exercises in scanning, lines or stanzas from any poetical work may be selected.

COMPOSITION.

1120. COMPOSITION is the art of expressing our sentiments in spoken or written language. It is of two kinds, Prose and Poetry.

1121. Prose compositions are those in which the thoughts are expressed in the natural order, in common and ordinary language.

1122. Poetic compositions are those in which the thoughts and sentiments are expressed in measured verse, in loftier and more inverted style, by words and figures selected and arranged so as to please the ear, and captivate the fancy.

1123. In both of these, speech or discourse is either direct or indirect.

1124. Direct discourse is that in which a writer or speaker delivers his own sentiments.

1125. Indirect or oblique discourse is that in which a person relates, in his own language, what another speaker or writer said.

1126. In the first, when the speaker refers to himself, he uses the first person I When he refers to the person or persons addressed, he uses the second person thou, you, &c.

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1127. In the second or indirect discourse, whether the speaker is reported as referring to liimself, or to those whom he addresses, the third person is used in either case; as, he, she, they, &c. An example will best illustrate the distinction. Thus:

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Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars-hill and said: "Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious; for as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription: To THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom, therefore, ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you."

1129. INDIRECT DISCOURSE.

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The same, reported in indirect or oblique discourse, would run thus: Then Paul, standing on Mars-hill, told the men of Athens he perceived that in all things they were too superstitious; for as he passed by and beheld their devotions, he found an altar with this inscription: "TO THE UNKNOWN GOD." Whom, therefore, they ignorantly worshipped, him declared he unto them.

1130. When the reporter, the speaker reported, and the person or persons addressed, are different in gender or number, there is no danger of ambiguity. But when in these respects they are the same, ambiguity is unavoidable, from the same pronoun being used in the progress of discourse, to designate different persons. Hence, to prevent mistakes, it is often necessary to insert the name or designation of the person meant by the pronoun. An example will best illustrate this also:"Then the son went to his father and said to him, [direct] 'I have sinned against Heaven and in thy sight.'

"Then the son went to his father and said to him, [indirect] that he (the son) had sinned against Heaven and in his (his father's) sight."

It will at once be perceived, that, without the words enclosed in brackets, for explanation, it would be impossible to tell whether by the word he, the father or the son was intended; so also with respect to the word his. Hence, when by the indirect discourse, ambiguity is unavoidable, it is generally better to have recourse to the direct form, and quote the writer's or speaker's own words, as in (1128).

1131. The principal kinds of prose compositions are-narrative, letters, memoirs, history, biography, essays, philosophy, sermons, novels, speeches, and orations.

1132. The principal kinds of poetical composition are—the epigram, the epitaph, the sonnet, pastoral poetry, didactic poetry, satires, descriptive poetry, elegy, lyric poetry, dramatic poetry, and epic poetry.

THE USE OF GRAMMAR IN COMPOSITION.

1133. To speak and write with propriety, in every species of composition, is an attainment of no small importance; and to lead to this attainment is the business of grammar. The grammar of a language is just a compilation of rules and directions, agreeably to which that language is spoken or written. These rules, however, are not the invention of the grammarian, nor dependent on his authority for their validity. As it is the business of the philosopher, not to make a law of Nature, nor to dictute how her operations should be performed, but, by close observation, to

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