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 HISTORY OF ENGLISH RHYTHMS. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 It is said, by such as professe the mathematicall sciences, that all things stand by 
 proportion, and that without it nothing' could stand to be good or beautiful. 
 
 Puttenham, Arte of English Poede, Lib. ii. c. 1. 
 
 J. B. NICHOLS AND SON, 25, PARLIAMENT STREET.
 
 ) > O 1 J 
 
 A HISTORY OF 
 
 ENGLISH RHYTHMS 
 
 BY EDWIN GUEST Esq. M.A. 
 
 FELLOW OF CAIUS COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 I oo'^S 
 
 ALDI 
 
 LONDON 
 WILLIAM PICKERING 
 
 1838. 
 
 lo5(o^
 
 ' ^ t f ftcf ret* i t 
 
 «.. « c*«e* * * * 
 
 ( f*^ t ecc r tc 
 
 C<<'CC<Ct c c< 
 

 
 \ 50 1 
 G^3 - 
 
 NOTICE TO THE READER. 
 
 Owing to circumstances, which need not be de- 
 tailed, the first Volume was printed off, two years 
 before the greater part of the second Volume went 
 to the press, and indeed before it was written. 
 This may account for a seeming inaccuracy as 
 regards dates ; and will make it necessary for the 
 reader, when he meets with the phrases, " a short 
 time since," " two or three years ago," &c. to allow 
 for the time, which has elapsed since they were 
 written. Perhaps too it may serve, in some 
 measure, as an apology for the additional notes at 
 the end of each volume. Two years could hardly 
 pass away, without the author seeing reason to 
 modify much that he had advanced, upon a subject 
 so novel and so extensive as the present one.
 
 CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 Chap. I. Rhythm defined, 1 . Verse measured either by time or 
 accent, 2. General arrangement of the subject, ib. 
 
 Chap. II. The voice, 4. The vocal letters, G. The whisper- 
 letters, 9. Imitative sounds, 12. 
 
 Chap. III. A syllable defined, 22. The French e final, 24. The 
 English e final, 26. The e of inflexion, 29. Initial syllables 
 omitted, 35. The initial be, 36. The initial d'ls, 38. Vowel 
 combinations, 39. The vowel before nasals and liquids, 47. 
 The vowel before some one of the close letters, b, p, d, t, g, k, 
 63. The vowel before dentals, 66. The vowel before sibi- 
 lants, 67. Coalition of words, 69. 
 
 Chap. IV. Accent defined, 76. Primary and secondary accent, 
 78. Accent after a pause, 79. Verbal accent, how affected 
 by construction, 81. Accent slurred over in construction, 
 ib. Emphasis, 82. Accents of construction, 83. Verbal 
 accent, foreign, 90. Verbal accent, English, 99. 
 
 Chap. V. Quantity defined, 105. Length of English vowels, how 
 indicated by their orthography, 106. Quantity, as an index 
 of English rhythm. 111. Quantity, as an embellishment of 
 rhythm, 1 14. 
 
 Chap, VI. Rhime defined, 116. Rhirae, perfect, alliterative, vowel, 
 consonantal, late alliterative, and common, 117- Rhime, 
 double and triple, 118. Final rhime, 119. Middle rhime, 
 124. Sectional rhime, 125. Inverse rhime, 136. Alliter- 
 ation, 140. Unaccented rhime, 144. Doubly accented 
 rhime, 146. 
 
 Chap. VII. The pauses, 148. The final pause, 149. The middle 
 pause, 152. The sectional pause, 154. The stops final, 
 middle, and sectional, 157. 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 Chap. I. EngUsh rhythms, their origin, 163, The character of 
 certain rhythms, and their fitness for poetical expression, 167 
 History of English rhythms, 174. Elision, 178. Arrange- 
 ment of the subject, 183.
 
 Vni CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. II. Verses consisting of a single section, 185. Verse of 
 two accents, 186. Verse of three accents, 188. 
 
 Chap. III. Verse of four accents, 190. Verses beginning with 
 section 1, 194 — with section 1 I, 196 — with section 2, 198 
 — with section 2 I, 200 — with section 5, 203 — with section 
 5 I, 207— with section 6, 208— with section 6 /, 210. 
 
 Chap. IV. Verse of five accents, two in the first section, 214. 
 Verses beginning with section I, 216 — with section 2, 221. 
 with section 5, 225 — with section 6, 231 — with section 9, 
 233. 
 
 Chap. V. Verse of five accents, three in the first section, 234. 
 Character of these rhythms, 235. Verses beginning with 
 section 1, 238 — with section 2, 243 — with section 3, 246 — 
 with section 4, 248 — with section 5, 249 — with section 6, 
 252— with section 7, 253. 
 
 Chap. VI. The verse of six accents, 255. Verses beginning with 
 section 1, 258 — with section 2, 260 — with section 3, 263 — 
 with section 5, ib. — with section 6, 267 — with section 7, ib. 
 — with section 8, 268 — with section 9, 269. 
 
 Chap. VII. Verses containing a compound section, 270. Verses 
 of six accents, with compound section, 271. Verses of seven 
 accents, beginning with the compound section, 277. Verses 
 of seven accents ending with the compound section, 279. 
 Verses of eight accents, with compound section, 283. Verses 
 of nine or more accents, with compound section, 286. 
 
 Chap. VIII. The sectional pause, its origin, 287. How indicated, 
 290. Verses containing the section \.p, of two accents, 291 
 — the section 1 II. p, of two accents, 293 — the section 5jo, 
 of two accents, 295 — the section 5 /. p, of two accents — the 
 section bll. p, of two accents, 299 — the section 1 p, of three 
 accents — the section 1 I. p, of three accents — the section 3. 
 p, of three accents — the section 5 p, of three accents — the 
 section 7 p, of three accents — the section 7 /. p, of three 
 accents. Writers upon " rhythmus." 
 
 Note (A). The Letters, 313. 
 Note (B). Accentuation, 314. 
 Note (C). Secondary accents, 3 1 6. 
 Note (D). Rhime, ib. 
 Note (E). Versification, 317.
 
 ERRATA TO VOL. I. 
 
 Page line 
 4, 20, for squeaking, read shrill. 
 8, lifor Enrope, read Europe. 
 
 8, 14, ybr ends, 7-earf edges. 
 
 9, 25, see note (A). 
 10, 5, see note (A). 
 
 10, 31, see note (A). 
 
 11, 17, /or yardn, read yai'd. 
 14, l,ybr has, read is. 
 
 21, 28, dele the full stop after verses. 
 25, 1, ybr ganto, rearf gan to. 
 
 25, 18, ybr we find this syllable preserved also in the plural, read we find 
 also this termination furnished with two syllables in the plural. 
 ^28, 20, after helle, read (the gen. of hel). 
 
 30, 7, dele and it seems to have been occasionally used as the accusative 
 
 singular, just as the datives of the personal pronouns invaded 
 the province of their accusatives. 
 
 31, 9, for knabe, read cnapa. 
 
 34, 36, ybr in three words, read in three cases. 
 
 37, 9, for angynnan, read onginnan. 
 
 38, 13, ybr twelfth, read thirteenth. 
 
 38, 2'i,for subjec|tion(, read subjec|tion. 
 
 45, 24, after to, insert the mark of accentuation. 
 
 50, 29, /or 
 
 Fal|len cher]ub to be weak| : is mis|eralble 
 read 
 
 Fal|len cher|ub : to be weak | is mis]era|ble. 
 50, dele note * — a memorandum for the author'' s own guidance, which, 
 
 by some blunder, found its way into the text, 
 55, 14, ybr meditation, read mediation. 
 
 57, ^,for seventeenth century rea^i sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. 
 
 58, ^,for In the Anglo-Saxon and early English dialects such a combi- 
 
 nation was common, and in the latter was expressed by the 
 French ending re, read In some of our Old English dialects 
 such a combination was common, and was expressed by the 
 French ending re. 
 
 63, 12,/or 
 
 Shot man|y at me | with] :^|crce intent] 
 read 
 
 Shot man|y at | me with -.fierce intent] 
 
 64, 19, ybr we have the same verb, &c. read the same verb seems to be, &c. 
 
 65, 32, /or 
 
 For she ] had great ] doubts] : of his safjetyj 
 read 
 
 For she | had great] : doubts ] of his saf]ety] 
 &Q, 16, for eomth, read comth. 
 67. 4, for She read The.
 
 IX 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 
 68, 
 
 69, 
 T«, 
 79, 
 79, 
 84, 
 86, 
 94, 
 
 146, 
 154, 
 160, 
 164, 
 164, 
 165, 
 165, 
 167, 
 
 173, 
 
 line 
 
 9, /or Sometimes * and t belong to different syllables, read Some- 
 times the vowel was elided, in cases where, according to modern 
 pronunciation, the s and t are given to different syllables. 
 33,yo/" courtsy read curtsy. 
 
 2^3, for two or more syllables, read three or more syllables. 
 A, for Temple Gode, read Tempel Gode. 
 10, /b/- seltmiht-ne, read selmiht-ne. 
 11, see note (B.) 
 5, see note (B.) 
 28, /or 
 
 And U|na wan|dring : in | woods and \forrests\ 
 read 
 
 And U|na wan|dring in| : woods | and/orres^*| 
 for blackbirds!, read black birds|. 
 for sawykkytly, read sa wykkytly. 
 for tenth and twelfth, read eleventh and twelfth. 
 for all cases, read almost every case. 
 The asterisk referring to the note, should have followed the word 
 
 tongue. 
 for upheld, read upholden. 
 see note (A.) 
 dele the same rhythm has been employed as above, but. See 
 
 note (E). 
 for Establishment, read Embellishment. 
 
 for may be divided into, read will be considered as made up of. 
 for dip] adays, read dip\adays. 
 for Siag]y/vYe, read Stay\yrite. 
 for form, read adopt. 
 see note (D). 
 for supposed to have been tampered with, read supposed to have 
 
 been a mere corruption. 
 for never, read seldom. 
 for ad, read and. 
 
 for Ex MS. read The Grave-song. 
 for loud, read lond. 
 for Seafowl, read Seafola. 
 for " tinkling," read " jingling." 
 for ninth, read tenth. 
 dele on last | leg | dun : lath|um leod|um. All the best MSS. have 
 
 lathum theodum. 
 for ninth, read tenth. 
 for reign, read fera. 
 for 
 
 Frynd|sind hie minje georn|e : holde on hyvahyge-sceaftum 
 read 
 
 Frynd | sind hie min|e georn|e 
 Holde on hyra hyge-sceaftum. 
 20, for Facundi, read Faecundi. 
 
 1, see note (E.) 
 
 11, /or Glories, read Glo|ries. 
 
 2, for shenest, read sheenest. 
 
 34, a third rule was omitted by mistake. See note (E). 
 
 2, see note (E.) 
 12, /or are, read is. 
 
 II, for it would have been impossible, read still it would have been 
 impossible. 
 
 1,/or leodum, read theodum. 
 
 100, 
 
 24, 
 
 102, 
 
 29, 
 
 107, 
 
 28, 
 
 109, 
 
 4, 
 
 109, 
 
 27, 
 
 110, 
 
 19, 
 
 111, 
 
 18, 
 
 113, 
 
 20, 
 
 114, 
 
 17, 
 
 116, 
 
 15, 
 
 119, 
 
 9, 
 
 119, 
 
 10, 
 
 119, 
 
 
 120, 
 
 16, 
 
 121, 
 
 30, 
 
 125, 
 
 24, 
 
 131, 
 
 34, 
 
 133, 
 
 13, 
 
 133, 
 
 22 
 
 134, 
 
 2l', 
 
 135, 
 
 14, 
 
 142, 
 
 11, 
 
 143, 
 
 1, 
 
 143, 
 
 23, 
 
 143, 
 
 28, 
 
 145, 
 
 11,
 
 ERRATA. X 
 
 Page line 
 
 174, 35, for fourth, read fifth. 
 
 175, 38, The authority of Bade, &c. The passage in Bede, referred to, is 
 
 for several reasons obscure, hut, on further consideration livould 
 say, cannot possibly bear the inference which is here drawn 
 from it. 
 
 177, '^tfor with the forms of metrical verse, read with the forms of a 
 
 later and more artificial sj'stem. 
 
 178, 31, ybr ballad stanza, rearf ballet-stanza. 
 
 179, 8, on the whole should have been piinted in italics. 
 
 191, 8, The words or short should hare been in Roman letters. 
 195, 20, dele Sweart|e swog an : sees | upstig on. See note (B). 
 
 195, 30, dele Lif,es brytjta : leoht | forth cum]an. See note (B). 
 
 196, 1, dele thsEgn|ra siujra : thcer | mid wsesjan. See note (B). 
 196, 16, dele stream|as stod|on : storm | up gewat|. See note (B). 
 196, 19, see lath|e cyrm|don : lyft | up geswearcj. See note (B). 
 
 200, 25, dele fer|ede and nerjede : fif|tena stod| 
 
 201, 9, dele deop | ofer dun urn : ste dren|ce flod) 
 204, 2, dele and Re|tie| : ric|es hird,e. See note (E). 
 
 207, 17,/br fontome, reae/ fantome. 
 
 208, 4, /or 5 11 : G, read 5 11 : 9. 
 
 211, 1, dele In setjting and sowjing : swonke[ full sor e 
 
 214, 18, we note (E). 
 
 217, 11, ybr wh, read who. 
 
 217, ^3, for siththau, read siththan. 
 
 217, 24, dele this and the following line. See note (C). 
 
 218, 2, dele this line. See note (C). 
 
 219, 20,yor frset | wum, rearf fr8et|wum. 
 
 220, 5, for 
 
 Pipes trompes : nakers and clarionnes 
 That I in the bat|aille : blowjen blod|y sowen|es 
 read 
 
 Pipjes tromp|es : nak'ers and clar|ion|nes 
 That in the bataille : blowen blodv sownes 
 
 221, 23, /or 
 
 the I sio I tid | gelompj, 
   read 
 
 tha I sio tid | gelomp|. 
 223, 17, dele garjum aget|ed : gum|a north;erna|. See note (C). 
 223, 20, (?e/e uplpe mid engllum : ec|e stath|elas|. -See note (C). 
 
 223, 25, dele this line for the same reason. 
 
 224, 9, dele the example from the Samson Agonisfes. Its rhythm has 
 
 for its index 21 : 51, not 21 : 1. 
 229, 10, dele Besloh | syn sceath]an : sig|ore and | geweal'de. .See note (B). 
 229, 24, /or 
 
 The swerd flaw fra him : a furbreid on the land 
 
 Wal|las was glad| : and hynt | it sone | in hand|, 
 read 
 
 The swerd | flaw fra | him : a fur|breid on | the land] 
 
 Wallas was glad, and hynt it sone in hand. 
 232, 26, dele Which him | after cur[sed : for his | trangres|sion| 
 
 232, 28, /or the sections 9 : 91, read the sections 9, 91. 
 
 233, 8, dele 10 : 5 is a regular verse of the triple measure. 
 239, 1 flwrf 4, /or Wharton, read 'Warton. 
 
 241, 20, dele sit] tan let;e ic hinje : with | me sylf[ne. 
 
 245, 23, after the ivords whose ear was so delicately sensitive, read unless 
 
 it were that assigned in p. 227. 
 253, 15, /or Nud, read Mid.
 
 XU ERRATA. 
 
 Page line 
 
 256, 18, for generally, read always. As to the nature of the modern 
 
 French alexandrine^ see note (G). 
 
 257, Q,for Described by all men, read IJescribing all men. 
 
 262, 10, see note (G), 
 
 263, 11, /or iheot, read ibeot. 
 
 272, It should have been noticed, that the examples, quoted in this 
 
 chapter, have been arranged generally according to the au- 
 thors, as the mimber of varieties teas too scanty to render the 
 mode of subdivision, hitherto followed, advisable. The index- 
 51 : 1 c. : 5 should also have preceded the 5th, 6fh, and 1th 
 examples, quoted in this page, and 2:51 : 1 the ninth. 
 
 272, 30, dele The sea | and un|frequen|ted desjerts : where | the snow 
 dwells]. 
 
 274, 13, /or gewendam, read gewendan. 
 
 275, 15, after the words But to bring in St. Peter, read (as Milton has 
 
 done). 
 
 278, '^,for other, read others. 
 
 278, 11, ybr as yet wide j land, read as yet wide land. 
 
 278, 19, /"or the last verse, read the last verse but one. 
 
 281, 9, for 7 : 1 : 91c, read 7 1 : 1 : 9lc. 
 
 283, 15, the notation, used in this chapter, readily adapts itself to verses 
 of six or seven accents, but when a verse contains eight or 
 more accents, the reader must be furnished with some further 
 intimation than is given by the mere numerical index, before 
 he can hope to follow its rhythm. Even in tracing the rhythm 
 of a verse which contains only six or seven accents, he will 
 require the like assistance, if the middle pause of the com- 
 pound section fall in the midst of a tvord. But, in both these 
 cases, I believe the index, followed by such explanation, to 
 afford the shortest and readiest means of pointing out the 
 rhythm. 
 
 283, 32,/or 7 : 3 : 6 11. c. read 8 1 : 1 1 : 7 1. c. 
 
 284, 30, /or 21 : He: 1 1 : 1 1. c. read 21 : lie : 11 : 1. c. 
 
 286, 18, m this last example the accents are properly eleven, not ttvelve. 
 Thses lean|es the | he him on | thamleohjte gescyr|ede : thon[ne 
 
 let|e he | his hin|e lang|e weal|dan. 
 and there may even be a question, if we should not read thon)ne 
 letje he his hin|e, and, by this elision of the vowel, reduce the 
 number to ten. 
 
 294, 22,/or O Troy j Troy | Troy|, read O Troy | Troy Troyf. 
 
 300, ^,for The section 1. p. is occasionally found in Anglo-Saxon poems, 
 of the first class, read The section 1 p, of the first class, is oc- 
 casionally found in Anglo-Saxon poems. 
 
 305, 27, for lord ys, read lordys. 
 
 307, 23, after the word verse put a full stop in place of the semicolon, 
 and then read Owing to the license, which certain of our poets 
 allow themselves in the management of their pauses, there is 
 danger, &c. 
 
 311, 1,/or raor eattention, read more attention.
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 RHYTHM 
 
 in its widest sense may be defined as the law of succession. 
 It is the regulating principle of every ivhole, that is made 
 up of proportional parts, and is as necessary to the regu- 
 lation of motion, or the arrangement of matter, as to the 
 orderly succession of sounds. By applying it to the first 
 of these purposes we have obtained the dance ; and sculp- 
 ture and architecture are the results of its application to 
 the second. The rhythmical arrangement of sounds not 
 articulated produces music, while from the like arrange- 
 ment of articulate sounds we get the cadences of prose and 
 the measures of verse. 
 
 Verse may be defined as a succession of articulate 
 sounds regulated by a rhythm so definite, that we can 
 readily foresee the results which follow from its application. 
 Rhythm is also met with in prose, but in the latter its 
 range is so wide, that we never can anticipate its flow, 
 while the pleasure we derive from verse is founded on this 
 very anticipation. 
 
 As verse consists merely in the arrangement of certain 
 sounds according to a certain rhythm, it is obvious, that 
 neither poetry nor even sense can be essential to it. We 
 may be aUve to the beauty of a foreign rhythm, though we 
 do not understand the language, and the burthen of many 
 an Enghsh song has long yielded a certain pleasure, though 
 every whit as unmeaning as the nonsense verses of the 
 schoolboy. 
 
 In considering the general character of any proposed 
 metre, we should have especial regard to three circum- 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 2 RHYTHM. B. I. 
 
 stances ; first to the elements, which are to be arranged ; 
 secondly to the accidents, by which these elements are dis- 
 tinguished ; and thirdly to the law of succession, by which 
 the arrangement is effected. 
 
 In making verse, the elements subjected to the rhythm, 
 may be either syllables, or verses, or staves. The only 
 accidents, which need be noticed as of rhythmical value, are 
 three, the time or quantity, the accent, and the modifica- 
 tion of the sound. 
 
 Rhythm may be marked either by the time or the ac- 
 cent. In the great family of languages which has been 
 termed the Indo-European, and which spread from the 
 Ganges to the Shannon, three made time the index of their 
 rhythm, to wit the Sanscrit, Greek, and Latin ; all the 
 the others adopted accent. It is remarkable that those 
 dialects which now represent the Sanscrit, Greek, and 
 Latin, have lost their temporal and possess merely an ac- 
 centual rhythm. We are able in some measure to follow 
 the progress of this change. So gradual was it in the 
 Greek, that even as late as the eleventh century there 
 were authors who wrote indifferently in either rhythm. 
 The origin, however, of accentual verse, as it now prevails 
 in those languages, is by no means clear. Whether it 
 were borrowed from the northern invader, or were the na- 
 tural growth of a mixed and broken language, or merely 
 the revival of a vulgar rhythm, which had been heretofore 
 kept under by the prevalence of one more fashionable and 
 perhaps more perfect, are questions I shall pass by, as 
 being at least as difficult as they are interesting. 
 
 ARRANGEMENT OF THE SUBJECT. 
 
 HaAang premised thus much as to the meaning of our 
 terms, I will now lay before the reader the course I shall 
 foUow in tracing the progress of our English rhythms. In 
 the second book we shall consider the rhythm of indivi 
 dual verses; and in the third the rhythm of particular pas-
 
 C. I. ARRANGEMENT OP THE SUBJECT. 6 
 
 sages, or, to speak more precisely, the flow of several 
 verses in combination ; while the fourth book will be de- 
 voted to the history of our staves, that is, of those regular 
 combinations, which form as it were a second class of ele- 
 ments to be regulated by the rhythm. 
 
 The book which opens with the present chapter is httle 
 more than introductory, Ijut the matters discussed in it are 
 of high importance to the right understanding of the sub- 
 ject. In the next chapter we shall consider the different 
 modifications of sound, M-ith a view to the aid they afford us 
 in embellishing and perfecting the rhythm. In the third 
 we shall inquire what constitutes a syllable, and discuss the 
 nature of accent in the fourth, and of quantity in the fifth. 
 The various kinds of rhime will be the subject of the sixth 
 chapter, and in the seventh and last we shall treat of the 
 rhythmical pauses. 
 
 B 2
 
 4 THE VOICE. B. I. 
 
 42.6' s 
 
 V't 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE VOICE. 
 
 If we drop a small hea\^ body into still water it forms 
 a circular wave, which gradually enlarges and loses itself 
 upon the surface. In like manner, if one hard body strike 
 against anothei' — as the cog of a metal wheel against a 
 quill — a wave is formed in the air which expands on all 
 sides round the point of contact. When this wave 
 reaches the ear, it produces on that organ the sensation 
 of sound. 
 
 If now the wheel be turned round, so that the cogs 
 strike against the quill in succession, several concentric 
 waves are produced, following each other at equidistant 
 periods of time ; and if the velocity be such that there are 
 more than thirty sound-waves in a second, the sensation 
 produced by one lasts till another enters the ear, and a 
 continuous sound is the result. This continuous sound is 
 called a tone or musical note. 
 
 As we increase the number of sound-waves, the tone 
 changes its character, and is said to become sharper. 
 When more than six thousand enter the ear in a second, 
 the tone becomes so sharp and squeaking as to be no 
 longer perceptible by organs constituted like our own. 
 
 The wave which thus produces the sensation of sound, 
 differs widely in origin from that which moves along the 
 surface of the water. The latter is formed by the vertical 
 rising of the watery particles, and as these fall again in 
 obedience to the force of gra\dty, they drive upwards those 
 next adjoining. The motion of the particles is thus per- 
 pendicular or nearly so to the direction of the wave's 
 motion. The air- wave is formed by the condensation as
 
 C. I. THE VOICE. 5 
 
 well as by the displacing of the particles, and the moving 
 power in this case is elasticit}'. The airy particles are 
 driven on a heap, till the force of elasticity becomes 
 greater than the inipelhng force, and they are driven back 
 to their former station. Tlie neighbouring particles are 
 then similarly acted on, and a 'shght motion or vibration 
 in the same Une of direction as that in which the somid- 
 wave is travelling, takes place in all the particles. On the 
 size of this vibration depends the loudness of the sound. 
 
 The tones of the human voice are produced by the -sdbra- 
 tions of two membranes, which have been called the vocal 
 ligaments. These are set in motion by a stream of air 
 gushing from the lungs, and we can at pleasure regulate 
 the sharpness and the loudness of the sound produced. 
 The mechanism, by which this is effected, has been lately 
 made the subject of some very interesting speculations.* 
 
 If two elastic membranes stretched upon frames so as 
 to leave one edge free, be placed opposite to each other, 
 with the free edges uppermost, and a current of air pass 
 between them from beneath, they will be differently 
 affected according to their inclination towards each other. 
 If they incline from each other, they will bulge inwards, if 
 towards each other, they will bulge outwards, if they be 
 parallel, they will vibrate. Now the wind-pipe is con- 
 tracted near the mouth by a projecting mass of muscles 
 called the Glottis. The eds^es of the Glottis are mem- 
 branes, and form the vocal ligaments. Ordinarily these 
 membranous edges are inclined from each other, and con- 
 sequently no vibrations take place during the passage of 
 the breath; but by the aid of certain muscles, we can 
 place them parallel to each other, when they immediately 
 \'ibrate and produce a tone. With the aid of other mus- 
 cles, we can increase their tension, and thereby the sharp- 
 ness of the tone, and by dri\ang the air more forcibly from 
 the lungs, we may increase its loudness. The tone thus 
 
 * See Mr. Willis's papers in the Cambridge Philosophical Transactions.
 
 6 THE LETTERS. B. I. 
 
 formed is modified by the cavities of the throat, nose, and 
 mouth, These modifications form the first elements of 
 articulate language, or the letters. 
 
 VOCAL LETTERS. 
 
 It has been shown * that the note of a common organ 
 reed may take the qualities of all the vowel-sounds in 
 succession. This is effected by merely lengthening the 
 tube, which confines the vibrations. It would seem, there- 
 fore, that the peculiar characters of the different vowels 
 depend entirely on the length of the cavity, which modifies 
 the voice. 
 
 In pronouncing the long a in father, the cavity seems 
 barely, if at all, extended beyond the throat ; in pro- 
 nouncing the au of might, it reaches to the root of the 
 tongue, and to the middle of the palate in pronouncing the 
 long e of eat ; the sound of the long o in oat, requires the 
 cavity to be extended to the lips, which must be stretched 
 out to form a cavity long enough to pronounce the u in 
 jute. 
 
 Every addition to the length of the tube or cavity, affects 
 in a greater or less degree the character of the tone. The 
 possible number of vowel-sounds therefore, can have no 
 limit ; but as there are rarely more than seven or eight in 
 any one language, we may conclude that the human ear is 
 not readily sensible to the nicer distinctions. 
 
 In pronouncing the vowels a and e, as they sound in ale 
 and eel, we narrow the cavity by raising the tongue to- 
 wards the palate, while in pronouncing a, au, o, as they 
 sound in father, aught, oat, the cavity is broad and open. 
 These two sets of vowels have accordingly been distin- 
 guished as the narrow and the broad vowels. 
 
 Next to the vowels, the letters which have spread most 
 widely, are the three, 
 
 b, d, g. 
 
 * By Mr. Willis.
 
 C. I. THE LETTERS. / 
 
 as pronounced in ah, ad, ag. If we try to dwell upon tlie 
 consonants which end these words, we find ourselves 
 unable to do so but for a short time, and even then it 
 requires some muscular exertion. In each of the three 
 cases the tone seems to be modified by a closed cavity, no 
 aperture being left for the breath to escape by. In pro- 
 nouncing b, the lips are closed, and the vibrations are con- 
 fined to the throat and mouth; in pronouncing d, the 
 tongue is raised to the palate, and the throat and hinder 
 portion of the mouth are the only open cavities ; in pro- 
 nouncing y^ the tone seems to be modified merely by the 
 hollow of the throat. We shall call these letters from the 
 circumstances of their formation the close letters. 
 
 The letters b, d, g have a very near connexion with the 
 
 three nasals 
 
 m,n, ng.'^ 
 The only difference in their formation is, that in pro- 
 nouncing the latter, the breath passes freely through the 
 nostril. With this exception the organs are disposed pre- 
 cisely in the same way for pronouncing m, n, ng, as for pro- 
 nouncing b, d, g. As the nostril affords a free passage for 
 the breath, we may dwell on these letters during a whole 
 respiration. 
 
 V, dh.f 
 have the strongest affinity to b and d. The peculiarity of 
 their formation lies in the free passage of the breath 
 through the interstices of the upper teeth. To the edge of 
 these teeth we raise the lip in pronouncing v, and the 
 tongue in pronouncing dh, instead of joining the li^Ds, or 
 raising the tongue to the palate. As these teeth form part 
 of the enclosure which modifies the voice, the breath may 
 pass between them, and we may dwell upon the letters 
 during a whole respiration, as is seen in pronouncing the 
 words av, ad/i. 
 
 * This character represents the sound which ends such words as loving, 
 telling, &c. 
 t dh represents the vocal sound of th as heard in the, their, those, &c.
 
 8 THE LETTERS. B. I. 
 
 are never heard in pronunciation except at the beginning 
 of a syllable and before some other vowel. Tliey seem 
 merely to represent the short vowels i and u (as heard in 
 put and pit) , melimg into their several dipthongs. They 
 are generally considered as consonants ; but if the y of 
 your be a consonant, so must also be the e of Europe. 
 
 I, r. 
 
 The peculiarity in the formation of these letters is a 
 certain trembling or vibration of the tongue, whence they 
 may be called the trembling letters. In pronouncing / the 
 tongue is raised to the palate, as in forming the letter d, 
 but the breath is allowed to escape between it and the side 
 teeth, and thereby causes the loose ends of the tongue 
 to vibrate. In pronouncing the letter r the tongue is 
 raised towards the palate without touching it, and the 
 breath in jjassing causes it to vibrate. 
 
 These tremblings or vibrations of the tongue are quite 
 distinct from the vibrations of the voice, and may be pro- 
 duced during a whisper when the voice is absent. 
 
 The only two vocal sounds which remain to be consi- 
 dered are 
 
 z, zh.* 
 
 In pronouncing z the tongue is raised to the palate in 
 nearly the same position it occupies in pronouncing e, save 
 that, instead of lying hollow so as to form a tube or funnel 
 for the voice, the surface rises in a convex shape and 
 leaves but a narrow slit or aperture between it and the 
 roof of the mouth. By lengthening the aperture we get 
 the sound of zh. These letters may be called the sibilants 
 or hissing letters. 
 
 * By the character zh is represented the sound of z in azure.
 
 C. I. THE LETTERS. 9 
 
 WHISPER LETTERS.* 
 
 Hitherto vre have spoken only of vocal letters, or, in 
 other words, of the different modifications of the voice. 
 If the vocal ligaments be so inchned to each other as not 
 to vibrate, the emission of breath from the lungs produces 
 merely a whisper. This whisper may be modified in like 
 manner as the voice, by similar arrangements of the 
 organs ; and every vocal sound has its corresponding 
 whisper-sound, that might, if custom had so willed it, have 
 constituted a distinct letter. 
 
 It is, however, doubtful if there ever was a language 
 which had its whisper letters perfect. In our own the 
 number of whisper letters is nine. The three close let- 
 ters, the tAvo dentals or teeth-breathing letters, the two 
 siliilants, and the letter iv, have each of them their whis- 
 per letters, and the aspirate h is the ninth. 
 
 Vocal letters. Whisper letters. 
 
 b p 
 
 d t 
 
 g k 
 
 ,- V f 
 
 dh th 
 
 z s 
 
 zh sh 
 
 w wh 
 
 h 
 
 We have lost all distinction between dh and th in our 
 spelling, though we still distinguish them in pronunciation, 
 as is seen at once in comparing the sound of th in this, 
 then, clothes, to loathe — with its sound in thistle, thin, cloths, 
 loath. 
 
 * The distinction here taken between vocal and whisper letters appears to 
 me important. I once thought it was original ; but in conversing on this 
 subject with a respected friend, to whose instructions I owe much, I found 
 his views so nearly coinciding with my own, that I have now but little doubt 
 the hint was borrowed.
 
 10 TEE LETTERS. B. I. 
 
 The distinction also between the connected letter 
 sounds zh and sh does not appear in our orthography, 
 though at once sensible to the ear in comparing the sound 
 of azttre with that of Ashur. 
 
 That ich represents the whisper sound of ui will, I 
 think, be clear, if we compare the initial sounds of where, 
 when, while, with those of ivei^e, wen, wile. It is probable 
 that in the Anglo-Saxon hwter, hwen, Jiwile, the iv may 
 have been vocal, and the h may have represented a distinct 
 breathing; but it would be difficult to account for the 
 change of hiv into wh, which took place at so early a 
 period (perhaps as early as the 12th century), unless it in- 
 dicated a change in the pronunciation ; and this change 
 would naturally be to the whisper somid of the w. 
 
 In this view of the case iv may put in a fair claim to the 
 title of consonant. If the true definition of a vowel be, 
 that it is a letter M'hich makes any part of a word, into 
 which it enters, a distinct syllable, then iv has clearly no 
 right to the title of vowel. Nor can we reasonably call 
 the initial sounds of ivere, iven, ivile dipthongal, unless we 
 allow the initial sounds of ivhere, when, while, to be dip- 
 thongs also. But were this so, we should have part of a 
 dipthong a mere whisper while the other part remained 
 vocal. Our iv then, amid a choice of difficulties, may, 
 perhaps, be allowed the title of consonant ; but the same 
 reasoning does not apply to the ij. The latter, I think, 
 can only be considered as a letter indicating the initial 
 sound of a dipthong. 
 
 The whisper sounds of the two liquids /, r, constitute 
 two distinct letters in Welsh, and in several other lan- 
 guages. I am also inclined to think that the Latin rh, if 
 not the Greek 'p, indicated merely the whisper sound of 
 the r. 
 
 That these letters p, t, k,f, &c. are the whisper sounds 
 of b, d, g, V, &c. may, I think, be shown without much 
 difficulty. If we try to pronounce the words ab, ad, ag, 
 av, &c. in a whisper they cannot be distinguished from ap,
 
 C.I. IMITATIVE SOUNDS. 11 
 
 at, ak, af, &c. Again, the vibrations of the organs, which 
 are obvious while we are pronouncing a vocal letter, cease 
 immediately we change to the whisper sound; but the 
 disposition of the organs remains unchanged. Thus, in 
 pronouncing the v of av, if we change to a whisper, the 
 vibrations of the lips and teeth cease ; and without any 
 change in the position of the organs Ave find ourselves 
 pronouncing/'. 
 
 The number then of English consonantal sounds, if we 
 consider tv as one, amounts to twenty-two ; whereof 
 thirteen are vocal and nine mere whisper sounds. 
 
 The vowels are eleven in number. The long «, e, o, u, 
 an heard in father, reel, roll, rule; cm and a as heard in 
 aught, ate ; and the short a, e, i, o, n, as heard in ^«^, ^e^, 
 pit, pot, put. The dipthongs are twelve, ei, oi and ou, as 
 heard in height, hoity, out ; and eleven others formed by 
 prefixing y to the eleven vowels. These are heard in the 
 following words, yarcln, yean, yoke, yule, yaivn, yare, yap, 
 yell, yif, yon, young. 
 
 Having: said thus much on the formation of our ele- 
 mentary sounds, we will now consider in what way and to 
 what extent they may be rendered useful, in embellishing 
 and perfecting the rhythm. 
 
 If, as is often the case, besides the idea which the usage 
 of language has connected with certain words, there are 
 others which are naturally associated with the sounds or 
 with the pecuharities of their formation, it is obvious, that 
 the impression on the mind must be the most vivid, when 
 the natural associations can be made to coincide with 
 such as are merely artificial and conventional. In all 
 lano-uaoes there are certain words in Avhich this coinci- 
 dence is perfect. In our own we have hiss, kaio, bah, and 
 a few others, in which the natural sound so closely re- 
 sembles the articulate sound which represents it, that 
 many have fallen into the error of supposing the latter a 
 mere imitation of the former. The number, however, of 
 these imitative sounds in any language is but scanty, and
 
 12 IMITATIVE SOUNDS. 13. I. 
 
 the assistance they render is both ob\-ious and vulgar. 
 The dehcate perceptions of the poet demand the gratifica- 
 tion more frequently than it is supplied by the ordinary 
 resources of language. It is by the command which he 
 possesses over this noblest of all gifts (after reason) that 
 he seeks to obtain it. 
 
 In the next section we shall trace some of the artifices 
 which have been adopted to arrive at these imitative 
 sounds; and afterwards enquire how far the peculiarities 
 which attend the formation of our letters, as regards the 
 disposition and action of the organs, can assist us in the 
 fit and suitable expression of the thought. 
 
 IMITATIVE SOUNDS. 
 
 " There is found," says Bacon, " a similitude between 
 the sound, that is made by inanimate bodies, or by animate 
 bodies that have no voice articulate, and divers letters 
 of articulate voices ; and commonly men have given such 
 names to those sounds as do allude unto the articulate 
 letters ; as trembling of water hath resemblance to the 
 letter / ; quenching of hot metals to the letter z ; snarhng 
 of dogs with the letter r ; the noise of screech owls wdth 
 the letter sh, voice of cats with the dipthong eu, voice of 
 cuckoos with the dipthong ou, sounds of strings with the 
 dipthong ng." — Century I. 
 
 When we pronounce the letter /, the breath in escaping 
 under the side teeth presses against the yielding tongue, 
 which may be considered as fixed at its root and tip. 
 The tongue, like other flaccid bodies in similar circum- 
 stances, vibrates with a slow and uncertain trembhng. 
 This strongly resembles the motion of water. " Run- 
 ning waters," Bacon elsewhere observes, " represent 
 to the ear a trembling noise, and in regals, where they 
 have a pipe they call the nightingale pipe, Avhich con- 
 taineth water, the sound hath a continual trembling ; and 
 children have also little things they call cocks, which have
 
 C. I. IMITATIVE SOUNDS. 13 
 
 water in them, and when they blow or whistle in them 
 they yield a treml)hng noise." It is in this inequality of 
 trepidation, that the resemblance above alluded to seems 
 chiefly to consist. Our great poets aftbrd us many beau- 
 tiful examples ; in the Witches' song we almost hear the 
 bubbhng of the cauldron ; 
 
 For a charm of powerful trouble, 
 Like a hell broth boil aud bubble. 
 All. Double, double toil and trouble, 
 Fire burn and cauldron bubble. 
 
 Not less happy are the following passages, 
 
 Gloster stumbled, and in falling 
 Struck me, that thought to stay him, overboard 
 Into the tumbling billows of the main. R. 3. 
 
 Fountains, and ye that warble as ye flow. 
 Melodious murmurs, warbling tune his praise. 
 
 P.L. 
 
 The h}TOothesis that has been ventured as to the origin 
 of the resemblance, thus noticed by Bacon, is strengthened 
 by observing, that our poets ahvays affect this letter, 
 Avhenever they have to describe a yielding \xQxy motion. 
 The tye, which links such an association Avith the letter /, 
 is obvious. 
 
 Part huge of bulk. 
 
 Wallowing unwieldy., enormous in their gait, 
 Tempest the ocean. P- L. 7. 
 
 Some of serpent kind, 
 Woud'rous in length and corpulence, involved 
 Their snaky folds. P- L. 7. 
 
 The one seem'd woman to the waist, and fair. 
 
 But ended foul, in many a scaly fold 
 
 Voluminous and vast. P- L. 2. 
 
 ^, though a trembling letter, has a character of sound 
 difterhig in many particulars from that of /. In the lirst 
 place it has a narrow sound, not unlike e, while that of /
 
 14 IMITATIVE SOUNDS. B. I. 
 
 has a decidedly broad one. In the second place the vi- 
 brations, instead of being slow and uncertain hke those 
 of /, are quick and decided. Its s(nind was Ukened, even 
 by Roman critics, to the snarling of the dog ; but it has a 
 resemblance to any narroM^ sound, which is broken in 
 upon by short quick interruptions. Hence its power in 
 expressing harsh, grating, and rattUng noises. 
 
 In the tAVO first of the following examples, the roll of a 
 liquid mass is beautifully contrasted with the harsh rattle 
 of rock or shingle, on which it is supposed to act. 
 
 As burning iEtna from his boiling stew 
 
 Doth belch out flames, and rocks in pieces broke. 
 
 And ragged r/i^ of mountains molten new, 
 
 Enwrapt in cole-black clouds. i^. Q. 1. 1 1. 44. 
 
 As rag'ing seas are wont to roar, 
 
 When w'mtrji storm his wrath/uI wreck does threat, 
 The rolling billows beat the ragged shore. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 11. 21. 
 
 With clamour thence the rapid currents drive 
 Toxoids the retreating ?,Qs.i\\Q\v furious tide. 
 
 P.L. 
 
 As an aeed tree 
 
 ■&" 
 
 Whose heart-strings with keen steel nigh hewen be, 
 
 The mi^^hty trunk, half rent with ragged rift, 
 
 Doth ro/Zadown the rocks and fall with/c«r/M/ drift. 
 
 F. Q. 
 
 And she whom once the semblance of a scar 
 Appall'd, an owlet's larum chill'd \v'ith dread, 
 Now views the colnmn-scatfring bay'net^flr. 
 
 Childe Harold, 1 . 
 
 On a sudden open fly 
 
 With impetuous recoil, and jarring sound 
 
 Th' infernal doors, and on their hinges grate 
 
 Harsh thunder. P- L. 2. 
 
 The brazen throat of war had ceas'd to roar, 
 
 All now was turn'd to jollity and game. P. L. 11.
 
 C. I. IMITATIVE SOUNDS. 15 
 
 The raven himself is hoarse, 
 
 That croaks the fatal enterance oi Duncan 
 
 Under my battlements. Macbeth. 
 
 Such bursts of horrid thunder, 
 
 Such groans of roaring wind and rain, I never 
 Remember to have heard. Lear. 
 
 The sounds represented in the three last examples are 
 not only harsh and grating, but deep and full ; the narrow 
 sound of the r is therefore corrected by the broad vowels 
 in roar, hoarse, groans, &c. 
 
 Bacon likens the sound of z to the quenching of hot 
 metals, and that of sh to the noise of screech owls. The 
 fact is that the sounds represented by ^, 2:h, s, sh, are all 
 more or less sibilant, and accordingly have a greater or 
 less affinity to any sound of the like character. Now there 
 are a variety of noises, which though not aljsolutely hisses, 
 yet approach near to them in the sharpness and shrillness 
 of their sound, as shrieks, screeches, the whistling of man 
 or other animals. All these resemble more or less the 
 hissing sound of the sibilants. 
 
 They saw — but, other sight instead ! a crowd 
 . ,0f ugly serpents ; horror on them fell 
 And horrid sympathy ; for what they sav} 
 They felt themselves now cliaTiging j down their arms 
 Down fell both spear and shield, down they as fast, 
 And the dire hiss renew'd. P. L. 10. 
 
 Dreadful was the din 
 
 Oi hissing ihrowgh the hall, ih\ck sicarming now 
 
 With complicated monsters, head and tail. 
 
 Scorpion and asp, and amphisha'na dire. 
 
 Cerastes horn'd, hydras and elops drear. 
 
 And dipsas, not so thick swarm' d once the soil, 
 
 Bedropt with blood of gorgon. P. L. 10. 
 
 The hoarse night-raven, trump of doleful drere, 
 The leather-winged bat, day's enemy. 
 The rueful strich still waiting on the bier. 
 The whistler shrill that ivhoso hears doth die. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 12. 30".
 
 IG IMITATIVE SOUNDS. B. I. 
 
 By whispering loinds soon lull'd asleep. 
 
 L' Allegro. 
 
 The breezy call of f;2ce«5e-breathing raorzi. 
 
 The swallow twitt'ring from her straw-hvL\\t shed, 
 
 The cock's shrill clarion, or the echoing horn. 
 No more shall rouse them from their lowly bed. 
 
 Gray. 
 
 And with sluup shrilling shrieks do bootless cry. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 12.36. 
 
 Now air is hnsh'd, save where the weak-ey'd bat, 
 With short shrill shriek Hies by on leathern wing. 
 
 CoUi/is's Evening. 
 
 It will be observed that in several of these examples the 
 sharp sound of the sibilant is strengthened by that of the 
 narrow vowels, long e and short i. These vowels are 
 sometimes used with effect even by themselves. 
 
 The clouds were fled, 
 
 Driv'n by a keen north wind, that blowing dry 
 Wrinkled the face of deluge. P. L. 10. 
 
 The threaden sails. 
 
 Borne with th' invisible and creeping wind. 
 Draw the huge bottoms through the furrow'd sea. 
 
 H 5. 3. Chorns. 
 
 The broad vowel sounds on the contrary, long «, au, 
 long and short o, together with the broad dipthong ou, are 
 used to express deep and hollow sounds ; 
 
 A dreadful sound. 
 
 Which through the wood loud bellowing did rebound. 
 
 F.Q. 1.7.7. 
 
 His thunders now had ceas'd 
 
 To belloiv through the vast and boundless deep. P. L. 
 
 All these and thousand thousftnds many more, 
 
 And more deformed monsters thousand fold. 
 
 With dreadful noise and hollow rombling sound 
 
 Came rushing. F. Q. 2. 12. 25.
 
 C. II. IMITATIVE SOUNDS. 17 
 
 As the sound of u-aters deep. 
 
 Hoarse murmurs echoed to his words applause. 
 
 p L. r>. 
 
 The very expression a hollotv sound shows how close is 
 the association of a hollow space with depth and fullness 
 of sound. Hence the broad vowels are sometimes used to 
 express mere breadth and concavity. 
 
 So high as heav'd the tumid hills, so low 
 jDotvn sunk a hollow bottom, broad and deep. 
 
 P.L.7. 
 
 Hell at last, 
 
 Yawning received them whole, and on them closed. 
 
 P. L. 7. 
 
 The observation of Bacon relative to the sound of ni/ 
 may be generalized in like manner. There is no doubt 
 that all the three nasals have a close affinity to any deep 
 low sound ; such as a hum, a murmur, or the twang of a 
 musical string slowly vibrating. The reason I take to be 
 the distinctness with which the vibrations of the voice are 
 heard in pronovmcing these letters, and the low deep tone 
 in which they are generally spoken. 
 
 Through the foul wo}nb of night 
 
 The hum of either a7'mi/ stilly sounds. 
 
 H 5. 4. Chorus. 
 
 The shard-ior?ze beetle with his drowsy hums 
 
 Hath runcj night's ijawniny peal. Macbeth. 
 
 Where the beetle winds 
 
 His small but sullen horn^ 
 As oft he rises mid the twilight path 
 Against the jnlgrhn borne in heedless hvM. Collins. 
 
 The bum-cock humm'd wi' lazy drone, 
 
 The kye stood rowtin i' the loan. Burns. 
 
 Where each old poetic mountain 
 
 Inspiration breath'd around, 
 
 Every shade and hallowed fountain 
 
 Murmur d deep a solemn sound. Gray. 
 
 VOL. I. C .
 
 IS IMITATIVE SOUNDS. B. I. 
 
 Even Johnson, notwithstanding the ridicule he has 
 thrown upon enquiries of this natvire, has admitted that 
 particular images may be " adumbrated by an exact and 
 perceptible resemblance of sound." But the law of 
 resemblance — that first great law of association — is not 
 to be confined thus narrowly. If the mere sound of the 
 words hiss and bah recall the cry of the animal, so may the 
 muscular action, which the organs exert in pronouncing the 
 words struggle, ivrestle, call up in the mind the play of 
 muscle and sinew, usual in those encounters. Wherever 
 there is resemblance there may be association. We will 
 now enquire what means our poets have used to fix their 
 associations in the reader's mind, more especially in those 
 cases, in which the connecting link has been the disposition 
 or the action of the organs. 
 
 In the first place, we may observe that in making any 
 continued muscular effort, we draw in the breath and com- 
 press the lips firmly. Now this is the very position in 
 which we place the organ S; when pronouncing the letters 
 b, p. I have no doubt that to this source may be traced 
 much of the beauty of the following verses. 
 
 Behemoth, biggest born of earth, tipheavd 
 
 His vastness — P. L. 7 
 
 The mountains huge appear 
 Emergent^ and their broad bare backs upheave 
 Into the clouds. P. L. /• 
 
 The envious flood 
 Kept in my soul, and would not let it forth. 
 But smother'd it within my panting bulk. 
 Which almost ^wrs^ to 5e^c/i in the sea. R?>. 1.4. 
 
 But first from invvard grief 
 
 His bursting passion mto plaitits thus pour' d. 
 
 P. L. 9. 
 
 AVho thrusting boldly twixt him and the blow. 
 The burden of the deadly brunt did bear. 
 
 F. Q. 4. 8. 42. 
 
 A grievous burthen was thy birth to me 
 
 R 3. 4.
 
 C. II. IMITATIVE SOUNDS. H) 
 
 When the mind is seiz'd with fear and amazement, the 
 lips open and voice fails us. If the surprize be sudden, a 
 whispered ejaculation escapes, suppress'd almost as soon 
 as utter'd. In this way I would account for that combi- 
 nation of letters st, which Spenser and others of our older 
 poets affect, whenever they have to describe this feeling. 
 Its fitness for the purpose seems to lie in the sudden stop, 
 which is given by the f to the whisper sound of the a' — 
 letters, l^e it ol^served, which are formed without the 
 agency of the lips. 
 
 The {{iant self dismayed with that sound 
 lu haste came rushing forth fiom inner bow r, 
 AMth staring countnance stent, as one astound, 
 And staggering steps, to wcet what sudden stour 
 Had wrought that horror strange and dared his dreaded pou r. 
 
 F. Q. 1.8. o. 
 
 Stern was their look like wild amazed steers. 
 Staring with liollow eyes and stij'' upstanding hairs. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 9. 1.3. 
 
 He answer'd not at all, but adding new 
 
 Fear to his first amazement, staring wide 
 
 With stoni/ eyes, and heartless hollow hue. 
 
 Astonish' d stood. F. Q- 1.9.24. 
 
 When too the sinews are overstretched, or shaken with 
 sharp and jerking efforts, the same kind of broken breath- 
 ing generally follows the strain upon them. The sound 
 too is harsh and grating. Hence, in part at least, the 
 effect produced by the combinations st, str, in the follow- 
 ing passages ; 
 
 Staring full ghastl// like a strangled man. 
 
 His hair uprear'd, his nostrils stretched with struggling, 
 
 His hands abroad display'd, as one that grasp'd 
 
 And tugg'd for life. H 6, 
 
 But th' heedful boatman strongly forth did stretch 
 
 His brawny arms, and all his body strain. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 12. 21. 
 c 2
 
 20 IMITATIVE SOUNDS. B. I. 
 
 There is little doubt, however, that the chief link of as- 
 sociation in these passages is the difficult muscular action, 
 which is call'd into play in the prounciation of str. 
 
 Under the influence of fear the voice sinks into a whis- 
 jier. Hence in describing that passion, or such conduct 
 as it generally accompanies — deceit or caution — Ave find 
 the whisper-letters peculiarly effective. 
 
 With sturdy steps came stalking on his sight 
 
 A hideous giant, horrible and high. F. Q. 1. 7. S. 
 
 The knight himself e'en trembled at his fall, 
 So huge and horrible a mass it seein'd. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 12.55. 
 
 So daunted when the giant saw the knight. 
 His heavi/ hand he heaved up on liigh. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 7. 14. 
 
 And pious awe, that feard to have offended. P. L. 
 
 His fraud is then thy fear, which plain infers 
 
 Thy equal fear that my frm faith and love 
 
 Can by his fraud be shaken and seduc'd. P. L. 9. 
 
 Fit vessel fittest imp oi fraud in whom 
 
 To e)iter, and his dark suggestions hide. P. L. 9. 
 
 The whisper letters p^ t, are sometimes used at the end 
 of words with great effect, in representing an interrupted 
 action. The impossibility of dwelling upon these letters, 
 and the consequently sharp and sudden termination which 
 they give to those words into which they enter, will suffi- 
 ciently explain their influence. 
 
 Till an unusual stoji of sudden silence 
 
 Gave respite. Comus. 
 
 Sudden he stops, his eye is fix'd, away ! 
 
 Away ! thou heedless boy, Childe Harold, 1. 
 
 All unawares 
 
 Fluttering his pinions \ain, ])lumb down he dropt 
 Ten thousand fathom deep Par. Lost, 2. 
 
 The })ilgrim oft 
 
 At dead of night, mid his orisons, hears
 
 C. II. IMITATIVE SOUNDS. 21 
 
 Aghast the voice of time ! disparting tow'rs, 
 Tumbeling all precipitate, down dash'd, 
 Rattling aloud, loud tliuudering to the moon. 
 
 Dyers Ruins of Rome. 
 
 Little effort is wanted, as Johnson once observed, to 
 make our languasre harsh and rouo-h. It cost Milton no 
 trouble to double his consonants, and load his hne with 
 rugged syllables, when he descril^ed the mighty conflict 
 between his angels. 
 
 But soon obscur'd with smoke allheav'n appear'd 
 
 From those deep-throated engines belch'd, whose roar 
 
 Embowell'd with outrageous noise the air 
 
 And all her entrails tore, disgorging foul 
 
 Their dev'lish glut^ chaiu'd thunderbolts and hail 
 
 Of iron globes. P. L. 6. 
 
 But when he chose, he could also glide upon his vowels 
 and make his language as smooth as the Italian. 
 
 And all the while harmonious airs were heard. P. L. 9. 
 
 Vs'iih. all that earth or heaven could bestow 
 
 To make her amiable, on she came. P. L. 9. 
 The serpent sly 
 
 Insinuating wove with Gordian twine 
 
 His braided train. P- L. 
 
 Milton's verses, however, lose half their beauty when thus 
 insulated. It is a remark of Cowper, that a rough hne 
 seems to add a greater smoothness to the others ; and no 
 one better knew the advantages of contrast than Milton, 
 There can be little doubt that many of his harsher verses, 
 some of which contain merely a bead-roll of names, were 
 introduced for the sole purpose of heightening the melody 
 of the lines which followed.
 
 -- SYLLABLE. B. I. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 SYLLABLE. 
 
 The definition of a scientific term is seldom aided by its 
 etymology. According to the Greek derivation, a syllable 
 means a collection of letters, according to the Celtic* a ver- 
 bal element. The first of these must have suggested to 
 Priscian his well-known definition. The Latin gramma- 
 rian pronounces a syllable, to be a collection of letters bear- 
 ing the same accent, and formed by one impulse of the 
 breath. Scaliger, more simply, and I think more sen- 
 sibly, defines it to be a A-erbal element falling under one 
 accent. 
 
 The objection which attaches to both these definitions 
 is the vagueness of the word accent. Among the Greeks 
 and Latins accent meant tone, with us it means something 
 Avidely different. There are also Greek syllables which 
 receive both a grave and a sharp tone. It is true we call 
 this union of the tones a circumflex, but this is merely an 
 evasion of the difficulty ; or rather, we should say, it is a 
 loose expresssion, on which an erroneous definition has 
 been grounded. I am also far from sure that our English 
 accent in all cases pervades the syllable. On some letters 
 the stress is certainly more obvious than on others. 
 These difficulties might be avoided, by defining a syllable 
 to be a word or verbal element, which for rythmical pur- 
 poses is considered as having only one accent. 
 
 * In Welsh, eb is an utterance; fraetheh an oration, fraeth eloquent; 
 dh'eb a proverb, dir true ; galareb a voice of mourning, galar mourning ; 
 (jraetJieb a climax, gracfh a step ; silleb an elementary part of speech, a syl- 
 lable, */// an element. Hence the Norman syllabe, and our English syllable.
 
 C. 111. SYLLxVBLE. 23 
 
 Properly, every syllable ought to have a distinct A^owel 
 sound. Such is the rule which prevailed in the Greek 
 and Latin, and I believe also in our earlier dialect. At 
 present it is different. Tlius the word heaven is now con- 
 sidered as of two syllables, though it has but one vowel, 
 the second syllable consisting merely of a consonantal 
 sound. 
 
 It is probable that in the earlier periods of our language 
 there was no such thing as a syllable thus merely conso- 
 nantal. It is certain that the critics of Elizabeth's reign 
 thought a vowel essential, and though many syllables were 
 held to be doubtful, yet in all such cases there prevailed a 
 difference of pronunciation, as to the number of the vowel- 
 sounds. At present we have many words, such as hea- 
 ven, seven, &c. which are used in our poetry sometimes as 
 monosyllaliles, sometimes as dissyllables, yet in neither 
 case have more than one vowel- sound. The only differ 
 ence in the pronunciation is, that we rest somewhat 
 longer upon the linal consonant, when we use them as dis- 
 syllables. There can be httle doubt that at an earlier pe- 
 riod these words would, in such a case, have been pro- 
 nounced with two vowel-sounds, keav-en, sev-en, &c. as 
 they still are in some of our provincial dialects. 
 
 It is not quite easy to say, why all the early systems of 
 syllabification should be thus dependent upon the number 
 of the vowel-sounds. Every letter, except }), t, k, may be 
 dwelt upon during a finite portion of time, and if we also 
 except b, d, g, the consonants may be lengthened just as 
 readily as the vowels. There is therefore only a partial 
 objection to the system, which should even divide a word 
 into its literal elements. If we excepted the six letters 
 h, d, g,p, t, k, and joined them in pronunciation to those 
 immediately preceding or succeeding, I can see no a p7'iori 
 objection to a system even thus sin^ple. Musical com- 
 posers take this liberty without scruple in adapting words 
 to music, and often split a monosyllable into as many 
 parts as it has letters.
 
 2i FRENCH E FIXAL. B. I. 
 
 The probable reason is the much greater importance of 
 the vowel in the older dialects. In those lansjuaires which 
 had a temporal rhythm, verse must have been spoken in 
 a kind of recitative ; and such to this day is the manner in 
 which the Hindoos recite their Sanscrit poems. The more 
 grateful sound of the vowels would naturally point them 
 out as best fitted for musical expression, and on these the 
 notes would chiefly rest. Again, the tendency of language 
 is to shorten the A^owels. Most of our present short 
 vowels were pronounced by the Anglo-Saxons Avith the 
 middle * quantity, and some with the long. Those knots 
 of consonants too, which are so frequent in our language, 
 unloose themselves as we trace them upwards. The 
 vowels reappear one after the other, and as we advance 
 we find their quantity gradually lengthening. There are 
 dissyllables which expand themselves, even within the 
 Anglo-Saxon period, tr six syllables, and the number 
 might be doubled, if we traced them still further by the 
 aid of the kindred dialects. This accumulation of conso- 
 nants and shortening of the vowel made the voice rest the 
 longer on the consonantal portion of the word, and seems 
 at length to have paved the way for consonantal syllables. 
 
 In tracing the gradual extinction of our syllables, I 
 shall first call the reader's attention to the final e. The 
 loss of the initial syllable Avill then be considered ; and 
 afterwards the case of those vowels which have at any 
 time melted into diphthongs, or have otherwise coalesced 
 into one syllable. The loss of the vowel before different 
 consonants will then be matter of investigation ; and we 
 shall conclude the chapter by noticing such syllables as 
 are formed by the coalition of two or more distinct words. 
 
 FRENCH e FINAL. 
 
 The following are instances of French substantives 
 which retained their final e after they were introduced 
 into our lanofuaae : 
 
 * See chaj). v.
 
 C. III. FRENCH E FINAL. 25 
 
 Upon her knees she ganto falle. 
 
 And with j sad coi(n\tenun\ce : knel|eth still|,* 
 Till she had herd, what was the lordes will. 
 
 Chau. The Clerkes Tale. 
 
 As to my dome ther is non that is here 
 Of El oquen\ce: that ] shall be | thy pere|. 
 
 Chau. The Frankeleins Prologue. 
 
 Than hadjde he spent]: all | \\\?, pUlos\ophi\e, 
 Ay Questio quid juris ! vvolde he crie. 
 
 Chau. Prolucjue. 
 
 And God that siteth hie in Magistee, 
 
 Save all this corn\payni\e : gret | and smal|e. 
 
 Thus have I quit the miller in his tale. 
 
 Chau. The Reeves Tale. 
 
 Till Erevvyn wattir fysehe to take he went, 
 Sic fan\tasi\e : fell | in his | intent.] 
 
 Wallace, I. 370. 
 
 We find this syllable preserved also in the plural. 
 
 And min ] ben aljso : the mal\adi\es col]de. 
 The derke tresons and the castes olde. 
 
 Chau. The Kn'ightes Tale. 
 
 He was ajangler and a goliardeis. 
 
 And that ] was most] : of sinjne and harjlotrijes, 
 
 AVel coude he stelen corne and toUen thries.f 
 
 Chau. Prologue. 
 
 We also have the e, which closes the French adjective. 
 
 — This ilke noble queue 
 
 On her shoulders gan sustene 
 Both the amies, and the name 
 Of tho 1 that had[de : larg\e fam|e. 
 
 Chau. House of Fame. 
 
 * The vertical line always follows an accented syllable, and the colon (:) 
 indicates the place of the middle pause, of which we shall have to say 
 more in Chapter VII. 
 
 t Thries is always a dissyllable in Chaucer.
 
 26 ENGLISH E FINAL. B. I. 
 
 A larg\e man| he was | : with ey|en step|e, 
 A fairer burgeis is ther noii in Chepe. 
 
 Chau. Prologue to Cant. Tales. 
 
 His conferred sovereignty was like 
 
 A larg\e sail| : full | with a forejright wind] 
 
 That drowns a smaller bark. Fletcher, Prophetess. 
 
 In rotten ribbed barck to passe the seas. 
 
 The for|raine landes| : and straung\ie sites | to see] 
 
 Doth daungers dwell. Tiiherville to his Friend P. 
 
 ENGLISH e FINAL. 
 
 The most frequent vowel endings of Anglo-Saxon 
 substantives were a, e, u. All the three were, in the 
 fourteenth century, represented by the e final. We 
 meet, however, with substantives in e which have two, 
 and in some cases three, Anglo-Saxon substantives cor- 
 responding to them ; and when we find all the three end- 
 ings in Anglo-Saxon, it is difticult to say which is repre- 
 sented by the e. Even when we only know of one Anglo- 
 Saxon ending, there is always a possibihty of the others 
 existing, though they may not have fallen within the com- 
 pass of our reading. 1 shall first give examples of the e 
 which answers to the Anglo-Saxon a. 
 
 All the Anglo-Saxon nouns in a are masculine, and 
 belong to what Rask terms the first declension, as tiaina a 
 name, thna time, mona the moon. 
 
 And hast bejaped here duk Theseus, 
 
 And falsjely changjed hastj : they na7n\e t\ms\ — 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 A knight ther was, and that a worthy man. 
 That fro | the tim\e : that | he firste ] began] 
 To riden out, he loved chivalrie, 
 Trouth and honour, fredom and curtesie. 
 
 Chan. Prologue. 
 
 His sadcl was of rewel bone. 
 His bridel as the sonne shone. 
 
 Or as I the mon\e light]. 
 
 Chau. Sire Thopas.
 
 C. III. ENGLISH E FINAL. 2^ 
 
 The Anglo-Saxon nouns in e belong to various genders 
 and declensions. A great number of them are feminines 
 and neuters belonging to the first declension. Among the 
 feminine nouns are sunne the sun, hcorte the heart, rose 
 the rose ; eare the ear, is neuter. There are also mascu- 
 line and neuter nouns in e, which belong to other declen- 
 sions. 
 
 Thus the day they spende 
 
 In revjeb till| : the son\ne gan | descend|e. 
 
 Chau. The Clerkes Tale. 
 
 And thus | with good | hope : and | with Ae?-^]e blithj 
 
 They taken their leave. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 Fresher than the May with flowres ixewe 
 
 For I with the ros\e col|our : strof | hire hevv|e. 
 
 Chau. The Knight's Tale. 
 
 He smote me ones with his fist. 
 
 For that I rent out of his book a lefe. 
 
 That I of the stroke] : myn er\e wex | al defe.| 
 
 Chan The Wif of Bathes Prol. 
 
 Nouns in u were generally feminine, as scohi school, 
 
 lufu love, scemnu shame, lagu law ; but there Avere also some 
 
 masculines belonging to another declension, as sunu a son, 
 
 wudu a wood, &c. 
 
 Full soth I is sayde| : that lov\e ne | lordship] 
 
 W'ol nat, his thankes, have no felawship. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 It is I a sham,\e : that | the pejple shal| 
 
 So scornen thee. Chau. The Second Nunnes Tate. 
 
 \A'ith empty womb of fasting many a day 
 
 Receiv|ed he | the law\e : that | was writ[en 
 
 VV'ilh Goddes finger, and Eli wel ye witen — 
 
 He fasted long. Chau. The Somjmoures Tale. 
 
 No raaister sire quod he, but servitour. 
 
 Though I I have had | in schol\e : that | honour]. 
 
 Chau. The Sompnoures Tale. 
 
 Beforje hire stood] : hire son\e Cup]ido] 
 Upon his shoulders winges hadde he two. 
 
 Chau, The Knightes Tale.
 
 28 ENGLISH E FIXAL. B. I. 
 
 And as she cast lier eie aboute. 
 
 She sigh clad in one suite a route 
 
 Of ladies, wher they coraen ride 
 
 A|longe unlder : the M;ooe/|c?esid|e. Cower. 
 
 We also have the Anglo-Saxon ending the, a distinct 
 
 syllable. 
 
 And vvel I wot withouten help or grace 
 
 Of thee, I ne may | my strencj\the : not | avail |Ie. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 I preise wel thy wit. 
 Quod I the Frank|elein : cousid|erint^ | thy ijoii\the 
 So felingly thou spekest, sire, 1 aloue thee 
 As to my dome, ther is non that is here 
 In eloquence that shall be thy pere. 
 
 Chau. The Frankelelnes Pro!. 
 
 Such of these endings as survived tiU the sixteenth cen- 
 tury changed the e for y, and were gradually confounded 
 with the adjectives of that termination. There can he 
 httle doubt that the helly and woody of the following 
 extracts w^ere the Anglo-Saxon /telle and ivudu. 
 
 Free Helicon and franke Parnassus hylls 
 Are hel\ly haunts] : and ranke | pernicjious ylls|. 
 Baldwin M. for M. Collingbourne, 2. 
 
 The satjyrs scorn | iXxciv ivood\y kind]. 
 
 And henceforth nothing fair but her on earth they find. 
 
 Fairy Queen. 
 There were a few Anglo-Saxon adjectives, which ended 
 in e, as ge-trewe true, neive new. 
 
 A trew\e swink|er: and | a good | was he|. 
 
 Living in pees and parfite charitee. Chau. Prologue. 
 
 And swore \ his othj : as | he was tr€w\e knight]. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 She was wel more blissful on to see 
 Than is | \.\iznew\e: perjjenetje tree. 
 
 Chau. The Miller es Tale. 
 An adverb was also formed from the adjective by the 
 addition of an e; a formation which flourished in the time
 
 C. III. THE E OF INFLEXION. 29 
 
 of Chaucer, and cannot be considered even now as obso- 
 lete. The e has indeed vanished, and the word, thus 
 robbed of a syllable, is considered merely as the adjective 
 used adverbially. It is, however, the legitimate though 
 corrupt descendant of the present adverb, and such root 
 has it taken in the language, that not all the efforts of our 
 grammarians have been able to weed it out. 
 
 And I in a cloth | of gold ] : that brigh\te shone]. 
 With a coroune of many a riche stone. 
 Upon hire hed, they into hall hire broiighte. 
 
 Chau. The Clerkes Tale. 
 
 Command|eth himi : and/w^l^e blevve | the fire|. 
 
 Chau. Chanones Yemannes Tale. 
 
 Wei I coude he sit|te on hors] : and/ffj/r|e rid]e. 
 
 Chau. The Prologue. 
 
 There is, however, one caution to be given. The super- 
 lative of the adjective ends in ste, that of the adverb in st. 
 
 A knight ther was, and that | a worthy man, 
 'J'liat I fro the tim|e : that | he Jirste | began| 
 To riden out, he loved chivalrie. 
 
 Chau. Prologue. 
 
 THE e OF INFLEXION. 
 
 In the history of literature there are few things more 
 remarkable than the position which is now occupied by 
 Chaucer. For the last three centuries he has been read 
 and praised and criticised, yet neither reader, eulogist, or 
 critic, have thought fit to investigate his language. When 
 does he inflect his substantive ? when his adjective ? 
 These are questions, which obtrude themselves in the 
 study of every language, yet who has ventured to answer 
 for our early English ? 
 
 One of the difficulties in the way of this enquiry, is the 
 number of dialects, which prevailed in the country from 
 the eleventh to the fifteenth century. There is a Avide 
 distinction between the language of Layamon and of 
 Chaucer, yet it is by no means easy to say whether this
 
 30 THE E OF INFLEXION. B. I. 
 
 marks a difference of dialect, or is merely the change 
 which our language underwent in the course of two cen- 
 turies. I shall therefore confine myself to the dialect of our 
 earliest classic, and notice the language of other writers, 
 only as they serve for the purposes of illustration. 
 
 In the time of Layamon the dative singular in e still 
 survived, and it seems to have been occasionally used as 
 the accusative singular, just as the datives of the personal 
 pronouns invaded the province of their accusatives. I 
 suspect this dative had become obsolete before the time of 
 Chaucer; yet there are lines which it is difficult to account 
 for without its assistance. Thus, in the couplet which 
 opens the poem, 
 
 ^Miaiiue that April with his shoures sote 
 
 The drought of March had perced to the rote — 
 
 there is little doubt that rote is a dissyllable, for it 
 rhymes with sote, which seems clearly to be the plural 
 adjective agreeing with slwures. Now the common form 
 of this substantive is a monosyllable rot, and unless rote 
 be its dative we must conclude there is another substan- 
 tive rote of two syllaljles — a conclusion which, though 
 I would not contradict it, seems improbable. If however 
 Chaucer used the dative, it must have been so rarely as 
 much to lessen the value of this discussion. 
 
 There seems to be no doubt that Chaucer used the 
 old genitive plural in «, the final vowel being represented, 
 as in other cases, by e. We find in old English menne, 
 horse, othe, answering to the Anglo-Saxon manna, horsa, 
 atha, the respective genitives plural of man, hors, and ath. 
 Tueye feren lie hadde 
 That he with him ladde 
 Al|le rich|e 7nenu\e son|es. 
 And alio suythe feyre gomes. 
 
 Geste of King Horn. 
 For ye aren men of this molde, that most wide vvalken 
 And kuovven countries and courtes, and men ye kinne places. 
 Both princ|es pal|eis : and poujie men\ne cot|es. 
 
 Piers Plowman.
 
 C. III. THE E OF INFLEXION. 
 
 Everie year this freshe Male 
 
 31 
 
 These lustic ladies ride aboute. 
 And I must nedes sew her route 
 In this maimer, as ye nowe see. 
 And trusse her hallters forth with me. 
 And I am but j her hors\e knavje. 
 
 Gower. Confess'io Amantls. 
 
 That is, " and I am only their horses' groom." — in Anglo- 
 Saxon, Jteora horsa knabe. 
 
 We now come to a verse which iDOth Urry and Tyrwhitt 
 have done their best to spoil. Chaucer begins his exqui- 
 site portrait of the Prioress with these lines ; 
 Ther was also a nonne a Prioresse, 
 That of hire smiling was ful simple and coy. 
 Hire gret|est oth\e : n'as | but by | seint Loy. 
 Where othe is the genitive plural after the superlative, 
 "her greatest of oaths." The flow of the verse is as soft 
 as the gentle being the poet is describing. But its beauty 
 was lost on the Editors. They seem to have shrunk from 
 making othe a dissyllable (a reluctance that would be per- 
 fectly right if that word were in the nominative), and so, 
 without the authority of a single manuscript, they intro- 
 duced this jerking substitute ; 
 
 Hire gret|est othe j : n'as | but by Seint | Eloy| — 
 a change which not only mars the rhythm of one of the 
 sweetest passages that Chaucer ever wrote, but also brings 
 us acquainted with a new saint. " Sweet Saint Loy " was 
 well known, but I never met with St. Eloy in English 
 verse.* 
 
 The plural adjective takes e for its inflexion, as the 
 Anglo-Saxon endings would lead us to expect. In illus- 
 trating this and the following rules, I shall, as much as 
 possible, select examples which contain the adjective both 
 
 * When the English guns swept off the famished Frenchman as he was 
 gathering his muscles, Churchyard tells us 
 
 Some dearly bouglit tlieir muscles evry week, 
 Some sacrifisde their horse to snefe Saint Loy. 
 
 Sieye of LeitJi, 7. 
 Lindsay, indeed, in one of his poems, has trriffen the word at full length 
 Eloy, but, I have little doubt, elided the e in pronunciation.
 
 32 THE E OF INFLEXION. B. I. 
 
 with and without its inflexion. The reason for so doing 
 is obvious. 
 
 Men loveden more derknessis than light, for her werkis weren 
 yvele, for ech man that doeth yvel hateth the liglit. 
 
 Wiclif. Jon. 3. 
 In these lay a gret multitude of syke men, blinde, crokid, and 
 drye. Wiclif. Jon. 5. 
 
 A frere there was, a wanton and a mery, 
 A limitour, a ful solemne man. 
 In all the orders foure is non that can 
 So much of dalliance and fayre language — 
 His tippet was ay farsed full of knives 
 And pin|nes for to giv|en :fai/r\e wiv|es. 
 
 Chau. Prologue. 
 In ol\de day|es : of | the king | Artour, | 
 Of which that Bretons speke gret honour. 
 
 The Wif of Bathes Tale. 
 When the adjective follows the definite article the, or 
 the definite pronouns this, that, or any one of the posses- 
 sive pronouns, it takes what is called its definite form. 
 In the Anglo-Saxon, the definite adjective dilFers from the 
 other in its mode of declension ; in the old English the 
 only difference is the final e. 
 
 How may ony man entre into the house of a strong man, and 
 take awei his vessels, but first he bynde the stronge man, &c. 
 
 Wiciif. Matt. 12. 
 
 At Leyes was he, and at Satalie, 
 
 Whan I they were won|ne : and in | the gret\e see| 
 
 At many a noble armee had he be. Chau. Prologue. 
 
 Wel| can the tvis\e po|et : of | Floren|ce, 
 That highte Dant, speken of this sentence. 
 
 Chau. Wif of Bathes Tale. 
 
 And up I he rid|eth : to | the high\e bord|. 
 
 Chau. The Squiers Tale. 
 
 Sike lay this husbondman, vvhos that the place is. 
 — O der|e niais|ter : quod | this sik\e manj. 
 How have ye faren sin that March began. 
 
 Chau. The So)npnou7'es Tale.
 
 C. III. THE E OF INFLEXION. 33 
 
 Wliite was hire smok, and brouded all before, 
 And eke behind, on hire colcre aboutc. 
 Of coleblak silk, within and eke withoute. 
 The topjes of | : hire ivhit,\e vol|uper|e 
 Were of the same suit of hire colere. 
 
 ChciK. The Milleres Tale. 
 
 These rules prevail very widely in the Gothic dia- 
 lects. They will not, however, explain aU the cases in which 
 the definite adjective is used, either in the Anglo-Saxon 
 or in the old English dialect. The suliject is too difficult 
 and extensive to he discussed here. We will, however, no- 
 tice one rule, which may be of importance to the gram- 
 mar of both these languages. The passive participle, and 
 those adjectives which partake of its character, may, I 
 think, be treated at any time as indeclinal^le. We shall 
 find many examples, when Ave examine the rhythms of our 
 Anglo-Saxon poets. 
 
 Of the old English verb, as used by Chaucer, it may be 
 observed, that the first person singular and the three per- 
 sons plural of the present tense end in e; so also the im- 
 perative mood and the infinitive ; 
 
 I put\te me | : in thy | protecltion,| 
 
 Diane! and in thy disposition. Chau. Knightes Tale. 
 
 hi olde dayes of the king Artour, 
 
 Of which I that Bretjons spek\e: gret | honoiir]. 
 
 Chau. Wif of Bailies Prohgae. 
 Than longen folk to gon on pilgiiiuages. 
 And palmers for to seken strange stroiides. 
 To ser\ve haljwes : couth | in sun|dry lond|es. 
 
 Chau. Prologue. 
 
 The past tense generally ends in de or ede, but some- 
 times it is the same as the participle in d or ed. I beheve 
 these two forms of the perfect to be independent, and not 
 derived the one from the other. We shall not stop to discuss 
 the question, but I cannot pass by the strange hypothesis 
 of Tyrwhitt. That critic supposes the de to be the same 
 as ed, with a transference of the vov.el ; representiiig in 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 34 THE E OF INFLEXION. B. I. 
 
 short the ending intermediate between the old termination 
 and the present. Every one, who lias opened an Anglo- 
 Saxon grammar, knows, that de is the old and proper ter- 
 mination of the perfect, and though I will not assert that 
 the other M'as never used by the Anglo-Saxons (indeed, I 
 think I have actually met with it in one or two instances), 
 yet every English scholar is aware, that it was only a short 
 time before Chaucer, that it played any considerable part 
 in our language. 
 
 As I have more than once spoken of Tyrwhitt, in terms 
 very different from the eulogies which are commonly paid 
 him, I would make one observation. I admit that when 
 an art is in a state of advancement, such as is the present 
 state of English criticism, it is disingenuous to dwell upon 
 the casual blunders, or the minute inaccuracies of those 
 who have preceded us. Tyrwhitt deserves our thanks for 
 the manly experiment of editing our oldest classic, and 
 for accumulating a decent share of general knowledge, to 
 serve for his occasional elucidation. But what can we say 
 of an editor who Avill not study the language of his author ? 
 — of one, who ha\ang the means of accuracy (at least to a 
 great extent) within reach, passes them by, and judges of 
 Chaucer's grammar in the fourteenth century by that of 
 Pope in the eighteenth ? A Dane or Norwegian, with a 
 competent knowledge of Anglo-Saxon, would have been a 
 better judge of Chaucer's syntax than his English editor. 
 
 That Chaucer sometimes dropt the e final is certain. 
 Hire is always a monosyllable, whether it represents the 
 A.S. hire (her) or the A. S. heora (their). It was also lost in 
 other cases when it followed r, and perhaps when it fol- 
 lowed other letters, though I would not assert as much, 
 without the benefit of a better edition than Tyrwhitt's. 
 Many French writers in the fifteenth and sixteenth centu- 
 ries discarded their e final ; some more generally than 
 others. Marot, who wrote in the reign of Francis, dropt 
 it in three words, and in three only. The day will no 
 doubt come, when we shall be able to give a list of all the 
 words, in which Chaucer has taken the same lilierty.
 
 c. HI. 35 
 
 INITIAL SYLLABLE. 
 
 In the present section, we shall treat of such initial syl- 
 la])les as have occasionally disappeared from our language, 
 and will begin with the initial vowel; 
 
 He'll woo I a thoulsand : 'jJohit \ the day [ of marjriage. 
 
 Make friends, invite, yes and proclaim the bands. 
 
 Yet never means to wed. Tamhig of the Shrew, 3, 1. 
 
 I'll not I be tied | to hours j : nor 'point\ed timesj. 
 
 Same, 3, I . 
 
 And keep | the time | I 'point \ you : for j I'll tell | you 
 A strange way you must wade through. 
 
 Fletcher. The Mad Lover, 4, 3. 
 
 That I am guiltless of your father's death. 
 
 It shall I as levjel : to | your judgjment 'pear], 
 
 As death doth to your eye. Hamlet, 4, 4. 
 
 No faith I so fast, | quoth she | : but flesh | does 'pair\, 
 Flesh may impair, quoth he, but reason can repair. 
 
 F.Q. 1. 7. 41. 
 
 The wrath|ful winjter: 'proch\ing on | apace]. 
 With blustering blasts had all ybarde the treene. 
 
 Sackville. M. for Mag. The Induction. 
 
 His ovvne dear wife, whom as his life he loved, 
 Hee durst | not trust, | : nor 'proche | unto | his bed|. 
 
 Sackville. M.for M. Buckingham, 53. 
 
 When he had done the thing he sought, 
 
 And as | he would | : \-om\plisht and com|past all. 
 
 Sackville. M.for M. Buckingham, 53. 
 
 Therefore have done, and shortly spede your pace. 
 To ^quaynt \ yourself | : and comjpany | with grace]. 
 
 Barclay Schip of Foles. 
 
 Lay fear aside, let nothing thee amaze, 
 
 Ne have | despaire ] : ne 'scuse \ the want | of time). 
 
 Higgins. M. for Mag. King Albanact, 2. 
 
 I shifted him away, 
 
 And laid | good 'sense \ : upon j your eclstacyj. 
 
 Othello, 4. \. 
 D 2
 
 3G INITIAL SYLLABLE. B. I. 
 
 From temple's top where did Apollo dwell, 
 I 'sajjd I to rtye : | but on | the church | 1 fell|. 
 
 Higgins. M for Mag. King Bladud, 22. 
 
 Several verbs, even at this day, are used sometimes 
 with^ and sometimes without tlie vowel, as to espy^ to 
 escape, to establish. Sec. 
 
 There are also substantives that throw away tire vowel. 
 Apprentice has been pronounced prentice from the days of 
 Chaucer to the present ; apothecary, also, and imagination, 
 not unfrequently lost their first syllables ; 
 
 Be 1 not abused | with priests] : nor 'poth\ecar\ies, 
 
 They cannot help you. Fletcher. Valentinian, 5.2. 
 
 Thus time we waste and longest leagues make short, 
 
 Sail seas in cockles, have and wish but for't, 
 
 Makjing to take | : your 'm(ig\ina\iions \ 
 
 From bourn to bourn, region to region. Per. 4. 4. 
 
 My brain, methinks, is as an hourglass. 
 Wherein | my 'mag\i)ia\fions : run | like sands |. 
 
 Ben Jonson. Every Man in his Humor, 3. 3. 
 
 Words compounded with the old preposition a, often 
 lost it in pronunciation ; 
 
 My lord, I shall reply amazedly. 
 
 Half sleep, \ half vvak|ing : but | as yet | I swear] 
 
 I cannot truly say how 1 came here. M. N. D. 4. 1. 
 
 But home-bred broiles call back the conquering king, 
 \Varres thun]der 'bout \ : the Brit]aine coasts | doth ring]. 
 Niccols. M. for M. Arthur. The Argument. 
 
 THE INITIAL be. 
 
 This prefix is found elided in the Avorks of almost all 
 our dramatists, but in some cases there is reason to be- 
 lieve, that the word which is represented thus shorn of a 
 syllable, is in fact the root of the compound, instead of 
 being its remnant. We find long not unfrequently writ- 
 ten for belong, and sometimes we have the word written 
 at full length, altliough the rhythm requires but one
 
 C. Til. INITIAL SYLLABLE. 37 
 
 syllaljle. Now, even in Chaucer's time, lonfj was used in 
 the same sense without the prefix, or any mark of eUsion ; 
 and, as both Dutch and Germans haA-e Icmg-en, to reach 
 at, the probabihty is that Jong is an independent verb. 
 Gin, though sedulously written 'gin, and sometimes begin 
 by modern editors, may also be traced back to the times 
 of Wiclif and Chaucer. I do not however recollect meet- 
 ing with it in Anglo-Saxon ; another of its compounds, 
 angynn-an, being generally used. The ehsions which fol- 
 low are among the least doubtful ; 
 
 Let pitjy nof. | be beUev\ed : there | she shook | 
 
 The holy water from her heavenly eyes Lear, 4, 3. 
 
 And believe \ me, gen [tie youth | : tis I | weep for | her. 
 
 Fletcher. Loyal Subject. 5, 2. 
 
 Now^ Sir, if ye have friends enow. 
 Though re|al friendsj : I brieve \ are few|. 
 Yet if your catalogue be fu', 
 
 I'se no insist ; 
 But gif ye want ae friend that's true, 
 
 I'm on vour list. 
 Burns Epistle to Lapraik. 
 
 Those domestic traitors, bosom-thieves, 
 
 ^^'hom custom hath call'd wives ; the readiest helps 
 
 To betray \ the headjy huslbands : rob | the eas|y. 
 
 Ben Jons on. 
 
 So Demophou, Duke of Athenes, 
 
 How he forswore him falsely, 
 
 And trai\ed Phil|hs wick|edly|. Chau. House of Fame. 
 
 O belike \ his majjesty ] : hath some | intent | 
 That you should be new christened in the Tovv'r. 
 
 Richard 3, 1. 1. 
 
 Yet even in these cases there may be doubts as to the 
 elision of any syllable. The Germans have trieg-en, to 
 betray, why should not we have to tray? The blieve 
 however of Burns points clearly to the loss of a syllable, 
 supposing that the word is, as it ought to be, written ac- 
 cording to the pronunciation.
 
 38 INITIAL SYLLABLE. B. I. 
 
 There are also certain adverbs and prepositions which 
 are commonly written as though they had lost this prefix, 
 ^fore, 'cause, &c. These, however, are found as monosyl- 
 lables in some of our earliest English authors, and it 
 would perhaps be safer to consider them as distinct words, 
 and to write them accordingly. 
 
 We shall have less trouble with the prefix dis, than with 
 the one we have just considered. Most of the words, into 
 which it enters, have been derived from foreign sources, 
 and their origin carefully traced and ascertained. Still, 
 however, their is difficulty in fixing upon the date of the 
 corruption. It is undoubtedly of a very early antiquity, 
 and probably of the twelfth century. 
 
 Each bush | a bar | : eacli spray | a ban]ner 'splai/ed,\ 
 Each house a fort our passage to have stayed. 
 
 Mh'7\ for Mag. p. 414. 
 
 A storm 
 
 Iu|to a cloud I of dust | . 'sperst \ hi the air | 
 The weak foundations of that city fair. 
 
 Spenser. Visions of Bellay. 
 
 And 'sdtiin\ful pride | : and \vil,ful arlrogauce. 
 
 Spenser. Mother Hubbard^ s Ta/e. 
 
 I 'sdained \ subjecjtion | : and | thought one | step liigh|er 
 Would set me highest. P. L. 4. 50. 
 
 And king Ardreus, tyrant vile ! 
 His aged father 'stroyde. 
 
 Higcjins . M for M. King Porrex. 
 
 When 1 he is 'strest | : than | can he svviin | at vvil]|, 
 Great strength he haS;, both wit and grace there tilL 
 
 Waltace. 
 
 Hee thought by cruell feare to bring 
 
 His subjects under, as liiui Hked best, 
 
 But loe I the dread | : wherewith | himself | was 'strest. 
 
 Sackville. M.forM. Buc/cinghcan, 39. 
 Labour had glen it up for good^ 
 Save swains their folds that beethng stood, 
 While Echo, listning in the wood. 
 
 Each knock | kept 'slinct\ly countjing. Clare.
 
 C. III. VOWEL COMBINATION'S. 'A\) 
 
 But as he nigher drew he easily 
 Might 'scern | that it | was not| : his svvcet[est sweetj. 
 
 F. Q. 3. 10.22. 
 
 I once thought that the disciple of the following verse 
 fell under the present rule, and Avas to be pronounced 
 'sciple, 
 
 And bitter penance with an iron whip 
 ^Vas wont him once to disciple every day. 
 
 F. Q. I. 10.27. 
 
 but elsewhere, when used as a word of three syllables, 
 Spenser accents it dis\ciple\, and we often find it Avritten 
 disple in the early part of the sixteenth century. Such 
 was doubtless its pronunciation in the line before us. 
 
 It may be observed here, though it does not strictly 
 fall under the present head of our subject, that Shakespeare 
 has used 'cide for decide, 
 
 To 'cide \ the quar|rel : are | irapanleled 
 
 A host of thoughts. Sotmet 46. 
 
 VOWEL COMBINATIONS. 
 
 We are now to consider such syllables, as are rendered 
 doubtful by the meeting of two vowel sounds. We will 
 begin with those which contain the sounds represented by 
 ai/' and ow\ 
 
 There were many dissyllables in the Anglo-Saxon, 
 which contained in the first syllable the diphthong ce, fol- 
 lowed by a (/. All these have now lost the g, and Ijecome 
 monosyllables, asfager fair, stager stair, sn<£gel snail. 
 
 We learn, from the mode of spelling that prevailed 
 some centuries back, and from the pronunciation which 
 still lingers in our proA-inces, that the first change was that 
 of the g into a y, faijer, stayer, &c. &c. The next step 
 seems to have been to drop the y, and pronounce the 
 words /rt-ir, sta-ir, &c., and to this mode of pronunciation 
 our present orthography was accommodated, lliey finally 
 became monosyllables.
 
 10 VOWEL COMBIXATIOXS. B. I. 
 
 There were other words which had also g for the mid- 
 dle letter, and a or u in the first syllable ; these generally 
 turned the ff into iv, as agen own, fugel fowl ; a use of 
 the ic which was already known to the Anglo-Saxon, for 
 example, xxvfeower four. By degrees the w was dropt, and 
 after some further time these words also became mono- 
 syllabic. 
 
 The dissyllables containing y and w seem to have been 
 once so numerous in our language, that many words, both 
 English and foreign, were adapted to their pronunciation, 
 and thus gained a syllable ; scur, A. S. became shower, 
 and jleur, Fr. became flower. Change of pronunciation 
 has again reduced them to their original dimensions. 
 
 And soft I unto | himself | : he say\ed fie ! | 
 Upon a Lord, that vtoII have no mercie. 
 
 Chau. The Knlyhtes Tale. 
 
 Beseech|ing him | : w'lih. pray \er and | with praise|. 
 
 Spenser. F. Q. 1. 5. 41. 
 
 Nor crab|bed oaths | : nor praf/\ers make | him pause|. 
 
 Hall. Satires 3. 6. 
 
 She's com|ing up | the sta\irs : now \ the mnslic — 
 
 Fletchers Valentm'ian, 2.5. 
 
 Ttie light whereof 
 
 Such blaz|ing bright|uess : through | the a\er threwj. 
 That eye mote not the same endure to view. 
 
 F. Q. 1.8. 19, 
 
 Save hazell for forks, save sallow for rake, 
 Save hullver and thorn [ : thcreof^«|// to make|. 
 
 Tusser. April Husbandry. 
 
 So spake | th' archan|gel : Mi\chael \ then paus'd|. P. L. 12. 
 
 Or on I each Mi\chuel \ : and La|dy day| 
 Took he deep forfeits for each hour's delay. 
 
 Hall. Sat. 5. 1 
 
 Where ] is thy poic\cr then| : to chive | him back|. 
 
 R. III. 1. 4.
 
 cm. VOWEL COMHIXATIOXS. 4\ 
 
 End|iiig in I : a s?iow\e)' still| 
 When the gust has blown its fill 
 
 II Penseroso. 
 
 So man|y ho\i(rs : must | I tend | my flock|, 
 
 So man|y ?io\urs : must | I take | my rest[. 
 
 So man|y ho\zirs: must | I conjtemplate|. H 6, 2. 4. 
 
 Let ev|ery hil|lock : he fo\ue)' feet \vide|, 
 The better to come to on every side. 
 
 Tusser. March Husbandry. 
 
 Yet u'here, how, and when ye intend to begin. 
 Let evjer the fin jest be first | sotven in|. 
 
 Tusser. October Husbandry. 
 
 I wol mysclven gladly with you ride, 
 
 Right 1 at min ow\en cost | : and be | yourguid|e. 
 
 Chaii. Prol. 
 
 When the long o or its equivalents, "U'ere followed by a 
 short vowel, Milton often melted them into a diphthong, 
 in cases which have not been sanctioned by subsequent 
 
 usage ; 
 
 Or if Sion's hill 
 
 Delight I thee more I : or Sil\o(is brook, | that flow'd] 
 Fast by the oracles of God. P. L. 1 . 
 
 And with more pleasing light 
 
 Shad\oicy sets off | the face | : of things|, in vainj 
 
 If none regard. P. L. 5. 
 
 \Miy dost thou then suggest to me distrust, 
 KnovAng who | I am | : as I | know who | thou art| ? 
 
 P. R. 1. 
 
 The feljlows of | his crime | : the foljowers rath[er. 
 
 P. L. 1. 
 
 THE SYLLABLES i', e' , if'. 
 
 When the long i is followed by a short vowel, the latter 
 is elided among the vulgar even to this day. There is no 
 mispronunciation which now strikes the ear more offen- 
 sively ; yet little more than a century ago, and it must have 
 
 been general.
 
 42 VOWEL COMBINATIONS. H.I. 
 
 And all the prophets in their age shall sing, 
 
 Of great | Messiah \ shall singj : Thus laws | and riglits| 
 
 Established, &c. P. L. 12. 
 
 March | to yoor sev|eral homes] : by Nio\bes stone|. 
 
 BenJonson. Cytdheas Revels, fi. II. 
 
 'Tis worse than murder 
 
 To do I upon I respectj : such vio\le)it outjrage. 
 
 Lear, 2. 1. 
 
 • God in judgment just. 
 
 Subjects I him from | without | : to vio\lent lords.] 
 
 P.L. 12. 
 
 The mouse | may some | time help j : the lion \ at neede|, 
 The lyttle bee once spilt the eagles breed. 
 
 Dolman. M for M. Hastings, 21. 
 
 Your several colours. Sir, 
 
 Of I the pale cit|ron : the | green lion | the crow]. 
 
 B. Jons. The Alchemist, 22. 
 
 Who tore | the Uon\ : as | the lion tears | the kid|. 
 
 Samson Agon, 
 
 Half on foot, 
 
 Ha\i flying \ behoves | him nowj : both oar j and sailj. 
 
 P. L. 2. 
 
 With flowers fresh their heads bedeckt. 
 
 The fairies dance in flelde. 
 And wanton songs in mossye dennes. 
 
 The Drids \ and Sat|yrs yielde|. 
 
 Googe's Zodiake of Life. Taurus. 
 
 His knights | grow rio\tQUS : and | himself | upbraids | us 
 On every trifle. Lear, 1.3. 
 
 The noise 
 
 Of riot I ascends]: above ] their loft] iest tow'rs]. P. L. 1. 
 
 Pluck the lin'd crutch from the old limping sire, 
 With I it beat out ] his brains] : 7-'«V]^y and fear] 
 Decline, &c. T. of A. 4. 1. 
 
 Is jne\ty thus | : and pure | devo]tion paid] ? 
 
 P. L. 11.
 
 C. III. VOWEL COMBINATIONS. 43 
 
 Thy words with grace divine 
 
 Imbued j bring to | their sweet |ness : no | satie\tif 
 
 P. L. 8. 
 
 And 1 with satie\ty seeks] : to quench | his thirst] — 
 
 T. of the Shrew, 1. 1. 
 
 Who, having seen me in my worst estate, 
 
 Shunn'd | my abhorr'd | socie\tii : but | now find|ing 
 
 Who 'twas that so endur'd, with his strong arms 
 
 He fasten'd on my neck. Leea', 5 3. 
 
 For so|litude | sometimes] : is best ] soc/e\t//. P. L. i). 
 
 as well might recommend 
 
 Such soljitude ) before] : choicjest socie\ty. 
 
 P.R. 1. 303. 
 
 Tliese verses of Milton have bewildered the critics. 
 Mitford and Todd both give to society four syUables. 
 The former reads the verse with six accents, 
 
 For sol]itude ] sometimesj: is best ] socijety] 
 the latter ends it with tv/o unaccented syllables, 
 For soljitude | sometimes] : is best | soci]ety. 
 
 Neither of these rhythms is to be found in the Par, 
 Lost. There is little doubt that Tyrwhitt scanned these 
 lines in the same wav as Todd. He talks of Milton usina; 
 the sdrucciolo ending in his heroic poems. These are 
 the only verses which in any way countenance such a 
 notion. 
 
 The elision of the vowel after the long e is rare. 
 
 For when, alas ! I saw the tyrant king 
 
 Content not only from his nephues twayne 
 
 To rive ] worlds blisse] : but al]so all | worlds bemg\, 
 
 Sans earthly gylt ycausing both be slayne, 
 
 My heart agrisde that such a wretch should raigne. 
 
 Sackville. M.forM. Buckingham, 49. 
 
 As being \ the conjtraryj : to his ] high will] 
 
 Whom we resist — P. L 1 .
 
 44 VOWEL COMBINATIONS. B. I. 
 
 Seeing too | much sad|iiess : hath j coiigeal'd | your 'olood]. 
 
 T. of the Shrew, Indtiction, 2. 
 
 The elision after the long u is stiU more rare. 
 
 Full many a yeare the world lookt for my fall. 
 
 And when I fell I made as great a cracke 
 
 As doth an oak, or mighty tottring wall, 
 
 That whirl|ing wind [ doth bring| : to ruin \ and wracke. 
 
 Churchyarde. M.for M. fVolsey, 69. 
 
 When the short i or short e Avas folloAved by a, as it 
 sounds in pate, Milton and his contemporaries sometimes 
 melted the vowels into a diphthong ya. In modern prac- 
 tice we carefully distinguish between them. 
 
 With tears 
 
 "Watering the ground, and with our sighs the air 
 Frequenting, sent from hearts contrite, in sign 
 Of sor|row unfeigu'd] : and hii\))iilia\iio)i meek] — 
 
 P. L. 10. 
 
 To conquer Sin and Death, the two great foes, 
 
 ^y hu\milia\tion : and | stong suf|fe ranee] — P. R. 1. 
 
 Let me 
 
 Interpret for him, me his advocate 
 
 And pro\pitia\tion : all | his works | on me| 
 
 Good or not good ingraft. P. L. 12. 
 
 Instructed that to God is no access 
 
 Without I media\tor : whose | high of |fice now| 
 
 Moses in figure bears. P. L. 12. 
 
 Then | doth the thea\tre: ech|o all | aloud, | 
 With glorious noise of that applauding crowd. 
 
 Hall's Sat. 1. 3. 
 
 In the country, even to this day, the accent is thrown 
 upon the middle syllable, thea\tre, but the word is always 
 pronounced as having three syllables. 
 
 When the short i or short e was followed by a short 
 vowel, they often formed two syllables in cases where we 
 now always melt them into a diphthong, or elide the first 
 vowel.
 
 C. III. VOWEL. COMBINATION'S. 45 
 
 A broche of gold ful sliene. 
 
 On which was first ywriten a crowned A, 
 
 And af |ter, ajraor vinlcit : orn'nia\. Chau. Prol. 
 
 But I the captiv'd| : Acra\sia \ he sent]. 
 
 Because of travel long, a nighcr vay. F. Q. 3. 1. 2. 
 
 Five summers have I spent in farthest Greece, 
 Roam|ing clean through | the bounds| . of A\sia\. 
 
 Com. of Errors, 1.1. 
 
 The vines ] and the o\siers : cut | and go set|, 
 If grape be unpleasant, a better go get. 
 
 Tusser. Februari/ Husbandry. 
 
 Himself | goes patch'd| : like some | bare cot\ti/er\. 
 Lest he might aught the future stock appeire. 
 
 Hall. Sat. 2. 
 
 He vaunts his voice upon a hired stage. 
 
 With high|-set stepsj : and princelly ca)-\riage\. 
 
 Hall. Sat. 1.3. 
 
 When the words end in ence, ent, or an, the additional 
 syllable now sounds very uncouthly. 
 
 Well coude he fortunen the ascendent 
 
 Of I his imag|es : for | ius pa\tient\. Chau Prol. 
 
 Th' unskil|ful leech] : mur|.dered Xii?, pa\tient\, 
 
 By poison of some foul ingredient. Hall. Sat. 2. 4. 
 
 Conjtrary to : \\\Q^o\WA.n an\cients\, 
 
 Whose words were shorty and darksome was their sense. 
 
 Hall. Sat. 3 book. Prol. 
 
 Whose scep|ter guides] : the flowjing o\cean\. 
 
 B. Jon. Cynthia s Rev. 55. 
 
 No airy fowl can take so high a flight — 
 Nor fish can dive so deep in yielding sea — 
 Nor fearful beast can dig his cave so low — 
 As ] that the air| : the earth ] or o\cean,\ 
 Should shield them from the gorge of greedy man. 
 
 Hall, Sat 3. 1. 
 
 But bv far the most common instance of this resolution 
 of syllables occurs in our substantival ending ion. From
 
 40 VOWEL COMBIXATIONS. B. I. 
 
 the 11th to the 17th century this termination expanded 
 into two syllables whenever the verse required it. 
 
 Full swe|telyl : herd|e he confes\slon\, 
 
 And p]eas|ant was] : his ab\solu\tion\. Chuu. Prol. 
 
 He can the man that moulds in secret cell 
 
 Un|to her ha|)|py : mun\sioti \ attaii)|. F. Q. 2. 3. 4. 1. 
 
 'Tis the list 
 
 Of those that claim their offices this day 
 
 By cus|tom of I : the cor\ona\tion\. H S, 4. I. 
 
 My muse would follow those that are foregone. 
 But can|not with] : an Eng|lish/(i«|/o«|. 
 
 Hall. Sat 3. Prol. 
 
 Before we close this section I wordd add a word or two 
 respecting the diphthong ea. This diphthong, though its 
 re])resentative still keeps its place in our orthography, 
 has long since been obsolete. In our pro^dnces, however, 
 where it still lingers, we often hear it resolved into a 
 dissyllable, e-at, gre-at, me-at, &c. I have watched with 
 some care, to see if it ever held the place of a dissyllable 
 in our poetry, as in such case our Anglo-Saxon and early 
 English rhythms might be seriously affected. My 
 search has not been successful, and the result has been 
 a strong conviction, that the ea, which so freqently occurs 
 in our Anglo-Saxon poems, was strictly diphthongal. 
 
 I think, however, that in one or two instances this reso- 
 lution of the diphthong has actually taken place, as in the 
 following stave. 
 
 Now shall the wanton devils dance in rings, 
 
 In ev|ery mead| : and ev|ery he\cJh hore|. 
 The elvish fairies and the gobelins. 
 
 The hoofed satyrs silent heretofore. 
 
 Hall. Elegii on Dr. Whitaker. 
 
 This English diphthong will, of course, not be con- 
 founded with the ea that occurs in certain French words, 
 and which was not unfrequently resolved into two syl- 
 lables.
 
 C. IIT. XASALS AXn LIQUIDS. 4, 
 
 That tlier n' is crtlie, water, fire, nc aire, 
 Ne cre\a(u?-\e : that of | hem ma|ked is] 
 That may me hele or don comfort in this. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tulc. 
 
 NASALS AND LIQUIDS. 
 
 The subjects of the present section are tlie nasals m, n, 
 ng, and tlie hquids /and r. Of these letters two, namely, 
 n and /, occasionally form consonantal syllables ; the re- 
 maining three cannot form a syllable without a vowel. 
 The following are instances of the vowel having been 
 dropt and the syllable lost. 
 
 But always wept, and wailed night and day 
 As blas|ted blosm \ thro heatj : doth lan|guisli and | decay]. 
 
 F. Q. 4. 8. 2. 
 
 Amongst them all grows not a fairer flower 
 
 Than is ] the bloosm\ : of come]ly courltesy], 
 
 AMiicli, though it on a lowly stalk do bower, 
 
 Yet brancheth forth in brave nobility. F. Q. G. 4. 
 
 The short vowel was sometimes elided before the 7n, 
 even Avhen the consonant was found in another syllable. 
 
 Hewn ] out of ad\amant rock] : with engjiues keen]. 
 
 F.Q.I. 7.33. 
 
 As if ] in ad\ainant rock ] it had | been pightj. 
 
 F. Q. 1.11. 2.). 
 
 Legit\imate Edjgar : I ] must have ] your land]. L. 1.2. 
 
 Far be the thought of this from Henry's heart. 
 
 To make J a shara]bles ; of I i\iQ par\liamrnt house'. 
 
 Si/fi, 1. 1. 
 
 They ] were a feare] : un]to the enjmyes* eye.] 
 
 Churchyard. Siege of Leith. 
 
 I profess 
 
 Myself ] an e)}\emy : to ] all othjer joy]. Lear, 4.4. 
 
 * This author always makes enemy a dissyllable, and spells it as in the 
 
 text.
 
 48 NASALS AND LIQUIDS. B. I. 
 
 So spake | the en\cmtj -. of ] mankind, [ enclos'd| 
 
 In serpent. P. L. 9. 
 
 And next to him maUcious Envy rode 
 Upon a rav'nous wolf, and still did chaw 
 Between | his cank|red tceth| : a ven\omous toadj. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 4. 30. 
 
 These things did sting 
 His mind | so ven\omozisly\ : that burnjing shame] 
 Detains him. Lear, 4. 'I. 
 
 And what have kings that privates have not too. 
 
 Save cer\e7nom/\ : save gcnjeral Cfr|(?H«o«7/|, 
 And what | art thou] : thou ijdol cer\emo>iy\ — 
 
 Henry 5, 4. 1 . 
 
 On the other hand we now always drop the penultimate 
 e of French words in 7Jienf, which once formed an inde- 
 pendent syllable. 
 
 Thus by on assent 
 
 We ben I accord|ed : to \\ih jicg\ement\. Chau. Prol. 
 
 And who | that wol| : my jvg\einent \ withsay|. 
 
 Shall pay for all we spendcn by the way. Chau. Prol. 
 
 For of his hands he had no government, 
 
 Ne car'd | for blood| : in his [ aveug\ement\. 
 
 F.Q. 1. 4. 34. 
 
 Then many a Lollard would in forfeitment. 
 
 Bear pajper faglgots : o'er \ the pav\emeni\. Hall Sat. 
 
 He came | at his| : command\ement \ on hi|e, 
 Tho' sente Theseus for Emilie. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 The wretched woman whom unhappy hour 
 
 Hath now | made thrall| : to your | command\ement\. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 2. 22. 
 
 The word regiment is now also generally made a dis- 
 syllable, though we occasionally hear it pronounced with 
 three syllables, as in the verses, 
 
 The re\ghnent\ : was wiljling and | advanc'dj. 
 
 Fletcher. oadicea, 2. 4.
 
 C. III. NASALS AND LIQUIDS. 49 
 
 The reg\iment\ : lies half | a mile | at least] 
 
 South from the mighty power of the King. R 3, .5. 3. 
 
 M, we have said, cannot form a syllable without a vowel. 
 This rule holds both as regards our spelling and our })ro- 
 nunciation ; but one or two centuries ago the termination 
 sm was often pronounced som, as it is among the vulgar to 
 this day. 
 
 Great Solomon sings in the English quire. 
 
 And is become a new-found sonnetist. 
 
 Singing his love, the holy spouse of Christ, 
 
 Like as she were some liglit-skirts of the East, 
 
 In mighjtiest iiik\hornis\ms : he 1 can thith|er wrestj . 
 
 Hall. Sat. 1. 8. 
 
 All this I by s!/l\logis\m trua'] 
 
 In mood and figure he would do. Butler's Hudibras. 
 
 Enthu\sias\m s past | redem|ption 
 Gone in a galloping consumption. 
 
 Burns Letter to John Goudie. 
 
 These words should have been written as pronounced, 
 inkhornisoiH, sijlJogisom, &c. 
 
 N is one of the two letters, which form consonantal 
 syllables. It is difficult to say when it lirst obtained this 
 pri\'ilege, but it could hardly have been so early as the 
 reign of Ehzabeth. In that reign, Gabriel Harvey ob- 
 jected to Spenser's use of heaven, seven, &c. as dissyllables, 
 the same not being " authorized by the ordinarie use 
 and custom." He would have them written and spoken 
 " as monosyllaba, thus, heavn, seavn, &c." I think there- 
 fore that heaven, seven, &c. were commonly j^ronounced 
 then, as now, with only one vowel ; and that when Spen- 
 ser and his contemporaries made them dissyllables, they 
 imitated an obsolete, or rather a provincial dialect, and 
 pronounced them with two vowels. This latter mode 
 of pronunciation has left traces liehind it ; even yet we 
 may occasionally hear heav-en, sev-en, &c. among the 
 
 vulgar. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 E
 
 50 NASALS AND LIQUIDS. B. I. 
 
 There are four terminations into which n enters, an, en, 
 in, on ; of these en is now merely consonantal,* as in even ; 
 an and on, sound like wi, as in Roman, reason ; and in 
 retains its proper sound as in griffin. Our poets use en 
 as a syllable v/henever it suits their convenience ; though, 
 generally speaking, the only difference in the pronuncia- 
 tion is a lengthening of the n. The terminations an, on, 
 and in, are now commonly used as syllables; although 
 Milton and some of his contemporaries elide the vowel, 
 and tack n to the preceding syllable, when their rhythm 
 reqviires it. 
 
 Heaven s \ is the quar|rel : for | heaven s sub|stitute| 
 Hath caus'd his death. R 2, 1.2. 
 
 Ed I ward's seven sons| : whereof | thyself | art one,| 
 
 Were | as seven phi|als : of | his sa|cred blood,] 
 
 Or seven \ fair branch |es : spring] ing from j one root] . 
 
 R 2, 1.3. 
 
 And Palamon, this woful prisoner. 
 
 Was risen, \ and romled : in ] a chanibre ] on high] . 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 Seems another morn 
 
 Risen \ on mid noon] : some great ] behest ] from heaven] 
 To us perhaps it brings. P. L. 5. 
 
 In anjy case] : that migh|te/«//e«], or hapjpe. 
 
 Chau. Prol. 
 
 Fallen cherjub to | be weak] : is misjerajble. P. L. 
 
 One of our leading reviews scanned the last verse 
 thus, 
 
 Fal]len cher]ub, to be weak] : is misjeralble. 
 
 and Mitford almost laughs at the notion of heav'n and 
 ffiv'n being pronounced as monosyllables ! 
 
 The following are examples of the termination on, 
 
 * This is too unqualified ; even educated men often pronounce ?isen, 
 chosen, with two syllables, rizun, chozun, &c.
 
 C. III. 
 
 NASALS AND LIQUIDS. 51 
 
 Fardest * from him is best 
 
 Whom reason \ hath e|quaird : force ] hath made | supreme | 
 Above his equals. P. L. 1. 
 
 Charon \ was afraid] : lest thirsjty Gul|lion| 
 
 Should have drunk dry the river Acheron. Hall. Sat. 3. G. 
 
 There is sometimes the same elision of the vowel, and 
 the same loss of a syllable, in the middle of a word ; 
 
 And thereto had he ridden no man ferre, 
 
 As wel I in Cri^ten\dom : as | in Heth|enes|se, 
 
 And ever honoured for his vvorthinesse. Chaic. Prol. 
 
 Though I of their names] : in heaven\iy rec]ords now | 
 Be no memorial. P. L. 1. 
 
 My curse upon your whinstane liearts. 
 Ye Edin\burgh gen] try ! 
 
 A tithe o' what ye waste at carts. 
 
 Wad stow'd his pantry. 
 
 Burns. 
 
 It may be here observed, that the elision of the vowel 
 is generally the first step towards corruption. Ecrnburg 
 was merely introductory to E'enboro'. 
 
 The short vowels were also very frequently elided before 
 w, when that letter began the foUowing syllable. 
 
 Un]to ourselves :| it haj}\neth oft ] among]. 
 
 Drat/ton. M.forM. Cromwell, 120. 
 
 My council swaied all, 
 
 For still 1 the king] : would | for the card\nall call]. 
 
 Drayton. M.for M. Wolsey, 35. 
 
 They are but blinde that wake when fortune sleeps, 
 They worke in vayne that strive with streame and tide. 
 In doubjle guide ! they dwell] : that dest\nye keeps]. 
 
 Drayton. M.forM. Wolsey, \7. 
 
 Dest\iny by death ] : spoiled fcejble najture's frame]. 
 
 Hall. Elegy on Dr. Whitaker. 
 
 * Our Editors will not believe that even Milton could write English ; 
 and "correct" \\\s fardest, perfet, and other barbarisms of the like kind, 
 without the least hint to the reader. 
 
 e2
 
 52 NASALS AND LIQUIDS. B. I. 
 
 Pride pricketli men to flatter for tlie prey, 
 T'oppresse | and poll | : for maint\nance of ] the samel. 
 
 Chalm. M. for M. North/olke, 8. 
 
 And each 
 
 In oth|er's count\enance read ] : his own [ dismay. P.L. 2. 
 
 I was despisde, and banisht from my bliss, 
 Discount\naunste, fayne | : to hide | myself | for shame |. 
 
 Higglas. M. for M. King Emerianus. 
 
 AVisdom in discourse with her 
 
 Los|es discount\enanc d : and | like fol|ly shows]. P. L. 8. 
 
 Ignom'ny was further corrupted into ignomy ; 
 
 Thy ig\no7ny \ : sleep with | thee in | thy grave]. 
 
 1 H4, 5. 4. 
 
 Hence broth|er lackjey : ig\nomy | and shamej 
 
 Pursue thy life. Tro. and Cress. 5. 
 
 When the termination en followed r, it often formed a 
 syllable, in cases where the vowel is now elided, as horen, 
 toren, &c. 
 
 Eke Zea|land's pit|eous plaints | : and Hol]land's tor\en hair. 
 
 Spenser. Mourning Muse of Thestylis. 
 
 When ng followed the short i at the end of a word or 
 syllable, the vowel appears sometimes to have been elided 
 among our dramatists ; 
 
 Having nei|ther sub|ject : wealth, | nordiladem|. 2 H 6, 4. I. 
 
 Sometimes he angers me 
 
 With telling \ me of | the mold- | warp : and | the ant. 
 
 H4, 3, 1. 
 
 Buck\ingham, doth York | : intend ] no harm | to us | ? 
 
 2// 6, 5. I, 
 
 Humph|rey of Buck\ingham : I | accept | thy greet|ing. 
 
 2 H6, 5. 1. 
 
 Why Buck\i)igha7n is | the traijtor : Cade | surpris'd | ? 
 
 2 H6, 4. 8. 
 
 My Lord Cobhara, 
 
 With whom [ the Kenjtish men | : will ivilling\lij rise|. 
 
 3 H6.
 
 C. in. NASALS AND LIQUIDS. 53 
 
 This oath | I willhigly take | : and will | perform |. 
 
 3 H6, I. 1. 
 
 Our dramatists use a very irregular metre, and are 
 therefore not the safest guides in a matter of this kind ; 
 but when we find a word recurring again and again, in 
 situations where our prevailing rhythms require the sub- 
 traction of a syllable, I think we may fairly conclude such 
 to have been the pronunciation of the poet. 
 
 L, I believe, in pronunciation no longer follows any 
 consonant at the end of a word or syllable excepting d, t, r. 
 In the language of the present day, we generally hear a 
 short u before it. The difference between it and the letter 
 n in this respect must, I think, be obvious if the pronun- 
 ciation of evil be compared Avith that of heaven. The first 
 sounds clearly with two vowels e-vul, but if we were to 
 pronounce the latter hev-un it would at once strike us 
 uncouth and vulgar. 
 
 In the Anglo-Saxon, / was very generally used without 
 a vowel, as adl sickness, sivegl the sky, susl sulphur. In 
 the early English we changed this mode of spelling, and 
 adopted the French ending le in the place of /, writing 
 settle, for instance, instead of the A. S, sell. We have 
 preserved this orthography, except in cases where / fol- 
 lows r, although we have since changed the pronunciatioi . 
 
 We will first give examples in which the vowel has 
 been ehded, and a syllable lost in consequence ; 
 
 What evil j is left j undone | . when man [ may have | his will I ? 
 Man ever was a hypocrite^ and ever will be still. 
 
 Tussers Omnipotence of God. 
 Each home-bred science percheth on the chair. 
 While sa|cred arts | : grovel \ on the ground|sel bare]. 
 
 Hall. Sat. 2. 3. 
 Foul devil, | for God's | sake hence : j and trouble | us not[. 
 
 R3, 1. 2. 
 But when to sin our biass'd nature Jeans, 
 The care|ful devil \ : is still | at hand | for means|. 
 
 Dry den, Abs. &,■ Arch.
 
 54 NASALS AND LIQUIDS. B. I. 
 
 This noble \ exam[ple : to | liis shepe | he yaf|. Chau. Prol. 
 
 So noble \ a mas|ter fallen | : all gone], and not] 
 
 One friend to take his fortune by the arm, 
 
 And go along? T. of A. A. \. 
 
 AVhen this adxace is free, I give, and honest, 
 
 Pro\bal to think|ing : and | indeed | the course | 
 
 To win the Moor again. Othello, 2. 3, 
 
 Probal is found in all the early editions, and is clearly 
 a corruption of jrrobahle. It shows, if any proof were 
 wanting, that the French ending able, was commonly used 
 by our early English writers as one syllable. Such w'as it 
 considered by Chaucer, who makes the Avord able corre- 
 sponding to the French habile, a dissyllal^le. ]Milton 
 made this ending one or two syllables, as best suited his 
 verse, and such w'as the common practice of his contem- 
 poraries. At present it is always pronounced abid, and of 
 course fills the place of tW'O syllables. When it was so 
 used by our early English poets, they seem, at least in 
 some cases, to have accommodated their spelling to it ; to 
 have written, for example, fabill for fable, and delectabill 
 for delectable. This orthography, and in all probability 
 the pronunciation which corresponded with it, prevailed 
 chiefly in the North. 
 
 And thus with fained flattery and japes 
 
 He made ] the per|sone : and ] the peple | his apes|. 
 
 Chan. Prol. 
 Anon I ther is ] a noise ] : of peple \ begone]. Chau. Prol. 
 
 There was also a nonne, a prioresse. 
 
 That I <;f her sinil|ing : was | ful simple | and coy|. 
 
 Chau. Prol. 
 
   The wisest heart 
 
 Of Solomon he led by fraud to build 
 
 His temjple right | against | : the temple \ of God| P. L. 
 
 And his next son, for wealth and wisdom faiu'd. 
 The clouded ark of (iod, till thei. iu tents 
 A\'and|enng, shall in | a glo|rious : icmple\ erishrine|. 
 
 P.L. 12.
 
 C. 111. NASALS AND LiIQUIDS. 55 
 
 This house 
 
 Is little, I the old j man : and | his |)eo|ple can|not 
 
 Be well bestowed Lear, 2. 4. 
 
 Oft fire is without smoke. 
 
 Peril I without show | : there|fore your harjdy stroke], 
 
 Sir knight, withold. F.Q. 1- l- !-• 
 
 Of sou|dry doujtes : thus they jangle \ and tret|e. 
 
 Chan The Sqiiieres Tale. 
 
 Wer't I not all one | : an emp|ty eagle \ were set j 
 
 To guard the chicken from a hungry kite. 
 
 As place Duke Humphrey for the King's Protector r 
 
 2 H 6, 3. 1. 
 
 And I for this mir\acle : in | conclu|sion|. 
 And by Custance's meditation. 
 The king, and many another in that place. 
 Converted was, thanked be Cristes grace. 
 
 Chau. Man of Lawes Tale. 
 
 Contempt, that doth incite 
 
 Each single- jsol'd squire | : to set | you at | so liglit |. 
 
 Hall's Sat. 2. 1 . 
 
 How, I Sir I this getit\'man : you | must bear | withal |. 
 
 B. Jons. Alchemist, 1.1. 
 
 Where nought but shadowy forms were seen to move, 
 
 As Idle\ness fanc|ied in | her dreamjing mood|. Thomson. 
 
 I 'd rath|er hear |: a brazlen candle\stick turn'd. 
 
 1 H4,3,\. 
 
 In the quartos we have can-stick, which appears to have 
 been a common corruption in the time of Shakespear. 
 In hke manner, from ev'I and dei^' I come ill and deil ; and 
 there can be no doubt tliat genfman, by a further corrup- 
 tion, has become our slang term gernman. Thomson 
 seems to have made idleness a dissyllable, in imitation of 
 Spenser, -".vhose stanza he had adopted. 
 
 The short vowels, w^hen they formed independent sylla- 
 l)les before /, were frequently elided, and even at the pre- 
 sent day the same license is occasionally taken.
 
 5(i NASALS AND LIQUIDS. B. I. 
 
 What can you say to draw 
 
 A third ] more op\ulent : than [ your sis|ter ? Speak]. 
 
 Lear, 1 . ] . 
 
 Beef I that erst Herc\ules* held| : for finjest fare]. 
 
 Hall. Sat. III. 3. 
 
 Partic\ular pains] : partic\ular thanks | do ask|. 
 
 B. Jotis. Cynthia's Revels, F. 11. 
 
 Thus was the building left 
 
 Rldic\ulous, and \ the work] : confulsion nam'd|. 
 
 P.L 12. 
 
 And approve 
 
 The fit I rebuke] : of so ] ridic\idous heads]. 
 
 B. Jons. Cynthia's Revels, F. 1 . 
 
 Over there may flie no fowl but dyes 
 
 Choakt ] vf'ith. tX\e i}est\lent savjours : that ] arise]. 
 
 Sackville. M. for M. Induction 3 1 . 
 
 Keep safejly and ivar\ihj : thy ut|ter most fence]. 
 
 Tusser. Sept. Husbandry. 
 
 In worst ] extremes] : and on [ \\ie 2}er\ilous-\ edge] 
 
 Of battle. P.L.I. 
 
 The sun who scarce uprisen 
 
 ^\\ot par\al ell to \ the earth] : his dew]y ray]. P. L. 5. 
 
 No serjvant at ta]ble : use sauc\ly to talk]. Tusser. 
 
 The shot was such there could no sound of drumme 
 Be efls]7y heard ] the time] : I you ] assure]. 
 
 Churchyard. Siege of Leith. 
 
 For I in publique weal 
 
 Lorde Chanc\lour was] : and had ] the great ] broad seal]. 
 
 Drayton. M.for M. Wolsey, 37. 
 His aniner too he made mee all in haste. 
 And threefolde giftes he threwe upon me still. 
 His couns\lour straight] : like|vvise was Wol]sey plastej. 
 
 Drayton. M.for M. Wolsey, 15. 
 
 * Hence Shakespeare's Ercles. 
 
 f Hence parlous, so common among our Elizabethan writers.
 
 C. III. NASALS AND LIQUIDS. 5^ 
 
 Some of our poets of the seventeenth century pro- 
 nounced the vowel, in cases where it is now rejected. 
 So neither this travell may seem to be lost. 
 Nor thou I to repent | of this tri\fling cost|. Tusser. 
 
 Tum\bluig all] : precip|itate | down dash'd|. 
 
 Dyer's Ruins of Rome. 
 Which 1 when in vain] : he tride | with struff\gling,\ 
 Inflam'd with wrath his raging blade he heft. 
 
 F.Q.I. 11.39. 
 Let secjond broth|ers : and | poornes\tlings\ 
 Whom more injurious nature later brings 
 Into this naked world, let them assaine 
 To get hard pennyworths. Hall. Sat. 2. 2. 
 
 And as | it queinte| : it mad|e a2vhis\teling\, 
 As don these brondes wet in her brenning. 
 
 Chuit. The Knight es Tale. 
 
 My eiyes these lines with tears do steep. 
 
 To think | how she| : through guile|ful hand\eling\, 
 Is from her knight divorced in despair. 
 
 F.Q. 1.3.2. 
 Both starjing fierce| : and hold|ing ?[f/e///| 
 The broken reliques of their former ciuelty. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 2. lO". 
 For half I so bold\eli/\ : can ther | no man| 
 Sweren and lien as a woman can. 
 
 Chau. The Wif of Bathes Prol. 
 
 But trew\ely\ : to teljlen at|te last|. 
 
 He was in church a noble ecclesiast. Chau. Prol. 
 
 For trew\ely\ : comfort | ne mirthje is non| 
 
 To riden by the way, dumbe as a ston. Chau. Prol. 
 
 Some words, in the North of England and in Scotland, re- 
 tain the short vowel, when it follow^s an r, even to this day. 
 That done | the ear\l : let|ters wrotej 
 Unto each castle, fort, and hold, &c. 
 
 Flodden Field. 4/5. 
 Ye'll try | the war\ld : soon | my lad |. Burns. 
 
 'Twas e'en, the dewjy fields were green, 
 
 On ev|ery blade | -. the pear\ls hLing[. Burns.
 
 58 NASALS AND LIQUIDS. B. I. 
 
 In the modern pronunciation of our language, r follows 
 no consonant at the end of a word or syllable. In the 
 Ano-lo-Saxon and early Enghsh dialects such a combina- 
 tion was common, and in the latter was expressed by the 
 French ending re. In all these cases w^e now interpose a 
 short u before the r, and though Ave retain the spelling in 
 a few instances, as in acre, sepidcre, 7nitre, &c. yet these 
 words are always pronounced with the short vowel, akur, 
 sejmlkur, mitur, &c. 
 
 We will, as before, begin with those cases in which the 
 final syllable has been lost ; 
 
 And Palainon 
 
 Was risen ] and roin|ed : in | a chambre \ on liigli], 
 In which he all the noble citee sigh. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 As Christ | I count | my head | : and I j a member \ of his|, 
 So God I trust for Christes sake shall settle me iu bliss. 
 
 Tusser's * Belief. 
 
 Every tedious stride I make. 
 
 Will I but remember \ me : what | a deal [ of world | 
 
 I wander. i2 2, 1.3. 
 
 N' is creature living 
 
 That ever \ heard such | : anotli|er wai|menting|. 
 
 Chau. Knightes Tale, 
 
 I must j not suffer \ this : yet | 'tis but | the lees j 
 
 And settlings of a melancholy blood. Comus. 
 
 Deliver | us out | of all : this be|sy drede|. Chau. Clerkes Talt. 
 
 Th' Allgiver \ would be | unthank'd | : would be j unprais"d|. 
 
 Comus. 
 And where ) the river \ of bliss | : through midst j of heav|en 
 Rolls o'er Elysian fields. P. L. 3. 
 
 And he hadde be sometime iu Chevachie 
 
 In Flandres, \ in Ar|tois : and | in Pic|ardi|e. 
 
 Chau. Prol. 
 
 * The extreme precision of Tusser's rhythm i-enders his authority, in a 
 case of this kind, of great vahie.
 
 C. III. NASALS AND LIQT'IDS. 59 
 
 By water \ he sent | them home | : to ev|ery lanrl. | 
 
 Chau. Prol. 
 
 Her glor|ious glitter \ and light [ : doth all | men's eyes | amaze |. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 4. 16. 
 
 In proud rebellious arms 
 
 Drew after | him the | third part | : of heav|en's sons[. 
 
 P. L. 2. 
 
 And after into heaven ascend he did in sight. 
 And sitjteth on | the right | hand there | : of God | the falher\ 
 of might. Tusser's Belief. 
 
 If I by your art, j : my dea\r est father, \ you havej, 
 
 Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them. Tempest, 1 , 2- 
 
 Three voUies let his memory crave 
 
 O* pouth'r I an lead, j 
 
 Till Echo answer from her cave, 
 
 Tam Samson's dead. Burns. 
 
 Whether sayest | thou this | in er|nest : or | in play r [ 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 See whe'r \ their basjest met|al : be | not moved|. 
 
 Julius Ccesar, 1. I. 
 
 Either thou | or I | or both | : must go j with liim|. 
 
 R. and J. 'i. \ . 
 
 And neither \ by trea|son : nor | hostil|ity | 
 To seek to put you down. 
 
 We have one of the best proofs of the ehsion, iu the 
 further corruptions such words have undergone, ov'r be- 
 came o'er, ev'r ere, oth'r or^ wheth'r whe'r; and in those 
 dialects which are so intimately connected with our own, 
 as almost to make part of the same language, we find 
 these letters similarly affected. Thus in the Frisic yaer is 
 father, moar mother, broer brother, foer fodder. With a 
 shght change in the orthography, we find the same words 
 in the Dutch. Tliis seems to point clearly to a similar 
 cause of corruption in all these dialects. The elision of 
 the vowel I believe to have been the first step. 
 
 As this final syllable is so important an element in tlie
 
 60 NASALS AND LIQUIDS. B. I. 
 
 regulation of our rhythms, one or two more instances of 
 
 its loss may, 1 think, be useful ; 
 
 In his rising seem'd 
 
 A. inllar \ of state [ : deep \ in his front ] engrav|en 
 Deliberation sat. P. L. 2. 
 
 ^\lio shall go 
 
 Before | them in 1 a cloud | : and pillar \ of fire|. 
 
 P. L. 12. 
 
 Stud|ied the grammar \ of state | : and all ] the rules |. 
 
 B. Jons. Cynthia's Revels, 3. 4. 
 
 Check 
 
 This hidjeous rash|ness : or answer | my life, j my judg|ment. 
 
 Lear, 1. 1. 
 
 In the following examples the vowel is elided at the 
 end of a syllable ; 
 
 Tie I up the liber\tine : in | a field | of sweets]. 
 
 A. and CI. 2. 1. 
 
 What trowen ye that whiles I may preche, 
 And winnen gold and silver for I teche. 
 That I I wol liv|e m pover\te : wil|fully|. 
 
 Chau. The Pardoneres Tale. 
 
 Tske, pover\ties part | : and let | prowde forjtune go|. 
 
 Sir T. More. Book of Fortune. 
 
 My kingldoni to | : a beggar\li/ den|ier|, 
 
 1 do mistake my person all this while. R 3, 1.2. 
 
 In the next examples the elided vow^el is found in a 
 different syllable from that of the r; 
 
 Since T^ed\d\mg bar\barisms : gan ] be in | request]. 
 
 Hall. Sat. 2. 3. 
 
 And specially from every shires ende 
 
 Of Engjlelond ] : to Can\terhiry \ they wend |e. 
 
 Chau. Prol. 
 
 So born I was to house and land by right. 
 But in a bagg to court I brought the same. 
 From Shrews\brije toune | : a seate | of an|cient fame]. 
 Churchyard. Tragicall Discourse, (i9.
 
 p. 
 
 L. 
 
 1. 
 
 
 R. 
 
 
 
 1. 
 
 1 
 
 P. 
 
 L. 
 
 1. 
 
 
 R 
 
 
 1. 
 
 1 
 
 C. III. NASALS AND LIQUIDS. (J 1 
 
 Des\perate revenge | : and bat|tle dan|gerous|. P. L. 2. 
 
 And I I the while ] : with sprits \ wehiy | bereft|. 
 Beheld the plight and pangs that did hiin strayne. 
 
 Sackville. M. for M. Buckingham, 87. 
 
 The capjtain notes | : what sol|dier hath | most spreet\. 
 
 Churchyard. Trag. Disc. 64, 
 
 You that couhl teach them to subdue their foes. 
 
 Could or|der teach 1 : and their | high sp'rits \ compose]. 
 
 Waller. Panegyric. 
 
 For this infernal pit shall never hold 
 
 Celes|tial spirits \ in bon|dage : nor | the abyss | 
 
 Long under darkness cover. 
 
 Tendering the precjious safe]ty : of | my prince |. 
 
 Of daunt|less courjage : and | consid\erate pridej. 
 
 On some apparent danger seen in him 
 
 Aim'd I at your high|ness : iwinveterate mal|ice. 
 
 Turning our tortures into horrid arms 
 
 Against | the tort\urer : when | to meet | the arms | 
 
 Of his almighty engine he shall hear 
 
 Infernal thunders. P- L, 
 
 Of corm\rant kinde ] : some cram|med ca|pons are]. 
 
 The moer they eat the moer they may consuem. 
 
 Churchyard Tragicall Disc. 
 
 Tim\orous and sloth |fnl : yet | he pleas' d ] the ear|. P.L.I. 
 
 Hum\orists and hypjocrites j : it would | produce], 
 Whole Raymond families and tribes of Bruce. 
 
 Dry den. Mac Flecknoe. 
 
 A re|creant | : and most ] degen\erate trai|tor. R 2, 1. 1. 
 
 The second verse quoted from Milton, is thus scanned 
 by Tyrwhitt ; 
 
 Celes|tial spirjits in bonldage nor | the abyss], 
 and is produced to show that the third foot sometimes 
 contained three syllables ! 
 
 In several cases, however, the vowel was retained where 
 we now reject it ; and so common must have been this
 
 62 NASALS AND LIQUIDS. B. I. 
 
 mode of pronunciation, that we find it followed in many 
 words which never properly contained an e. We find 
 other words which inserted the short vowel after the long 
 i or the long e, and thereby increased their dimensions by 
 a syllal^le. 
 
 As you liketh it sufficetli me,— 
 
 Then } have I got | the mais\terie | quod she| . 
 
 The Wif of Bathes T. 196. 
 
 Here | may ye see | wel : hovv [ that gen\ieri\e 
 Is not annexed to possession. 
 
 Chau. The Wif of Bathes Prol. 
 
 I here confess myself the king of Tyre, 
 
 Wlio frigh|ted from] : his coun\try \ did wed | 
 
 The fair Thaessa. Per. 5. 3. 
 
 Then to him stepping, from his arm did reach 
 Those keys, | and made ] himself] : free en\terance\ . 
 
 F. Q. 1.8. 34. 
 
 The raven himself is hoarse 
 That croaks ] the fa|tal : en\trance \ of Dun|can, 
 Under my battlements. Macbeth. 
 
 That he is dead, good Warwick^ 'tis too true. 
 But how I he died | God knows] : \iot Hen\ry\ . 
 
 2 H6, 3. I. 
 
 The Em\peress, \ the mid|vvife: and | myself] . 
 
 Titus And. 4. 2. 
 
   Crying with a loud voice. 
 
 " Jesus maintain your royal Excellence," 
 
 With " God I preserve ] : the good | Duke Hum\phreij\ ." 
 
 2H a, 1. 1. 
 
 Exceplting none | : but good | Duke Hum\phrey\ . 
 
 2 H6, 1. 1. 
 
 Courage yields 
 
 No foot j to foe I : the flashjing/lre flies]. 
 
 As from a forge. F. Q. 1. 2. 17. 
 
 The prattling things are just their pride. 
 
 That sweet]ens all | : their ^']re side] . Burns.
 
 C. Ill, THE CLOSE LETTERS. 63 
 
 Slutteiy to such neat excellence display'd 
 Should make [ d€st\re : vo|mit enipltiness] . 
 
 Cyniheline, \. 7   
 
 A gen]tleman | of Ty\re : my | name Peijicles. 
 
 There 's many a soul 
 
 Shall pay ( full de\arhj \ \ for this | encoun|ter. 
 
 1 H\, 5. 1. 
 
 Arcite unto the temple walked is 
 Oifi\erce Mars [ : to don [ his sac|rifice| . 
 
 Cliau. The Kuightes Tale. 
 
 Their God himself, griev'd at my Uberty, 
 Shot man|y at me | with | : ji\erce intent] . 
 
 F. Q. 1. 9. 10. 
 
 THE CLOSE LETTERS. 
 
 In the present section we shall discuss the remaining 
 letters of our alphabet, and will begin with the close letters. 
 Of these there are six, h, j), d, t, g, k. 
 
 Adjectives in able and ible are sometimes pronounced 
 as if the first vowel were elided. It is extremely difficult 
 to say when this corruption first began. In the following 
 verses-,- 
 
 Some time to increase his horrible cruelty 
 The quicke with face to face engraved he. 
 
 Sackville. M.for M. Buckingham, 43. 
 
 Let fall 
 
 Your horrible pleasure. Here I stand your slave. 
 
 Lear, 3. 2. 
 
 it is clear that horrible is a dissyllable, but whether the i 
 should be elided, and the w'ord pronounced horrble, or 
 ible should be pronounced as one syllable, may be doubted. 
 As, however, we know that ible was often pronounced as 
 one syllable, and have no distinct evidence that the pre- 
 sent corrupt pronunciation was then prevalent, it would 
 be safer, perhaps, to retain the vowel.
 
 64 THE CLOSE LETTERS. B. I 
 
 The loss of the vowel before ^ or c is very rare, 
 
 Nor the time nor place 
 
 Will serve | our long | : inter\g(itor\ies. See | 
 Posthumus, &c. Cijmbeline, 5. 5. 
 
 Thou evler young | : fresh, lov'd, | and del\icate vvoojer. 
 
 T. of A. 4. 3. 
 
 And now and then an ample tear roll'd down 
 
 Her del\icate cheek | : it seem'd | she was j aqueen| 
 
 Over her passion. Lear. 
 
 Perfuin|ed gloves | : and del\'icate chains | of am|ber. 
 
 B. Jons. Every Man out of his H. 2.4. 
 
 The elision before d and / is far more common. 
 
 The participle and preterite in ed, was often pronounced 
 in our old English without the vowel. In Anglo-Saxon the 
 participle ended sometimes in od or ed, sometimes in d 
 simply. I do not, however, find that the elisions in our 
 old English correspond with the latter class of Anglo- 
 Saxon verbs ; on the contrary, in some couplets, as in the 
 following, we have the same verb both a monosyllable and 
 a dissyllable. 
 
 For 1 in this world | : he Iov\cd no [ man so|. 
 And he | Inved\\\m \ : as ten|derly ] again|. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 Good milch-cow and pasture good husbands provide, 
 The res\due good hus|vvives : know best [ how to guide| . 
 
 I'usser. April Husb. 
 
 The King, at length, sent me beyond the seas, 
 Embas\toifr then | : with mes|sage good | and greate] . 
 
 Drat/ton. M.forM. Wolsey, \4. 
 
 Know Cade 1 we come | : ambass\adot(rs to \ theCom|nions — 
 
 2H6, 4. 8. 
 
 Helroes and herjoines shouts | : confusd\ly rose] . 
 
 Pope's Rape of the Lock. 
 
 Edmund, I arrest thee 
 
 On cap\ilal trea\son : and [ in thy | arrest | 
 
 This gilded serpent, Lear, 5. 3,
 
 C. III. THE CLOSE LETTERS. 65 
 
 I arrest thee, York, 
 
 On cap\ital trea|son : gainst [ the King | and Crown]. 
 
 2H6,D. 1. 
 
 Needs | must the ser|pent now j : his cap\ital bruise| 
 Expect with mortal pain. P. L 12. 
 
 They all are met again. 
 
 And are | upon | : the Med\iterra\n€an flote| 
 
 Bound sadly home for Naples. Tetnpesf, 1. 2. 
 
 The rest | was mag\namm\it>/ : to | remit}. 
 
 Samson Ayoii. 
 
 Pro|per f/e/b?'H?|/f^ shows | not: in j the fiend] 
 
 So horrid as in woman. Lear, 4. 2. 
 
 Human\ity must | perforce ] • prey ] on itself]. 
 
 Lear, 4. 2. 
 
 He knew not Caton, for his wit was rude, 
 
 That bade [ a man | shulde wedje : his si\miUtude\. 
 
 Chau. The MUleres Tale. 
 
 Would I the nobil\iti) : lay ] aside | their ruth], 
 
 And let me use my sword, I'd make a quarry. Cor. 1.1. 
 
 Whose parents dear whilst equal destinies 
 
 Did run aboute, and their felicities 
 
 The favourable heavens did not envy. 
 
 Did spread ] their rule j : through all | the terr\itories\. 
 
 Which Phisou and Euplirates floweth by. 
 
 F. Q. \. 7. 43. 
 
 Sorrow 
 
 Would be I arar]%.- most | belov'd j if all] 
 
 Could so become it. Lear, 4. 3. 
 
 There is, however, one w-ord in ty, which now always 
 drops its penultimate vowel, though such vowel was re- 
 tained as late as the 17th century. 
 
 For she J had great ] doubts ] : of his saf\ctii\. 
 
 F.Q. 1. 11. 13. 
 
 Nor fish can dive so deep in yielding sea. 
 Though The Jtis self I : should swear | her saf\eti/\. 
 
 Hall. Sat. 3. I. . 
 
 VOL. I. P
 
 66 B. I. 
 
 THE DENTALS. 
 
 We now come to the dental letters, /" and th. 
 
 She's gone ( a man\ifest ser|pent : by | her sting] — 
 
 Sam. Agon, 
 
 Scarf 1 up i\\e pit\iful eye \ -. of ten|der day| — 
 
 Macbeth, 3. 2. 
 
 Hast thou, according to thy oath and bond, 
 Brought hlth|er Henjry Her\eford: thy ] bold son| ? 
 
 R 2, 1. 1. 
 
 Eth, the ending of the third person singular, often lost 
 its vowel. In the Anglo-Saxon the third person ended 
 in ath, eth, or th, and the last ending was most prevalent. 
 Many of our old English verbs, which formerly ended in 
 ath, elided the vowel; though such pronunciation was 
 more usual in those verbs, which took th for their Anglo- 
 Saxon termination : thinkHh, lyth, (fifth, eomth, &c. 
 were probably the direct descendants of the elder forms, 
 thincth, lith, gifth, cymth, &c. 
 
 Drowned in the depth 
 
 Of depe desire to drinke the guiltlesse bloud. 
 
 Like I to the wolf | : with greedjy lookes | that lepth\ 
 
 Into the snare. 
 
 Sackv'ille. M. for M. Buckingham, .5. 
 
 High God, in lieu of innocence. 
 
 Imprinted hath that token of his wrath. 
 
 To shew 1 how sore | : blood-guilt jiness | he hat'th\. 
 
 F. Q. 2.2.4. 
 His sub [tie tongue [ : like drop|ping hon|ey ?He/^7//| 
 Into the heart, and searcheth every vein. 
 That ere he be aware, by secret stelth. 
 His power is reft. F. Q. 1. 9. 31. 
 
 This contraction prevailed very generally among the 
 poets of the West. It occurs no less than five times in the 
 following simile from Dolman,
 
 C. III. THE SIBILANTS. 6/ 
 
 So mid the vale the greyhound seeing stert 
 His fearful foe pursu'th, before she fieri' th. 
 And where she turnth, he turnth her there to beare^ 
 She one prey prick' th, the other safeties fear. 
 
 M.for M. Hastings 24. 
 
 THE SIBILANTS. 
 
 In discussing the siljilants, the first question relates to 
 the contraction of es, the ending of the plural and of the 
 genitive singular. There is no douht that this syllable 
 was occasionally contracted before the time of Chaucer, 
 and by that author frequently ; 
 
 For him J was lev|er han \ : at his | beddes head], 
 
 A twenty bokes clothed in black or red 
 
 Than robes rich, &c. Chau. Prol. 
 
 In mor|tal bat\tailes : had|de he ben [ fiften|e. 
 
 Chau. Prol. 
 
 It is still used when the substantive ends in a sibilant, 
 and even in other cases was occasionally met M'ith as late 
 as the early part of the seventeenth century ; 
 
   Arose the doughty knight 
 
 All heal|ed of | his hurts | : and woun\des wide|. 
 
 F.Q. 1. 12. 52. 
 
 Were I great Sir Bevis, 
 
 I would j not stay | his coai|ing : by j your leav\es. 
 
 B. andFlet. Knight of the Burning Pestle. 
 
 Farewell 1 madame | : my Lor6?|e5 vvorth|y raoth|er. 
 
 Sir Thomas More. 
 
 Until he did a dying widow wed^ 
 
 Whiles I she lay dot|ing : on | her death\es bed|. 
 
 Hall. Sat. 4, 1. 
 
 No contraction was more common than that of the 
 superlative. 
 
 It was the owl that shriek'd, the fatal bellman 
 That gives | the stern st \ good night | : he is | about | it. 
 
 Macbeth, 2. 2. 
 
 F 2
 
 ()8 THE SIBILANTS. B. I- 
 
 Or I when they meant | : to fare | the finst \ of all | 
 They lick'd oak-leaves besprent with honey-fall. 
 
 Hall. Sat. 3. 1. 
 
 Thus I the greatest man | : in Eng|land made | his end]. 
 
 Drayton. M. for M. Cromwell, 131. 
 
 So farre my princes prayse doth passe 
 Thefa\moust queene | : that ev|er was]. 
 
 Puttenham. Parthenides, 16. 
 
 Sometimes s and / belong to different syllables ; 
 
 She has in her 
 
 all the truth of Christians, 
 
 And all | their con|stancy | ; mod\esty was made | 
 
 When she was first intended. Fletcher Valenthiian, \. \. 
 
 Wilt I thou then serve | the Phil\ist'me : with | that strength |, 
 That was expressly given thee to annoy them. Samson Agon. 
 
 r the dead of night 
 
 The m'in\isters for | the pur|pose : hurjried thence | 
 
 Me and thy crying self. Teynp. 1 . 2. 
 
 To plainness honour's bound 
 
 When maj\sty stoops | to fol|ly : reverse | thy doom|. 
 
 Lear, 1.1. 
 
 In the following examples the vowel belongs to an in- 
 dependent syllable ; 
 
 I had I in house | : so man|y of\sars still | 
 Which were obayde and honour'd for their place. 
 That carelesse I might sleepe or walke at will. 
 
 Drayton. M. for M. Wolsey, 2G. 
 
 A silver flood 
 
 Full I of great vir|tues : and j for med\cine good]. 
 
 F. Q. 1.2. 29. 
 
 Her grace is a lone woman 
 
 And ve|ry rich | : and if | she take | a.phant\'sie 
 She will do strange things. 
 
 B. Jons. The Silent Woman, 1 . 2. 
 
 Our pow'r 
 
 Shall do 1 a court\esy : to | our wrath, | wliich men| 
 
 May blame, but not control. Lear, 3. 7.
 
 C. III. COALITION OF WORDS. 69 
 
 In his raging mind 
 
 He curs'd | all court\sy: * and ] unru|ly vvindj. 
 
 Hall. Sat. 3. 5. 
 
 With blood I of gullt|less babes | : and in\nocents true|. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 8. 35. 
 
 The in\>iocent prey | : in haste | he does | forsake |. 
 
 F.Q. 1. 6. 10. 
 
 In death [ avowling : the in\nocence of \ her son]. 
 
 F.Q. 1. 5.39. 
 
 Sluic'd I out his in\nocent soul [ : through streams | of blood|. 
 
 R2, 1. I. 
 
 Bidding the dwarf with him to bring away 
 
 The Sar\azens shield | : sign | of the cou|queror|. 
 
 F. Q. 1.2.20. 
 
 And Brit|on fields | : with Sa)'\azens blood | bedy'd[. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 10. 7. 
 
 COALITION OF WORDS. 
 
 We have now only to consider those cases in which a 
 syllable has been lost by the meeting of two words. 
 
 The synalsepha or coalition of two vowels, is now tole- 
 rated in very few instances. We may elide the vowel of 
 the definite article before its substantive, and sometimes, 
 though more rarely, the vowel of to before its verl)^ but the 
 ear is offended, if the to is made to coalesce with a narrow 
 vowel as, t' insist, or the article with a broad one, as in the 
 verses. 
 
 So spake | the ajwstaie an [gel : tho" ] in pain|. 
 
 P. L, 1. 
 
 Ttie earth cumjber'dand [ the wing'd | air: dark ] withplumes|. 
 
 Comus. 
 
 Formerly this union of the vowels was far more general. 
 Chaucer melts the final e into the following word without 
 
 * As from phanfsie caxae /"unci/, so from courfsy came courtsy.
 
 70 COALITION OF WORDS. B. I. 
 
 scruple, and in some cases the Anglo-Saxons took the 
 same license. We also find Chaucer occasionally using 
 the same liberty in other cases. His successors (fully 
 alive to the convenience) followed his example, till Milton 
 pushed this, as every other license, to the utmost. So 
 frequently does it occur in the works of this poet, that 
 several critics, among others Johnson, have given him 
 credit for its invention, or rather, we should say, its in- 
 troduction, for they suppose it borrowed from the Latin. 
 We will first give instances where the final vowel is 
 narrow ; 
 
 It is I reprev|e: and con\trurij of \ honourj 
 For to be hold a common hasardour. 
 
 Chau. The Pardoneres Tale. 
 
 And thereto he was hardy, wise, and rich. 
 And pit|ous| : and just ] and «Z|«rft// yUch\e. 
 
 The Squieres Tale. 
 
 And you that feel no woe when as the sound 
 
 Of these my nightly cries ye hear apart. 
 
 Let break | your sounjder sleep] : and pit\i/ aitc/ment\. 
 
 Sjjenser. August. 
 
 As marks | to which | : my 'ndeav\ours steps | should bend|. 
 
 B. Jons. Cynthia s Revels, 6. 10. 
 
 Stif |ly to stand 1 on this| : and 2)roud\ly approve] 
 The play, might tax the maker of self-love. 
 
 B. Jons. Epil. to Cynthia'' s Revels. 
 
 Pas|sion and ap|athy| : and glor\y and shame]. P. L. 2. 
 
 In the folloAving examples the final vowel is broad. 
 
 Then was gret shoving bothe to and fro, 
 7^0 lift him up and muckle care and wo. 
 So unweil\dy was| : this se|ly pal|led gost|. 
 
 The Manciples Prologue. 
 
 And with | so exceed\ing fu|ry : at | him struck]. 
 That forced him to stoop upon his knee, 
 
 F. Q. 1.5. 12.
 
 C. III. COALITION OF WORDS. 71 
 
 Her doubtful words made that redoubted knight 
 Suspect I her truth| : yet since | no untruth \ he knew] 
 Her fawning love with foul disdainful sprite 
 He would not shew. F. Q. 1.1. 53. 
 
 No ungrate\fi(l food] : and food | alike | those pure] 
 
 Intelligential substances require. 
 
 As doth your rational. P. L. 5. 
 
 Angjuish and doubt [ and fear| : and sorrov} and pain]. 
 
 P. L. 1. 
 
 Vouchsafe with us 
 
 Two on\ly who yet| : by sov|ran gift ] possess] 
 
 This spacious ground, in yonder shady bower 
 
 To rest. P. L, 5. 
 
 The pronoun it not only coalesces with a vowel, as be't, 
 o't, &c. but sometimes also with a consonant, as is't, 
 ivitJit, &c. 
 
 If the ill spirit have so fair a house. 
 
 Good things | will strive | to dwell | with't. 
 
 Tempest, 1, 2. 
 
 You taught I me lan[guage : and | my prof |it ont \ 
 
 Is I know how to curse. Tempest, 1 . 2. 
 
 If he may 
 
 Find mercy in the law^ 'tis his ; if none. 
 
 Let I him not seeVt | of us 1 : by day | and night | 
 
 He's traitor to the height. ^8, 1.2. 
 
 I say I it is I not lost ] : Fetch' t \ let me see | it. — 
 
 Othello, 3. 4 
 
 His sword 
 
 Hath I a sharp edge | : its long, | and it may [ be said | 
 It reaches far. H 8, 1. 1. 
 
 We find 't before a vowel in 'tis, and even before a con- 
 sonant in the passage — 
 
 Which done, quoth he, " if outwardly you show 
 Sound, I 7 not avails] : if in|wardly ] or uo|." 
 
 Drayton. M.forM. Cromwell, \ 67.
 
 72 Coalition of words. b. i. 
 
 To also coalesces very freely with the word that follows 
 it, whether verb, substantive, or pronoun. 
 
 W'hen I she was dear } to us : we ] did hold | her so|. 
 
 Lear, 1.1. 
 
 Married your roy|alty : was wife | to ijour place], 
 
 Abhorr'd your person. CymbeUne, 55. 
 
 For I a short day ] or two \ : retire | to your own j house. 
 
 Fletcher. Loyal Subject, 2 1. 
 
 Who well them greeting, humbly did request. 
 And ask'd | to what end \ they clomb [ : that heav'n|ly height]. 
 
 F Q. 1. 10. 49. 
 
 From whence to England afterward I brought. 
 
 Those slights of state deliver'd unto me, 
 
 Inf which \ were then | : but ver]y few ] that sought]. 
 
 Drayton. M.for M. Cromwell, 38. 
 
 Toivhomi\\\xs \ the porjtress : of j hell-gate | replied]. 
 
 P. L. 2. 
 
 Since you prove so liberal 
 
 To refuse \ such means | as this | : maintain | your voice | still 
 'T will prove your best friend. 
 
 Fletcher. Loyal Subject, 2. I. 
 The frier low lowtiug, crossing with his hand, 
 T' speak \ with contriltion, quoth j he : I | would crave;. 
 
 Drayton. M.forM. Cromwell, 104. 
 
 His is frequently joined to the preceding word, as are 
 also the verb is and conjunction as. 
 
 Pond]ering on his voyjage: for | no nar]row frith] 
 
 He had to cross. P. L. 2. 
 
 Go tell I the Duke | and his wife | : I'd speak | with them|. 
 
 Lear, 2. I . 
 A blink | o' rest's \ a sweet | eDJoy]ment. Burns. 
 
 They're nae | sae wretched' si ane | wad think]. 
 Though constantly on poortith's brink. Burns. 
 
 Burns has more than once joined the verb to the word 
 that followed instead of preceding it.
 
 C. III. COAI.ITIOX OF WORDS. 73 
 
 I doubt na whiles that thou may thieve, 
 Wixat then ? poor beastle thou maun live, 
 A daimen Icker in a thrave 
 
 'Sa sina' I request,] 
 I "11 get a blessiu wi" the lave. 
 
 And never uiiss't. Burns. 
 
 Verbs beginning with iv sometimes elided it, and coal- 
 esced with the word preceding, thus, in old English, we 
 have nas for ne ivas, not for ne wot, nere for ne were, &c. 
 
 And by that Lord that cleped is St. Ive, 
 
 l^ere \ thou our brojder : shuldjest thou | not thriv|e. 
 
 Chau. The Sompnoures Tale. 
 
 I tell 1 you to I my grief [ : he was base|ly mur|der'd. 
 
 Fletcher. Valentinian, 4. 4. 
 
 You icere best | to go ] to bed | : and dream | again]. 
 
 2 H(i,b. I. 
 
 Make ] it not strange | : I knew | you were one ] could keep] 
 The buttry hatch still lock'd. Alchemist, 1.1. 
 
 Wit|ness these wounds ] I do | : they loere fair]ly giv'n|. 
 
 Fletcher. Bonduca, 1. I. 
 
 / would, ive would., &c. are still commonly pronounced 
 Td, we'd, &c. yet we often find them written at full length, 
 in places where the rhythm only tolerates one syllable. 
 
 It would be useless to point out the coalition of the 
 verb have with the personal pronouns. We, however, are 
 constantly meeting with these contractions v\Titten at full 
 length, we have, you have, &c. for we've, you've, &c. 
 
 The first personal pronoun seems to have been occa- 
 sionally omitted before its verb, as in the phrases, 'pray 
 tliee, 'beseech thee, ike. I suspect it was omitted more 
 frequently than the texts warrant us in asserting. 
 
 I honour him 
 
 Even I out of your | report | : But 'prai/ \ you tell [ me 
 Is she sole child to the King ? Ci/mb. 1.1. 
 
 Your voicjes. Lords, | 'beseech \ you : let ( her will] 
 Have a free way. 0th. 1. 3.
 
 74 COALITION OF WORDS. B. I. 
 
 I presume \ she's.still ) the same [ : I would | fain see | her. 
 
 Fletcher. Loyal Subject, 5. 2. 
 
 And, Father Card'nal, I have heard you say. 
 That we shall see and know our friends in heaven^ 
 If that 1 be so I : / shall see | my boy | again]. 
 
 King John, 3. 4. 
 
 The article the was frequently pronounced tfi, and 
 more particularly wlien it followed a preposition. The 
 same pronunciation still prevails in the north. In Carr's 
 Craven Dialogues, we meet with Wi, oth\ toth', forth\ 
 byth', &c. also antJi aiid autJi, &c. for and the, all the, &c. 
 
 Amongst the rest rode that false lady faire. 
 
 The foul Duessa, next unto the chair 
 
 Of proud I Lucifjera | : as one | otK train|. 
 
 F.Q.\. 4 37. 
 
 And the Rom|ish rites | : that with | a clear|er sight| 
 The wisest thought they justly did reject. 
 They after saw that the received sight 
 Not altogether free was from defect. 
 
 Drayton. M.forM. Cromwell, 97. 
 
 The flames 
 
 Driven backwards slope their pointing spires, and roll'd 
 In bil|lows leave, ] i'the * midst| : a hor[rid vale|. P. L. 
 
 While Me jol|ly Hours | : lead on | propitious May|. 
 
 Milton. Sonnet. 
 
 Whose shrill saint's bell hangs in his lovery, 
 While the rest | are dam|ned: to | the plumb|ery|. 
 
 Hall. Sat, 5. 1. 
 
 The fox was howling on the hill, 
 
 y^Mc? Me dis|tantech|oing glens | reply[. Burns. 
 
 Ith' and oth' are often written i'the, o'the. This is a 
 common but gross blunder. In the first place the vowel 
 is not elided, and, secondly, the prepositions are written as 
 if contracted from in and of; but i and o are independent 
 
 * This is, I believe, the only instance of such contraction in the P. L.
 
 C. III. COALITION OF WORDS. 75 
 
 l^repositions, which may be traced backJ;hrough every cen- 
 tury to the times of the Heptarchy. 
 
 In giving the many extracts I have quoted, I have scru- 
 pulously adhered to the spelling of my authors, or rather of 
 their editors : Tyrwhitt's Chaucer, Steevens's Shakespeare, 
 and Todd's Milton have been chiefly referred to, Tonson's 
 Sjienser, and either Giftbrd's or Tonson's Ben Jonson.
 
 76 ACCENT. B. I. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ACCENT, 
 
 As the word is now used, means the stress which is 
 laid upon a syllable during pronunciation ; and in a more 
 restricted sense, that particular stress, which defines the 
 rhythm of a verse or sentence. The latter might perhaps 
 be termed the rhythmical accent. It is of merely relative 
 importance, and may be either one of the strong or one 
 of the weak accents in the sentence ; but must be stronger 
 than that of any syllable immediately adjoining. We 
 shall mark the rhythmical accent, as in the last chapter, 
 by placing a vertical line after the accented syllable. 
 
 It has been matter of dispute, udiat constitutes the 
 stress which thus distinguishes the accented syllable. 
 Mitford, who deserves attention both as a musician and a 
 man of sense, has entered deeply into this inquiry, and 
 concludes with much confidence that it is merely an in- 
 creased sharpness of tone. WaUis, who is at least an 
 equal authority, assumes it to be an increase of loudness. 
 I cannot help thinking that the latter opinion is the 
 sounder one. 
 
 There are two reasons, which weigh strongly in my 
 mind against the conclusion of Mitford. It is admitted 
 on all hands, that the Scots give to the accented syllable 
 a grave tone. Now, if our English accent consisted 
 merely in sharpness of tone, it would follow that in the 
 mouth of a Scotchman our accents would be misplaced. 
 This, however, is not so ; the accents follow in their pro- 
 per place, and our verses still keep their rhythm, though
 
 C. IV. ACCENT. / / 
 
 pronounced with the strange intonations of a Fifeshire 
 
 dialect. 
 
 Again, in a whisper there can he neither gra^-ity nor 
 
 sharpness of tone, as the voice is absent ; yet even in a 
 
 whisper the rhythm of a verse or sentence may be distinctly 
 
 traced. I do not see what answer can be given to either 
 
 of these objections. 
 
 But though an increase of loudness be the only thing 
 
 essential to our English accent, yet it is in almost every 
 
 instance accompanied by an increased sharpness of tone. 
 
 This, of course, apphes only to the prevaihng dialect. 
 
 The Scotchman, we have seen, pronounces his accented 
 syllable with a grave tone, and in some of our counties 
 
 I have met with what appeared to be the circumflex. 
 But the Eno-lishman of education marks the accented 
 syllable with a sharp tone ; and that in all cases, excepting 
 
 those in which the laws of emphasis require a different 
 intonation. 
 
 Besides the increase of loudness, and the sharper tone 
 which distinguishes the accented syllable, there is also a 
 tendency to dwell upon it, or, in other words, to lengthen 
 its quantity. We cannot increase the loudness or the 
 sharpness of a tone without a certain degree of muscular 
 action ; and to put the muscles in motion requires time. 
 It would seem, that the time required for producing a per- 
 ceptible increase in the loudness or sharpness of a tone, is 
 greater than that of pronouncing some of our shorter 
 svllables. If Ave attempt, for instance, to throw the accent 
 on the first syllable of the verb become, we must either 
 lengthen the vowel, and pronounce the word bee\come, or 
 add the adjoining consonant to the first syllable, and so 
 pronounce the word bec\ome. V\e often find it covenient 
 to lengthen the quantity even of the longer syllables, when 
 we wish to give them a very strong and marked accent* 
 Hence, no doubt, arose the vulgar notion, that accent al- 
 ways lengthens the quantit}" of a syllable. 
 
 It is astonishing how widely this notion has misled
 
 78 ACCENT. B. I. 
 
 men, whose judgment, in most other matters of criticism, 
 it would be very unsafe to question. Our earlier writers, 
 almost to a man, confound accent with quantity; and 
 Johnson could not have had much clearer views on the 
 subject when he told his reader that in some of Milton's 
 verses, " the accent is equally upon two syllables together 
 and upon both strong, — as 
 
 Thus at their shady lodge arrived, both stood, 
 
 Both turn d, and under open sky adored 
 
 The God that made both sky, air, earth and lieaven." 
 
 Ever)^ reader of taste would pronounce the words stood, 
 turn'd, with a greater stress, than that which falls upon 
 the words preceding them. But these Avords are at 
 least equal to them in quantity ; and Johnson fell into 
 the mistake, at that time so prevalent, of considering 
 quantity as identical with accent. Even of late years, 
 when sounder notions have prevailed, one who is both 
 critic and poet, has declared the word Egypt to be the 
 only spondee in our language. Surely every one would 
 throw a stronger accent on the first syllable than on the 
 second ! 
 
 In every word of two or more syllables there is one, 
 which receives a stronoer accent than anv of the others. 
 This may be called the verbal accent, as upon it depends 
 the accentual importance of the word. When the word 
 contains two or more syllables there may be a second 
 accent ; this, of covirse, must be subordinate to the first, 
 and is commonly called the secondary accent. 
 
 When a word of three syllables has its primary accent 
 on the first, ovir poets have, in all ages, taken the liberty 
 of giving a secondary accent to the third syllable, if their 
 rhythm required it. Thus harmony, victory, and many 
 others of the same kind, are often found in our poetry 
 with the last syllable accented. The rule applies to words 
 of any number of syllaliles, provided the chief accent falls 
 on the last syllal^le but two. 
 
 An ignorance of this principle has led the Danish phi-
 
 C. IV. ACCENT. 79 
 
 lologist Rask, into much false criticism. He objects to the 
 Anglo-Saxon couplet, 
 
 Getim|brede| He built 
 
 Temple Gode. To God a temple. 
 
 because the first verse has but one accent ; and supposes 
 that heah^ or some such word, may have been omitted by 
 the transcriber. The verse, however, has two accents, for 
 a secondary one falls on the last syllable de. He pro- 
 nounces another verse, consisting in like manner of one 
 word, <jeltriiiht-ne, to be faulty, and for the same reason; he 
 even ventures to deny the existence of such a word in the 
 language, and would substitute (shnightig-ne. Now, in the 
 first place, cel\might-ne\ may well form a verse of two ac- 
 cents, supposing a secondary accent to fall on the last syl- 
 lable; and secondly, there are tico adjectives ahnight and 
 ahnighfy ; the first is rare in Anglo-Saxon, but is often 
 met with in old Enghsh, and beyond a doubt is used in the 
 verse last qvioted. 
 
 A Avord of four syllables can hardly escape a secondary 
 accent, unless the primary accent is on one of the middle 
 syllables, when it falls under the same rule as the trisyl- 
 lable. If it end in ble, it is occasionally pronounced with 
 one accent, as dis\putabJe ; but I think the more general 
 usage is, to place a secondary accent on the last syllable, 
 dis[putable\. 
 
 A word of five syllables, if accented on the first, cannot 
 • have less than two, and may have three, accents. We 
 may pronounce the following word with two accents, i;«|co/2- 
 soI\able, or with three m\consoJ\abJe\. When the accent 
 falls on one of the middle syllables, the Avord may, in some 
 instances, take only one accent, as indislpi/table. 
 
 When two syllables are separated by a pause, each of 
 them. may receive the accent, the pause filling the place of 
 a syllable. In the verses 
 
 Vir|tue, beau, tie and speechl : did strikel— wound] —charm 
 Myheartj— eyes|— ears| : with wonjder, love,| de]ight|.
 
 80 ACCENT. B. I. 
 
 strike, ivound, charm, heart, eyes and ears, are all of them 
 accented, though only separated l)y a pause. 
 
 It is probable, that at one time every stop, which sepa- 
 rated the members of a sentence, was held, for rhythmical 
 purposes, equivalent to a syllable. At present, however, 
 it is only under certain circumstances that the pause 
 takes a place so important to the rhythm. 
 
 As no pause can intervene between the syllables of a 
 word, it follows that no two of its adjacent syllables can 
 be accented. There was however a period, when even this 
 rule was violated. After the death of Chaucer, the final 
 e, so commonly used 'by that poet and his contemporaries, 
 fell into disuse. Hence many dissyllables became words 
 of one syllable, mone became moon, and sunne sun ; and 
 the compounds, into which they entered, were curtailed 
 of a syllable. The couplet, 
 
 Ne was she darke, ue browne, but bright 
 Andclere | as is [ : the mon\e Ught\. 
 
 Romaunt of the Rose. 
 
 would be read, as if mone light were a dissyllable ; and as 
 the metre required two accents in the compound, they 
 would still be given to it, though less by a syllable. By 
 degrees this barbarous rhythm became licensed, though 
 it never obtained much favour, and has been long since 
 exploded. Spenser has left us some examples of it. 
 
 Per. All as the sunny beam so bright, 
 Wil. Hey | ho \ the sun\-beam\ ! 
 
 Per. Glanceth from Phcebus' face outright, 
 Wil. So love into my heart did stream. 
 
 Per. Or as Dame Cynthia's silver ray, 
 Wil. Hey | ho | the mooH\-l/ght\ ! 
 
 Per. Upon the glittering wave doth play, 
 Wil. Such love is a piteous sight ! 
 
 ylugust. 
 
 We have said that the rhythmical accent must be 
 stronger than that of any syllable immediately adjoining.
 
 C. IV. ACCENT. 81 
 
 When the verbal accent is both preceded and succeeded 
 by an unaccented syllable in the same word, it is, of course, 
 independent of the position such word may occupy in 
 a sentence. But when the accent falls on the first or last 
 syllable, it is not necessarily preserved, when the word 
 is combined with others ; or — to vary the expression — the 
 verbal accent is not necessarily the same as the accent of 
 construction. Thus the word father has an accent on its 
 first syllable, but in the lines 
 
 ho6k\, father , look|, and you'll laugh | to see ] 
 
 How he gaj)es | and glares | with his eyes ] on theej. 
 
 such accented syllable adjoins a word, which has a 
 stronger stress upon it, and consequently loses its accent. 
 The verbal accent, however, can only be eclipsed by a 
 stronger accent, thus immediately adjoining. The license, 
 which is sometimes taken, of slurring over an accent, when 
 it begins the verse, is opposed to the very first principles 
 of accentual rhythm. In Moore's line. 
 
 Shining on|, shining on|, by no shadjow made tenjder. 
 
 The verbal accent of shining is eclipsed, in the second 
 foot, by the stronger accent on the word on ; but in the 
 first it adjoins only to an unaccented syllable, and there- 
 fore remains unchanged. It is true, that by a rapid pro- 
 nunciation, and by affixing a very strong accent to the 
 third syllable, we may slur it over ; but, in such case, the 
 rhythm is at the mercy of the reader ; and no poet has 
 a right to a false accent, in order to help his rhythm. 
 Neither length of usage, nor weight of authority, can 
 justify this practice. 
 
 When a verse is divided into two parts or sections, 
 by what is called the middle pause, the syllable, which 
 follows such pause, is in the same situation as if it began 
 the verse, and cannot lose its accent, unless it be suc- 
 ceeded by a more strongly accented syllable. In this 
 case, hoAvever, the same license is often takeii as in the 
 last, particularly in the triple metre. 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 82 EMPHASIS. B. I. 
 
 As Emphasis and Accent are too often confounded, I 
 shall add a few words on the nature of the former, and 
 endeavour to shew, in what particulars they resemble, 
 and in what they are distinguished from each other. 
 
 A very common method of pointing out an emphatic 
 word or syllable is by jilacing a pause, or emphatic stop, 
 before it. There is little doubt that this i:)ause was 
 known from the earliest periods of our language, and that 
 it had a considerable influence in regulating the flow of our 
 earlier rhythms. It is still common, and indeed in almost 
 hourly use. 
 
 When I burned in desire to question them further, they made 
 themselves — air, into which they vanished. 
 
 Macbeth, 1.5. 
 
 If the accent be on the first syllable, our expectation is 
 not only excited by the pause, but the accent becomes 
 more marked ; and as the importance of a word depends 
 on that of its accented syllable, the word itself stands the 
 more prominently forward in the sentence. This method 
 of heightening the accent is sometimes used, even Avhen 
 the first syllable is unaccented, and when consequently the 
 pause must fall in the midst of the word. Thus we hear 
 some persons who spell, as it were, the words pro-dlffious, 
 di-rectly, in order to throw the greater stress on the second 
 syllable. One result, that follows from this mis-pronun- 
 ciation, is a tendency to fix, in some degree, the pause on 
 the first syllable, and thereby to lengthen its vowel. 
 
 Another method of marking the emphasis, is a strength- 
 ening of the accent, without any precedent stop. We 
 have seen, that under such circumstances the speaker is 
 apt to dwell upon the accented word or syllable. Hence 
 we sometimes find, that the emphatic word lengthens its 
 quantity. When the vulgar wish to throw an emphasis 
 on the word little, they pronounce it leetle. 
 
 But the cliief difficulty occurs, Avhen the emphatic
 
 C. IV. ACCENT OF CONSTRUCTION. 83 
 
 syllal)le adjoins upon one, which ought, according to the 
 usual laws of construction, to be more strongly accented. 
 In such a case, we very commonly have a transference of 
 the accent. In Shakespeare's verse, 
 
 Is I this the \ Lord TaI|bot: iincjle Gloslter ? 
 
 1 H 6, 3. 4. 
 
 the emphasis, which is thrown on the article, gives it 
 an accent, stronger than that of the word either preceding 
 or succeeding. Sometimes, however, it would seem, that 
 we distinguish the emphatic syllable by mere sharpness of 
 tone ; and leave the stress of the voice, or in other words 
 the essential part of the accent, on the ordinary syllal^le. 
 Thus in Spenser's line, 
 
 Flesh 1 may impair, \ quotli she | : but realson can ] repalr\. 
 
 F.Q.I. 7. 41. 
 
 both the rhythm, and the common laws of accentuation 
 will have the last syllable of repair accented ; but the pur- 
 poses of contrast require that the first syllable should be 
 emphatic. The stress therefore falls on the last syllable, 
 and the sharp tone on the first. In the same way must be 
 read ^lilton's verses, 
 
 Who made j oiu- laws | to bind | ns : not | himself]. 
 
 Sam. Agon. 
 
 Knowing who | /am'-, as I | know who [ thou ait|. 
 
 P.R.\. 
 
 In some cases a very intimate acquaintance with a poet's 
 rhvthm is necessary, to know whether he intended to mark 
 his emphasis by a transference of the accent, or by mere 
 change of intonation. 
 
 ACCENT OF CONSTRUCTION. 
 
 Tliis branch of our subject may perhaps be treated most 
 
 advantageously, if, in each case, we first state the law, 
 
 which has been sanctioned by the general usage of our 
 
 language ; and then notice such violations of it, as have 
 
 arisen from making it yield, instead of adapting it, to the 
 
 laws of metre. 
 
 G 2
 
 84 ACCENT OF CONSTRUCTION. B. I. 
 
 Of all the words that may be used in the construction of 
 an English sentence, the articles are the least important. 
 In the greater number of cases, in which they are now met 
 with, they are useless for any purposes of grammar, were 
 unknown to our older dialects, and still sound strangely in 
 the ears of our country popidation. The circumstances, 
 which justify their accentuation, are accordingly rare ; yet 
 by the poets of the 1 6'th century they were sometimes ac- 
 cented even more strongly than their substantive. 
 
 Skill which practice small 
 Will bring, ] and shortjly make | you : a \ maid Mar|tiall|. 
 
 F. Q. 3. 3. 53. 
 
 This man is great. 
 
 Mighty and fear'd ; that lov'd, and highly favour'd ; 
 
 A third | thouo-ht wise | and vlr[tuous : a \ fourth rich[. 
 
 And there [ fore hon I our' d : a \ fifth rare|ly feajtur'd. 
 
 Ben Jonsons Every Man out of his Humour. 
 
 Yet full I of val|our : the \ which did | adorn | 
 His meanness much — F. Q. 6. 3. 7. 
 
 This is noted 
 
 And generally [ : vvhoev|er the \ king falvours, 
 
 The Cardinal will instantly find employment. 
 
 And far enough from Court too. 
 
 H8,2. 1. 
 
 But a more common fault — one of which even Pope was 
 guilty — is the accentuation of the article when it occurs 
 before the adjective. 
 
 Defence | is a | good cause| : and heav'n ) be for | us. 
 
 Comus. 
   See the heavy clouds down falling, 
 
 Amd bright Hesperus down calling 
 
 The I dead night | : from un|der ground]. 
 
 Fletcher. Faithful Shep. 2. 2. 
 
 The I poor wight] : is aljmost dead] 
 On the ground his wounds have bled. 
 
 Fletcher. Faithful Shep. 3. 1 . 
 
 She I was not /Ae | prime cause | : but I | myself]. 
 
 Samson.
 
 C. IV. ACCENT OF COXSTRUCTIOX. 85 
 
 The treach|'rous col|ours: the \ fair art | betray[. 
 And all the bright creations fade away. 
 
 Pope. Essay on Criticism. 
 
 In words [ as fashjions : the \ same rule | will hold]. 
 
 Pope. Essay on Criticism. 
 
 There is, however, one position of the article, which 
 seems to warrant its accentuation, even when not em- 
 phatic. It is that, which leaves it adjacent only to un- 
 accented syllables. In the language of ordinary life the 
 article, even in this case, is seldom accented. The words 
 a revol\ter y\ow\A be pronounced wdth a stress of voice, re- 
 gularly increasing to the third syllable. But, in the mea- 
 sured language of composition, no words can be slurred 
 over, or run the one into the other ; and it seems not 
 only venial, but even more correct and proper, to accent 
 the article a \ revol\ter. For these reasons I would not ob- 
 ject to the following verses, 
 
 A raurdprer, a \ revol|ter : and [ a vil|lain. 
 
 Samson. 
 
 I pray'd for children, and thought barrenness 
 In wed|lock a \ reproach] : I gain'd | a son|. 
 
 Samson. 
 
 Still I to the last | it rank les : a \ disease]. 
 
 Byron. Ch. Harold, 2. 
 
 Who with the horror of her hapless fate 
 Hastily starting up, like men dismay'd 
 Ran af|ter fast | to res [cue : the \ distres|sed maid|. 
 
 F. Q. 6. 3. 24. 
 
 The latter verse is however open to objection on another 
 ground. When a verse, or section of a verse, begins with 
 an accent, such accent should never be a weak one. 
 
 A word must necessarily be of less importance than 
 that whose relations it merely indicates; hence the ac- 
 centuation of the preposition above its noun, is offensive.
 
 86 ACCENT OF CONSTRUCTION. B. I. 
 
 Opprest with hills of tyranny cast on virtue 
 
 By I the light faii|cies of \ fools : thus | transport|ed. 
 
 Ben. Jons. Cynthia's Revels, 5. 4 
 
 Foretasted fruit, 
 
 Profan'd | first | by the ser|peut : by \ him firstj. 
 Made common. P. L. 9. 
 
 Else had the spring 
 
 Perpetual sniil'd on earth, with verdant flow'rs. 
 Equal in days and nights, except to those 
 Beyond | the pojlar cirjcle : to | them day | 
 Had unbeuightcd shone. P. L. 10. 
 
 In the two extracts from Milton, the pronouns require 
 an emphasis, which makes the false accentuation still 
 more glaring. 
 
 All words which qualify others, as adjectives, adverbs, 
 and others of the same class, receive a fainter accent than 
 the words qualified. 
 
 It has been observed,* that when " a monosyllabic ad- 
 jective and substantive are joined, the substantive has the 
 acute, and the adjective the grave, unless the adjective be 
 placed in antithesis, in which case the reverse happens." 
 This rule might have been stated more generally. The 
 primary accent of the adjective ought ahvays, when not 
 emphatic, to be weaker than that of the substantive. But 
 when the reviewer states this law to have been " observed 
 by all our best poets," and censures Darwin and his con- 
 temporaries as its first violators, he is lauding our earlier 
 writers most unfairly. If authority, in a case like this, 
 were of any weight, it might easily be found ; 
 
 Help'd I by the^rc«^ | pow'r : of | the vir|tuous moon|. 
 
 Fletcher. Faithful Shej)herdess, 2. 2. 
 
 Lest I the great | Pan : do [ awake]. Same, 1.1. 
 
 * Ed. Rev. No. 12. Art. 10.
 
 C. IV. ACCENT OF CONSTRUCTION. 87 
 
 Thy chastcM- beams play on the heavy face 
 
 Of all I the \vorld| : inak\mg the blue | seasinile]. 
 
 Fletcher. Faithful Shejjh. 2. 1 . 
 
 I think a traitor — 
 
 'No ill I words ! let | his own | shame: first | revile | hiin. 
 
 Fletcher. Bonduca, 2. 4. 
 
 The dominations, royalties, and riglits 
 
 Of this I oppres|sed boy| : this j is thy eljdest sow's j son. 
 
 Unfortunate in nothing but in thee. K. John, 2. I. 
 
 Hath any ram 
 
 Slipt I from the fold| : or young \ kid lost | its dam| ? 
 
 Comus. 
 
 The more correct schools of Dryden and Pope care- 
 fully avoided this error, but our modern poets are not so 
 scrupulous. The faults of the Elizabethan writers are 
 more readily caught than their beauties ; 
 
 Decipit exemplar vitiis iraitabile. 
 
 Tlie possessive pronoun falls of course under the same 
 law as the adjective ; but when coupled with an adjective 
 receives the weaker accent. The violation of this rule is 
 but too common among those writers to whom allusion 
 has been made. 
 
 In wine | and oil] : they wash[en his \ wounds \vide|. 
 
 F.Q.\. 5. 17. 
 
 And dark|some dens|, where Ti|tan : his \ face nevjer shows|. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 5. 27. 
 
 That I I may sit| : and pour | out mi/ | sad sprite | 
 
 Like running water.* Fletcher. Faithful Shepherdess, 4. 4. 
 
 The sweeping fierceness : which his soul betray'd. 
 The skill | with which | he wieldled : his \ keen blade]. 
 
 Byron. Lara. 
 
 * This verse of Fletcher has even more than his usual proportion of blun- 
 ders. With proper accents it would belong to the triple measure. 
 That I I may sit | and pour out | my sad sprite | .
 
 88 ACCENT OF CONSTRUCTION. B. I. 
 
 And then | as his | faint breath|ing : wax|es low|. 
 
 Byron. Lara. 
 
 It is doubtless under the same law, that the word oivn 
 takes the accent after the possessive pronouns; arule which 
 is violated by Pope in the very couplet in which he de- 
 nounces the critics ; 
 
 Agahist I the po|ets : their \ own arms [ they turn'd|. 
 Sure to hate most the men from whom they learn'd. 
 
 Essay on Criticism. 
 
 Another law of English accentuation is, that the per- 
 sonal and relative pronoun take a fainter accent than the 
 verb. 
 
 And mingling them with perfect vermily. 
 That like | a live |ly sang|uine: it \ seem'd to | the eye|. 
 
 F. Q. 3. 8. G. 
 
 That sea beast 
 
 Leviathan, which God of all his works 
 
 Creajted hu|gest : that | swim th' o[cean's flood]. P. L. 
 
 Such is certainly the right scanning of this puzzling line, 
 for the first and all the early editions elide the vowel. We 
 may hence see the danger of printing Milton without eli- 
 sions. As the line stands in the modern editions, every 
 reader would accent it thus, 
 
 Crea|ted hu|gest : that swim | the ojcean's flood]. 
 
 No one would be bold enough to risk a false accent, in 
 order to avoid an aw^kward and spiritless rhythm. 
 
 It remains to consider the law, which regulates the 
 accents of a sequence. 
 
 When two or more words of the same kind follow each 
 other consecutively, they all take an equal accent. If they 
 are monosyllables, a pause intervenes between every two. 
 It is probably for this reason, and on account of the great 
 number of English monosyllables, that we find such fre- 
 quent violations of a law so obvious and important.
 
 C. IV. ACCEXT OF CONSTRUCTION. 
 
 89 
 
 Fear, sicklness, age \ : loss, lajbour, sorlrow, strifel, 
 Pain, hun|ger, cold ] : that makes \ the heart [ to quake. 
 And ever fickle fortune rageth rife. F.Q. 1. 9. 44. 
 
 So shall 1 wrath, jealjousy 1 ; grief, love, | die and ] decay]. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 4. 35. 
 
 Inferlnal hags ] : cen|taurs,/ewrfs, hiplpodames|. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 9 .50. 
 
 • The hectick, 
 
 G'oMif,leplrosie ] ; or some | such loath'd ] disease]. 
 
 Ben Jon. Every Man out of his Humour, 1.3. 
 
 I am 1 a man ] : and ] I have limbs|,/cs/«, blood]. 
 
 Bones, sin]evvs and | a soul] : as well | as he]. Same, 2. 4. 
 
 Where he gives her many a rose 
 
 Sweeter than the breath that blows. 
 
 The leaves ] ; grapes, berlries : of ] the best]. 
 
 Fletcher. Faithful Shep. I. 3. 
 
 High climbing rock, deep sunless dale, 
 Sea^ desjert, what ] : do these ] avail] ? 
 
 Wordsivorth. White Doe of Rylstone. 
 
 False accentuation very often leads to ambiguity. In 
 the last passage, there might be a question, whether the au- 
 thor did not mean the sea-desert, the ivaste of ocean. 
 
 When the words are collected into groups, this law of 
 sequence affects the groups only, and not the individuals. 
 Thus I think there would be no fair objection to the mode 
 in which Byron accents the verse. 
 
 Young old \, high low \, at once ] : the same ] diver] si on share]. 
 
 Ch.Har. 1. 
 
 Nor to Milton's famous line, 
 
 Rocks, caves\,lakes, fens\, bogs, dens,\* : and shades ] of death]. 
 
 This last verse has been variously accented. Mitford 
 accents the first six words, thus making it a verse of ei(/ht 
 accents, though Milton wrote his poem in verses oifive. 
 
 * Den means a low woody bottom, such as often marks a stream or water 
 course ; hence it is coupled with boff.
 
 90 VERBAL ACCENT. FOREIGN. B. I. 
 
 The same law will hold when the words are m groups of 
 three together. 
 
 Before we close this section, it should be observ^ed, that 
 the rule, which we have applied to the article, is a general 
 one. There is no word, however unimportant^ which may 
 not be accented, when it lies adjacent only to unaccented 
 syllables. We have already given examples where the ar- 
 ticle is accented ; to add others would be useless. 
 
 VERBAL ACCENT. FOREIGN. 
 
 The accentuation of foreign words, naturalized in our 
 language, has always been varying ; one while inclining to 
 the English usage, at another to the foreign. We will 
 first treat of proper names, which have come to us, either 
 mediately or immediately, from the Latin. At present, 
 we give them Latin accents, when they have all their syl- 
 lables complete ; and English accents when they are mu- 
 tilated. But nothing Avas more common, doAvn to the end 
 of Elizabeth's reign, than to find the perfect Latin word 
 wiih its accents distributed according to the English 
 fashion ; 
 
 Till I that the palje : Sat\ur)ius | the col|de 
 That knew so many of aventures olde. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 Sat\urnus thon[e : sundj-buende hetjon. 
 
 Saturnus him sea-dwellers hight. Alfred. 
 
 Such one was once, or once I was raistaught, 
 
 A smith 1 at Vul\canus \ : own forge | up brought]. 
 
 Hall. Satires, 2. 1. 
 
 In Sterres, many a winter ther beforen. 
 
 Was writ | the deth | : oi \iec\ior , Ach\illes\ — 
 
 Chau. The Man of Laives Tale. 
 
 Hit gescfilde gio : on sume tide 
 Thxt Au\Uxes \ : un|der-li£ef |de 
 ThiBm Cajsere : cvnericu tvva.
 
 C. IV. VERBAL ACCENT. FOREIGN. [)\ 
 
 It fell of yore, upon a time. 
 
 That Aulixes * had under 
 
 The Kaiser kingdoms two. Alfred. 
 
 Befor|e hire stood | : hire son|e Cu\2ndo\, 
 Upon his shoulders winges hadde he two. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 Waer|on iE|gypte : eft | on-cyr|de. 
 
 Again were the Egypte turned back. Ccsdmon. 
 
 These writers give us the Latin accents, whenever it 
 suits their rhvthni. 
 
 During the 14th century we got even our Latin from 
 the French. Latin names were, accordingly, often used 
 with French accents, and that to the very end of the 16th 
 century. 
 
 Fayr|est of fayr|e: o la]dy min | Venus\, 
 Daughter of Jove aud spouse of Vulcanus. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 The dreint | Lean [d re : for | his faire | Hero\, 
 
 The teres of Heleine, and eke the wo 
 
 Of Briseide. Chau. The Man of Lawes Tale. 
 
 Hecltor and Herjcules | : with false | Juno\, 
 Theirminds did make them weave the webb of woe. 
 
 Mir r. for M. Egelred, 3. 
 
 Of Lujcrece and ] : ofBabjylon | Thisbe\, 
 The swerd of Dido, for the false Enee. 
 
 Chau. The Man of Laives Prol. 
 
 A cranny'd hole or chink. 
 
 Through which | these lov|ers : Pyr amus and | Thisby\ 
 
 Did whisper often very secretly. M. N. Dream, 5.1. 
 
 Shakespeare elsewhere accents it Tlns\by ; he doubtless 
 put the old and obsolete accent into the mouth of his 
 " mechanicals," for the purposes of ridicule. 
 
 French accent was particularly prevalent in such words, 
 as had been robbed by our neighbours of one or more syl- 
 lables. 
 
 » That is, Ulisses.
 
 9- VERBAL ACCENT. FOREIGN. B. I. 
 
 Thou glader of the mount Citheron, 
 
 For thil|ke lov|e : thou had|dest to | Adon\, 
 
 Have pitee. Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 Ambitious Sylla : and stern Marius, 
 High Caelsar, great | Pompey \ -. and fierce | Anton|iusl. 
 
 F. Q. 1.5.39. 
 
 Him thought | how that ] : the wing|ed god | Mercu\rt/ 
 Beforne him stood, and bad him to be mery. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 All such words we now accent after the Enghsli fashion, 
 Pom\j)ey, Mer\cury, Di\an, Sec. 
 
 When the last syllable of a French word does not con- 
 tain the e final, it almost invariably takes the accent; 
 in English words, the accent is generally upon the first. 
 Now the " makers" of the 14th century, in raising our lan- 
 guage once more to the dignity of courtly verse, unhappily, 
 but very naturally, had recourse to the dialect, which had 
 so long been used for the purposes of poetical expression. 
 In Skinner's phrase, " cart-loads " of French words were 
 poured into the language. These for the most part had 
 a doubtful accentuation, English or French, as best suited 
 the convenience of the rhythm. This %acious and slovenly 
 practice may be traced as late as to the reign of Elizabeth. 
 In the following instances of French accentuation, I shall 
 in each case take, first the words of two syllables, and 
 then those of three or more ; 
 
 Aprenjtis whiljom dwelt | : in our | citee\, 
 
 And of a craft of vitailers was he. Chau. The Cokes Tale. 
 
 So meek a look hath she. 
 
 I may | not you | devisle : all hire | beatctee\, 
 
 But thus much of hire beautec tell I may. Chaucer. 
 
 For quhar | it fail|eys : na wertu] 
 
 May be | off price | : naoflf | walu\. The Bruce, 371. 
 
 For well thou wost thyselven veraily, 
 
 That thou | and I | : be dam|ned to | prison] 
 
 Perpetjuel j : us gain|eth no | raunson\. 
 
 Chau. The Knight «s Tale.
 
 C. IV. VERBAL ACCENT. FOREIGX. D3 
 
 And when that he well dronken had the win, 
 Then ) wold he spek|en : no | word but ] Latin]. 
 
 Chati. Prol. 
 
 This I was thin oath| : and min | also ] certain], 
 I wot It wel thou durst it not withsain. 
 
 Chau. The Knighles Tale. 
 
 For which thy child was in a crois yrent, 
 Thy bUsslful ey|en saw] : all his [ turinent]. 
 
 Chau. M. of Laioes Tale. 
 
 And, slkerly, she was of fair disport. 
 And ful I plesant\ : and almiable [ of port|. 
 
 Chau. Prol. 
 
 He durste make avaunt. 
 
 He wisjte that [ a raan| : was re\pentant\. Chau. Prol. 
 
 Of all God's works, which do this world adorn. 
 
 There is no one more fair and excellent, 
 
 Than is man's body both for power and form. 
 
 Whiles it is kept in sober government. 
 
 But none | than it| : more foul | and 'm\decent\ 
 
 Distemper'd through misrule. F. Q. 2. 9. 1. 
 
 Some words in n still accent the last syllable, but in 
 that case lengthen the vowel, as saloon, dragoon, cartoon, 
 divine, &c. Many words too are spelt with the long i, 
 though now pronounced with the short, as sanguine, 
 &c. 
 
 Ther n' is ] ywis] : no ser|pent so \ cruel], 
 When man tredeth on his tail, ne half so fel. 
 
 Chau. The Sompnoiires Tale. 
 
 The par|dale swift| : and | the ti|ger cruell], 
 The antelope and wolfe, both fierce and fell. 
 
 F.Q.\. 6. 24. 
 
 Caus'd I him agree] : they might | in parts [ equal], 
 
 Divide the realm, and promist him a gard 
 
 Of sixty knights, on him attending still at call. 
 
 Higyins. M.for M. Queen Cordila, 17.
 
 94 VERBAL ACCENT. FOREIGN. B. I. 
 
 It were, ] quod he| : to tliee ] no gret | honour], 
 For I to be false| : ne | for to be | t7-aitoii7-\. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 Our governour. 
 
 And I of our tal|es: jug|e and re|por^o?<r|. Chau. Prol. 
 
 Beyond | all past ] exam|ple: and \future\. P. L. 
 
 The other adjectives in ure are still accented on the last 
 syllable, as obscure^ secure, mature, &c. 
 
 She I was so cbarjitablel : and so ] pitous\. 
 
 She wold wepe if that she saw a mous 
 
 Caught in a trappe. Chau. Prol. 
 
 Mighty Theseus, 
 
 That I for to hun|ten : is \ so de\siroi(s\. 
 
 Chau. Knightes Tale. 
 
 Adjectives in ose, ise, use, still take the accent on the 
 last syllable, as verbose, precise, obtuse, &c. 
 
 That telleth in this cas, 
 
 Tal|es of best J sentenc|e: and most | solas\. Chau. Prol. 
 
 I you I forgev]e all hol|ly : this | trespas\. 
 
 Chau. Knightes Tale. 
 
 How should, alas ! 
 
 Silly old man that lives in hidden cell, 
 
 Bid|ding his beads | all day] ; for his | trespass], 
 
 Tydings of war and worldly trouble tell ? F. Q. 1.2. 20. 
 
 By pol|icy| : and long | process \ of time|. P. L. 2. 
 
 But subtle Archimago when his guests 
 
 He saw divided into double parts, 
 
 And Ujna wandering: in | woods and \f arrests], &c. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 2. 9. 
 
 If a French word end with the final e, the penultimate 
 syllable is always accented. When such word was brought 
 into our language, the final c was either dropt or changed 
 into y. The accent fell accordingly either on the last, or 
 the penultimate syllable. 
 
 The ending ie once formed two syllables wdth an accent
 
 C. IV. VERBAL ACCENT. FOREIGN. 95 
 
 on the i. This accent long kept its place even when the e 
 was lost ; 
 
 Quod The|seusl : havje ye so gret ] envi\e 
 Of my liouour, that thus complain and crie. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 Before 1 her stanjdeth : dan|ger and | e)wy\, 
 Flattery, desceyt, mischeife, and tyranny. 
 
 Sir T. More. Boke of Fortune. 
 
 There may minstrels maken melodie. 
 
 To drive | away| : the dull | melan\choltj\ F. Q. 8. 5. 3. 
 
 The following examples will be ranged in the like 
 order ; first, those words which retained the e final, and 
 afterwards those in which it had been lost ; 
 
 Wei coud he play on a glterne. 
 
 In all 1 the toun] : n' as bre\v|hous ne | taver}i\e 
 
 That he ne visited. Chau. Milleres Tale. 
 
 In forme and reverence, 
 
 And shorte j and quicke] : and full | of high ] senten\ce, 
 
 Chau. Prol. 
 That this I Soudan] : hath caught \ so gret [ plesan\ce 
 To han | hire fig|ure : in [ his re\membran\ce, 
 That all his lust, and all his besy care. 
 Was for to love hire. Chau. Man of Lawes Tale. 
 
 This se|ly car|penter| : had gret | vierveil\le 
 Of Nicholas, or what thing might him aile. 
 
 Chau. Milleres Tale. 
 
 And led | their life| ; in gret | trawaill\, 
 And oft 1 in hard] : stour off | bataill\. 
 
 The Bruce, 1, 23. 
 
 And ov|er his hed| : ther shin]en two | fi(jur\es 
 Of sterr[es, that | ben clepjed : in | scriptur\es. 
 That on Puella, that other Rubeus. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 Tliin I is the vic|torye : of | this av\entur\e, 
 Full blisful in prison maest thou endure. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale.
 
 9G VERBAL ACCENT. FOREIGN'. B. I. 
 
 And do 1 that I ] to inor|we: may lian | victor\ie, 
 Mill be the travaille, and thin be the glorie. 
 
 Chan. The Kn'ightes Tale. 
 
 Ther saw I many another wonder storie, 
 
 The which | we list|e: not dravv|en to | memo\rie. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 To put in wryt a suthfast storie. 
 
 That I it lest ay [ fnrth : in [ memo\ry. 
 
 The Bruce, 1. 14. 
 
 For who|so mak|eth God| : his ad|versa|ry, 
 As I for to werkjeu : an|y thing in j contra\ry 
 Of his willj certes, never shal he thrive. 
 
 The Chanones Yeomannes Tale. 
 
 Wei coude he rede a lesson or a story. 
 
 But al|der-best ] he sung] : an of\ferto\ry. Chau. Prol. 
 
 And over all ther as profit shuld arise, 
 
 Curjteis he was| : and lovv|ly of | servis\e. Chau. Prol. 
 
 For in the land ther n' as no craftes man. 
 He por|treioiir| : ne carjver of | imag\es, 
 That Theseus he gaf him mete and wages. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 A notj-hed had|de he: with ] a brown | visag\e, 
 Of vvood|craft coudje he wel| : all|e the usag\e. 
 
 Chau. Prol. 
 
 : gret | is thin avantag\e. 
 
 More than is min that sterve here in a cage. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 And as thou art a rightful Lord and Juge, 
 Hegev|e us neyjther: mer|cie ne | refug\e. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 With us 1 ther was] : a doc [tour of | }}hlsik\e, 
 
 In all this world, ne was ther none him like 
 
 To speke of phisike. Chau. Prol. 
 
 Manie 
 
 Engen|dered of | humours] : melan\cholik\e, 
 Beforn|e his hcd^ : in | his cc:\].c fan\tastik\e. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale.
 
 f^- IV. VERBAL ACCENT. FOREIGN. 97 
 
 One of our souls had wander'd in the air, 
 
 Ban|ish'd this frail j sepul\chre : of | our flesh]. R2,\.3. 
 
 But all I be that | he vvas| : a phil\oso\phre. 
 
 Yet hadde he but litel gold in coffre. Chau. Prol. 
 
 Again | his might : ther gain|eu non | obsta\des. 
 He may \ be clepjed : a god ] for his | mira\cles. 
 
 Chau. The Knlghtes Tale. 
 
 A the|atre| : a pub|lick re\cepta\cle 
 For giddy humor and diseased riot. 
 
 Ben Jon. E. Man in his Humour, 2. 1 . 
 
 As I in a vault] : an an|cient re\cepta\cle. 
 
 R. and J. 4. .3. 
 Let par[adise| : a re\cepta\cle prove] 
 To spirits foul. P. L \l. 
 
 Chaucer generally makes the ending acle but one syl- 
 lable ; and perhaps it may be a question if it ever fills the 
 place of two syllables in his writings. The same remark 
 applies to the endings able and ible', but as it would l)e 
 dangerous, without the assistance of a better edition, to 
 lay down any positive rule upon the subject, I shall fol- 
 low the usual practise in dividing them. 
 
 I can]not saine] : if that | it be | possi\ble. 
 
 But Vejnus had | him majked ; in\visi\ble, 
 
 Thus sayth the booke. Chau. Legeude of Dido. 
 
 Of his diete mesurable was he, 
 
 For it was of no great superfluitee. 
 
 But I of vast nour]ishing] : and di\gesti\hle. 
 
 His study was but litel on the Bible. Chan. Prol. 
 
 For all afore that semed fair and bright. 
 Now base [ and con\tempti\ble : did j appear]. 
 
 F. Q. 4. 5. 14. 
 
 For possible is, sin thou hast hire presence, 
 And art a knight, a worthy and an able. 
 That I by some cas], sin Forjtunc is ] changea\ble 
 Thou maiest to thy desir sometiu.e attaine. 
 
 Chau. The Knighies Talc. 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 98 VERBAL ACCENT. FOREIGX. B. I. 
 
 Stor|ys8 to rede| : are de\Uta\bill, 
 
 Supposs that thai be nocht bot fabillj. The Bruce, 1.1. 
 
 Yoiu- fair discourse hath been as sugar, 
 Mak|ing the hard | way : sweet | and de\lecta\ble . 
 
 R 2, 2. 3. 
 It can|not but | arrive| : most ac\cepta\ble. 
 
 B. Jons. Ev. Man out of his Humour, 1.1. 
 
 Let us not then pursue 
 
 By force impossible, by leave obtained 
 
 Un\accepta\ble : though | in heaven|, our state [ 
 
 Of splendid vassalage. P. L. 2. 
 
 With huge I force andj : in\supporta\ble main]. F. Q. I. 7. 11. 
 
 And wonjdred at] : their im\placa\ble stoar]. F. Q. 4, 9. 22. 
 
 There are also certain substantives in our language, 
 which are closely connected Avith the past participle of the 
 Latin ; these long retained their Latin accent on the last 
 svllable. 
 
 • Introduce 
 
 Law I and edict \ on us| : who [ without law | 
 
 Err not. P. L. 5. 
 
 Strongly drawn 
 
 By this I new-felt | affec|tion : and | instinct\. P. L. 10. 
 
 Wooing poor craftsmen with the craft of smiles 
 
 As'twere | to ban|ish : their | affects \ with him|. R2, 1.4. 
 
 Mostug|ly shapesj : and horrjible | asj^ects], F. Q. 2. 12. 23. 
 
 And I for our eyes| : do hate | the dire | aspect\ 
 
 Of civil wounds. R2, \. 3. 
 
 His words | here en|ded : but | his meek | aspect 
 
 Silent yet spake. P. L. 3. 
 
 Milton also accents the first syllable, as\pect, but the 
 older writers, almost invariably, give us the Latin accent. 
 Dr. Farmer at once declared against the genuineness of 
 " The Double Falsehood," which Theobald and others had 
 ascribed to Shakespeare, because this word was always 
 found accented on the first syllable. This was bold, but 
 warrantable criticism.
 
 C. IV. VERBAL ACCENT. 99 
 
 VERBAL ACCENT. ENGLISH. 
 
 One of the most imj)ortant rules is that, which bids us 
 accent the root, whether verb or substantive, more 
 strongly than in its inflection ; as in the words, lov\esf, 
 lov\eth, lov\in(/, lov\ed, smit\eth, smit\ing, smit\ten, fox\es, 
 ox\en, chil^dren. 
 
 The old ending of the present participle was occasionally- 
 accented, during the 1 tth and 15th centuries 5 and some- 
 times, though more rarely, the modern termination ing. 
 
 And I such tliyn|ges : that are | Ukand [ 
 
 Tyll maulnys herling: i{.v\ plesand\. Bruce, ]. 10. 
 
   The scaith 
 
 That I toward thaim] : was ap\perand,\ 
 
 For that at the King of England 
 
 Held swylk fieyndschip. Bruce, 1. 85. 
 
 Wherefore laude and honour to such a king, 
 From dole If ul daun|ger us so | defending], 
 
 Dhujley. M.forM. Flodden F. 
 
 Under this head may be ranged our verlial substantives, 
 whether denoting the agent, as lover, or the action, as 
 loving. These endings, however, in old English, were not 
 unfrequently accented. 
 
 And knew well the tavernes in every towne. 
 
 And ev|ery hostjelerl : and gay [ tapster\e, 
 
 Bet|ter than a | lazer^ : or a | begger\e. Chan. Prol. 
 
 For ther was he nat like a cloisterere, 
 
 ^Vith thred|bare cope] : as is | a poor | scIioIe)'\e, 
 
 But he was like a maister or a pope. Chau. Prol. 
 
 The mount of Citheron, 
 
 Ther Ve|nus hath| : hire prin|clpal | dwelling]. 
 
 Was shewjed on | the wall| : m pur\treyh}g\. Chan. 
 
 A ! fredome is a noble thing, 
 
 Fre|dome mayss man] : to haift' ] Uking\. Bruce, 1. 225. 
 
 For najture hath | not ta]ken : his be\ginning \ 
 Of no partie, ne cantel of a thing. Chau Kn'ightes Tale. 
 
 h2
 
 100 VERBAL ACCENT. ENGLISH. B. I. 
 
 To the same rule may be referred the adjectives of com- 
 parison ; and such adjectives as are formed by adding the 
 common terminations to a substantive, though Barbour 
 has sometimes accented the last syllable of the adjective 
 in 2^. 
 
 And gyff that ony man tliaim by 
 
 Had on|y thing] : that wes ] worthy\. Bruce, 1. 206, 
 
 That be othir will him chasty 
 
 And wyss | men say | is : he is | happy]. Bruce, 1. 123. 
 
 The same rule and the same exception hold in respect 
 to adverbs derived from adjectives. 
 
 For aft feynying of rybbaldy 
 
 A\vail|yeit him| : and that | gretly\. Bruce, 1. 242. 
 
 Ik hard never, in sang na ryme, 
 
 Tell 1 of a man I : that swa ] smertly \ 
 
 Eschevvyt swa gret chewalry. Bruce, 2. 5/4. 
 
 The next law governs the accentuation of such com- 
 pounds, as consist of a substantive and some word that 
 qualifies it; whether it be an adjective, or a substantive, 
 preposition, or other word used adjectively. This law is 
 the reverse of that, which regulates the accents of a sen- 
 tence. The latter requires the substantive to be accented, 
 but in the compound the accent falls upon the adjective ; 
 we should say for instance — all | hlackhirds \ are not hlack\- 
 birds. From the 14th to the 16th century this rule was fre- 
 quently, and is still occasionally, violated. The only ex- 
 ception, however, which has fixed itself in the language, is 
 the word mankind. Milton accented it sometimes on the 
 first, and at other times on the second syllable, but the latter 
 now always takes the accent. The accent was most fre- 
 quently transposed in those words which ended with a 
 long syllable, especially if it contained the long i, as 
 insight, moonlight, sun-rise. When the last syllable con- 
 tained a short vowel sound, the accent was occasionally? 
 but rarely, misplaced. In such cases, the false accentua- 
 tion is now particularly offensive.
 
 C. IV. VERBAL ACCENT. ENGLISH. 101 
 
 The drooping night thus creepeth on tlieni fast. 
 And I the sad hulmour: loadjing their | eyeUds\, 
 As messenger of Morpheus, on them cast 
 Sweet slumb'ring dew, the which to sleep them bids. 
 
 F. Q. 1 1.3G. 
 
 Trebly augmented was his furious mood 
 With bitter sense of his deep-rooted ill. 
 That flames ] of fire | he threw | forth : from ] his large | nost7nl\. 
 
 F. Q. 1, 11. 22. 
 
 As for I the thrice | thrce-an|gled : beech | nut-shell , 
 
 Or ches|nuts arm[ed husk| : and hid | kernel\. Hall. Sat. 3. 1. 
 
 Hire mouth full smale and thereto soft and red 
 
 But sik|erly| ; she had | a fayr \forehead\. Chau.Prol, 
 
 The compounds ending in dom, hood, ship, ness, ess, 
 also belong to the same rule. Most of these endings con- 
 tained two syllables in our old English dialect, and often 
 took the verbal accent. 
 
 The angyr, na the wrechet dome. 
 
 That I iscowp|lyt: to foule ] thyrldome\* 
 
 The Bruce, 1. 236. 
 
 Ful soth I is sayed| ; that lovje ne \ lordship | 
 Wql nat his thankes have no felawship. 
 
 Chaic. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 That I is to sayn| : trouth, hon|our, and | manhe\de. 
 Wisdom, humblesse, estat, and high kindrede. 
 
 Chaxi. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 Throw his douchti deed. 
 
 And throw j his owtjrageous | manheid\. Bruce, 2. 557. 
 
 Joy|e after wo]: and wo | af |ter gladnes\se 
 
 And shew|ed him | ensamjple : and | likenes\s€. Chau. 
 
 In'ot I whe'r she| : be wom|an or [ goddes\se-, 
 
 But Venus is it sothly, as 1 gesse. Chau, The Knightes Tale. 
 
 Another class of compounds consist of a noun, and a 
 preposition, that governs and, as it were, overrides it 5 the 
 
 * Barbour also accents this word on the first syllable.
 
 102 VERBAL ACCENT. ENGLISH. B. 1. 
 
 substantive underground, and adjective underhand, may 
 afford us examples ; they difter widely in their character 
 from such compounds as undergrowth and undershot. 
 If we call the latter adjectival compounds, the others may 
 be termed the prepositional. There can be little doubt 
 that, at one period, the preposition only preceded and go- 
 verned a substantive, but the analogy was soon extended 
 to adjectives and even verbs. 
 
 The rules, which regulate the accentuation of these 
 compounds, are very irregular. The tendency of our 
 language has been, of late years, to throw the accent on 
 the noun, or word governed by the preposition ; though 
 I susjDect the latter generally received it, in our earlier and 
 purer dialects. 
 
 The prefix un, at present, is never accented by correct 
 speakers ; but in the old English we find it far more ge- 
 nerally accented than the following syllable. Shakespeare 
 and Milton almost always accent uncouth on the first syl- 
 lable, and we find its vulgar representative uncut, accented 
 in like manner; Avhile the modern uncouth accents the 
 second syllable. Many other instances might be brought, 
 to show the diff'erence between the old and the modern 
 pronunciation of these compounds. 
 
 The prefix mis was, in all probability, at first a prepo- 
 sition. In modern usage it is very seldom accented, but 
 in our old writers frequently. 
 
 That folk. 
 
 Throw thar ] gret inis\chance : and | folly|, 
 
 War tretyt than savvykkytly. 
 
 That thar fays thar jugis war. Bruce, 1. 221. 
 
 But who conjur'd — 
 
 Rablais drunken revellings. 
 
 To grace | the mis\rule: of | our tavlernings| ? 
 
 Hall. Sat. 2. 1. 
 
 Verbs, compounded of a verb and preposition, accent
 
 C. IVc VERBAL ACCENT. ENGLISH. 103 
 
 the former ; but in our older writers we find the rule 
 often violated. 
 
 The for\lorn maidj : did | with loves longjiug burn . 
 
 F. Q. 1.6. 22. 
 
 Speak, Capjtaiu, shall | I stab, : the for\lorn queen| ? 
 
 2H6,A. 1. 
 
 If either salves, or oils, or herbs, or charms, 
 Ayor\do?ie wight] : from door ] of death | mote raise]. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 5.41. 
 
 Perdition 
 
 Take me for ever, if in my fell anger 
 
 I do I not out\do : all | exam|ple ; vvherej 
 
 AVhere are the ladies ? Fletcher. Bonduca, 3. 5. 
 
 With plumjed helm] : thy slay|er be\gins threats]. Lear, 4. 2. 
 
 His obedience 
 
 Impu]ted be\comes theirs]: by faith] ; his raer]its 
 
 To save them, not their own, though legal, works. P. L. 12. 
 
 We I do approve | thy cen]sure : be loved Cvi\tes. 
 
 B. Jons. Cynthia's Revels, 5. 11. 
 
 Certain prepositions are compounded of a preposition 
 and some other word which is governed by it. The verbal 
 accent now always falls upon the latter, but in our older 
 writers it often fell upon the preposition. 
 
 A viscount's daughter, an earl's heir, 
 
 Be\sides what] : her \'ir]tues fair] 
 
 Added to her noble birth. Milton. 
 
 Sweet I is the coun]try : be\cause \ full of rich]es. 
 
 2^^2,5.7. 
 
 These declare 
 
 Thy goodjness be\i/o)id thought' : and pow'r ] divine]. 
 
 P. L. 5. 
 
 That make ] no diflf]'rence : be\tioixt cer]taia dyjing 
 
 And dying well. Fletcher. Bonduca, 2. 1. 
 
 And saw the shape 
 
 Still glorjious, be] fore whoui] : awake | I stood]. P. L. 8.
 
 K'l VERBAL ACCENT. ENGLISH. B. I. 
 
 We are strong enough. 
 
 If 1 not too inan|y : be\hind yon|der hill|, 
 
 The fellow tells me, she attends weak-guarded. 
 
 Fl. Bondiica, 3. 5. 
 
 Where val|iant Tal|bot : a\bove hu|man thought) 
 
 Enacted wonders. 17/6, 1 . I . 
 
 And ev|er a\ga'mst : eat|ing cares[ 
 
 Lap me in soft Lydian airs. L' Allegro. 
 
 Nor walk by noon. 
 
 Nor glittpring twi|light ; without thee | is sweet]. P. L. 4. 
 
   The place unknown and wild 
 
 Breeds dread|ful doubts] : oft fire | is with\out smoke] . 
 
 F. Q. 1. 1. 12. 
 
 To answer thy desire 
 
 Of know] ledge wHh\in bounds] : beyond | abstain] 
 
 To ask— P. L. 7. 
 
 Adverbs which are formed by adding a preposition to 
 the words lohere and there, as ivherein, ivhereby, &c. ; 
 therein, thereby, thereof, &c., were often accented on the 
 first syllable by Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton; but 
 now take the accent on the last. 
 
 The adverbs compounded with all, as always, also, &c., 
 now take the accent on the first syllable, but were often 
 accented by our old poets on the second. 
 
 It should be mentioned before v/e close the chapter^ 
 that many words which accent the first syllable, when 
 used as substantives, accent the last, when vised as verbs, 
 as fore\cast, itp\starf, o\verthrow, &c., to forecast\, to up- 
 start], to ov€rthroiv\, &c.
 
 C. V. QUANTITY. 105 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 QUANTITY. 
 
 It has been much disputed, if there be such a thing as 
 quantity in the Enghsh language ; and more learning has 
 been shown in the discussion, than either good sense or 
 good temper. In matters of this kind, many a difficulty 
 will give way before a clear definition. We will therefore 
 first endeavour to fix the meaning of the word. 
 
 The Greeks and Latins distinguished between the actual 
 and the metrical quantity of a syllable. As far as regarded 
 the purposes of metre, all their syllables were di\'ided into 
 two great classes, the long and the short. But when they 
 looked to the actual quantity, they felt no difficulty in 
 making nicer distinctions ; in holding for example the first 
 syllable of in-clytus shorter than the first of in-felix, the 
 first syllable of es-sem from sum, shorter than the first syl- 
 lable of es-sem from edo. In all these cases the first 
 syllables were metrically long ; but in one set of cases the 
 vowel was long, in the other it was short. 
 
 Now whether our metre depend upon quantity' or not, 
 we clearly have no metrical distribution of syllables ; and 
 therefore can have no metrical quantity, in the sense in 
 which these words have just been used. But the notion 
 that is generally attached to the word quantity, is that 
 which is connected with its metrical value. In this sense, 
 therefore, it may fairly be said, that we have no quantity 
 in the English language. 
 
 On the other hand, nobody Avill deny that in English, 
 as in every other language, there are some syllables which
 
 106 QUANTITY. B. I. 
 
 are longer, that is, which usually require a longer time for 
 pronunciation, than others. Every addition of a consonant 
 must, of necessity, lengthen the syllable ; -whether the 
 consonant be added at the beginning of the word, as in 
 the examples ass, lass, glass, or at the end, as in ask, asks, 
 ask'st. In both cases the last syllable is longer than the 
 second, and the second than the first ; or, — if we choose so 
 to express it — the latter syllables have each of them a 
 longer quantity than the one preceding. 
 
 Before we examine the connexion between quantity thus 
 defined, and our Enghsh rhythms, it will be useful, if not 
 necessary, to make a few remarks upon the quantities of 
 our English vowels ; for though, strictly speaking, we have 
 neither long nor short syllables, we have most certainly 
 both long and short vowels. 
 
 ORTHOGRAPHY OF THE VOWELS. 
 
 In all languages, custom must decide what increase of 
 quantity shall constitute a distinct letter. Most languages 
 range their vowels, as respects time, under two heads, the 
 long vowels and the short; but others, as some of the 
 Irish dialects, range them under three, the long, the mid- 
 dle, and the short vowels. There are reasons for believ- 
 ing, that this division prevailed, at least partially, in the 
 Anglo-Saxon. 
 
 The long quantity was marked by Anglo-Saxon writers 
 in two ways ; either by placing over the vowel our present 
 acute accent, as in god good, /ul foul, Avhich were thus 
 distinguished from God God, and Jul full ; or by actually 
 doubling the vowel, thus, god was sometimes written good. 
 This latter mode of distinguishing the long quantity stiU 
 remains, and even of the former some traces were left as 
 late as the sixteenth century. Several writers, in Eliza- 
 beth's reign, expressed the sound of the long e by ee, and 
 wrote U'ee and feete for our modern ive and feet. 
 
 When the vowel had no such accent, and was followed 
 by not more than a single consonant, it seems, in the
 
 C. V. ORTHOGRAPHY OF THE VOWELS, 10/ 
 
 Anglo-Saxon period, to have represented its ordinary or 
 middle time ; when it was followed by a double consonant, 
 or its equivalent,* it must have indicated its shortest 
 time ; when followed by two different consonants, it was 
 probably a matter of doubt, which of the two, the ordinary 
 or the short time, was meant to be expressed. My rea- 
 sons for believing that a double consonant was meant to 
 indicate a short vowel, are the following. 
 
 It has been a notion very widely entertained, that ac- 
 cent lengthens the quantity of a syllable ; and to a certain 
 extent, this notion may be well founded. We cannot 
 accent the first syllable of bedight, without lengthening its 
 vowel, or adding to it the following consonant bed\ight. 
 If we wish to keep the short e, and also to j^reserve the 
 last syllable entire, we must dwell on the d, or in effect 
 double that consonant, and pronounce the word hed\diglit. 
 This, I take it, was the origin of the doulile consonant. 
 Hence, I believe, came that important rule, one of the 
 first established, and the longest retained in our ortho- 
 graphy, which orders us to double the final consonant of 
 an accented svllable, when the vowel is a short one. 
 
 This rule, though for the most part well understood, 
 and well observed by Anglo-Saxon writers, gave rise to a 
 mode of spelling, which has worked sad confusion in 
 our English orthography. As the short vowel of an ac- 
 cented syllable doubled the final consonant, it came at 
 length to be an established rule, that a double consonant 
 always denoted a short vowel. Hence, in the tenth and 
 twelfth centuriesjt we find the consonant frequently 
 doubled, even in unaccented syllables; and so firmly was 
 the system established in the beginning of the thirteenth, 
 
 * By the word equivalent, I mean any combination of letters, which 
 serves as a substitute for a duplicated letter. Both in Anglo-Saxon and in 
 modern EngUsh, there seems to have been an aversion to the doubling of 
 certain consonants. In modern orthography, we represent a double k by 
 c/f, a double g or ch by dg or tcli. 
 
 f There are a yew instances of sijch spelling in Anglo-Saxon MSS.
 
 108 ORTHOGRAPHY OF THE VOWELS. B. I. 
 
 that we have a long poem, called the Ormulum, in which 
 the consonant is always doubled, whenever it follows a 
 short vowel ; is and it Ijeing written iss and itt. 
 
 This pecuhar mode of spelling has been ascribed, by 
 some to the ignorance of the writer, by others to the 
 rudeness of a provincial dialect, by a third party to the 
 harsh and rugged pronunciation of an East-English Dane ! 
 Whatever we may say to the charge of rudeness, that of 
 ignorance must rest with the critic. The author adopted 
 his system designedly, and warns his transcriber not to 
 violate it. Though inconvenient, it is at least consistent ; 
 in this particular, indeed, superior to any of those which 
 have succeeded it. 
 
 To the same principle may be traced the vicious spell- 
 ing, that is found in many English words, and particularly 
 in our monosyllables; for example, in sea-gull, set-off, 
 bliss, dull, buff, &c. It is rather singular, that though we 
 write full with two /'s, yet with something like an appre- 
 ciation of the old rule, which limits the duplication to an 
 accented syllable, we get rid of the superfluous / when the 
 word is compounded, and write hopeful, sinful, &c. 
 
 The law, we have just been examining, gave rise to a 
 second, which has had, if possible, a still greater influence 
 in deranging the orthography of our language. As the 
 doubling of the consonant indicated a short vowel, so by 
 the converse rule a single consonant must have indicated 
 a long one ; and the vowels must have been long in the 
 following dissyllables, mone the moon, time time, name a 
 name. Now in the Anglo-Saxon there was a great num- 
 ber of words, which had, as it were, two forms ; one end- 
 ing in a consonant, the other in a vowel. In the time of 
 Chaucer, all the different vowel-endings were represented 
 by the e final, and so great is the number of words which 
 this writer uses, sometimes as monosyllables, and some- 
 times as dissyllables with the addition of the e, that he 
 has been accused of adding to the number of his syllables, 
 whenever it suited the convenience of his rhythm. In his
 
 C. V. ORTHOGRAPHY OF THE VOWELS. 109 
 
 works we find hert and herte, bed and bedde, ertli and 
 erthe, &c. In the Anglo-Saxon we find corresponding 
 duplicates, the additional syllable giving to the noun, in 
 all cases a new declension, and in most a new gender. 
 In some few cases, the final e had become mute, even be- 
 fore the time of Chaucer; and was wholly lost in the 
 period which elapsed between his death and the accession 
 of the Tudors. Still, however, it held its ground in our 
 manuscripts, and ure our, rose a rose, &c., though pro- 
 nounced as raonosyllaljles, were still written according to 
 the old spelling. Hence it came gradually to be consi- 
 dered as a rule, that when a syllal)le ended in a single 
 consonant and mute e, the vowel was long. 
 
 Such is clearly the origin of this very peculiar mode of 
 indicating the long vowel ; and it seems to me so obvious, 
 that I always felt surprise at the many and various opi- 
 nions that have been hazarded upon the subject. We 
 could not expect much information from men, who, like 
 Tyrwhitt, were avowedly ignorant of the early state of our 
 language ; but even Hicks had his doubts, whether the 
 final e of Anglo-Saxon words were mute or vocal; and 
 Rask, notwithstanding his triumph over that far superior 
 scholar, has fallen into this, his greatest blunder. Price, 
 whose good sense does not often fail him, supposes this 
 mode of spelling to be the work of the Norman, and the 
 same as the " orthography that marked the long syllables 
 of his native tongue." As if the e final were mute in 
 Norman French !* 
 
 One of the results, which followed the estabhshment of 
 this second principle, was the saving of many of our mono- 
 syllables from the duplication of the final consonant. If 
 the presence of the mute e indicate a long vowel, by the 
 converse rule its absence must indicate a short one. If 
 the vowel be long in white, pate, and rote, it must be short 
 in whit, pat, and rot. 
 
 * Wartoii's History of English Poetry, Diss. 1, note p. cii.
 
 110 ORTHOGRAPHY OF THE VOWELS. B.I. 
 
 It appears, therefore, that there have been no less than 
 four systems employed at different periods, to mark the 
 quantity of our English vowels. In the first, the long time 
 was marked by the acute accent; in the second, by a 
 doubling of the vowel ; in the fourth, by the mute e; while 
 the third system indicated the short time by a doubling of 
 the consonant, and conversely, the long time by a single 
 consonant. In modern practice, the three last systems 
 are, to a certain degree, combined. It would be matter of 
 rather curious inquiry, to trace the several classes of 
 syllables which are subject to their respective laws ; and 
 the gradual steps by which the later systems have intruded 
 on the older ones. 
 
 These observations may show, how inapplicable to our 
 tongue are the laws, which regulate the quantity of the 
 Greek and Latin. Our earlier critics — a Sydney or a 
 Spenser — talked as familiarly of vowels long by position, 
 as though they were still scanning their hexameters and 
 pentameters ; and would have upheld the first syllable of 
 hilly as long, despite the evidence of their own senses. 
 The same principles have been acquiesced in, though not 
 openly avowed, by later writers ; and Mitford has even 
 given us directions to distinguish a long syllable from a 
 short one. His system is a mere application of Latin 
 rules to English pronounciation, without regard to the 
 spelling. So far it is an improvement upon that of his 
 predecessors ; but it is forgotten that the laws of Greek 
 and Latin quantity were for the most part conventional, 
 and derived their authority from usage. Custom with us 
 has laid down no rules upon the subject, and without her 
 sanction all rules are valueless. 
 
 We have hitherto denominated certain vowels long and 
 short, as though we considered the only difference between 
 them to be their time ; as though, for instance, the vowel 
 in meet differed from that in met only in its being longer. 
 The truth is, they are of widely different quality. The 
 spelling of many words has remained unchanged, for a
 
 C. V. ORTHOGRAPHY OF THE VOWELS. Ill 
 
 period, during which we have tlie strongest evidence of a 
 great change in our pronunciation. When the ortho- 
 graphy of the words meet and met was settled, the vowels 
 in all probahility differed only in respect of time ; but tliey 
 have now been changing for some centuries, till they have 
 nothing in common between them, but a similarity in their 
 spelling. 
 
 In the present state of our language, we have five vowel 
 sounds, each of which furnishes us with two vowels. 
 Though the vowels, thus related to each other, differ only 
 in respect of time, the spelling but rarely shows us any 
 connexion between them. 
 
 ^hort Vowels. 
 
 Long Vowels. 
 
 Fathom. 
 
 Father. 
 
 Merry. 
 
 Marj. 
 
 Pill. 
 
 PeeL 
 
 Poll. 
 
 Pall. 
 
 Pull. 
 
 Pool. 
 
 The vowels o and u, as they occur in note and nnt stand 
 alone, as do also the different dipthongs. 
 
 QUANTITY AS AN INDEX OF ENGLISH RHYTHM. 
 
 It has been said that our English rhythms are governed 
 by accent ; I, moreover, believe this to be the sole prin- 
 ciple that regulates them. Most of our modern writers 
 on Versification are of a different opinion. I have seen 
 the title of a book* which professed to give examples of 
 verse measured ,^olehj by the quantity, but have been 
 unable to procure it. Mitford, too, after dwelling on the 
 great importance of accent, seems half to mistrust the 
 conclusions he has come to ; for he adds, strangely enough, 
 and not very intelhgibly, " variety is allowed for the quan- 
 
 * 
 
 Verse measured with a regard solely to the length of time required in 
 the pronunciation of syllables, the accent and emphasis being entirely 
 unnoticed. Richard Edwards. 1813. 12mo.
 
 112 QUANTITY AS AX INDEX OF RHYTHM. B. i. 
 
 titles of syllables, too freely to be exactly limited by rule. 
 A certain balance of quantities, however, throughout the 
 the verse, is required, so that deficiency be no where 
 striking. Long syllables, therefore, must predominate." 
 I do not feel the force of this inference, and much less do 
 I acknowledge it, as one of the essentials of our " heroic 
 verse." Verses may be found in every poet that has 
 written our language, which have neither a balance of 
 quantities, nor a predominance of long syllables ; and it 
 asks but little stretch of imagination to suppose a case, in 
 which the predominance of short quantities, so far from 
 being a defect, might be a beauty. 
 
 One of our leading reviews has stated, that, " inde- 
 pendent of accent, quantity neither is nor ought to be 
 neglected in our versification." In this, if I understand 
 it rightly, I agree. The time is, occasionally, of great im- 
 portance to the beauty of a verse, but never an index of 
 its rhythm. I suspect, however, that the reviewer looked 
 upon quantity in a more important light. He gives us the 
 following stave, in Avhich the " long syllables" are arranged 
 as they would be in a Latin sapphic, with an accentual 
 rhytlim, such as is often met with in our dramatic poets. 
 The object is to show, that sucli " coincidence of temporal 
 metre" gives a peculiar character to the verse, notwith- 
 standing the familiar arrangement of the accents. 
 
 O liquid streamlets to the main returning, 
 Murmuring waters that adovvn the mountains. 
 Rush unobstructed, never In the ocean, 
 HiJpe to be tranquil. 
 
 The followino" stave is then o;iven with the same accen- 
 tuation, and the same pauses, to show how " a difference 
 of quantities will destroy the resemblance to Latin sap- 
 phic." 
 
 The headlong torrent from Its native caverns 
 Bursting resistless, with destructive fury 
 Roars through the valley, wasting with Its deluge 
 Forests and hamlets.
 
 C. V. QUANTITY AS AN INDEX OF RHYTHM. 113 
 
 I cannot help thinking, that the reviewer has deceived 
 himself. I do not believe one man in a hundred would be 
 sensible of the artful collocation of the long syllables in 
 the first stave. True it is, that in both these staves, the 
 verse has a peculiar character ; but one, I think, quite inde- 
 pendent of the quantity. The sameness of the rhythm 
 would alone be sufficient for this purpose. There is no 
 doubt also a great difference in the flow of the two stanzas, 
 but this too, I think, is in a very slight degree owing to 
 the difference in their quantities. The first stave is made 
 up of easy and flowing syllables, while the latter is clogged 
 throughout with knots of the most rugged and unyielding 
 consonants. The mere difliculty of pronunciation might 
 account for that difference of flow, which the reviewer 
 attributes solely to the difference of the quantities. 
 
 It is not, however, denied, that the effect may be partly 
 owing to the change in the quantity. There is no doubt 
 that such a change will sometimes force itself upon our 
 notice in a very striking manner. In the staves that fol- 
 low, the same rhythm has been employed as above, but any 
 jostling of consonants has been studiously avoided; 
 
 The busy rivulet in humble valley 
 Slippeth away in happiness ; it ever 
 Hurrieth on, a solitude around, but 
 Heaven above it. 
 
 The lonely tarn that sleeps upon the mountain, 
 Breathius: a holv calm around, drinks ever 
 Of the gi-eat presence, even in its slumber 
 Deeply rejoicing : 
 
 The strikino; difference in the flow of these two stanzas 
 is almost entirely owing to the difference of their quantities. 
 
 Before we close this section, I would make an observa- 
 tion on a passage in the review last qvioted, which, 
 though it relate to a foreign language, has an indirect 
 bearing on the question now before us. The law of French 
 verse, as regards quantity, is stated to be — the thirteenth 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 114 QUANTITY AS AN INDEX OK RHYTHM. B. I. 
 
 syllable short, the sixth long. Now a French verse can 
 never take a thirteenth syllable, unless it consist of the 
 short vowel sound, which is usually indicated by the e 
 final ; and as this is the shortest syllable in the French 
 language, the critic risked little, in laying down the first 
 part of his canon. The latter part, I think, is not cor- 
 rect. A strong accent indeed falls on the sixth syllable, 
 but every page of French poetry contains syllables so 
 situated, which cannot, with any show of reason, be 
 classed among the long syllables of the language. 
 
 This notice may be useful as showing that, as regards 
 the French, no less than our own tongue, the rhythms 
 that depend on accent are independent of quantity. I 
 believe the same remark might be extended to every living 
 language from India westward. 
 
 QUANTITY AS AN ESTABLISHMENT OP RHYTHM. 
 
 Our great poets certainly have not paid the same atten- 
 tion to the quantity of their syllables, as to the quality of 
 their letter-sounds. Shakespeare, however, seems to have 
 affected the short vowels, and particularly the short i, 
 when he had to describe any quickness of motion. 
 Therefore do nimble-pinion'd doves draw love^ 
 Andj therefore, has the wind-swift Cupid wings. 
 
 R. S)J. 2. 5. 
 
 The nimble gunner 
 
 With linstock now the dev'lish cannon touches — 
 
 H 5. 3, Chorus. 
 
 Milton also sometimes aided his rhythm by a like atten- 
 tion to his quantities, 
 
 And soon 
 
 In order, quit of all impediment, 
 
 Instant, without disturb they took alarm, P. L. 6. 
 
 In the following verses long syllables predominate. 
 A poor, infirm, weak and despised old man. Lear, 3. 2. 
 Unweildy, slow, heavy and pale as lead. R. Sf Jul. 
 
 The lowing herds wind slowly o'er the lea. Gray.
 
 C. V. QUANTITY AS AX ESTABLISHMENT OF RHYTHM. 1 15 
 
 Through glades and glooms the mingled measure stole. 
 Or o'er some haunted stream with fond delay 
 
 Round a holy calm diffusing. 
 
 Love of peace, and lonely musing, 
 
 In hollow murmurs died away. Collins. 
 
 ^A'here Meander's amber waves 
 
 In ling'ring lab'rintlis creep. Gray. 
 
 Lo ! where Moeotis sleeps, and hardly flows 
 The freezing Tanais through a waste of snows. 
 
 The last example is said to have been Pope's favourite 
 coujilet ; but his reasons for the preference are by no 
 means obvious. The voice, to be sure, lingers with the 
 river ; but why so many sibilants ? 
 
 1 -2
 
 I IG RHIME. 15. I. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 RHIME, 
 
 is the correspondence, which exists between syllables, 
 containing sounds similarly niodihed. 
 
 When the same modification of sound recurs at definite 
 intervals, the coincidence very readily strikes the ear; 
 and when it is found in accented syllables, such syllables 
 fix the attention more strongly, than if they merely received 
 the accent. Hence we may perceive the importance of 
 rhime in accentual verse. It is not, as is sometimes as- 
 serted, a mere ornament ; it marks and defines the ac- 
 cent, and thereby strengthens and supports the rhythm. 
 Its advantages have been felt so strongly, that no people 
 have ever adopted an accentual rhythm, without also 
 adopting rhime. 
 
 Every accented syllable contains a vowel; hence a 
 rhiming syllable may be divided into three parts — the 
 initial consonants, or those which precede the vowel, the 
 vowel itself, and lastly the final consonants. Rhime may 
 be divided into different kinds, accordingly as one or more 
 of these elements correspond. 
 
 The first species is the perfect rhime, or that which 
 requires a correspondence in all the three. It is called 
 by the French the rich rhime, and by that people is not 
 only tolerated but sought after. With us it has been very 
 generally discountenanced. 
 
 The second kind is alliteration, or that in which only 
 the initial sounds correspond. It pervades all our earlier 
 poetry, and long held control over our English rhythms. 
 We do not, however, stop here to discuss its properties ;
 
 C. VI. RHIME. 1 17 
 
 we shall content ourselves merely with one observation. 
 Rask tells us, that when the rhiming syllables of an Anglo- 
 Saxon verse began with vowels, such vowels Avere, if pos- 
 sible, different. This rule, which was first laid down by 
 Olaus Wormius, appears to be a sound one. It seems to 
 me a simple deduction from one more general. The alli- 
 terative syllables of an Anglo-Saxon verse rhimed, I be- 
 lieve, only Avith the initial consonants. In very few 
 instances have I found the vowels corresponding. When 
 the initial consonants were wanting, the law of alliteration 
 was looked upon as satisfied, and the vowels, now become 
 the initial letters, were found to be different. 
 
 The third and fourth kinds of rhime are the voivtd and 
 consonantal. The former, which required only a corres- 
 pondence in the vowels, was once common among the 
 Irish ; but has never been adopted into English verse. 
 The latter rhimed only with the consonants. It was well 
 known to our ancestors and the kindred races of the 
 north : Olaus Wormius exemplifies it in the following quo- 
 tation from Cicero : " non docti sed facti." When both 
 the final and the initial consonants correspond, it may be 
 called, for distinction's sake, the full consonantal rhime. 
 
 In the fifth kind of rhime, the vowels correspond and 
 also the initial consonants ; in the sixth, the vowels and 
 final consonants. The former has been generally con- 
 founded with alliteration. It was principally affected by 
 those poets, who wrote after the subversion of our regular 
 alliterative rhythms, and may perhaps be conveniently de- 
 siffnated as modern alliteration. The latter is our common 
 rhime, of which we have too much to say elsewhere, to 
 dwell upon it here. 
 
 We have hitherto assumed the rhime to be confined to a 
 single accented syllable. Sometimes, however, it reaches to 
 the following syllable, and occasionally to the two following 
 syllables. In such case the supernumerary syllable or syl- 
 lables must be unaccented. The rhime, when thus ex- 
 tended, takes the names of double and triple rhime.
 
 118 RHIME. B.I. 
 
 It has ever been a rule in our prosody, that, when the 
 rliime becomes double or triple, the unaccented syllables 
 must rhime perfectly. King James, in his " Reulis and 
 Cautelis," warns you " quhen there faUis any short syl- 
 labis after the lang syllabe in the hne, that ze repeit 
 thame in the lyne quhilk rymis to the uther, even as ze set 
 them downe in the first lyne, as for exempyll ze man not 
 
 say 
 
 Then feir nocht 
 
 Nor heir ocht. 
 
 Bot 
 
 Then feir nocht 
 Nor heir nocht. 
 
 repeating the same nocht in baith lynis ; because this syl- 
 labe nocht nather serving for cullovir nor fute is bot a tayle 
 to the lang fute preceding." The " Reule " is better 
 than the reason. It is but too often violated. Even 
 Chaucer, for the most part so careful in his rhimes, has 
 sometimes broken it. In his roguish apology for the in- 
 discreet disclosures of his Sompnour, he tells us. 
 
 Of cursing ought eche guilty man him drede. 
 For curse wol sle right as assoiling saveth, 
 And al|so war|e him : of ] a signifjicrtl'-'^"^-* Prologue. 
 
 Clare, the Northamptonshire poet, whose poems in 
 general shoAV great facility, has tried his hand at the triple 
 rhime ; 
 
 Then come j ere a mi)i\utes gone, 
 
 For the long summer s day 
 Puts her wings | swift as lin\nets on 
 
 For hieing away; 
 Then come j with no doubt\higs near 
 
 To fear a false love. 
 For there's noth|ing without j thee, dear. 
 Can please in Broomsgrovc, &c. 
 
 * A writ issuing out of Chancery to enforce obedience to the Ecclesiastical 
 Courts.
 
 C. VI. FINAL, RIIIME. llj) 
 
 But one of the commonest and most offensive blunders 
 is the misplacing of the accent, as in the following couplet 
 of Swift, 
 
 But as I to cora|ic A\Yistoph\anes 
 
 The rogue | too vic|ious and too | j)ropham \ is. 
 
 Another, almost as offensive, and perhaps more common, 
 is the ending one of the rhimes with an accented syllable. 
 
 Proceed ] toTrag|ics: first | Eivij^lides 
 (An au|tlior where | : I somejtimes dip \ adays,) 
 Is right]ly cenlsured: by | the Stag|?/nVe 
 Because | his num|bers : do | not fadge \ aright. 
 
 The last syllaljles of the adverbs ought to l)e accented, 
 adays\, arigJit]. If the reader wish for more examples of 
 the triple rhime, he may consult Swift's letter to Sheridan, 
 from which I have quoted. Out of more than a dozen 
 couplets he may find two or three rhiming decently. 
 
 FINAL RHIME, 
 
 or that which occurs at the end of a verse, is now almost 
 the only one recognised in our language. It is, however, in 
 all probability, foreign in its origin, and made its way 
 amongst us slowly and with difficulty. As this opinion 
 has been controverted, I will lay the reasons, which led me 
 to form it, briefiv before the reader. 
 
 In the first place, I know of no poem, Avritten in a 
 Gothic dialect with final rhime, before Otfrid's Evangely. 
 This Avas written in Frankish, about the year 870. The 
 rhiming Anglo-Saxon poem, which Conybeare discovered 
 in the Exeter MS. can hardly be older than the close of 
 the tenth century; and though other poems contain 
 rhiming passages, I doubt if any of them existed before the 
 ninth. Now we have many rhiming Latin poems written 
 by Englishmen, some as early as the seventh century. 
 This seems to show, that the use of final rhime was 
 familiar to the scholar, before it was adopted into the 
 vernacular language. It may be asked, whence the Latinist
 
 120 FINAL RHIME. B. I 
 
 got his rhime, unless from the Gothic conquerors of the 
 empire, as the Romans were confessedly ignorant of it. I 
 would answer, in all probability from the Celtic races; who 
 appear to have retained no small portion of their language, 
 even amid all the degradation of Roman and Gothic 
 servitude. The earliest poems of the Irish have final 
 rhime, and we know that the Welsh used it, at least as 
 early as the sixth century. Some of the Welsh poems 
 have a rhythm strongly resembling that of the early Romance 
 poems. Final rhime is found in both, and was in all pro- 
 bability derived from one common source. 
 
 A second reason, that has led me to this opinion, is the 
 peculiar flow of Anglo-Saxon verse. Final rhime has been 
 called a " time-beater;" it separates each verse from the 
 others by a strongly marked boundary, and has ever a ten- 
 dency to make the sense accommodate itself to these arti- 
 ficial pauses. We find this to be the case even in those 
 alliterative poems, which were written after final rhime 
 had been introduced among us. The verse generally ends 
 with the line, as if the new rhythm had completely over- 
 spread the language. But in the Anglo-Saxon rhythms, 
 Ave find the sense running from line to line, and even pre- 
 ferring a pause in the midst of a verse. I incline there- 
 fore to think, though the su1)ject is one of difficulty, that 
 final rhime first originated Avith the Celtic races, that it 
 Avas early transferred to the Latin, and from thence came 
 gradually into our OAvn language. 
 
 The only final rhime, that has been tolerated in our 
 language, is of the sixth kind, or that Avhich requires a 
 correspondence both in the vowels and final consonants. 
 This laAV is not ahvays observed in tliose specimens of 
 final rhime, Avhich have come down to us from the Anglo- 
 Saxons. We do not always find the vowel sounds iden- 
 tical, nor the final consonants always corresponding. But 
 Avhen Ave remem])er tiiat these A'erses have neA'Cr more 
 than three accents, that they are subject to the law of 
 alliteration, and sometimes also contain internal rhime,
 
 C. VI. FINAL IIHIME. 121 
 
 that the rhiming syllables, moreover, are sometimes as 
 many as eight or nine in numl^er, we may see reason 
 rather to admire the skill of the poet, than to blame his 
 negligence. When, however, the verse was lengthened 
 and alliteration banished, we had a fair right to expect 
 greater caution, and very rarely indeed does Chaucer 
 disappoint us. His rhimes are, for the most part, strictly 
 correct. The writers who succeeded him seem to have 
 been misled by the spirit of imitation. Many syllables, 
 wdiich rhimed in the days of Chaucer and Gower, had no 
 longer a sufficient correspondence, owing to change of 
 pronunciation. Still, however, they were held to be legi- 
 timate rhimes upon the authority of these poets. Hence 
 arose a vast and increasing number of conventional rhimes, 
 which have since continued to disfigure our poetry. Pope 
 used them with such profusion, that even Swift remon- 
 strated with him on his carelessness. 
 
 Another source of these conventional rhimes was the 
 number of dialects, which prevailed dviring the 15th and 
 1 6th centuries. Some of the Ehzabethan writers honestly 
 confined themselves to one dialect, and wrote the same 
 language that they spoke. Others, and among them some 
 of our greatest, allowed themselves a wider hcense, and, 
 when hard-pushed for a rhime, scrupled not at taking it 
 from any dialect which could furnish it. Spenser sinned 
 grievously in this respect, and grievously has he answered 
 for it. He has been accused of altering his spelling to 
 help his rhime ! The charge is silly enough, and to a 
 sensible man carries its own refutation with it. In a large 
 proportion of these cases, the word supposed to have 
 been tampered with, is found to be still flourishing in our 
 comitry dialects. His real offence, however, M'as a serious 
 one. It introduced a vagueness into our pronunciation, 
 under which the language is still suff'ering. 
 
 The following passage from Puttenham may help to 
 make tins matter clearer. " There cannot be in a maker 
 a fowler fault than to falsiiie his accent to serve his
 
 122 FINAL RHIME. B. I. 
 
 cadence, or by untrue orthographie to wrench his words 
 to help his rime, for it is a sign that such a maker is not 
 copious in his own language, or (as they are wont to say) 
 not half his crafts maister ; as for example, if one should 
 rime to this word restore, he may not match him with 
 doore or poore, for neither of both are of like terminant 
 either by good orthographie or by naturall sound, there- 
 fore such rime is strained ; so is it to this word ram^ to 
 say came, or to beane, den, for they sound nor be written 
 alike, and many other like cadences, which were superfluous 
 to recite, and are usual with rude rimers, who observe 
 not precisely the rules of prosodie. Neverthelesse in all 
 such cases, if necessitie constrains, it is somewhat more 
 tolerable to help the rime by false orthographie, then to 
 leave an unpleasant dissonance to the ear, by keeping true 
 orthographie and losing the rime ; as, for example, it is 
 better to rime dore with restore, then in his truer ortho- 
 graphie, which is doore, &c." 
 
 Notwithstanding some inconsistency of expression, the 
 critic's meaning is, on the whole, tolerably clear. He pre- 
 fers a spelling and a pronunciation, different from those 
 generally used, to a false rhime. lie would have doore 
 spelt and pronounced dore, though such spelling and pro- 
 nunciation were vulgar and unfashionable, Avhenever it 
 was made to rhime with restore. It is singular that the 
 provincial pronunciation has now got the upper hand; 
 although we still spell the word door, Ave pronounce it 
 dore. 
 
 While upon this subject, it may be observed, that s 
 and th are used in our language, to represent both a whis- 
 per and a vocal sound; and these sounds often rhime 
 conventionally. Such rhime may fully satisfy the eye, but 
 it is most offensive to the ear. 
 
 In the fat age of pleasure, wealth, and ease, 
 
 Sprung the rank weed, and thrived with large increase. 
 
 Pope. Essay on Criticism.
 
 C. vr. FINAL RHIME. 123 
 
 Soft o'er the shrouds aerial whispers breathe, 
 Which seeiii'd but zephyrs to the train beneath. 
 
 Pope. Rape of the Lock. 
 
 The rhiming syllables, Ave have seen, must have a cor- 
 respondence between the voAvels and the final consonants; 
 but here the correspondence ceases ', no perfect rhime 
 can be allowed. Puttenham warns his reader against 
 rhiming such words as constraine and restraine,ox aspire and 
 respire ; " which rule, neverthelesse, is not well observed 
 by many makers for lacke of good judgment and a delicate 
 ear." It was sometimes ^'iolated by Chaucer, and fre- 
 quently by Pope. The blunders of no writer, however 
 eminent, should weigh with us as authority. The perfect 
 rhime always sounds strangely to the ear, and in some 
 cases most offensively so. 
 
 The final rhime may be single, double, or triple. In 
 the rhiming Anglo-Saxon poem, al)ove alluded to, we have 
 all the three. Chaucer seems to have preferred the double 
 rhime ; the letter e, or some one of its combinations, form- 
 ing, for the most part, the unaccented syllable. The 
 poets of Elizabeth's reign had no objection to the double 
 rhime ; but it was seldom used by Dryden, and still more 
 rarely by Pope. The latter, in Johnson's opinion, was 
 never happy in his double rhimes, excepting once in the 
 Rape of the Lock. The following couplet is, no doubt, 
 alluded to ; 
 
 The meeting points the sacred hair dissever 
 From the fair head for ever and for ever ! 
 
 The triple rhime is properly an appurtenant to the 
 triple measure. In our common measure it is hardly ever 
 found, and seems opposed to the very nature of the 
 rhythm. There are instances indeed, in which the triple 
 rhime closes our common verse of five accents, but it is 
 then always a professed imitation of a foreign model, the 
 sdrucciolo rhime, — as in that stanza of B}Ton,
 
 124 MIDDLE RIIIME. B. I. 
 
 Oh I ye immor]tal Gods] : what is | theo^|o«^? 
 
 Oh I thou too mor|tal raan| : what is ] philanlthropy ? 
 
 Oh ! world | that was [ and is[ : what is ] cosmoglony ? 
 
 Some peo|ple have | accused | me : of | misan\thropy, 
 
 And yet [ I know ] no more] : than | the mahog\(ini/ 
 
 That forma | this desk] : of what | they meanj — \-^can\thropy 
 
 I comprehend, for without transformation 
 
 Men become wolves on any slight occasion. 
 
 Don Juan, 9. 20 
 
 The affectation has no other merit than its difficulty. 
 
 MIDDLE RHIME, 
 
 or tliat which exists between the last accented syllables 
 of the two sections, may be considered as the direct off- 
 spring of final rhime. In the Anglo-Saxon poem already 
 mentioned, each section rhimes, and becomes to many 
 purposes a distinct verse. But when the rhiming syl- 
 lal)les were confined to the close of what had been the alli- 
 terative couplet, this couplet became the verse, and it 
 was then necessary to distinguish between the middle 
 rhime, if any such were introduced, and the regular final 
 rhime, w-hich shut in the verse. 
 
 This middle rhime was most frequently introduced into 
 verse of four accents. In the stanza of eight and six, as it 
 has been termed, it was very common. In the 1 6th cen- 
 tury it Avas employed by learned bishops, and on the most 
 sacred subjects; but not with the approbation of Putten- 
 ham. That critic was of opinion that " rime or concord 
 is not commendably used both in the end and middle of 
 a verse ; unlesse it be in toyes and trifling poesie, for it 
 sheweth a certain lightness either of the matter or of the 
 makers head, albeit these common rimers use it much." 
 The poems of Burns show^, that it still keeps its hold ujion 
 the people; and Coleridge, who wrote for the few, has used 
 it, and with almost magical effect ;
 
 C. VI. MIDDLE RHIME. !_;) 
 
 And now there came both mist and snow, 
 
 And it grew wond'rous cold, 
 And ice ] mast-hl(jh\ : cr.rae float[ing by\ 
 
 As green as emerald. 
 
 The ice was here, the ice was there, 
 
 The ice was all around. 
 It crack'd | and growTd\ : and roar'd | and /lowl'd], 
 Like noises in a swound. 
 When, as is sometimes the case, the middle rhime 
 occurs regularly, it would perhaps l)e better to divide the 
 line. 
 
 SECTIONAL RHIME, 
 
 is that which exists between syllables contained in the 
 same section. It was well known to all the early dialects. 
 According to Olaus Wormius, the consonantal rhime will 
 suffice in the first section; but in the second, there must 
 be a correspondence both between the vowels and the 
 final consonants. The same rule applies to Anglo-Saxon 
 verse. 
 
 The origin of this law will, I think, he obvious, when 
 we recollect, that sectional rhime was not a substitute for 
 alliteration, but merely an addition to it. Now in the first 
 section, there was always a probabihty of finding two alli- 
 terative syllables,* and as a section never contained more 
 than three, and generally but two accented syllables, if the 
 common sectional rhime were added to the alliteration, 
 this could hardly be effected without a. perfect rhime. In 
 some few cases, such has really been the result of this 
 union; but, in general, they avoided it by aiming only at 
 consonantal rhime. In the second section, where there 
 was generally but one aUiterative syllable, a closer corres- 
 pondence was required. 
 
 In tracing the several kinds of sectional rhime, it will be 
 convenient to class them according to the different sec- 
 tions in which they occur. 
 
 * See the section headed alliteration in the present chapter.
 
 12G SECTIOxVAL RHIME. B.I. 
 
 When the section begins with an accent, it will be re- 
 presented by the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, accordingly as each 
 couple of adjacent accents are separated by owe unaccented 
 syllable, or the first, the second, or both couples are sepa- 
 rated by two unaccented syllables. 
 
 When the section begins with one unaccented syllable, it 
 will, under the like circumstances, be designated by 5, 6,7, 
 8; and by 9, 10, 11, 12, Avhen it begins with two unac- 
 cented syllables. 
 
 When the section ends with one ot two unaccented syl- 
 lables, we shall represent such ending by subjoining / or II 
 to the figure, indicating such section, thus — I/. 2//. 
 
 We will now arrange our rhimes, and begin with such as 
 are found in the section of two accents. 
 
 The section 1, was at all times rare, it generally occurs 
 as the last section of a verse. 
 
 But he that in his deed was wiss, 
 Wyst thai assemblyt : war \ and quhar\. 
 
 The Bruce, 2. 268. 
 But he has gotten to our grief 
 
 Ane to succeed him, 
 A chiel wha'll soundly : bnff | our beef\, 
 
 I muckle dread him. Burm- 
 
 \L was common, and often contained the sectional 
 rhime in Anglo-Saxon. 
 
 Sar I and sorjge : susl throwedon. 
 
 Pain and sorrow and sulphur bore they. Cad. 
 
 Stunede seo brune 
 Yth \ with oth\xc : ut feor adraf 
 On wendel-sap : wigendra scola. 
 
 Dash'd the brown 
 
 Wave, one gainst other ; and far out drave 
 
 On AVendel-sea, the warrior bands. Alfred. 
 
 Strong waes and rethe 
 
 Se the woetrum weold : ivi'eah \ and theah\\.<: 
 Manfivthn beam.
 
 C. VI. SECTIONAL RHIME. 12) 
 
 Stroiiij was he and fierce 
 
 That wielded the waters ; he cover d and o'erwhelm'd 
 The children of wrath. Ccedmon. 
 
 According to rule, vre find both vowels and final conso- 
 nants rhimins: in the second section. 
 
 Section 2. is sometimes, but rarely, found containing 
 rhime. 
 
 Skill I uiixt with ivill] : is he that teaches best. Tusser. 
 
 Will I stoode for skill] : and law obeyed lust ; 
 
 Might 1 trode down right\ : of king there was no feare. 
 
 Ferrers. M.for M. Sotnerset, 38. 
 
 Tlie section 2l. was very commonly rhimed, particu- 
 larly by the Anglo-Saxon poets. The rhime was mostly 
 double, and sometimes perfect, 
 
 Frod\ne and god\ne : fseder Unwines. 
 
 The wise and good father of Unwin. Traveller s Song, 
 
 Ac hi halig god 
 
 F€r\ede and ner\ede : fiftena stod 
 Deop ofer dunum : sae drence flod 
 Monnes elna. 
 
 But them holy God 
 
 Led and rescued ; fifteen it stood 
 
 Of man's ells, high o'er the downs — 
 
 Sea-drenching flood. Ccedmon. 
 
 Fold WcES adaeled 
 
 Wc£t\QT oi w<Et\ram.: tham the waniath gyt 
 Under fasstenne. 
 
 Earth was parted 
 
 The waters from the waters, — those that yet won 
 Under the firmament. Cmlmon. 
 
 Sim\ciim and swil\a/m : thu meaht sweatole ongitan. 
 By such and such things thou mayst plainly see, &c. 
 
 Alfred. 
 
 Light\l// and bright\ly : breaks away 
 
 The morning from her mantle grey. Byron.
 
 128 
 
 SECTIONAL RHIME. 
 
 B. I. 
 
 What will you have ? Me or your heart again ? 
 Nei\ther oiei\ther: I remit both twain. 
 
 Xi* Xi* x>* o* ^* 
 
 This rhiming section not unfrequently closed the couplet 
 in Anglo-Saxon verse. 
 
 Tha waeron gesette : wid\e and sid\e. 
 
 They were y-set wide and far. Cazdmon, 
 
 Garsecg theahte 
 
 Sweart synnihte : w'id\e and s'id\e 
 Wonue wegas. 
 
 Ocean cover'd 
 
 Black with lasting-night, wide and far 
 
 Wan pathways. Ccedmon. 
 
 Ofer lichouian : lcen\?ie and sa;n\ne. 
 
 Over the body weak and sluggish. Alfred. 
 
 The rhiming section wide and side became, like many of 
 the others, a household jjhrase. It still survives in some 
 of our northern dialects. 
 
 The section 5 was often selected for the rhime by our 
 later poets. 
 
 By leave \ and love\ : of God above, 
 
 I iiiean to shew, in verses few. 
 
 How through the brecrs my youthful years 
 
 Have run tlieir race. Tusser. 
 
 Her look \ was Uke\ : the morning's star. Burns. 
 
 It is too much we daily hear 
 
 To wive I and thrive\ : both in one year. Tusser. 
 
 To feede \ my neede\ : he will me leade 
 
 To pastuies green and fat ; 
 He forth brought me, in libertie. 
 
 To waters delicate. 
 Yet though \ I go\ : through death his wo, &c. 
 
 Archbishop Parker. 
 
 He to^d I the gold] : upon the board. Heir of Linne.
 
 C, VI. SECTIONAL RHIME. 129 
 
 They rttsh'd \ and push' d\ : and hlude outjrush'd. 
 
 Burns. Sheriff Muir. 
 Let other poets raise a fracas 
 'Bout vines \ and icin€s\ : and drunken Bacchus. 
 
 Burns. Scotch Drink. 
 
 And then to see how ye're negleckit, 
 How huff'd I and cuff'd\ : and disrepeckit. 
 
 Burns. 
 
 We -will now proceed to the verse of five accents. 
 
 Herein my foly vaine may plain appear 
 
 What hap | they heape\ : which try out cimiiing slight. 
 
 Higg. M. for M. King Bladud. 
 
 He staid \ his steed\ : for humble miser's sake. 
 
 F.Q.2.].(J. 
 
 At last I when htst\ : of meat and drink had ceas'd. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 2. 39. 
 
 These kites 
 
 That bate \ and beat\ : and will not be obedient. 
 
 Tarn, of the Shretv, .3.1. 
 
 r 11 look I to like\ : if looking liking move. 
 
 R. Sf J. 1. 3. 
 
 The bous thai tuk, and Southeroun put to ded ; 
 Gat none j bot ane\ : with lyff out of that sted. 
 
 Wallace, 9. 1G55. 
 Yet none | but one\ : the scepter long did sway. 
 Whose conquering name endures until this day. 
 
 Niccols. M.forM. Artlntr, 'i. 
 Thus might \ not right\ : did thrust me to the crown. 
 
 Blennerhasset. M. for M. Vortigern, 13. 
 
 They playde j not prayed] : and did their God displease. 
 
 Blennerhasset. M.forM. Vortigei u, \C>. 
 
 \\\ fight 1 M\i\flight\ : nigh all their host was slayne. 
 
 Higgins. M.for M. King Albanact, -4U. 
 
 For hoape \ is sloape\ : and hold is hard to snatch. 
 Where bloud embrues the hands that come to catch. 
 
 Higgins. M. for M. King Forre.v, 1 8. 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 130 SECTIOXAI. RHIME. B. I. 
 
 I made them all, that knew my name, aghast — 
 To shrlnke \ and sUnke\ : and shift away for fear. 
 
 Higgins. King Morindas, 4. 
 
 Their s])ite\, their might\ : their falsehood never restes. 
 
 Baldwin. M.for M. Rivers, 34. 
 Ne can ] the man\ : that moulds in secret cell. 
 Unto her happy mansion attain. F. Q. 2. 3. 41. 
 
 No 1-each | no breach\ : that might him profit bring. 
 But he the same did to his profit wring. 
 
 Spens. Mother Hubbard's Tale. 
 
 He hath won 
 
 With fame \ a»ame\ : to Caius Marcius ; these 
 
 In honour follows Coriolanus. Cor. 2. 1 , 
 
 With cu^s I and ru^s\ : and farthingales and things. 
 
 Turn, of the Shrew, 5. 3, 
 
 All this division 
 
 Shall seem \ a. dream] : and fruitless vision. 
 
 M. N. D. 3. 2. 
 
 \Vhen shall you see me write a thing in rhime ? 
 Or groan \ for Joan\ ? : or spend a minute's time 
 In pruning me ? When shall you hear that I 
 Will praise a hand, a foot, a face, an eye, 
 A gait\, a state\ -. a brow, a breast, a waist? 
 
 L L. L. 4. 3. 
 
 The rhime is much less common in the last section of a 
 verse. 
 
 Bid those beware : who tveene \ to win \ 
 
 By bloudy deeds the crown. 
 Lest from the height: they feele \ the fall | 
 
 Of topsye turvye down. 
 
 Higg. M.for M. King Porrex. 
 
 Good husbandmen : must moil \ and toil \ . 
 
 Tusser. 
 
 Then ye may tell : how pell \ and mell\, 
 
 By red claymores and muskets knell, 
 
 Wi dying yell, the tories fell 
 
 And whigs, &c. Burns. Sheriff Mitir.
 
 C. VI. SECTIONAL RHIME. 131 
 
 With foul reproaches and disdainful spight 
 
 He vilely entertains: and will \ or tiill\. 
 
 Bears her away. F. Q. 1.3. 43. 
 
 .5/. was often rliimed by the Anglo-Saxon poets, but 
 rarely by their successors. 
 
 Geg}-em\ed g7ym\me : grap or nrathe — 
 
 Grimly enraged he seized in wrath — Cadmon. 
 
 Ne maeg his serende 
 
 His bod\a. beod\an : thy ic wat he inc abolgen wyrth. 
 
 Nor may his herald. 
 His errand do ; therefore, I wot, with you enrag'd he'll be. 
 
 C'(sdmon. 
 To rule the kingdom both wee left and fell. 
 To ivar\7-ing, Jar\rmg: like two hounds of hell. 
 
 Higg'ins. M.forM. King Forrex , h . 
 
 And will 1 you, nill \ you : I will marry you. 
 
 Taming of the Shrew, 2. 1. 
 
 Section 6. also was often rhimed by our old writers. 
 
 With, swordes \ and no woi'des] : wee tried our appeale. 
 
 Ferrers. M.forM. Gloucester, IS. 
 
 In the bed as I lay. 
 
 "iYhat time \ strake the chime\ : of mine hour extreme, 
 0])prest I was my rest -. with mortal affray, 
 My foes \ did unc/o.«e| : 1 know not which way. 
 My chamber doors. 
 
 Ferrers. M.for M. Gloucester, 60. 
 
 Dredge with a plentiful hand, 
 
 Lest weed \ stead of seed\ : overgroweth thy land. 
 
 l^usser. 
 
 A wand \ in thy hand] : though thou fight not at all. 
 Makes youth to their business better to fall. Tusscr. 
 
 Then up \ with your cup\ -. till you stagger in speech. 
 
 And 7natch \ me this catch\ -. though you swagger and screech, 
 
 Ad drink \ till you tvink\ : my merry men each. 
 
 W. Scott. 
 
 K 2
 
 132 SECTIONAL RHIME. B. I. 
 
 To teach and iinteach\\ in a school is unmeet, 
 
 To do and undo : to the purse is unsweet. Tusser. 
 
 Both bear \ and {oxbear\ : now and then as ye may, 
 Then " Wench ! God a mercy" thy husband will say. 
 
 Tusser. 
 
 This rhiming section sometimes ends the verse. 
 
 But hold to their tackling : there do \ but difew\. 
 
 Tusser. 
 
 Like a demigod here ; sit / ] in the slct/\. L. L. L. 
 
 To feel only looking : on fair est oifair\. 
 
 L. L L. 2. 2. 
 
 The section 6/. seems to have been a very favourite 
 one for the double rhime. It is only found in vsrse of the 
 triple measure, or its predecessor the " tumbling verse." 
 
 So many as love me, and use me aright. 
 
 With treas\ure and pleas\iire : I richly requite. Tusser. 
 
 Who car\eth nor spar\eth : till spent he hath all. 
 
 Of hob\bing nor rob\b'mg : be careful he shall. Tusser. 
 
 Not car\ing nor fear\ing : for hell nor for heaven. 
 
 Tusser. 
 
 He noy\eth, destroy\eth : and all to this drift. 
 
 To strip his poor tenant. Tusser. 
 
 Tithe du\ly and true\ly : with hearty good will, 
 
 That God and his blessing may rest with thee still. Tusser. 
 
 So due\ly and true\/i/ : the laws alway to scan. 
 That right may take his place. 
 
 Ferrers. M.forM. TresiUan, 21. 
 
 So catc?i\ers and smtch\ers : toil both night and day, 
 Not/i?erfy but greedy : still prolling for their prey. 
 
 Ferrers. M.forM. TresiUan, \l. 
 
 Then shak\i>ig and quak\ing : for fear of a dream, 
 
 l{?Mwak\ed all nak\ed : in bed as I lay— 
 
 My foes did unclose, I know not which way. 
 
 My chamber dores, 
 
 Ferrers. M.forM. Gloucester, 60.
 
 C. VI. SECTIONAL RHIME. 133 
 
 The Sections with three accents rhime much more rarely 
 than those with two. They difter also from the latter in 
 admitting various dispositions of the rhiming syllal:)les. 
 The rhime will be ranged under the first, second, or third 
 class, accordingly as it exists between the two first ac- 
 cented syllables, the two last, or the two extremes. 
 
 Section 1. 
 
 Sundry sorts of whips. 
 As disagreement : healths \ or wealths \ decrease'. 
 
 Baldwin. M.forM. Rivers, 18. 
 
 The 1 wes bold \ gebi/ld\ : er thu eboren were. 
 For thee was a dwelUng built ere thou wert born. 
 
 Ex MSS. 
 
 Casta weardum : hsef |don gteani \ and dream]. 
 
 For the spirit-guards — : They had light and joy. Ccedmon. 
 
 For all our good descends from God's good will. 
 And of our lewdnes : spring]eth all \ our ill\. 
 
 Higgins. M.forM. Lord Irenglas, 10. 
 
 Section 1/. 
 
 Tha com ofer foldan : fus sithian 
 il/a-rje 7«er|gen thrid|da: naeron metode, 
 - Tha gyta wid loud, &c. 
 
 Then gan o'er earth quickly advance. 
 
 The great third morn, nor had the jNIaker 
 
 As yet wide land, &c. Ccedmon. 
 
 Cweth se Hehsta: hat\an sccol|de Sat\a7i. 
 
 Quoth the Highest, Satan he should hight. Ccedmon. 
 
 Section 2. 
 
 Some magician's art, 
 
 Arm'd \ thee or charmed \ thee strong : which thou from heav'n, 
 Feignd'st at thy birth was giv'n thee, iu thy hair. 
 
 Samson. 
 
 If no mishap men's doings did assail. 
 
 Or 1 that their acts \ and/ac^^j : were innocent. 
 
 Higgins. M.forM. KingMaHn,\.
 
 134 SECTIONAL RHIME. B. I. 
 
 Hap|ly to wive \ and thrive\ : as best I may. 
 
 Tarn, of the Shrew, 1.2. 
 
 We I will have rings \ and things\ : and fine array. 
 
 Tam. of the Shrew, 2. 1 . 
 
 Yet I she loves none | but one\ : that Marinel is hight. 
 
 F. Q. 3. 5. 8. 
 
 But Florimel with him : un|to his boiv^ \ he bore\. 
 
 F. Q. 3. 8. 36. 
 
 Section 21. 
 
 In sumptuous tire she joy'd herself to prank. 
 
 But I of her love \ to ?aj;lish : little have she thank. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 2. 36. 
 
 And said he wolde 
 
 Hire lemman be : whethler she ivoI\de or noI\de. 
 
 Chau. Man of Lawes Tale. 
 
 Section 3Z. 
 
 Thus 1 they tug\ged and rng\ged : till it was ner nyght. 
 
 Turnament of Tottenham. 
 
 Hav|e I twy\es or thry\es : redyn thurgh the route. Same. 
 
 Sec\can soh|te ic and Bec\can : Seafolan and Theodoric. 
 Secca sought I and Becca, Seafowl, and Theodric. 
 
 Travellers Song. 
 
 The section 5. is much more frequently used for this 
 purpose, particularly with rhime of the third class. 
 
 1st Class. 
 
 This blade \ in bloud\y hand] : perdy I beare. 
 
 Higg. M. for M. King Morindas, 1 . 
 
 And/ffir|lyy"«re | on foot | : however loth. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 2. 12. 
 
 But honour, virtue's meed. 
 
 Doth bear \ they«/r|est flower] : in honourable seed. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 3. 10. 
 
 We little have : and love | to live | in peace|. 
 
 Higgins. M.for M. King Morindas, 5.
 
 C. VI. SECTIONAL RHIME. ] 85 
 
 Still needes I must repented faults foreiuuue, 
 Repent and tell : the/all \ und/oile \ I felt]. 
 
 Eleverhasset. M.forM. Vortigern, 10. 
 
 A faire persone : and strong \ and yong \ of agje^ 
 
 And full of honour, and of curtcsie. Chau. ClerkesTale. 
 
 2nd Class. 
 
 Rather let try extremities of chance, 
 Than enteT\priz\Qd praise\ : for dread to disavaunce. 
 
 F. Q. 3. 11. 24. 
 
 Rocks, caves], lakes, ye»^|, bogs, dens\ : and shades of death. 
 
 P. L. 2. 
 
 Milton here uses rhime to strengthen his accent. His 
 verse wanted such aid, and he has apphed it skilfully. His 
 contempt for these " tinkling" sounds never led him to 
 reject them, where they could do good serHce. 
 
 Traistis for trevvth : thus was | thai ded \ in deed\. 
 
 Wallace, 11. 184. 
 
 What lucke had I : on such | a Zo^ | to Ught\. 
 
 Higg. M.forM. King Locrinus , 18. 
 
 I made thy heart to quake. 
 When on thy crest : with mighjty struke \ I strake\. 
 
 Higg. M. for M. Lord Nenniiis, 24. 
 
 So lightly leese they all : which all | do weene \ to wm\. 
 
 Baldioin. M.forM. Tresilian, I. 
 
 3rd Class. 
 
 He all their ammunition. 
 
 And feats \ of war | defeats. Samson. 
 
 They hroyles \ at sea|, the toiles\ : I taken had on land. 
 
 Higg. M.forM. King Brenners, 15. 
 
 And I amongst ray mates, the Romish fryers, felt. 
 More joye [ and less | anoye\ -. than erst in Britain brave. 
 
 Higg. M.forM. Cadicallader. 
 
 And load \ upon [ him laid\ : his life for to have had. 
 
 F. Q. 3. 5. 22.
 
 136 SECTK)XAL UHIME. B. I. 
 
 Their an«[our lielp'd | their harm\ -. crush'd in and bruised. 
 
 P. L. 6. 
 
 Seeing the state : un5/effrf|fast how ] it stode]. 
 
 Sackville. M.for M. Buckingham, 12. 
 
 My rule my riches, royal blood and all. 
 
 When fortune frovvnde : theye/jler made | my fall], 
 
 Sackville. M.for M. Buckingham, 108. 
 
 ^^'hat horse ? a roan, a crop- ear is it not ? 
 
 It is my lord ; That roan \ shall be | my throne\. 
 
 ] H4,2. 3. 
 
 Section 5/. is rarely rhimed. 
 
 And do I hear my Jeanie own 
 
 That equal transports move her ? 
 I ask for dearest life alone, 
 
 Tliat I I may live | to love | her. Burns. 
 
 Some apology may be due for such an overflow of au- 
 thority. It should be remembered, that these rhiming 
 sections are of the very essence of our vernacular poetry. 
 They form the poetical idiom, the common stock — of 
 which the Anglo-Saxon Scop and the Maker of Elizabeth's 
 reign alike availed themselves. From the sixth to the six- 
 teenth century, we find the same rhimes again and again 
 recurring in our poetry; and even when banished from 
 what, in courtesy, we call polite literature, we find them 
 still lingering in the songs of the people. Some of them 
 can boast an antiquity, which alone ought to secure them 
 our respect; and others have sunk so deeply into our 
 language, that all who pay attention to philology, must 
 feel an interest in tracing their origin. 
 
 INVERSE RHIME 
 
 is that which exists between the last accented syllable of 
 the first section, and the first accented syllable of the se- 
 cond. It appears to have flourished most in the fifteenth 
 and sixteenth centuries. I do not remember any instance 
 of it in the Anglo-Saxon, but it is probably of native
 
 C. VI. INVERSE RIIIME. 137 
 
 growth. A kindred dialect, the Icelandic, had, at an 
 early period, a sjiecies of rhime closely resembling the 
 present — the second verse always l)eginning with the last 
 accented syllable of the first. It is singular that the 
 French had, in the sixteenth century, a rhime like the Ice- 
 landic, called by them la rime entrelassee. The present 
 rhime differed from both, as it was contained in one verse. 
 The rhime was sometimes of the sixth kind, and sometimes 
 consonantal ; but, in the great majority of instances, it was 
 perfect. The inverse rhime is, I believe, the only one in 
 our language that has ever affected a perfect correspond- 
 ence between the rhiminir syllables. 
 
 We will begin with the verse of four accents. 
 
 These steps ] both reach\ -. and teach \ thee shall | 
 
 To come ] by thr\ft\ ; to shift \ withal|. Tusser. 
 
 Some lucky find a flou'ry spot. 
 
 For which they never toil'd nor swat. 
 
 They drink j the sweet\ : and eat \ the fat|. 
 
 Burns to J. S. 
 A^'here with intention I have err'd. 
 
 No other plea I have. 
 But thou I art good\ -. and ^^oot?] ness still | 
 Delighteth to forgive. Burns. 
 
 Take you my lord and master than , 
 
 Unless I mi-chauce\ : misc^fl/ic|eth me|, 
 
 Such homely gift of me your man. Tusser to Lord W. Paget. 
 
 The pijper loud\ -. and ZoMf/|er ble\v|, 
 
 The dancersj qukk\ -. and quick\Qr flewj. Burns. 
 
 O Henderson the man ! the brother ! 
 
 And art | thou gone\ : and gone \ for ev|er ! Burns. 
 
 May prudence bless enjoyment's cup. 
 
 Then rapltur'd 5?j5| : and sip 1 it iip|. Burns. 
 
 The rhime is generally double when the verse is in the 
 triple measure. 
 
 Be greedy in spending and careless to save, 
 And shortjly be need\y : and read\y to crave;. 
 
 Tusser. January Husbandry.
 
 138 INVERSE RHIME. B. I. 
 
 His breast ] full of ra>i\conr : like can\ker to fret|, 
 His heart like a lion his neighbour to eat. 
 
 Tusser. E?ivious Neighbour. 
 
 Your beauty's a fiow'r in the morning that blows. 
 
 And with]ers the fas\ter : thefas\ter it grows |. Burns. 
 
 Come pleasure or pain. 
 
 My worst ] word is wel\cotne : and wel\conie againj. 
 
 Burns. 
 
 In the verse of five accents the inverse rhime is most 
 frequent, when there are two accents in the first section. 
 
 In such 1 a pU(/ht\ -. what 7night | a la|dy doe|. 
 
 Higg. 31. for M. Queen Estride, 26. 
 
 And let ] report] ; your/or^jitude | comraend|. 
 
 Higg. M.for M. King Brennus, 85. 
 
 His baser breast, but in his kestral kind, 
 
 A pleasing vein of glory vain did find. 
 
 To which his flowing tongue and troublous spright 
 
 Gave 1 him great aid\ : and made \ him more | incUn'd|. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 3. 4- 
 
 She must j lie here] : of mere \ neces|sity|. 
 
 L. L. Lost, 1.1. 
 
 We plough I the deep\ : and reap \ what oth|ers sow|. 
 
 Waller. 
 
 The following are instances of consonantal and perfect 
 rhimes. 
 
 The rich and poor and ev'ry one may see, 
 
 Which way [ to love\ : and live \ in due | degree]. 
 
 Higgins. M.for M. King Albanact. 
 
 When I am dead and rotten in my dust. 
 
 Then gin | to live\ : and leave \ when othjers lust|. 
 
 Hall to his Satires. 
 
 For God I isjust\ -. inyw^jtice will | not thrivej. 
 
 Higg. M.for M. King Humber. 
 
 Thus made ] oi might\ : the might\iest \ to wring]. 
 
 Baldwin. M.forM. Rivers, 25.
 
 C. VI. INVERSE RIIIME. 139 
 
 I fol|low'd/fls^| ; hnt fast\er did ] he fly|. M. N. D. 3. 2. 
 
 For all I I did\ -. I did \ but as ] I ought]. F. Q. 2. 1. 33. 
 
 For he | was flesh] : a\\ flesh \ doth frail J ty breed]. 
 
 F. Q.2. 1.52, 
 
 Weak I she makes strong\ : and strong | thing doth increase]. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 2.31. 
 
 If j you were men] -. as men | ye are | in show]. 
 
 You would not use a gentle lady so. M. N. D.3. 1. 
 
 Vows I are but breath\ -. and breath \ a yajpour is]. 
 
 Love's Labour Lost, 1. I. 
 
 Folly in wisdom hatclit 
 
 Hath wisdom's warrant, and the help of school 
 And wit's J own grace\ : to grace \ a learn ]ed fool]. 
 
 L. L. Lost, 5. 1. 
 
 O hap]py love\ : where love \ like this [ is found]. 
 
 Burns' s Cottar's Saturday Night. 
 
 This rhime is much more rare, when the first section 
 contains three accents. 
 
 Herein | my foljly vai/ne\ -. did plai/ne \ appear]. 
 
 Higgins. M.for M. King Bladud. 
 
 And I by my fajther's love\ : and leave | am arm'd | 
 
 With his good will and thy good company. T. of the S. 1. 1. 
 
 But wheth]er they ) be ta'en\ -. or slain \ we hear j not. 
 
 R 2,5. 6, 
 That brought \ into j this world] : a tvorld \ of woe|. 
 
 P. L. 9. 
 
 For 1 it is chaste | and pure\ : as piir\est snowj. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 2. 9. 
 For I 'tis a sign | of love\ : and love \ to Rich[ardj 
 Is a strange brooch in this all-hating world. R 2, 5. 5. 
 
 The double rhime is very rare in the verse of five 
 accents. 
 
 The musis freedome graunted them of elde. 
 
 Is barde 3 | slye rea\sons : trea\sons high | are held]. 
 
 M. for M. Collingbourn.
 
 140 INVERSE RHIME. B. I. 
 
 The inverse rhime was not unfrequent in the verse of 
 six accents. Spenser loved to close with it his beautiful 
 and majestic stanza. 
 
 Whereby | with eas\y pai/ne\ -. great gayne \ we did | outfetj. 
 
 Baldwin. M.for M. Trisilian, 8. 
 
 He nev|er iiieaut \ \\it\vwords\ -. but swords \ to plead | his right]. 
 
 F.Q. 1. 4. 42. 
 
 By sub|tilty | nor sUght\ : nor might \ nor might|iest charm|. 
 
 F.Q. 1. 11.36. 
 
 And what | I can|not quite\ : requite \ with ujsuryl. 
 
 F.Q. 1.8.27. 
 
 So goodjly did | heguile\ -. the guil\er of [ his prey|. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 7. 44. 
 
 Therefore | need mote | he live\ -. that //i;|ing gives | to all|. 
 
 F. Q. 3. 6. 47. 
 
 And made | that capjtives thrall\ ; the thrall | of wick|edness|. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 4. 1 6. 
 
 —— Tried in heaviest plight 
 Of lajbours huge | and hard] : too hard \ forhu|man wight]. 
 
 Milton. The Passion. 
 
 ALLITERATION. 
 
 The laws which regulate the Anglo-Saxon verse, have 
 been the subject of much speculation. Rask claims the 
 merit of their discovery, and does not affect to hide his 
 triumph over the blindness and stupidity of our country- 
 men. The opinions of Hickes, Conybeare, and Turner, 
 are submitted to review, and dismissed with an air of very 
 superior scholarship. The extreme deference, with which 
 these claims have been listened to, and the acquiescence 
 which has been paid to them in this country, is the best 
 proof I have met with of that ignorance, with which he 
 and other foreigners have thought fit to charge us. 
 
 According to Rask, the law of Anglo-Saxon alliteration 
 is this. In every alliterative couplet, there must be three 
 syllables (and no more) beginning with the same letters.
 
 C. VI. ALLITERATION. 14] 
 
 two in the first section, and one in the second. If the 
 rhiming syllables begin with vowels, such vowels should if 
 possible be different. Each of the three syllables must 
 take the accent. He gives for example the two couplets ; 
 
 Tha tt'aes after ji'iste There was after the feast 
 
 Tf op up a-hafen. A cry rais'd. 
 
 £'otenas and //Ife, Giants, and elves. 
 
 And orceas. And spectres. 
 
 He adds that sometimes in short verses there is but one 
 rhiming letter in the first section. 
 
 Now the first thing that strikes us, is, that these are the 
 rules which Olaus Wormius laid down for the rcirulation 
 of Scandinavian verse. The jDassage is familiar to all who 
 interest themselves in these matters, and was quoted by 
 Hickes. Tlie merit then of Rask must he in their appli- 
 cation. Do the same rules apjily to the Anglo-Saxon as 
 to the Icelandic verse ? 
 
 In the later poems — those of the tenth and eleventh 
 century — these rules partially hold ; and I think more 
 closely in the old English poems, which were contempo- 
 rary with the great mass of Icelandic literature. But the 
 flower of Anglo-Saxon literature was of much earlier date, 
 and here the rules fail in the majority of instances. More 
 than two-thirds of the couplets with four accents, and of 
 the couplets with five more than one-half, have only tivo 
 rhiming syllables. Even of the couplets with six accents, 
 there is a large proportion in the like predicament. We 
 find also in many couplets more than three alliterative 
 syllables. I cannot think that much merit was due for 
 the application of a principle, that fits thus loosely. 
 
 These rules had been long recognised as applicable to 
 Icelandic verse. They were not only laid down by Olaus 
 Wormius, but also in the Hattalykia or Metre-key, the 
 well-known Icelandic prosody, composed in the thir- 
 teenth century. Several writers had also recognised 
 Anglo-Saxon verse as alliterative, though no one had dis-
 
 142 ALLITERATION. H. I. 
 
 covered the laws which governed its alliteration. We 
 have examined the rules which Rask has ])roposed for 
 this purpose, and will now venture to lay down others, 
 which we think may be trusted to with greater safety. 
 
 1st. Every alliterative couplet had two accented sylla- 
 bles, containing the same initial consonants, one in each 
 of the two sections. 
 
 2ndly. In a large proportion of instances, particularly 
 in the longer couplets, the first section contained two 
 such syllables. This custom gradually became so prevalent, 
 that after the ninth century it may be considered as the 
 general law. 
 
 3rdly. Sometimes, though rarely, the second section had 
 two rhiming syllables. 
 
 •Ithly. The absence of initial consonants satisfied the 
 alliteration. As a correspondence in the vowels seems to 
 have been avoided, these syllables generally began with 
 different vowels^ when the initial consonants were wanting. 
 
 Rask has broadly stated, that the second section cannot 
 admit two rhiming syllables, and has ventured to impugn 
 the conclusions of such a man as Conybeare, because they 
 were opposed to this " law of alliteration." I therefore 
 give the following examples in proof of the third ride. 
 
 Cvva^don that hie rice : rece mode 
 
 Ag\nn wol|dun : and \ swa eath\G, meah|ton. 
 
 Quoth they in wrathful mood, that they the kingdom 
 
 Would have, and that with case they might. Cadmon. 
 
 Tha Aulixes : leafe hffifde 
 
 Thrac\ea cyn|ing: that | he thon\an moslte. 
 
 When Ulysses had leave 
 
 Thracia's king that he might thence — Alfred. 
 
 Rathe was gefylled 
 
 Heah I cyningjes h(Bs\ : him \ was hal\\g leoht. 
 
 Quick was fulfill'd 
 
 The high-king's hest : around him was holy light. Cadmon.
 
 C. VI, ALLITERATION. 143 
 
 On last I leg\Aviw : lath\um leod\nm. 
 At foot they laid on the loathed bauds. 
 
 Brunanburgh War Song. 
 
 The number might easily be increased ; but the reader 
 can do this for himself, when we come to the considera- 
 tion of our Anglo-Saxon rhythms. 
 
 In the longer species of verse, when the couplet con- 
 tained more than six accents, three rhiming syllables in 
 one section were common, both in the first section, and in 
 the second. 
 
 Alfred used occasionally three rhiming syllables in the 
 first section, when the couplet contained six, and even 
 when it contained five accents. But such instances are rare. 
 
 We also find couplets in M'hich the alliteration is, as it 
 were, double — the same two letters beginning accented 
 syllables in the second section, as in the first. Such in- 
 stances are far from unfrequent. The coincidence, how- 
 ever, may be accidental. 
 
 It should be observed, that in Csedmon and the earlier 
 poets, the initial consonants are not always rhimed cor- 
 rectly. They seem satisfied if the first consonants corres 
 pond, and often make s rhime with sw or sc. After the 
 ninth century, there was in general a more accurate cor- 
 respondence. 
 
 In the alliterative poems of the thirteentli and four- 
 teenth centuries, we find the voivels corresponding much 
 more frequently than in Anglo-Saxon. So much was this 
 kind of rhime affected by the writers, who ushered in the 
 rei^n of Ehzabeth, that we have elsewhere called it " mo- 
 dern alliteration." Alliteration indeed, as a system, had 
 long been banished to the North^ but every " maker" 
 was hunting after rhime, initial or final, and thus came 
 the last improvement upon the simple alliteration of our 
 ancestors. 
 
 But when ambition bleared both our eyes. 
 And hasty hate\ : had brotherhode bereft. 
 
 Higg. M.for M. King For rex, 5.
 
 144 ALLITERATION. B. I. 
 
 A\'hat hart \ so hard\ : but doth abhorre to hear. 
 
 Francis Sega?-. M.forM. Richard, \. 
 
 Not raign\\ug but rag\wg : as youth did him intice. 
 
 Baldicin. M.forM. Tresilian, \6. 
 
 Enregister my mirrour to remaine. 
 
 That princes may : my vic\es vile \ refraye|. 
 
 Higg. M.forM. King Iago,S. 
 
 Devyded well : wejoiH^lly did | eiyoyl 
 
 The princely state. Higg. M.forM. King Forrex, 4. 
 
 But since thy outside looks so fair and warlike. 
 
 And that thy tongue : some say [ of breed\\ng breathes\. 
 
 Lear, 5. 3. 
 
 Wave I rolling aflter wave] : where waij \ they found |. 
 
 P. L. 7. 
 
 UNACCENTED RHIME. 
 
 Hitherto we have assumed tliat the accent always falls 
 upon the rhiming syllable. There is little doubt, that 
 Olaus Wormius washed to provide against a violation of 
 this rule, when he laid it down, that the rhiming syllables 
 of a section must not follow each other immediately. 
 There is, however, one exception, an exception which 
 seems to have arisen from the slender dimensions of an 
 Anglo-Saxon verse, or, as we have hitherto termed it, 
 alhterative couplet. Into verses of this kind, containing 
 only four accents, some poets managed to crowd final 
 rhime, middle rhime, sectional rhime, and alliteration. 
 This could hardly be eifected unless the unaccented syl- 
 lables were put in requisition, as in the following passage ; 
 
 Flah I mah witjeth : fan | man hwitjeth 
 Burg \ ffor^r bit |eth ; bald | «W thwitjeth, 
 Wroec \foEC vvrith|ath : tvrath\ath smit|eth, &c. 
 
 The javelin-man fighteth, the archer 
 
 The borough-grief biteth^ ~ 
 
 The vengeance-hour (lourisheth, the anger-oath smiteth.
 
 C. Vr. rXACCE.NTED RHIME. 1 l.'> 
 
 We have one or two instances of this rhime even in 
 Ceedmon, which shews, that the difficulty of joining al- 
 literation and sectional rhime had made the invention fami- 
 liar at a very early period. 
 
 on thone eaguui onwlat 
 Stlhth\-frihth cyn|ing: and tlia stovvc beheold 
 Dreamaleasc. 
 
 On it with eyes glancc'd 
 The stalwart king ; and the place beheld 
 All joyless. Ccedmon. 
 
 Fn/nd | slnd h\fi \ mln|e georn|e : holde on hyra hyge-sceaftum, 
 Friends are thev of mine right-tridv, faithful in their iieart's 
 deep-councils. Cadmon. 
 
 In like manner, the narrow dimensions of their verse 
 drove the Icelanders to a similar invention. The rhiming 
 syllables, however, were ditferently disposed of. The first 
 syllable bore the accent and the alliteration ; the second, 
 Avhich of course was unaccented, rhimed with some ac- 
 cented syllable in the same section, and generally with the 
 second alliterative syllable. The rhime was consonantal. 
 This difference of the rhime, together Avith the different 
 position of the syllables, must have produced effects 
 widely different in the two languages. Perhaps we might 
 infer, that the unaccented rhime was invented, at a period 
 subsequent to the separation of the two races. 
 
 In the early part of the sixteenth century, there were 
 instances, in which writers — some of great merit — actually 
 closed their verse with a rhime between unaccented sylla- 
 bles. This arose, no doubt, from the prevalence of the 
 " tumbling verse," of which we shall have more to say 
 hereafter, and which at one time threatened to confound 
 all our notions of rhythmical proportion. Of all our 
 writers of reputation, Wyat most sinned in this way. In 
 some of his smaller pieces, nearly one-fourth of the rhimes 
 are of this nature. 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 14f) DOUBLY-ACCENTED RIIIME. B. I. 
 
 Right true it is and said full yoio ago, 
 
 Take heed | of hiin| : that by | the back [ thee cla\v|eth. 
 
 For none is worse than is a friendly foe. 
 
 Though thee | seme good] : all thing | that thee | delijteth. 
 
 Yet know | it well] ; that in | thy bosjome crep eth •, 
 
 For nian|y aman| : such fire | oft times | he kindjleth, 
 
 That I with the blasej: his beard ] himself | he sing|eth. 
 
 Ill the above stanza Wyat intended to rhime cluiveth, 
 (leliteth, crepeth ; and also the words kindleth and singeth. 
 
 In the following stave he rhimes otJier w'xih. Mglier ; 
 
 Bnt one | thing yetj : there is | above | allothjer, 
 
 I gave him vvinges whereby he might iipHye, 
 
 To honjour and fame] : and if | he would ] to highjer 
 
 Than mortal things above the starry skye. 
 
 There are also cases in which an unaccented syllable is 
 made to rhime with one accented. 
 
 She reft | my heart| : and I ] a glove | from he7-\, 
 
 Let us see then : if one | be worth | the oth|er. Wyat. 
 
 And Bacchus eke| : ensharps | the wit | of some], 
 Facunjdi cal|ices| : quem non | fece]re diser|/?/?H. 
 
 H'tffg- M.for M. King Chirimus, 2. 
 
 DOUBLY-ACCENTED RHIME 
 
 seems to owe its origin to the lavish use of the sub- 
 stantives in ion. The facilities of rhime afforded by the 
 endings ation., iiion, &c., were too great to be resisted, 
 and they were used with such a profusion, as to make a 
 great and certainly not a favourable impression on the 
 language. Now ion was sometimes used as one syllable, 
 and then the rhime became doiible, a\tion ; sometimes as 
 two syllables, and then the rhime was thrown on the last, 
 a\tion\. Sometimes the poet began his rhime with the first 
 svllable, even Avlien he resolved ion into two. 
 
 What nedjeth gret|er ; ^\\^ta\tion ? 
 
 I say by treatise and ambassatrie. 
 
 And I by the poples ; raeldirt|^?o?/| 
 
 They bcH accorded. Chau. Man of Leaves Tale.
 
 C. Vr. DOUBLY-ACCENTED RIIIME. 147 
 
 A baud 1 tlial inaid] : in pre\v|a il/M|*io«I, 
 Al I thair powjer : to vvyrk | his coi\fu\sio}i\. 
 
 Wallace, II. 205. 
 
 When I they next \vake| : all this f divis\ion\, 
 Shall seem | a dream] : and fruit|less ris|/'o»|. 
 
 M. N. D. 3. 2. 
 
 If gra|cious sijlcnce : sweet | atten'tioa], 
 (^uick sight I and quicjker: a])Y)re\hen\sion, 
 (The lights of judgment's throne) shine any where. 
 Our doubtful author hopes to find them here. 
 
 B. Jons. Prol. to Cijnthia's Revels. 
 
 The double accent quickly passed to other terminations. 
 
 Her name was Agape, whose childi-en werne, 
 All three ] as one] : the first | hight Pri\amond\, 
 Thesec|ondZ)/|a/HO«f? ; the young] est Tri\amond . 
 
 F.Q. 4.2. 41. 
 
 Skip]per, stand back| : 'tis age | that 7wio'\isheth\, 
 But youth I in la|dies' eyes] : that Jlour\/sheth\. 
 
 Tarn, of the Shrew, 2. I. 
 
 A serious blunder was sometimes the result of this prac- 
 tice. There are examples, among the early Elizabethan 
 writers and their immediate predecessors, where ion is 
 resolved into two syllables in one line, while, in the one 
 corresponding, it follows the last legitimate accent of the 
 verse ; so that we must either increase the proper number 
 of accents, or falsify the rhirae. Even Spenser was gviilty 
 of this fault ; 
 
 Who soon as he beheld that angel's face, 
 Adorn'd [ with all : divine | \sexfec\tion\. 
 His cheered heart eftsoons away gan chase 
 Sad death], revijved : with | her sad | 'mspec\tton. 
 And fee'ble spirjit : in|ly felt ] refec\tion, 
 As wither'd weed through cruel winter's tine. 
 That feels [ the warmth] : of sunjny beams ] ref!ec\tioH, 
 Lifts up his head, that did before decline. 
 And gins to spread his leaf before the fair sunshine 
 
 F. Q. 4. 12 31. 
 
 l2
 
 148 THE PAUSES. B. I. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE PAUSES, 
 
 which serve for the regulation of the rhythm, are three 
 in number; the final, middle, and sectioned. The first 
 occurs at the end of a verse, the second divides it into 
 two sections, and the third is found in the midst of 
 one of these sections. It is of great importance, that these 
 pauses should not be confounded with such, as are only 
 wanted for the purposes of grammar, or of emphasis. To 
 keep them perfectly distinct, we shall always designate the 
 latter as stops. 
 
 There is no doubt, that our stops were at one time 
 identical with our pauses. In the Anglo-Saxon poems, 
 we find the close of every sentence, or member of a sen- 
 tence, coincident with a middle or final pause. In the 
 works of Ceedmon and other masters of the art, Ave find 
 even the sectional pause so placed as to aid the sense ; 
 though I never knew a regular division of a sentence, 
 which thus fell in the midst of a section. 
 
 In the present chapter, we shall first examine the 
 pauses in their order — final, middle, and sectional — and 
 endeavour to settle the limits, Avhich mark out their jDosi- 
 tion in a sentence. We will then ascertain in what places 
 of the verse the stops may fall; or, in other words, how far 
 the punctuation of a verse has, at different periods, been 
 accommodated to its rhythm. 
 
 THE FINAL PAUSE. 
 
 In the Anglo-Saxon, there does not appear to Isave been 
 any distinction made between the middle and finrJ pauses.
 
 C. VI r. THE FINAL PAUSE. 1 !•' 
 
 The sections, whether connected by alliteration or not, 
 were always separated hj a dot, and were written continu- 
 ously, like 2irose. In the old English alliterative poems, 
 we find the alliterative couplet, or the two sections that 
 contained the alliteration, written in one line, like a mo- 
 dern verse. In these poems also we find a marked dis- 
 tinction between the two pauses, but the Anglo-Saxons — 
 so far at least as regarded the pause — appear to have con- 
 sidered each section as a separate verse. 
 
 As a general rule, we may lay it down, that the final and 
 middle pauses ought always to coincide with the close of 
 a sentence, or of some member of a sentence. This rule 
 may be best illustrated, by noticing such violations of it, 
 as have at difterent periods been tolerated in our poetry. 
 
 Perhaps there never was a greater violation of those 
 first principles, on which all rhythm must depend, than 
 placing the final pause in the midst of a word. Yet of 
 this gross fault Milton has been guilty more than once- 
 
 Cries the stall-reader " Bless me ! what a word on 
 A title ])age is this," and some in file 
 Stand spelling false, till one might walk to Mile- 
 End Green. Sonnet. 
 
 And fabled how the serpent, \vhom thev call'd 
 Opheon, with Eurynome the wide- 
 Encroaching Eve perhaps, had first the rule 
 Of high Olympus. F. L. 10. 
 
 All must remember the ridicule, which was thrown upon 
 this practice in the Anti-Jacobin ; but Creech, in the hap- 
 less translation to which it is said the envy of Dryden 
 urged him, had in sober earnest realized the absurdity. 
 
 Pynhus, you tempt a danger high, 
 
 When you would tear from angry li- 
 
 Oness her cubs. Hor. Odes, 3. 20. 
 
 There are many verbs followed by prepositions, which 
 must, for certain purposes, be considered as compounds ; 
 and although, in some cases, words mav be inserted bo-
 
 150 
 
 THE FINAL PAUSE. U. I. 
 
 tween such verbs and their prepositions, yet they will not 
 admit the pause. 
 
 AVitli that he fiercely at hnn flew, and laid 
 
 On hideous strokes, witli most importune miu;ht. 
 
 F. Q. 6. 1 . 20. 
 Go to the Douglas, and deliver him 
 Up to his pleasure, ransomless and free. 1 HA, 5. 4. 
 
 Which from meane ])lace in little time was grown 
 Up unto him, that weight upon him laid ; 
 And being got the nearest to the throne, 
 He the more easly the great kingdom swaid. 
 
 Drayton. M.forM. Wolsei/, 43. 
 
 Another serious fault is committed, when the final 
 pause immediately follows and separates a qualifying word 
 from the word qualified ; as when it thus separates the 
 substantive from its adjective, or other word of hke 
 nature. 
 
 He joined to my brother John the olde 
 Duches of Norfolk, notable of fame. 
 
 Baldwin. M.for M. Rivers, 27. 
 
 He answer'd nought at all, but adding neio 
 
 Fear to his first amazement, staring wide 
 
 Astonish'd stood. F. Q. 
 
 Sir, if a servant's 
 
 Duty with faith may be called love, you are 
 More than in hope, you are possess'd of it. 
 
 B. Jons. Ev. Man in his H. 2. 3. 
 
 More foul diseases than ere yet the hot 
 
 Sun bred, thorough his burnings, while the dog 
 
 Pursues the raging lion. 
 
 Fletcher. Faithful Shepherdess, 1 . 2. 
 
 As where smooth Zephirus plays on the fleet 
 
 Face of the curled streams, with Hon 'rs as many 
 
 As the young spring gives. Fl. Faithful Shepherdess. 
 
 And God created the great whales, and each 
 
 Soul living, each that crept, which plenteously 
 
 The waters generated. /'• J- 7-
 
 C. VII. THE FIXAL PAUSE. 151 
 
 To judgment he proceeded on the accus'd 
 
 Serpent, though brute ; unable to transfer 
 
 The guilt on him ^^ho made him instrument 
 
 Of mischief. P. L. 10. 
 
 First in the East the glorious lamp was seen 
 
 Invested with bright beams, jocund to run 
 
 His longitude through Heavns high road ; the grai/ 
 
 Dawn, and the Pleiades before him danc'd. P. L. 7. 
 
 Even the Anglo-Saxon poets occasionally placed the 
 pause between the adjective and its substantive. 
 
 Stunede seo brune 
 
 Yth with othre : ut feor adraf 
 On ^Vindel sae : wigendra scola. 
 
 Dash'd the brown 
 
 Wave, one 'gainst other, and far out-drave 
 
 On ^Vendel-sea the warrior bands. Alfred. 
 
 Again, the pause should not occur immediately between 
 the preposition and the Avords governed by it. 
 
 What did this vanity. 
 
 But minister communication of 
 
 A most poor issue? H S, 1. 1. 
 
 Read o'er this. 
 
 And after this, and then to breakfast ivith 
 What appetite you have. H 8, 3. 2. 
 
 When any of the personal pronouns immediately follow 
 the verb, either in the dative or objective case, the con- 
 nexion is too close to admit this pause between them. 
 
 I more desirous humbly did request 
 
 Him shew tlT unhappy Albion princes yore. 
 
 Higg. M.for M. Induction. 
 
 At length I met a nobleman, they calVd 
 Him Labienus, one of Csesar's friends. 
 
 Higg. M.forM. Lord Nennius, 29 
 
 At hand they spy 
 
 That quicksand nigh, with water covered. 
 
 But by the checked wave they did descry 
 
 It plain, and by the sea discolored. F. Q. 2 IJ. 28.
 
 152 THE ;V11DDL,E PAUSE. 
 
 Much better 
 
 ji. I. 
 
 Slie ne'er had known pomp ; though it be temporal, 
 
 Yet if that quarrel fortune do divorce 
 
 It from the bearer, 'tis a suff' ranee panging 
 
 As soul and body parting. H S, 1.3. 
 
 And did not manners and my love command 
 Me to forbear, to make those understand, 
 
 I would have shown 
 
 To all the worlds the art which thou alone 
 Hast taught our language. 
 
 Beaumont to B. Jons, on his Foa: 
 
 Let it suffice thee that thou know'st 
 
 Us happy, and without love no happiness. P. L 8. 
 
 For from my mother's womb this grace I have 
 
 Me given by Eternal destiny. F. Q 2 3. 45. 
 
 When, however, tlie pronoun becomes emphatic by 
 antithesis, or when it loses its character as pronoun, and 
 has no reference to any antecedent, this position of the 
 final pause is nnich less offensive. Yet even in this case 
 caution is necessary. 
 
 Here Natusc, whether more intent to j) lease 
 
 Us, or herself with strange varieties — Denham. 
 
 It is a walk thick set with many a tree, 
 Whose arched bowes ore hed combined bee. 
 That nor the go'den eye of heaven can peepe 
 Into that place, nor yet when heaven doth vveepe, 
 Can tlie thin drops of drizeling rain offend 
 Him, that for succour to that place doth wend. 
 
 Nicco/s. M.for M. Induction. 
 
 THE MIDDLE PAUSE 
 
 is in great jneasure, under the control of the same laws, 
 as regulate the position of the final pause. But as the 
 former has long ceased to have any visible index, and as 
 its very existence has been the subject of doubt and spe- 
 cvilation, we find the violations of these laws proportion- 
 ably more frequent. We have indicated the place of the
 
 C. VII. THE MIDDLE PAUSE. 1.53 
 
 middle pause by the colon (:), which must be familiar to 
 the reader, as marking the divisions of our ecclesiastical 
 chaunts. 
 
 Whether English verse of four accents ought, in every 
 case, to have a middle pause, is a question of difficulty 
 which may be considered hereafter. There can be little 
 doubt, that every verse with more than four accents ought 
 to have the pause. We find this to be the case witli the 
 alliterative couplets of the Anglo-Saxons, with the allite- 
 rative verses of our old English poems, and Avith those 
 more regular rhythms, which, chiefly under the patronage 
 of Chaucer, were established in their room. It was not 
 till the middle of the fifteenth century that the dot, which 
 indicated the middle pause, began to be omitted in our 
 manuscripts, and no edition of Chaucer or his contem- 
 poraries can be perfect without it. 
 
 There are many instances, and some of high authority, 
 in which the middle pause falls in the midst of a word. 
 These, however, should not be imitated. 
 
 And negligent securitie and ease 
 Unbrid|led sen\:sual itie \ begat]. 
 
 Drayton. M.forM. 98. 
 
 Thy ang|er un\:appeas\able \ still rag'es. 
 
 Samson Agonistes. 
 
 Some rousing motions in me which dispose 
 To somejthing ex'-.traor dinary \ my thoughtsj. 
 
 Samson Agonistes. 
 
 It would be easy to crowd the page with verses of six 
 accents, in which this middle pause, if it exist at all, must 
 divide a word. But the writers of the sixteenth centviry 
 used a verse of six accents, formed on a very different 
 model from the ordinary one — to wit, containing two sec- 
 tions, one of four, the other of two accents. This dif- 
 ference of origin will, of course, account for the different 
 position of the middle pause. 
 
 The following are instances in which the middle pause 
 seems to be badly placed.
 
 154 THE SECTIONAL PAUSE. B. I. 
 
 And Re\tie\ : ric\es liyr|de 
 
 And of Retia's realm the ruler. Alfred. 
 
 He for despit, and for his tyrannic. 
 To don I the (ied\ : bod\ies a vil|lani|e 
 Of all our lordes, wliich had been yslavve, 
 Hath all the bodies on an hepe ydravve, Chau. Knightes Tale. 
 
 O Pallas goddesse Soverayne 
 
 Bred out | oi great\ : Ju\piters brayne|. 
 
 Pzittenham Parth. ] G, 
 And U|na wan]dring in\ -. woods \ and forrests]. F. Q. 1, 2. 9. 
 
 But Phlegeton is son of Herebus and Night * 
 
 ButHer|ebus | son o/\ -. Eter\mty \ is hight|. F. Q 2, 4. 41. 
 
 Pleas|urc thedaughjter o/\ -. Culpid aud Psy|chelate|. 
 
 F. Q. 3. G. 50. 
 
 SECTIOXAL PAUSE. 
 
 We have said that, in Anglo-Saxon verse, the stops, 
 which closed a sentence or a member of a sentence, were 
 always coincident with a middle or final pause. We 
 never meet with these stops in the midst of a section. 
 The sectional pause had, in all probabilit}', a very diiferent 
 origin. In Ceedmon we find it before words, on which it 
 is evidently the poet's intention to throw a powerful em- 
 phasis. Perhaps we may infer, that the sectional pause 
 was originally a stop, that served the purposes of em- 
 phasis, as the others were stops Avhich served the pur- 
 poses of construction. 
 
 Whatever were its origin, we find the sectional pause 
 well known and widely used in the earliest dawn of our 
 literature. It is common in Csedmon, and in Conybeare's 
 rhiming poem it is found in many sections together. 
 
 Treow | tel|gade : Tir \ wel|gade 
 
 Bla?d I blis|sade :— t 
 
 Gold I gearjwade : Gim | hwear|fade. 
 
 * This is not the only verse in the Faery Queen which has sLv accents 
 when it ought to liave fvc Like the JKntkl, this noble poem was left un- 
 finished. 
 
 ■f- A section missing.
 
 C. VII. THE SECTIONAL PAUSE. 155 
 
 The tree shot forth branches j Glory abounded ; 
 
 Fruit blessed us ; 
 
 Gold deck'd us ; Gems envvrapt us. 
 
 We shall not here range in order the sections, which 
 have admitted the pause ; a chapter will be devoted to 
 that pui'i^ose in the second book. At present we shall 
 merely give one or two songs, in which the sectional 
 pause has been studiously affected. The first is by Sir 
 Philip Sydney. The verses are represented as havino- 
 been " with some art curiously written." 
 
 Vir|tue, beau|ty, and speech| ; did strike^l ivound\, charm\. 
 
 My heart], eyes\, ears\ ; with won|der, love|, deliirht], 
 
 First|, secjond, last] : did bind|, enforce], and armej, 
 
 His workes], shoives\, suites\ : with wit], grace, and]* vows might]. 
 
 Thus hon]our, likjing, trust] : much j, /«?•?•<?], and c/eep]. 
 Held], j9rars^], possest] : my judg|ment, sense | and will], 
 Till wrong], contempt], deceit] ; didgrowe], steal\, creep], 
 Bandes|,/«|vour, faith] ; to break], defile], and kill). 
 
 Then griefej, unkindjness, proofej : tooke], kmd\led, taught], 
 Well ground]ed, nojble, due] : spite], raffe\, disdain], 
 But al I alass | in vayne) : my mind], sight\, thought\. 
 Doth him], his face], his words] : leave], shun], rcfraine]. 
 
 For noth]ing, time', nor place] : can loose], quench], ease \ 
 Mine own | embracjed, sought] : knot], fire], disease . 
 
 Arcadia. Lib. 111. 
 
 The curiosity of these verses is much greater than their 
 merit. The "art" consists in transforming the stops, which 
 separate the words of a sequence, into sectional pauses. 
 
 This kind of experiment seems to have been a favourite 
 one in the sixteenth century. Spenser, in one of his 
 eclogues, had already Avritten what he called a Roundle, 
 in which the " mider-song" had a sort of jerking liveli- 
 ness imparted to it, by the free use of these sectional 
 pauses. The piece has very little poetical merit, but is 
 " curiously written." 
 
 * False accentuation.
 
 15G THE STOPS. B. I. 
 
 Pe7\ It fell 111)011 a lioly Eve, 
 
 Wil. Hey I lo| : l.oi;iday| ! 
 
 Per. When holy Fathers wont to shrive, 
 
 Wil. Now I gin|neth : this rouii|delay ! 
 
 Per. Sitting upon a hill so higli, 
 
 Wil. Hey I ho| : the high | hill| ! 
 
 Per. The while my flock did feed thereby, 
 
 Wil. The while the shepherds self did spill ! 
 
 Per. I saw the bouncing Bonnibel, 
 
 Wil. Hey I ho| : Bon|nibel|, &c. &c. 
 
 Shakespeare has left us a happier specimen. 
 
 Come away | come away | death\ ! 
 And in sad cypress let me be laid ; 
 Fly away | fly away j breath\, 
 I am slain by a fair crnel maid. 
 
 Not a flower | not a flower | sweet \ 
 On my black cofliu let there be strown. 
 Not a friend | not a friend | greet j 
 My poor cor])se where my bones shall be thrown. 
 
 Twelfth Night, 2. -4. 
 
 THK STOPS 
 
 may be divided, like our pauses, into tinal, middle, and 
 sectional. 
 
 In Anglo-Saxon poems, the full stop falls indifferently 
 at the end, or in the middle of an alliterative couplet. Of 
 the two, the middle stop seems to have been preferred. 
 In this particular, the Anglo-Saxon rhythms resemble the 
 more ancient German, and are widely distinguished from 
 the Icelandic. The latter, almost invariably, close their 
 period with the couplet, like our own alliterative poems of 
 the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. As no Icelandic 
 poem can he satisfactorily traced to an earlier date than 
 these English poems, we may conclude, tliat the northern 
 rhythms were influenced by the same causes, and affected 
 at the same time, and in the same manner, as those of 
 tlie more southern dialects.
 
 C. VII. THE STOPS. l.")7 
 
 In the metre, used by Chaucer and his school, we ge- 
 nerally find the middle stop suljordinate to the final ; but 
 our dramatists, whose dialogue required frequent breaks 
 in the rhythm, gave to the middle stop all its former im- 
 portance. The poets of the sixteenth and seventeenth 
 centuries run their lines one into the other, even when 
 thev were writing what has been called the heroic couplet 
 — a license that was very slowly corrected by the example 
 of Waller, Denham, and above all of Dryden. The last 
 poet, in his rhiming tragedies, broke his lines without 
 scruple, and avowedly for the purposes of dramatic effect ; 
 but in his other works he very rarely indulges in this 
 liberty. 
 
 Johnson lays it down as a rule, that, in the midst of a 
 verse, a full stop ovight not to follow an unaccented syl- 
 lable ; but that a stop which merely suspends the sense, 
 may. He vrould object therefore to the rhythm of the 
 following passage. 
 
 So sung 
 
 The glorjious train j ascen\ding : He [ through Heavii] 
 
 That open'd wide her blazing portals, led 
 
 To Gods eternal house direct the way. P. L. 7- 
 
 But, amid all the license of the sectional stop, a rule like 
 this is mere hypercriticism. 
 
 It is not easy to trace the steps, by which the sectional 
 stop obtruded itself so generally into English verse. It 
 is probable, that when the alliterative system, upon which 
 our rhythms had been so long modelled, was done away 
 with, much license prevailed as to tlie position of the 
 middle pause ; and consequently of the stop, that was 
 coincident with it. When a more settled rhythm again 
 brought it under rule, the ear had been too much accus- 
 tomed to such new termination of the period, to take 
 offence at the occasional violation of a law which had 
 been so lono- nea^lected. When our draixias came into 
 vogue, the necessities of the dialogue must also have had
 
 158 THE STOPS. B. I. 
 
 great influence. A single verse was sometimes parcelled 
 out between three or four speakers, and frequently into as 
 many sentences. Milton, therefore, had full range to 
 gratify even his passion for variety. Had he used this 
 liberty with more discretion, he would have laid the litera- 
 ture of his country under yet greater obligations. 
 
 A very favourite stop with Shakespeare was the one 
 before the last accented syllable of the verse. Under his 
 sanction it has become familiar, though opposed to every 
 principle of accentual rhythm. 
 
 Rich conceit 
 
 Taught thee to make vast Neptune weep for aye 
 
 On I thy low grave] : on faults | forgiv|en, Dead\ 
 
 Is noble Timon. T. of A. 5. 5. 
 
 And so his peers upon this evidence 
 
 Have found | him guil|ty : of [ high trea|son. Muck] 
 
 He spoke and learnedly for life, &c. H 8, 2. 1. 
 
 Loud I as from num|bers. vvith|out num|ber, siveei 
 
 As from blest voices uttering joy. P. L. 3. 
 
 The humble shrub 
 
 And bush | with friz|zled hair] : implic|it. Last\ 
 
 Rose as in dance the stately trees. P. L. 7. 
 
 When there is a syllable between the stop and the last 
 accent, it does not strike the ear so abruptly. 
 
 I such a fellow saw 
 
 Which made | me think | a man] : a worm| ; nuj sin\ 
 
 Came then into my mind. Lear, 4. I. 
 
 • Pipes that charm'd 
 
 Their pain|ful steps] : o'er | the burnt soil], and now\ 
 Advanc'd in view they stand. PL 1, 
 
 Thai for joy and pite gret 
 
 Quhen that thai with thar falow met 
 
 That thai | wend had] : bene dedej ; for thi 
 
 Thai welcummyt liim mar hartfuUy. Bruce, 2. 901.
 
 C. VII. THE STOPS. 159 
 
 A stop much favoured by Milton, is that which occurs 
 
 after the first syllable, when it takes the accent. 
 
 Harry to Harry shall, hot horse to horse, 
 
 Meet,\ and ne'er partj ; till one | drop down | a corse], 
 
 1 H4, 4. ]. 
 Though need make many poets, and some such 
 
 As art and nature have not better'd much. 
 
 Yet ours for want, hath not so lov'd the staj^e 
 
 As he dare serve th' ill customs of the age — 
 
 To make a child, now swaddled, to proceed 
 
 Man* I and then shoot | up : in | one beard | and weed]. 
 
 Past threescore years 
 
 Ben Jons. Prol. to Everi/ Man in his Humour. 
 Had you, some ages past, this race of glory 
 Run\, with amaze|ment : we | had heard ] your sto|ry. 
 
 Waller's Panegyric. 
 Not to me returns 
 
 Day], or the sweet J ajiproach] : of ev'n | or morn|. 
 
 P. L. 3. 
 
 Death his dart 
 
 Shook\, but delay'd | to strike] : though oft | invok'd]. 
 
 P. L. 9. 
 
 Hypocrites austerely talk. 
 
 Defaming as impui'e, what God declares 
 
 Piire\, and commands j to some] : leaves free | to all]. 
 
 P.L. 
 
 A stop, which is found in Chaucer, sometimes follows 
 the second syllable Avhen the verse begins with an accent. 
 
 They weren nothing idel. 
 
 The fomy stedes on the golden bridei 
 Gnaw\iiig, and fast] : the armjurers | also } 
 With file and hammer pricking to and fro. 
 
 Cliau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 The statue of Mars upon a carte stood 
 
 Arm\ed, and lookjed grim] : as he | were wood]. 
 
 Chati. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 * This is the celebrated passage which contains, as is generally supposed, 
 the sneer upon Shakespeare.
 
 IfiO THE STOPS. B. I. 
 
 For the time I study 
 
 Vir\tue, and that | part: of | philos|ophy | 
 Will I apply, that treats of happiness, 
 By virtue specially to be atchieved. 
 
 Tarn, of the Shrew, 
 
 Night with her will bring 
 
 Si\lence, and sleep} : list ning to thee | will watch|. 
 
 P. L. 7. 
 
 His heart 
 
 Distends with pride, and hardening in his strength 
 
 Glories ; for nev|er since] : creajted raan| 
 
 Met such embodied force. P. L. 1 . 
 
 This stop, however, Uke the last, can never ch^se a 
 period. 
 
 When the first accent falls on the second syllable, it is 
 very commonly followed by a stop. 
 
 It were, cjuod he, to thee no gret honour 
 
 For to be false, ne for to be traytour 
 
 To me\, that am] : tliy cousjin and ) thy broth|er. 
 
 Chau. The Knight es Tale. 
 
 For it of honour and all virtue is 
 
 T/^e roof |, and brings | forth: glo[rious flovv'rs | of fame]. 
 
 F. Q. 6. 2. 
 With such an easy and unfore'd ascent, 
 
 That no stupendous precipice denies 
 
 Jcc€ss\, no hor|ror : turns ] away | our eyes]. 
 
 Denham. Cooper s Hill. 
 
 Are there, among the females of our isle, 
 
 Such faults I at which : | it is | a fault | to smile | ? 
 
 There are\. Vice oncej : by mod|est na|ture chain'd| 
 
 And legal ties, expatiates unrestrained. Pope's Sat. 7. 
 
 This stop was by no means rare in tlie verse of four 
 accents. 
 
 Bot for pite I trow greting 
 
 Be na thing bot ane opynnyng 
 
 Off hurt\, that schaw|is : the ten[dernyss | 
 
 Off rewth that in it closyt is. The Bruce, 2. 920'.
 
 C. Vll. THE STOPS. 16'1 
 
 VV^Iieu he gives her many a rose 
 
 Sweeter than the breath, that blows 
 
 The leaves\, grapes, ber|ries ; of | the best]. 
 
 Fletcher. Faithful Shepherdess. 
 
 Nor let the water riding high, 
 
 As thou wad'st in, make thee cry, 
 
 Ap.d sob\, but ev|er : live | with me|. 
 
 And not a wave shall trouble thee. Fletcher. Fa. Sh. 2. 1. 
 
 Our poets sometimes place a stop after the third syl- 
 lable, hut I think never happily. 
 
 I'he clotered blood for any leche craft 
 Corrum\peth, and | : is | in his boukje ylaftj. 
 
 Chau. The Kniyhtes Tale. 
 
 Of the blod real 
 
 Of The\bes, and | : of susjtreu two | yborne|. 
 
 Chau. The Knlghtes Tale. 
 
 — What in me is dark 
 
 Illu\mine, what | is low| : raise | and support J. P. /-/• 1. 
 
 How he can 
 
 Is douht\ful, that | he nev|er : will|, is sure|. P. L. 2. 
 
 If I can be to thee 
 
 Xpo\et, thou| : Parnas|sus art | to me], 
 
 Dcnhuin. Cooper s Hill. 
 Why then should I, encouraging the bad, 
 Turnre6|e/, and| • run popjularjly mad] ? 
 
 Dry den. Abs. Sf Arch. 
 
 This stop is also found in verse of four accents. 
 The lord off Lome wounyt tharby. 
 That wes capitale ennymy 
 To the king for his emys sake 
 Jhon Com\yn; and] : thoucht | for to tak| 
 Wengeance. The Bruce, 2. 4U0. 
 
 Mortals, that would follow me. 
 
 Love Vir\tue, she| : alone | is freej. Comus. 
 
 Oft in glimm'ring bow'rs and glades 
 He met | her, and] : in se|cret shades | 
 Of woody Ida's inmost grove. // Penseroso. 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 162 THE STOPS. B. I. 
 
 When we see how nearly the freedom of our elder poets 
 approached to license, we may appreciate, in some mea- 
 sure, the obligations we are under to the school of Pope 
 and Dryden. The attempts to revive the abuses, which 
 they reformed, have happily, as yet, met with only partial 
 success.
 
 IG3 
 
 BOOK II 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ENGLISH RHYTHMS. THEIR ORIGIN. 
 
 Our Anglo-Saxon poems consist of certain versicles, 
 or, as we have hitherto termed them, sections, bound 
 together in pairs by the laws of alliteration. In some few 
 instances, of comparatively modern date, the bond of 
 union is the final rhime; but generally speaking, this 
 rhime is an addition to the alliteration, and not a substi- 
 tute for it. In Icelandic poems we sometimes find a 
 section occurring without its fellow ; but I have never met 
 with such a case in Anglo-Saxon verse, unless where 
 there has e^ddently been a section missing. 
 
 For the most part these sections contain tM'o or three 
 accents, but some are found containing four or even five. 
 The greater number of these longer sections may be 
 divided into two parts, which generally fulfil all the con- 
 ditions of an alliterative couplet ; and in some manuscripts 
 are actually found so divided. Whether every section of 
 more than three accents be compound, may perhaps be 
 matter of doubt. There are certainly many sections of 
 four accents, which can have no middle pause, unless it 
 fall in the midst of a word ; for example, 
 
 M 2
 
 164 ENGLISH RHYTHMS. THEIR ORIGIN. B. II. 
 
 Tha spi«c I se of |ermod]a cyiil'ing : the ser vvses eiigla scynost. 
 Then spake the haughty Uing, that ereuhile was of angels shenest. 
 
 Ccedmon. 
 
 and in the Icelandic verse of four accents, the middle 
 pause is of rare occurrence. But this is not decisive as 
 to their origin ; for if a compound section were once ad- 
 mitted, we cannot expect it would still retain all the pe- 
 culiarities of an alliterative couplet. As many of these 
 sections are obviously compound, it would perhaps be 
 safer to refer them all to an origin, which is sufificient for 
 the purpose, than to multiply the sources of our rhythms, 
 without satisfactory authority. 
 
 Such verses and alliterative couplets, as contain a com- 
 pound section, may Avell furnish matter for a distinct 
 chapter. We shall, at present, consider those only, which 
 are composed of simple sections. 
 
 We have seen, that two accented syllables may come 
 together, if they have a pause between them. This pause, 
 which has been termed the sectional pause, Avas admitted 
 into the elementary versicle. The verses, however, or 
 alliterative couplets, which contain the sectional pause, 
 are of a character so peculiar, that they may be considered 
 apart from the others, not only without injury to the ge- 
 neral arrangement, but with much advantage to the clear 
 understanding of the subject. We shall, at present, then 
 consider only such verses, as are formed of two simple 
 sections, and do not contain any sectional pause. Thus 
 restricted, the elementary versicle or section is formed 
 according to the following rules. 
 
 1 . Each couple of adjacent accents must be separated 
 by one or two syllables which are unaccented, but not by 
 more than two. 
 
 2. No section can have more than three, or less than 
 two accents. 
 
 These rules are directly at variance with those which 
 Rask has given. According to him, all the syllables be- 
 fore that, wliich contains the alliteration, form merely " a
 
 C. r. ENGLISH RHYTHMS. THEIR ORIGIN. 165 
 
 complement," and take no accent. In the following sec- 
 tion, to which Conybeare Avould have given five accents, 
 
 CEn|ne haef |de he swa [ s\vith|ne geworht|ne 
 One had he so mighty wrought. 
 
 no accent falls on the first six syllal^les, and the alHtera- 
 tive syllable swith is the first M'hich is accented ! What 
 notion Rask attached to the word accent, I am at a loss 
 to conjecture.* 
 
 When the section begins with an accent, we shall repre- 
 sent it by the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, accordingly as each couple 
 of adjacent accents are separated by one unaccented syl- 
 lable, or as the first, the second, or both couples are sepa- 
 rated by two unaccented syllables. 
 
 A^Tien the section begins with one unaccented syllable, 
 we shall, under like circumstances, designate it as 5, 6, 
 7, 8 ; and by 9, 10, 11, 12, when it begins with two unac- 
 cented svllables. 
 
 When the section ends with one or two unaccented 
 syllables, we shall represent such ending by subjoining /, 
 or //, to the figure indicating such section ; thus, 1 /, 2 //. 
 
 The section of two accents is capable but of two forms, 
 when it begins abruptly, to wit, 1 and 2 ; but as these 
 may be lengthened, and doubly lengthened, they produce 
 six varieties. It is capable of six other varieties, Avhen it 
 begins with one unaccented syllable, and of the like number 
 when it beo;ins with two. Hence the whole number of 
 possible varieties is 18. 
 
 Tlie section of three accents may take all the twelve 
 forms, and as these may be lengthened and doubly length- 
 ened, its number of possible varieties is 36. 
 
 Our verses of two and three accents consist merely of 
 the simple sections ; but the verse of four accents is the 
 
 * The attempt, ■which the same critic has made, to trace the early Gothic 
 rhythms, and the Latin hexameter to a common source, appears to me 
 equally fanciful. They that would follow Greek and Latin prosody to the 
 fountain-head, must attack the Sanscrit.
 
 16G ENGLISH RHYTHMS. THEIR ORIGIN. B. II. 
 
 representative of the short alhterative couplet, containing 
 two sections, each of two accents. The number then of 
 all the possible varieties is the product of eighteen multi- 
 plied into itself, or .'i24. In like manner, the verse of six 
 accents is composed of two sections, each containing three ; 
 and the number of possible varieties is the product of 
 thirty-six multiplied by itself, or 1296. The possible 
 varieties of the verse with five accents is also 1296 ; to wit, 
 648 when the first section has two accents, and the like 
 number when it has three. 
 
 Of this vast number, by far the larger portion has never 
 yet been applied to the purposes of verse. Probably the 
 rhythms, that would result from some of the combina- 
 tions, would be too vague, and others too abrupt and un- 
 even [in their flow, to yield that pleasure which is always 
 expected from measured language. But there are doubt- 
 less many combinations, as yet untried, which would 
 satisfy the ear; and it is matter of surprise, that at a 
 time when novelty has been sought after with so much 
 zeal, and often to the sacrifice of the highest principles, 
 that a path so promising should have been adventured 
 upon so seldom. 
 
 When the accents of a section are separated by two un- 
 accented syllables, the rhythm has been called the triple 
 measure ; and the common measure, when they are only 
 separated by a single syllable. It was a favourite hypo- 
 thesis of Mitford, that these two were the roots, from 
 whence had sprung all the varied measures of our lan- 
 guage ; and that they were immediately connected with 
 the common and triple times in music. Were the opinion 
 as sound as it is ingenious, we should find these metres 
 standing out in more distinct and bolder relief, the deeper 
 we penetrated into the antiquity of our rhythms. But, on 
 the contrary, we find all our older poems exhibiting a 
 rhythm of a composite and intermediate character ; and it 
 is not till a period comparatively modern, that the com- 
 mon and triple measures disentangle themselves from the
 
 C. I. ENGLISH RHYTHMS. THEIR ORIGIN. 16"7 
 
 heap, and form, as it Avere, the two limits of our English 
 rhythms. There can be no doubt — for we have contem- 
 porary evidence of the fact — that Anglo-Saxon verse was 
 sung to the harp ; perhaps it may be granted, that the 
 common and triple times in music were then well-known 
 and familiar, but Mitford's error lay in assuming, that 
 every syllable had its own peculiar note. The musical 
 composer of the present day does not confine each syl- 
 lable to a single note, and we have no reason for sup- 
 posing that the Anglo-Saxon was more scrupulous. Had 
 he been so, it would have been impossible to have recited 
 Anglo-Saxon verse with a musical accompaniment, whe- 
 ther in the common, or in the triple time. 
 
 ENGLISH RHYTHMS. THEIR CHARACTER. 
 
 As there is always a tendency to dwell upon the ac- 
 cented syllable, cceteris paribus a verse will be pronounced 
 the more rapidly, the smaller the number of its accents. 
 Hence the triple metre is more suited to light themes, 
 and the common metre to those of a more stately charac- 
 ter. With the masters of the art, the rhythm ever accom- 
 modates itself to the subject. We find it changing, as 
 far as its range will allow, from the triple to the common 
 measure, or from the common to the triple, as the subject 
 changes from the lively to the sad, from motion to repose, 
 or the contrary. The White Lady's song Avill afford us 
 an example of the first change, 
 
 Merlrily swim ] we, the moon | shines bright], 
 Dovvn|ward we drift | through shad[ow and light|, 
 Unlder yon rock | the ed|dies sleep| 
 Calm I and si\lent, dark \ and deep\. W. Scott. 
 
 and the song of " my delicate Ariel" of the second. 
 
 Where | the bee | sucks, there | suck I|, 
 hi I a cows|lip's bell | I lie| ; 
 There 1 I couch|, when owls j do cry|. 
 On I the bat's j back I | do fly |
 
 168 ENGLISH RHYTHMS. THEIR CHARACTER. B. II. 
 
 Af|ter sumlmer merlrily|. 
 
 Mer\r'tly, mer\rily, shall | I live twiv\, 
 
 Un\der the blos\som that hangs \ on the bough\. 
 
 Tempest, 5. 1. 
 
 If there be ^ given number of accents, this change of 
 rhythm will, of course, bring with it an increased number 
 of syllables. This probably misled Pope. He seems to 
 have thought, that, to represent rapid motion, it was siif- 
 ficient to crowd his verse with syllables ; and for this pur- 
 pose he even added to the number of his accents ! Who 
 can wonder at his failure ? 
 
 Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain. 
 Flies I o'erth' unbenlding corn| : and skims | along | the main[. 
 
 The character of the triple measure may, however, be 
 best illustrated by an example, in which it has been mis- 
 applied. A worthy and a pious man describes the guilt 
 and fears of the sinner, in the following jingle ; 
 
 My soul I is besetj. 
 With grief | and dismay [ ; 
 I owe I a vast debt] 
 And noth|ing can pay|. 
 
 I must I go to pris|on. 
 Unless 1 that dear Lord[, 
 Who died | and is risjen, 
 His mer|cy afford |. 
 
 With what a different rhythm does his " friend" clothe 
 the subject ! 
 
 My forjmer hopes | are fled] 
 My ter|ror now | begins | ; 
 I feel I alas I : that I | am deadj 
 In tres I passes | and sins|. 
 
 Again, as the pronunciation of an accent requires some 
 muscular exertion, a verse is generally the more energetic, 
 the greater the number of its accents. Hence, other 
 things being equal, a verse increases in energy, as its 
 rhythm approaches the common measure, and a verse of
 
 C. I. EXGLISH RHYTHMS. THEIR CHARACTER. 1(J9 
 
 the common measure is most energetic, when it l)egins 
 and ends with an accented syllable. Hence in great 
 measure the beautv of the following war-sonar ; 
 
 Quit I the plough I : the loom], the mine]. 
 Quit I the joys] : the heart | eutwine]. 
 Join I our broth jcrs : on | the brine], 
 Arm], ye brave],: orslavjery]. 
 
 For 1 our homes] : our all , our name], 
 Blast I again] : the ty]ranfs aim], 
 Britjain's wrongs] : swift ven]geance claim], 
 Rush I to arms] : or slav]ery]. 
 
 Again, what stern energy has CoAAi^er breathed over the 
 spirit of the warrior queen ! 
 
 When I the Brit|ish : warjrior queen], 
 Bleedjing from] : the Ro]man rods]. 
 Sought I with an] : iudig]nant mien], 
 Coun]sel of] : her counltry Gods], &c. 
 
 How different the rhythm from that, in which he intro- 
 duces the heart-broken wretchedness of the slave, 
 
 Wide o]ver the trem]ulous sea]. 
 The moon | shed her man] tie of light], 
 And the breeze ( gently dyjing away], 
 '" Breath'd soft | on the bosjom of night], &c. 
 
 Sometimes a verse of the triple metre begins with an 
 accented syllable, or as we shall hereafter term it, begins 
 abruptly. If it be short, so that the accented syllables be 
 equal, or nearly equal, in number to the unaccented, it 
 combines considerable force and energy with great rapidity 
 of utterance, and is in some cases wonderfully effective. 
 
 Thus I said the rojver 
 To's I gallant crew]. 
 Up I with the black | flag 
 Down ] with the blue]. 
 
 Fire | on the main] -top. 
 
 Fire | on the bow). 
 
 Fire ] on the gun] -deck, 
 
 Fire I down below]. W. Scott.
 
 170 ENGLISH RHYTHMS. THEIR CHARACTER. B. II. 
 
 When the verse increases in length, the energy with 
 which it begins soon dies away into feebleness; its rapi- 
 dity, however, remains uninjured. Byron has chosen it, 
 and not unhappily, to embody the tumultuous feelings 
 and passions, and the sad forebodings, which hurried 
 through the soul of Saul before his battle with the Phi- 
 listine. 
 
 War|riors and chiefs | should the shaft | or the swordj 
 Pierce | me in lead|ing the host | of the Lord], 
 Heed [ not the corse |, though a king's |, in your path|, 
 Bur|y your steel ] in the bosjonis of Gath|. 
 
 Thou I who art bear|ing ray buck|ler and bovv|, 
 Should the sol|diers of Saul [ look away | from the foe|, 
 Stretch | me that mo|ment in blood | at thy feet]. 
 Mine | be the doom | which they dared \ not to meet]. 
 
 Fare|well to oth|ers, but nev|er we part], 
 Heir | to my roy]alty, son | of my heart], 
 Bright 1 is the di|adem, bound|less the sway], 
 Or king|ly the death | that awaits | us to-day |. 
 
 When a verse or section opens with an accent, followed 
 by two unaccented syllables, the rapid utterance, imme- 
 diately preceded by muscular exertion, produces in some 
 cases a very striking effect. Force, unless counteracted, 
 always produces motion ; the mind, almost instinctively, 
 links the two together ; and such a flow of rhythm will fre- 
 quently raise the idea, not merely of power, but of power 
 in energetic action. Hence in great measure the beauty 
 of the two examples last quoted. 
 
 The effect, however, of this particular rhythm is more 
 felt in those metres, which approach nearer to the com- 
 mon measure, and so afford us the advantages of contrast. 
 
 The gates that now 
 
 Stood open wide: belchjiug outrage|ou3 flame] 
 
 Farinto Chaos — P. L. 10. 
 
 A sea of blood : gush'd I from the ga|ping vvound[. 
 
 F. Q. 1.8. 16.
 
 C. I. ENGLISH RHYTHMS. THEIR CHARACTER. 171 
 
 Then shall this mount 
 
 Of Paradise, by might of waves be mov'd 
 
 Out I of his place I : push'd | by the horn|ed flood |. 
 
 P.L. II. 
 
 So steers the prudent crane 
 
 Her annual voyage, borne on winds j the air 
 Floats I as they pass| : faiui'd | with uniium|ber'(i pliimes|. 
 
 P. L. 7. 
 
 In the common measure, this particular rhythm may 
 also sometimes express, very happily, a sudden change of 
 feelino; or of situation. 
 
 I '11 eive thrice as much land 
 
 To any well-deserving friend — 
 
 But in the way of bargain, mark ye me 
 
 I'll cavil on the ninth part of a hair. 
 
 Are I the inden|tures drawn] r : shall | we be gone] ? 
 
 1 /r4, 3. 1. 
 
 O fairest of creation ! last and best 
 
 Of all God's works, creature in whom excell'd 
 
 AMiatever can to sight or thought be form'd 
 
 Holy, divine, good, amiable or sweet, 
 
 How I art thou lost| : how [ on a sud|den lost] ! P. L. 9. 
 
 Occasionally, similar effects are produced by making 
 two unaccented syllables follow the second accent in a 
 section ; 
 
 On a sudden open fly 
 
 ^Vith I impet|uous recoil, : and jarring sound 
 
 Th' infernal doors. P. L. 2. 
 
 'Tis an unruly and a hard-mouth'd horse — 
 Twill no unskilful touch endure. 
 But flings 1 wri|ter and read|er too] : that sits not sure. 
 
 Cowley. 
 
 Again, sameness or similarity of rhythm may be made 
 to answer several important purposes. It may be used to 
 bring out more forcibly the points of a contrast ; 
 
 Ay I if thou wilt | say av| : to my | request]. 
 
 No ] if thou wilt j say no] : to my ( demand]. 3 i/6, 3. 2.
 
 172 ENGLISH RHYTHMS. THEIR CHARACTER. B. II. 
 
 Not sleep|ing to | engrossl : Lis i|dle bod|y 
 
 But prayjing to | enrich] : his watch|ful soul]. R 3, 3. 7. 
 
 It will also aid in calling up in the mind the idea of 
 succession ; 
 
 So man|y ho|urs : must | I tend j my flock , 
 
 So man|y hojurs : must | I take | my rest]. 
 
 So man|y ho|urs: must | I con|temi)late|, &c. 3 H 6, 2. 5. 
 
 0|ver hillj : o|ver dale|, 
 
 Tho|ro flood| : tho|io fire|, 
 
 0|ver park] : o|ver pale|, 
 
 Tho|ro bush| : tho|ro bner|, 
 
 I must wander, &c. M. N. D. 
 
 Milton often represented in this way, a multitudinous 
 succession. He used, for the same purpose, a recurrence 
 of similar sounds, and sometimes mere alhteration ; 
 
 Ai)|guish and doubt ] and fear] : and sor|row and pain|, 
 
 P. L. 1. 
 With ru|in up|on ru|in : rout | on rout|, 
 Confulsion worse | confounjded — P. L- 2. 
 
 O'er shields | and helms] : and heljmed heads | he rode|. 
 
 P. L. 6. 
 Well have we speeded, and o'er hill and dale 
 For|est and field | and flood] : tem]ple and tow'er]. 
 Cut shorter many a league. P. R, 3. 
 
 The peculiar nature of Anglo-Saxon poetry allowed 
 great scope for the recurrence of the same rhythm, and 
 the ear of the Anglo-Saxon poet seems to have been most 
 sensitively alive to its beauty. In those j^arallelisms, as 
 Conybeare has termed them, which form so striking a 
 feature of their lyric poems, we find the rhythm evidently 
 formed upon the same model. It often rises and falls, 
 in the two passages, with a flow and with pauses almost 
 identical. 
 
 When the accent is strongly marked, the rhythm has a 
 precision, which often gives it much force and spirit. 
 Alliteration is sometimes used for this purpose ;
 
 C. r. ENGLISH RHYTHMS. THEIR CHARACTER. 173 
 
 Ou last I leg|dun : l;ith|um leod|uin. 
 
 At foot they laid ou the loathed bands. 
 
 The Brunanburgh war-song. 
 
 Courage yields 
 
 No foot I to foe| : the flash ing fi|er flyesj 
 
 As from a forge. F. Q. \. 2. \7. 
 
 When, on the contrary, the rhythm rests on weak and 
 secondary accents, it has that character of languor and 
 feebleness, which Milton seems to have affected, whenever 
 he had to describe an object of overwhelming dimension 
 or difficulty. 
 
 Iiisu|i)era|ble height] : of Iof|tiest shade]. 
 
 Cedar and pine and fir — P. L. 4. 
 
 A dark 
 
 lllini|ita]ble o]cean : w'ith|out bound]. P. L. 2. 
 
 Craggy cliff that overhung 
 
 Still I as it rose] : imposjsible | to chmbj. P. L. A. 
 
 Here | in perpetjual : ag]ouy ] and pain]. P.L. 2. 
 
 So he I with dif ]ficul|ty : and lajbour hard] 
 
 Mov'd on], with dif |ficul]ty : and la|bour hcj. P. L. 2. 
 
 Ccedmon and other Anglo-Saxon poets generally marked 
 an emphatic word by means of the sectional pause. 
 They generally prefaced in this way the name of the 
 Deity. 
 
 Tha woe|ron geset]te : wid]e and sid]e 
 
 Thurh I geweald] — god\es : wuljdres bearn]um. 
 
 They were y-set, wide and far. 
 
 Through the power of God, for the sons of Glory. Ccedmon. 
 
 Among later writers, we occasionally find the middle 
 pause used for the like purposes ; 
 
 With huge | force and] : e«]supporta]ble might]. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 7. 11. 
 
 Firm they might have stood 
 
 Yet fell] ; remenijber and] : fear | to transgress]. P. L. 6.
 
 174 ENGLISH RHYTHMS. J5. II. 
 
 ENGLISH RHYTHMS. THEIR HISTORY. 
 
 It may be doubted, whether the earhest rhythms, that 
 were known to our Race, were accentual or temporah 
 We have poems written by Enghshmen as early as the 
 seventh century, and others which were probably written 
 in the fourth ; and in none of these are found the slightest 
 traces of a temporal rhythm. But we must remember, 
 that the Goths were a people very diiferently situated 
 from those, which regulated their metres by the laws of 
 quantity. The Hindoos, Greeks, and Latins, were settled 
 races; and were not till a late period in their history, 
 subject to any of those convulsions, which change the 
 character and fortunes of a people. The other tribes, 
 which formed the Indo-European family — the Celts, the 
 Goths, the Slaves — appear almost from the first as migra- 
 tory hordes ; and traversed one-fourth of the earth's cir- 
 cuit as fugitives or invaders. It is possible, that these 
 fearful changes may have wrought the same revolution in 
 their poetry, that their own invasions seem afterwards to 
 have effected in the prosodial systems of Greece and 
 Rome. 
 
 Again, there can be little doubt, that the Greek and 
 Latin metres were mere varieties of the Sanscrit ; and 
 that the three races derived their rhythms from one com- 
 mon source. Now the early Gothic dialects, in their syn- 
 tax and their accidence, approach the Sanscrit full as 
 nearly as do the Greek and Latin ; it is probable, there- 
 fore, that they may at one time have no less resembled 
 the Sauiscrit in their prosody. 
 
 As, however, no temporal rhythms are to be found in 
 our literature, this is an inquiry rather curious than use- 
 ful. A more important question is — what are the forms 
 in which accentual rhythm made its first appearance 
 amongst us. 
 
 If the Song of the Traveller were composed in the 
 fourth century, there must have been great variety of
 
 C. I. ENGLISH RHYTHMS. THEIR HISTORY. 175 
 
 rhythm even at that early period ; as there certainly was 
 in the seventh century, when Ctedmon wrote. It is, how- 
 ever, probable, that the earliest rhythms were of a simj^ler 
 and more uniform character. The short verses, which 
 are found in the Anglo-Saxon war-songs, have at once a 
 character of simplicity, and one which shows most strik- 
 ingly the advantages of the initial rhime or alliteration. 
 Most of the alliterative couplets have only four accents — 
 very few indeed have so many as six. The second sec- 
 tion, almost invariably, begins with an alliterative sylla- 
 l)le, and in most cases the first section also. Hence the 
 flow of the rhythm is abrupt and forcible ; or, to use lan- 
 guage more famihar than correct, it is generally trochaic 
 or dactylic. 
 
 The aljrupt commencement of the second section was 
 doubtless the chief reason, why the middle pause was so 
 important in Anglo-Saxon poetry. The sharp and sud- 
 den di\'ision between the two sections was well fitted for 
 the termination of a period ; and we accordingly find 
 more sentences ending in the middle, than at the end of a 
 couplet. This is a very striking peculiarity of Anglo- 
 Saxon verse. 
 
 When writing on more serious subjects, the Anglo- 
 Saxon poet generally lengthened his rhythms, and fre- 
 quently employed couplets of six or even seven accents. 
 The sections also more commonly began Avith unaccented 
 syllables ; but the middle pause still retained its impor- 
 tance. 
 
 When a section contained three or more accents, it 
 generally approached more nearly to the common measure, 
 than to the triple ; but that the flow of the triple measure 
 was neither unknown nor altogether disfavoured, is clear 
 from several passages in the Song of the Traveller. In 
 most cases, however, the rhythm was not sufficiently 
 continuous, to give it that marked and pecuhar character 
 which is observable — and sometimes very obtrusively 
 so — in modern versification. 
 
 The authority of Bedc seems to be decisive against
 
 17(J ENGLISH RHYTHMS. THEIR HISTORY. B. II. 
 
 Anglo-Saxon metre, meaning by that word any law, which 
 confines the rhythm within narroiv bounds, either as to 
 the number of syllables or of accents. Our scholars were 
 jjrobably the first to bend the neck to the yoke ; and the 
 ecclesiastical chants seem to have been the chief means 
 of spreading it among the people. 
 
 Accentual rhythms with four accents were in frequent 
 use, among our latinists, at a very early period ; but were 
 not adopted into our vernacular poetry till the twelfth 
 century. The influence of this new metre was very 
 widely felt, even in our alliterative poetry. One of the 
 distinctions between the rhythm of Layamon and of his 
 Anglo-Saxon predecessors, is the great number of rhiming 
 couplets formed upon this model. 
 
 But the accentual verse of fifteen syllables, formed after 
 the Tetrameter Iambic Catalectic, and which overspread 
 the Greek and Latin churches in the eleventh and twelfth 
 centuries, worked the greatest changes in our English 
 rhythms. The long verses of six or seven accents, in 
 which were written the Lives of the Saints, and so many 
 other works of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, were 
 its direct descendants ; and, through these, we may 
 connect it with our psalm metres, and other varieties 
 of what are sometimes called our Lyric Measures. Their 
 influence also on our alliterative poetry produced, in the 
 thirteenth century, that variety, which Ave have designated 
 as the Old English alHterative metre. In this metre, the 
 verses had seldom less than six, and generally seven ac- 
 cents, of which the first section contained four ; whereas, 
 in Anglo-Saxon verse, the section which contained the 
 four accents was generally the second. The middle pause 
 too, was invariably subordinate to the final. The rhythm 
 inclined very generally to the triple measure. \n this 
 metre were written some of our best, though least known, 
 romances, and some of our finest satires. It lingered in 
 Scotland, and in the north of England, till the reign of 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 After alliteration, as a system, had been lost, some
 
 C. I. ENGLISH RHYTHMS, THEIR HISTORY. l// 
 
 writers %yished to unite the utmost license of alliterative 
 rhythm Avith the forms of metrical verse. Hence, we had 
 lines of four, five, or six accents, and which contained 
 every variety of rhythmical flow, arranged in staves, fre- 
 quently of the most complex structure. I have bor- 
 rowed a term used by a royal critic, and called these 
 slovenly verses the " tumbling" metre. Skelton and 
 many of his contemporaries patronised it. 
 
 The short and rhiming couplets of four, five, or six 
 accents, in which some of our earlier romances Avere writ- 
 ten — King Horn, for example — seem to be the lineal de- 
 scendants of the rhiming Anglo-Saxon poems. They difFer 
 from their predecessors, merely in dropping the allitera- 
 tion, and confining the rhime within narrower limits ; tlie 
 rhythm is but slightly changed. The same short verses 
 are found, strongly affected by foreign influences, in the 
 lays and virelays of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries ; 
 and there can be little doubt that the " short measures" 
 of Skelton, " pleasing only the popular eare," which Put- 
 tenham so strongly inveighs against, were handed doAvn 
 by tradition, as the genuine representatives of the same 
 venerable stock. 
 
 Our heroic verse, as it has been called of late, was for- 
 merly known by the more homely appellation of incline/ 
 rhime. It was familiarly used by our countrymen, in 
 their French poems, as early as the 12th century; but 
 Hampole, or AA'hoever Avas the author of the Pricke of 
 Conscience, appears to haA'e been the first Avho Avrote in 
 it any English poem of consequence. 
 
 Chaucer strictly confined this rhythm to fi\^e accents, 
 but certainly alloAved himself great freedom in the number 
 of his syllables. His rhythm, hoAA^ever, alAA'ays approaches 
 that of the common measure, and is Avidely different from 
 the impudent license of the tumbling metre. The writers 
 of Elizabeth's reign, though they introduced the Alexan- 
 drine, tied the A'erse of fiA-e accents to greater precision ; 
 and in this they AAcre followed by Milton. The scliool of 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 17^ ENGLISH RHYTHMS. THEIR HI.STORY. B. 11, 
 
 Drydeii and Pope narrowed its rhythm yet more ; and as 
 they left it, it has since continued. 
 
 This shght notice may prepare the reader for the use 
 of certain terms, which it has been found convenient to 
 employ in the following chapters. Before, however, we 
 proceed, I would call his attention to a subject, very 
 nearly connected with the one before us, and upon which, 
 as it seems to me, very serious mistakes have prevailed of 
 late years. 
 
 ELISIOX. 
 
 From the fourteenth to the sixteenth century, the pro- 
 nunciation of our language varied much in different coun- 
 ties. In some the shorter vowels were very generally 
 elided, in others they were scrupulously preserved. Some 
 writers always pronounced the following words with two 
 syllables, enniye, destmje, victry, counslour, &c, and w^rote 
 them accordingly; while others, who sometimes gave 
 them an additional syllal)le, wrote them either with a 
 mark of elision en'my, or in full enemy. The right to 
 drop a syllable is claimed by our modern poets, in many 
 hundreds of instances ; but whether the spelling should 
 warn the reader of their intention to exercise such right, 
 has been doubted. 
 
 As this is, in some degree, a question of orthography, 
 which is so much a matter of convention, we will first 
 inquire what has hitherto been the prevailing usage. 
 
 During the reign of Elizabeth, we find the orthography 
 far more generally accommodated to the rhythm in poems 
 of a strict and obvious metre, than in those wdiere the 
 rhythm was loose — in the poems of Churchyarde, Gas- 
 coigne, and other writers of the ballad stanza, than in the 
 works of our dramatists. We may conclude, therefore, 
 that the printers were at that time ready to assist, and, as 
 far as their knowledge went, actually did assist the reader 
 in the scansion of the verse. 
 
 Shakespeare, it is well known, never printed his works ;
 
 c. I. Ki.isrox. 17'> 
 
 the first folio, now, in more than one sense, dear to the 
 collector, was edited by the players. We cannot expect 
 that the orthography would be more attended to than the 
 sense, which is often obscure and even unintelli2;ible. We 
 may find tlie same word spelt two and even three dif- 
 ferent ways in the same page ; the contracted word is 
 often found Avritten at full length, and the word which has 
 its full quota of syllables, is found contracted. But, on 
 the whole, there is evidently a wish to spell according to 
 the pronunciation. 
 
 The Paradise Lost was printed during the blindness of 
 Milton, under the supervision of his nephew. Some 
 classes of words had their contractions indicated, and 
 others not ; for instance, the elision of the final vowel is 
 noticed in the article, but not in other words. Bentley 
 observes that ^Milton " in thousands of places melts down 
 the vowel at the end of a word, if the following word 
 begins with a vowel. This poetical lil^erty he took from 
 the Greeks and Latins;* but he followed not the former, 
 who strike the vowels quite out of the text, but the latter, 
 who retain them in the line, though thev are absorbed in 
 the speaking." Therefore to help " such readers as know 
 not, or not readily knoM- where such elision is to take 
 place," he marks such vowels with an apostrophe. He 
 seems also to have distinguished between words, that 
 regularly elided the short vowel, and those, which did so 
 only occasionally, writing weltrinrj without an apostrophe, 
 but conqror with one. Milton's next editor, Newton, 
 somewhat varied the orthography. He warns the reader 
 of the elision of the short vowel after the long one, as in 
 riot., being, &c., and wrote prison, reason, instead of 
 Bentley's j^^'is'n and reas'n. Later editors " have endea- 
 voured to deserve well of their country," hx clearing Mil- 
 ton's page of these deformities. The merit of the task 
 cannot well be less than its difficulty. 
 
 * Bentley was a Greek scliolar, but certainh- not an English one; see p. 70. 
 
 X 2
 
 I80 ELI8IOX. B. II 
 
 It -would not be difficult to assign a motive for the 
 strong feeling, that has prevailed during the last half cen- 
 tury, against the old and " barbarous" orthography. Though 
 Tyrwhitt objected to Urry's mode of marking the final e 
 when vocal, sioete, halve. Sec, as " an innovation in ortho- 
 graphy," and " apt to mislead the ignorant reader, for 
 whom it only could be intended,'' he must have been con- 
 scious, that upon this subject (perhaps the most difficult 
 that can be submitted to an English scholar) no reader could 
 be more ignorant than himself. But there was little fear of 
 criticism, and who would volunteer a confession of igno- 
 rance ? Even Gifford, whose stern good sense, and aus- 
 tere honesty might, one would have thought, have stemm'd 
 the current, boasts of rescuing Jonson from " the un- 
 couth and antiquated garb of his age ;"* and when editing 
 Massinger, prides himself upon the " removal of such 
 barbarous contractions, as conq'ring, ad'mant, ranc'rous, 
 ign'rant, &c." Yet it would be easy to point out many 
 hundreds of verses, the right reading of which, owing to 
 these " silent reforms," has ever since been a mystery to 
 the general reader ; and some, which I suspect, it would 
 have puzzled the editor himself to have scanned cor- 
 rectly. 
 
 Those who object to the " syncopes and apocopes," 
 belong chiefly to two classes. In the first place, there are 
 some, who presume upon the reader's knowledge, and 
 think with Tyrwhitt, that he who knows not where to 
 contract the es and the ed, that is, the terminations of the 
 plural and of the perfect, " had better not trouble his 
 head about the versification of Chaucer." There are 
 others, who think the elision or the pronunciation of the 
 
 * He proceeds with strange inconsistency, and a singular forgetfulness 
 of what was the real usage of the time, to observe " The barbarous contrac- 
 tions therefore, the syncopes and apocopes which deformed the old folios 
 (for the quartos are remarkably free from them) have been regulated, and 
 the appearance of the poet's page assimilated in a great degree to that of 
 his contemporaries, who ppoke and wrote the same language as himself."
 
 C. I. KMSION. 13] 
 
 vowel a matter of indifference, and that if the ear be not 
 offended by any " cacophony," the rhythm nmst be 
 satisfied. 
 
 I would submit to the first of these classes, the three 
 following lines, which were once brought forward to show 
 that our heroic verse would admit three syllables, in any 
 one of the three first feet ; 
 
 Ominous 1 conjecture ou the whole success. 
 
 P. L. 2. 123. 
 A piljlar of stdte [ deep on his front engraven, 
 
 P. L. 2. 302. 
 
 Celestial spirjits in bonjdage nor the abyss. 
 
 P. L. 2. 658. 
 
 and also the two lines, which Bishop Newton quotes, 
 to prove that our heroic verse would admit either a 
 " dactyle" or an " anapaest;"* 
 
 Hurl'd headlong flaming from th' ethereal sky. P.L. 1. 45. 
 Myriads though bright ! if he whom mutual league — 
 
 P. L. \, 87. 
 
 Now, if the most admired of Milton's editors were 
 ignorant of the real number of syllables contained in 
 the words, ethereal and myriads ; if a critic of Tyrwhitt's 
 reputation did not know that ominous, pillar, and sjnrit 
 were to be pronounced om'nous, pilVr, and sp'rit ; can 
 we fairly expect such knowledge to flash, as it were by 
 intuition, upon the uninstructed reader ? 
 
 Of late years, however, the fashionable opinion has 
 been, that in such cases the vovrel may be pronounced 
 without injury to the rhythm. Thelwall discovered in 
 Milton " an appogiatura, or syllable more than is counted 
 in the bar," and was of opinion that such syllables " con- 
 stitute an essential part of the expressive harmony of the 
 best writers, and should never in typography or utterance 
 
 * The reader need hardly be told how confused are the Editor's notions 
 upon the subject of accent and quantity.
 
 18:2 KMsiox. B. II. 
 
 be superseded by the barbarous expedient of elision." 
 He marks them with the short qxiantity, and reads the 
 following verses one with twelve, and the other with 
 thirteen syllables ! 
 
 Covering the beach, and blackening all the strand. Dryden. 
 Ungrateful offering to the immortal powers. Pope. 
 
 But there are men, entitled to our respect, whose writ- 
 ings, to a certain extent, have countenanced this error. 
 Both Wordsworth and Coleridge use certain words, 
 as though they still contained the same number of sylla- 
 bles, as in the time of Shakespeare. Thus they make 
 delicate a dissyllal)le, yet would certainly shrink from 
 pronouncing it del' cafe. The associations connected with 
 this Shakespearian dissyllable were doubtless the mo- 
 tive ; but they are purchased much too dearly if the 
 rhythm be sacrificed. The pettiness of the delinquency 
 cannot be pleaded; for if a short and "evanescent" syl- 
 lable may be ol)truded, so may also a long one. 
 
 That the poets and critics of Elizabeth's reign did not 
 entertain the same opinion on this subject, as their editors, 
 is certain. " This poetical license," Gascoigne observes, 
 " is a shrewcle fellow, and covereth many faults in a verse, 
 it maketh wordes longer, shorter, of mo syllables, of fewer 
 — and to conclude, it turkeneth all things at pleasure ; for 
 example — orecome for overcome, tune for taken, pmver for 
 poivre, lieavun for heavn, &c." Gabriel Harvey, after en- 
 tering his protest against the use of heavn, seavn, eleavn, 
 evn, did, &c., as dissyllables, the same being contrary to 
 the received pronunciation of the day, proceeds, " Many, 
 I confesse, some wordes we have indeed, as fayer either 
 for beautiful or for a mavte, ayer both pro acre and pro 
 hccrede, for we say not lieire, but plaine aire* for him to, 
 
 * The old English e.yr a son, answering to the Dutch nir an offspring, 
 was first spelt with an h, during the I6th century ; the pedantry of tlie age, 
 of course, seeing nothing Init u Latin original, halves. In like manner, our 
 modern man of travel writes suit with an e, suite; though tlie word has 
 formed part of our vulgar tongue since the days of Alfred.
 
 C. I. ELISION. 18S 
 
 (or else Scoggins's aier were a poor jest), whiche are com- 
 monly and niaye indifferently be used either wayes. For 
 you shall as well and as ordinarily heare f(iyer as /aire, 
 and aier as aire, and both alike, not only of dyvers and 
 sundrie persons, but often of the very same ; otherwhiles 
 using the one, otherwyles using the other ; and so died or 
 dyde, spied or spide, tryed or tryde, fyer or fyre, myer or 
 myre, Avith an infinite number of the same sorte, some- 
 time monosyllaba, sometime polysyllaba." He also ob- 
 jected to some of Spenser's "trimetra" (that is, English 
 verses written on the model of the Trimeter Iambic) that 
 they had a foot too many, unless it were " sawed off with 
 a payre of syncopes, and then should the orthographic 
 have testified so muche ; and instead of heavenli vir- 
 ginals, you should have written heavnli virgnals, and again, 
 virgnah againe in the ninth, and should have made a cur- 
 toll of immerito in the laste, &c." Hence it is clear that 
 the "barbarous contractions" so much inveighed against, 
 are not chargeable upon the ignorance of the printer; 
 they form j^art of a system of orthography, deliberately 
 adopted by men of education, to suit a particular state of 
 our language ; and it seems to be as absurd, to exchange 
 these peculiarities of spelling for those of modern date, 
 as it would be to pare down the language of Homer to the 
 Atticism of the Tragedians. The blunders of the trans- 
 criber and printer consisted chiefly in misapplying the 
 orthography of the day ; it is the duty of an editor (and 
 sometimes not an easy duty) to correct these blunders, 
 and not to shrink from the responsibility, under the pre- 
 tence of purifying the text. The works of Burns have the 
 spelling accommodated to the rhythm ; why not those of 
 Shakesj^eare and his contemporaries ? 
 
 ARRANGEMENT OF THE SUBJECT. 
 
 In the next chapter we shall consider those verses 
 which consist of a single section ; or, in other words, our 
 verses of two and tl)rce accents. The tliird chapter Avill
 
 184 ARRANGEMENT OF THE SUBJECT. B. II. 
 
 he devoted to the verse of fovir accents ; the fourth to 
 such verses of live accents, as contain two in the first 
 section ; and the fifth to such verses as contain three. 
 The sixth chapter will discuss the verse of six accents. 
 In the seventh Ave shall consider those verses which con- 
 tain a compound section ; and in the last, those which 
 admit the sectional pause.
 
 r. II. 1.^5 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 VERSES CONSISTING OF A SIiVGLE SECTIOX. 
 
 In certain staves, we meet with lines containing only 
 one accent. These in the 13th and 14th centuries seldom 
 contained more than one or, at most, two syllables ; and 
 seem to have been known by the expressive name of bobs, 
 that is pendants. They will be noticed in the last book ; 
 for in no point of view can they be considered as verses. 
 The same may be said of the lines containing one accent 
 and three syllables, which some of our modern poets have 
 patronized ; 
 
 Hearts beat|ing 
 At meet|iiig, 
 Tears start |iiig 
 At j)artliiig. 
 
 It would be absurd to call these lines verses. Two of 
 them, if joined together, would form the section 6" /. with 
 the double rhime — a rhiming section, Mhich, for ages has 
 been familiar to our poetry. They ought to have been 
 written accordingly. 
 
 VERSE OF TWO ACCENTS. 
 
 The section 1. of two accents is rarely met with as an 
 independent verse. The cause was evidently its short- 
 ness. Shakespeare, liowever, has adopted it into that 
 pecuhar rhythm, in which are expressed the wants and 
 wishes of \n^ fairy -laud. This rhythm consists of abrupt 
 verses of two, three, or four accents ; it belongs to the 
 common measure, and abounds in the sectional pause.
 
 18G VERSK OK J'WO ACCKNTS. B. II. 
 
 Under Shakespeare's sanction, it has become classical, and 
 must now be considered as the fairy dialect of English 
 literature. 
 
 On I the ground I 
 
 Sleep sound, 
 
 I'll I apply I 
 
 To I your eye|. 
 Gentle lover, remedy. 
 
 'When I thou vvak'st|, 
 
 Thou tak'st 
 
 True 1 delight] 
 
 In I the siglit| 
 Of thy former lady's eye. M. N. D. 3. 2. 
 
 The section 1 /. was common in those short rhythms, 
 Avhich abounded in the IGth century under the patronage 
 of Skelton, Drayton, and others their contemporaries. 
 Campion actually wrote a madrigal in this measure, which 
 he called the Anacreontic ; 
 
 Foljlovve, fol|lo\ve, 
 though I with uiis[chiefe 
 arm'd ( like whirle|-wind 
 now I she flies ] thee ; 
 time I can con|f|uer 
 loves I unkind|nes j 
 love I can aljtor 
 times I disgrac|es ; 
 till I death faint j not 
 then, I but fol|lowe. 
 
 2. 
 
 Could I I catch | that 
 nimb|le trayjter 
 skorn|full Lawjra, 
 svvift|-foote Lavv|ra, 
 soone I then would | 1 
 sceke | avenge |nicnt ; 
 what's I th' avenge I uicut ? 
 cv'n I subniisse|iy 
 pros|trate then j tu 
 beg I for merlcyc.
 
 C. II. VERSE OF TWO ACCENTS. 1^7 
 
 Sections J. 2 L are not uncommon ; 
 
 The steel we touch, 
 
 Forc'd ne'er so much. 
 
 Yet still removes 
 
 To that it loves. 
 
 Till there it stays ; 
 
 So I to yoiu- praise|, 
 
 I turn ever ; 
 
 And though never 
 
 From you moving 
 
 Haplpy so lovjing. Dm //ton. 
 
 But the Section 5. was, as might have been expected, 
 the chief staple of these short rhythms ; 
 
 Most good I most fair| 
 
 Or things ] most rare] 
 
 To call I you's lost|. 
 
 For all I the cost] 
 
 AVords can bestow 
 
 So poorjly show I 
 
 Upon I your praise]. 
 
 That all | the \vays| 
 
 Sense hath ] come shortj. Draijton. 
 
 Section G. was sometimes n^et with; 
 
 1. 
 
 Pleasure it ys 
 To here I vvys 
 The birds syngynge ! 
 The dere ] in the dalej, 
 The shepe 1 in the vale|. 
 The corne spryiigyng, 
 2 
 
 Cods purveyance 
 For sustenance. 
 It is for man ! &c. 
 
 Ballet, writ tc» (thou f 1300.
 
 18S )!, II. 
 
 VERSE OF THREE ACCENTS. 
 
 The Sections 1 . and 1 /. with three accents are fre- 
 quently met with. There is one kind of metre in which 
 these verses occur alternately. It has been revived by 
 Moore ; 
 
 Fill the bumper fair, 
 Ev'ry drop we sprinkle, 
 O'er the brow of Care, 
 Smooths away a wrinkle, &c. 
 
 The Section 2. is not unfrequently mixed up with the 
 other Sections of three accents ; 
 
 Thus, while we are abroad. 
 
 Shall I we not touch j our lyre] ? 
 
 Shall I we not sing | an ode| ? 
 
 Suaii i.'"at holy fire. 
 
 In us that strongly glow'd, 
 
 In this cold air expire ? Drayton. 
 
 Milton has given us one specimen of 3 /. 
 
 Sabrina fair 
 
 Lisjten where | thou art sit| ting 
 
 Under the glassy, cool, translucent wave. 
 
 In twisted braids of lilies knitting 
 
 The loose train of thy amber-dropping hair. 
 
 Comus. 
 
 The Sections 5. and 5/. have been alternated; they form 
 a very pleasing metre ; 
 
 1. 
 Ere God | had built | the moun] tains, 
 Or rais'd | the fruit|ful hills|. 
 Before ] he fiU'd j the foun|tains. 
 That feed | the run|ning rills , 
 In me | from ev|erlas|ting 
 The won|(ierful | I AiM 
 Found pleas|ures nev|er vvast|irg. 
 And )Vis|dom is 1 my name].
 
 C. II. VERSE OF THREE ACCENTS. 181) 
 
 When, like | a tent | to dwell | in, 
 
 He spread | the skies | abroad |, 
 
 And swath'd | about j the sweljling 
 
 Of ojcean's miiih|ty flood]. 
 
 He wrought [ by weight | and meas'.ure. 
 
 And I 1 was with | him then , 
 
 Myself I the Fajther's pleas jure. 
 
 And mine [ the sons \ of men] . Coicper. Prov. 8. 
 
 The Section 5 /. was much favoured during the 1 6th 
 century. We have songs, some of good length, entirely 
 composed of it, though, generally speaking, it occurred at 
 intervals. 
 
 Section 9. is of constant occurrence in our old ballads 
 and popular songs ; 
 
 Over Otter cap hill they cam in. 
 
 And so dowyn | by Rod|clytfe cragej. 
 Upon Grene Leyton they lighted down, 
 
 Styrande many a stage. Battle of Otterburn. 
 
 Burns often used it, as in his humourous song on John 
 Barleycorn ; 
 
 They 've ta'en a weapon long and sharp^ 
 
 An' cut him by the knee. 
 Then tied him fast upon a cart 
 
 Like a rogue | for for|gerie[ 
 
 'T will make a man forget his woe, 
 
 'T will heighten all his joy, 
 'T will make the widow's heart to sing 
 
 Tho" the tear | be in [ her eye|. 
 
 This verse has very little to recommend it.
 
 li>0 VERSE OK FOn; ACCE.NT.S. U. II, 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 VERSE OF FOUR ACCENTS. 
 
 In the present chapter, we shall consider our verses of 
 four accents as made up of two sections, and range them 
 according to the order of the combinations. 
 
 This is not an artificial law, invented for the mere pur- 
 poses of arrangement ; it is the model upon which the 
 great majority of these verses have been actually formed. 
 The construction of the Anglo-Saxon couplet of four ac- 
 cents is rendered obvious to the eye, by the use of the 
 rhythmical dot; and that the verse or couplet of four 
 accents was formed in the same manner as late as the 
 thirteenth century, is clear from Layamon, and other 
 poets of that period. That the adoption of foreign 
 metre brought with it into our language many verses, 
 which neither had, nor were intended to have, the middle 
 pause, may perhaps be granted ; Ijut that our poetry quick- 
 ly worked itself clear from such admixture is no less 
 certain. The critics of Elizabeth's reign insist upon the 
 middle pause almost unanimously. They differed some- 
 times as to its position, and did not entertain the clearest 
 notions as to its nature or its origin; but all seem to 
 have acknowledged it as a necessary adjunct of English 
 verse. 
 
 Gascoigne tells us, there are " certain pauses or restes 
 in a verse, which may be called ceasures, whereof I would 
 be loth to stand long, since it is at the discretion of the 
 writer, and they have beene first devised (as it would 
 seem) by the musicians ; but yet tlius much I Avill adven- 
 ture to write, that in a verse of eight sylla1)les the pause
 
 ('. III. VERSE OF FOUR ACCENTS. 191 
 
 will stand best in the middest, &c." In like manner, Sir 
 Philip Sidney represents English verse, unlike the Italian 
 or Spanish, as " never almost" failing of the " caesura or 
 breathing place ;" and King James has urged its impor- 
 tance on his reader, and with reasoning that good sense 
 might adopt even at the present day. " Remember also 
 to make a sectioun in the middes of everie lyne, quhethir 
 the line be long or short." If the verse be of twelve or 
 fourteen syllables, the section ought specially to be " othir 
 a monosyllabe, or the hinmest syllabe of a word, always 
 being lang," for if it be " the first syllabe of a polysyl- 
 labe, the music schall make zou sa to rest in the middes of 
 that word, as it schall cut the ane half of the word fra the 
 ixther, and sa shall mak it seme twa different wordis, that 
 is botane." He thinks indeed the same caution not neces- 
 sary in the shorter lines, because " the musique makes no 
 rest in the middes of thame ;" but would have " the sec- 
 tioun in them kythe something longer nor any uther feit 
 in that line, except the second and the last." His mis- 
 take, in considering the middle pause merely as a rest for 
 music, led him to confine his rule thus narrowly. The 
 verse of four accents he divided like Gascoigne. 
 
 It is clear, I think, that in the sixteenth and seventeenth 
 centuries the middle pause was looked upon as essential ; 
 and that the verse of four accents was still formed of two 
 sections, as in the Anglo-Saxon period. When we meet 
 with such verses as the following ; 
 
 Guiding the fiery : -wheeled throne 
 The cherub Con : templation. 
 
 I do not see how we can treat them otherwise than as 
 false rhythm ; or if the middle pause be disowned, at least 
 require that they should not intrude among verses of a 
 different character and origin. If the poet make no ac- 
 count of the pause, let him be consistent, and reject its 
 aid altogether. If he prefer the rhythm of the foreigner, 
 let him show his ingenuity in a correct imitation, and not
 
 \[)2 VERSE OF FOTR ACCENTS. H. II. 
 
 fall back upon our English verse, when his skill is ex- 
 hausted. Both foreign and English ihythra are injured, 
 by being jumbled together in this slovenly and inartificial 
 manner. 
 
 In ranging our verses of four accents, we shall take the 
 different sections in their order, and place under each 
 the verses, of which such section forms the commence- 
 ment. We shall then take the section lengthened and 
 doubly lengthened. The same order will regulate the 
 second sections of each verse. Thus we shall begin with 
 the verses 1:1, 1:1/, 1:1//; 1:2, 1:2/, 1:2//, &c., 
 and then proceed to 2 : 1, 2 : 1 /, 2 : 1//; 2 : 2, 2 : 2/, 
 2:2//, &c. 
 
 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 1. 
 
 The verse 1:1, is met with in our old romances; and 
 occurs so often in the fairy dialect of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, as to form one of its most characteristic features. 
 It is now obsolete, but was occasionally used during the 
 last century. 
 
 He bethought him nedely. 
 
 How I he mightl : veiigjed be| 
 
 Of that lady fair and fre. The Squi/r of low degre, 293. 
 
 Where the place } upon the heath. 
 
 There \ to meet] : with ] Macbeth]. Macbeth, 1.1. 
 
 Ojver hill] : ojver dale|, 
 
 Tholro bush] : tho|ro brierl, 
 
 0|ver parkj : ojver pale], 
 
 Tholrofloodj : tho|ro fire|, 
 
 I do wander evry where. 
 
 Swifter than the moon's sphere. M. N. D. 2. 1. 
 
 Yet 1 but threel : come | one more], 
 Two of both things make up four. 
 Here | she comes | : curst | and sad| : 
 Cupid is a knavish lad. 
 Thus to make poor females sad. 
 
 M. N. D. 3. 2.
 
 C. III. VERSE OF FOni ACCENTS. 193 
 
 There be berries for a queen, 
 
 Some I be red I : some | be green |. Fleicher's F. Sh. I. 1. 
 
 I I must go| : I I must run|. 
 
 Swifter than tlie fieiy sun. F. Sh. 1.1. 
 
 There | I stop| : fly | avvay| 
 
 Ev'ry thing, that loves the day ; 
 
 Truth I that hath] : but | one face], 
 
 Thus I charm thee from the place. F, Sh. 3. I. 
 
 Some|times s\vift| : some|times slow] 
 
 Wave succeeding wave they go, 
 
 A various journey to the deep. 
 
 Like human life to endless sleep. Dyers Grongar Hill. 
 
 In the last extract the verse rather pleases than offends, 
 for the dreaminess of the reflection suits well with its asso- 
 ciations. Indeed, the poet's whole landscape is mere 
 fairy-land. In the following example, I am by no means 
 sure that the line ought not to be read with three accents. 
 But when we see the j^ronoun me accented in the seventh 
 line ; and remember the light imaginative stvle of the 
 poetry ; and above all, how deeply Milton had drunk in 
 the rhythms of Fletcher ; the balance will probably turn 
 in favour of the four accents. 
 
 O'er the smooth enamell'd green, 
 A\'here no print of foot hath been, 
 Foljlow nie| : as | I sing|. 
 
 And touch the warbled string. 
 
 Under the shady roof 
 
 Of branching elm star-proof. 
 Follow me ; 
 I will bring you where she sits, &c. Arcades. 
 
 This is the only instance of the rhythm in Milton. 
 The verse 1 : 1 is rarely found lengthened ; and then al- 
 most always in our old romances. 
 
 VOL. I. o
 
 191 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTIO>J 1. H. II. 
 
 AVelcum ertou Ring Aithoure 
 Of al this world thou bcres the flour 
 *Lo|rd King] : of | all king|es 
 And blessed be he that the bringes. Gvmine and Gawin. 
 
 1 : 2. and 1:2/. are rare. 
 
 See the day begins to break. 
 
 And I the light | : shoots | like a streak] 
 
 Of subtle fire. FL Fa. Sheph. 4. A. 
 
 See his wound again is burst. 
 
 Keep I him near| : here | in the wood]. 
 
 Till I have stopp'd these streams of blood. Same, 5. 2. 
 
 Bar Jons, knights] ; squiers | one and allej. 
 
 Skeltons Elegy. 
 
 DiorJ-boren] : dys]iges folcjes. Alfred. 
 
 In quoting from Anglo-Saxon poems, translated in the 
 third book, no English version will 1)e given. To make 
 such version intelligible, it would often be necessary to 
 quote long passages. 
 
 1:5. has been used in EngUsh poetry, for the last six 
 centuries. 
 
 Haste I thee njmph] : and bring ] with thee] 
 
 Quips I and cranks]: and wanjton wiles], 
 
 Nods I and becks]-, and wreathjed smiles], 
 
 Such I as hang] : on Hebje's cheek], &c. U Allegro. 
 
 Lesjser than] : Macbeth 1 and greatjer Macbeth, 1. .'5. 
 
 Look 1 not thou] : on beau'ity's charm ]ing. 
 
 Sit 1 thou still] : when kings ] are armjing, 
 
 Taste ] not when] : the wine] -cup gUpJtens, 
 
 Speak I not when] : the peojple lis]tens. 
 
 Stop 1 thine ear] : against ] the singjer. 
 
 From the red gold keep thy finger. 
 
 Vacant heart, and hand, and eye. 
 
 Easy live, and quiet die. Walter Scott. 
 
 * Lord is here a dyssyllable, Lawerd, A. S.
 
 C. III. 
 
 VERSES BEGINXING WITH SECTION I 
 
 195 
 
 1:9. is occasionally found in our ballads and old ro- 
 mances. 
 
 The queyne diielt tlius in Kildroiney, 
 
 And I the lcing| : and his coui|pany| 
 
 Wandryt eniaiig the hey mountains. The Bruce, 2. 7C3. 
 
 As the section 1. is rare in Anglo-Saxon verse, we have 
 as yet met with few alliterative couplets ; l)ut many are 
 found beginning with the lengthened section 1 /. 
 
 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 1 /. 
 
 1 / : 1 . has for ages, been well-known to our poetry ; 
 when lengthened it forms one of the commonest couplets 
 in our Anglo-Saxon poems. 
 
 And I the milk [ maid : sing|eth blithe| 
 
 And I the movv|er : wets | his scythe|. L' Allegro. 
 
 The Anglo-Saxon couplets will be classed according to 
 the alliteration, beginning with one that rhimes all the four 
 syllables. The number, ranged under each head, will give 
 the reader some notion of the comparative frequency of 
 their occurrence in Anglo-Saxon verse ; 
 
 Sweart|e svvog|an : sass [ upstig|on. Cadmon. 
 
 hel|le heofjas : heard|e nith|as. Cadmon. 
 
 wer|leas vver|od : wal|dend sen|de. Ccedmon. 
 
 grass I ungren|e : gar|seeg theah te. Ceedmon. 
 
 Scir|um scim|an : scip|pend ur|e. Cadmou 
 
 hord I and ham [as : het|tend crun|gon. 
 
 Brimuhburgh War-song. 
 
 wa^g I lidenldum : \va!|tres bro|gan. 
 eorth|an tudldor : eall | acvvel|de. 
 heaf |od eal|ra : heah | gesceaf |ta. 
 lif|es bryt|ta : leoht | forth cum|an. 
 lif |es bryt|ta : leoht J waes a,T|est. 
 form|aii sith|e : fyl|de hel|ie. 
 Crecja ric|es : cuth | waes wid|e. 
 Crec|a dnh|ten : camp|sted sec|an. 
 
 o 2 
 
 Cadmon. 
 Cadmon. 
 Cadmon. 
 Ceedmon. 
 Ceedmon. 
 Ceedmon. 
 
 Alfred. 
 Alfred.
 
 196 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 1/. B. 11 
 
 thaegn]ra sin|ra : tluvr | mid waes|an. Alfred. 
 
 Tha I Aulexjes : leaf |e haif|de. Alfred. 
 
 For 1 auld stor|ys : that | men red[ys, 
 Representis to them the dedys 
 
 Of stalwart folk. The Bruce, \. \9. 
 
 Earth's increase, and foison plenty, 
 Barns | and garners : nev|er erap|ty. 
 Vines ] with clus|tring : bunch|es growjing, 
 Plants 1 with goodjly : bur|den bovv|ing. 
 Spring 1 come to | you : at | the farjthest. 
 In I the ver y : end | of har|vest. 
 Scarcity and want shall shun you 
 Cerles' bles|sing: so | is on [ you. Tempest, 4. I. 
 
 \l:2. is found in Anglo-Saxon, but very rarely in 
 English ; 
 
 stream |as stodjon : storm | up gewat. Cad. 
 
 yth 1 with oth|re : ut | feor adraf|. Alf 
 
 ythja wraec|on : anjleasra feorh|. Cced. 
 
 lath|e cyrm|don : lyft [ up geswearc. Cad. 
 
 for I mid fearm|e : farje ne mosjton. C«rf. 
 
 ham I and heah|setl : heof|ona ric|es. Coed. 
 
 wuljdres eth|el : wroht | waes asprung|en. Cad. 
 
 drigje stow|e : dugjotha hyrd|e. Cccd. 
 
 mon|na swithjost : nianjegra thiod|a. Alf. 
 
 AVill I he woo | her ? : ay | or I'll hang | her. 
 
 T. of the Shrew, 1.2. 
 
 1 /: 5. was a well-known couplet in Anglo-Saxon. It 
 was very common in our old romances, and was still 
 flourishing as late as Elizabeth's reign. It must now be 
 considered as obsolete ; 
 
 Oht 1 mid eng|lum : and orjleg a-thj. Cad. 
 
 yEf|en aer|est : him arn | on last|. Cad. 
 
 vvrath|um weorplau : on wil|dra lic|. Alf. 
 
 Ag|amem|non : se ealjles weold|. Alf.
 
 C. III. VERSES EEGINXIXG WITH SECTION 1 /. 197 
 
 Sceot|ta leod[a : and scip[-flotan|. 
 
 Brunanburgh War-song. 
 
 iiyra I the heo | waes : ahaf|en on'. Ced. 
 
 Storyss to rede are delitabill, 
 
 Supposs that thai be noeht but fabill 
 
 T'han ( suld storjyss : that suthjfast \ver|, 
 
 And thai war said in gud inaner, 
 
 Haive doubill plesance in hervng ; 
 
 The first plesaunce is the carpyng, 
 
 And I the toth|ir : the suth|fastnes| 
 
 That schawys the thing right as it wes ; 
 
 And I such thingjis : that are | likand| 
 
 Tyll mannys heryng are plesand. The Bruce, 1.1. 
 
 Set me a new robe by an olde, 
 
 And I coarse cop | par : by duck] ate gold|, 
 
 An ape unto an elephante, 
 
 Bruckjle byrjall : by di|amante|, 
 
 Set I rich ru|by : to redd \ emaylej, 
 
 The raven's plume to peacoke's tayle, 
 
 There shall no less an oddes be scene 
 
 In myne, from everye other queene. Putt. Parth. 15. 
 
 When I build castles in the air. 
 
 Void ! of sor|ro\v : and void | of care]. 
 
 Burton, Anat. of Md. 
 
 Weljcome wel|come : ye dark | blue wavesj. Byron. 
 
 The lengthened verse is more rare ; 
 
 Seow 1 and setlte : geond sef [an mon[na. Ex. MSS. 
 
 Wiljle burnjau : on \vor|uld thring|au. C<Ed. 
 
 Verses beginning with 1 //. are occasionally met with, but 
 chieiiy in the tumbling verse; for instance 1//: 1.; 
 
 With 1 him man] fully : for ] to fight]. 
 
 M.for M. Flodd. Fielde, 2. 
 
 With 1 such ho|liness : can | you do | it. H 6, 2. 1. 
 
 It would be useless to mark down every variety, whicli 
 has been stumbled upon by the writers of such Ucentious 
 metre as the tumbling verse. Those verses only, which
 
 198 VERSES BEGINNING ^yITlI SECTION 2. B. H, 
 
 occur often enough to give a character to the rhythm, will 
 be noticed. 
 
 Verses beginning with Section 2.2/. were always rare. 
 The lengthened verse is found in Anglo-Saxon ; 
 
 All the commownys went him fra. 
 
 That I for thair Hff| : war | full fainj 
 
 To pass to the Inglis pes again. The Bruce, 2. 30^. 
 
 He that keeps nor crust nor crumb, 
 
 Wear|y of all | : shall | want some|. Ijcai-, 1. 4. 
 
 Man Ifciehthu beam] ; mid|dan geard|es. Cued. 
 
 AujUxes mid| : an | hund scip|a. Alf. 
 
 Com j ane to| : ceolje lith|an. Alf. 
 
 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECT. 2. 
 
 2. 2. is now seldom met Avith ; the lengthened verse is 
 a common Anglo-Saxon couplet; 
 
 We I did observe| : cou|sin Aumerle|, 
 
 How far brought you high Her'ford on his way ? 
 
 R2,\. (). 
 
 1. 
 Still I to be neat I : still | to be drest|. 
 As you were going to a feast. 
 Still to be powder' d, still perfum'd. 
 Lady, it is to be presum'd. 
 Though art's hid causes are not found, 
 All is not sweet, all is not sound. 
 
 2. 
 Give I me a look | : give | me a face], 
 That makes simj)licity a grace ; 
 Robes loosely flowing, hair as free. 
 Such sweet neglect more taketh me 
 Than all th' adulteries of art. 
 They strike the eyes, but not the heart. 
 
 B Jons. Epicane, 1. 1. 
 
 And I to the stack] : or | the barn door|, 
 
 Stoutly struts his dames before. L' Allegro.
 
 C. HI. VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 2. IVd 
 
 Come I to my bowl| : come j to my arms[^ 
 
 My friends, my brothers. Burns. 
 
 WraRc|licne ham| : weorc|e to lean|e. Cced. 
 
 Tro|ia burh| : til|um gesith|um. Alf. 
 
 Thrie|rethre ceol| : thset | bith that maesjte. Alf. 
 
 Hcel|etha bearii| : h(i;f|don tha ma>g|tha. Alf. 
 
 The verse from L'Allegro is, I lielieve, the only one 
 written by Milton in this rhythm. 
 
 The verse 2 : 5, has long been one of the standard 
 verses. 
 
 AVhere | the great sun| ; begins | his state]. 
 
 L'Allegro. 
 
 Ere j the first cock] : his matjin rings|. L'Allegro. 
 
 2 : G. was very common in the tumbling verse. 
 
 King I without realrae| : lo now ] where T stand]. 
 
 M. for M. King James, 3. 
 
 Now 1 am I bond] : sometime | I vvas free]. Same, 5. 
 
 Whom I should I blame] : I found | that I sought]. 
 
 Same, /. 
 
 Pray [ we that God] : will grant j us his grace]. 
 
 Flodden Field, 6. 
 
 Sone ] then the gunnes] : began | a new play). Saine. 
 
 And I the vaunt-garde] : togeth]er are gone]. Same. 
 
 And 1 the luce-head] : that day | was full bent]. Same. 
 
 This is one of those verses which belong to the triple 
 measure; and though never used by Cowper, and those 
 who have left us the happiest specimens of that rhythm, 
 is far from uncommon in the works of our later poets. 
 2 : 9. is only found in the tumbling verse ; 
 
 In I the vaunt-garde] : forward fast ] did hye]. 
 
 M.forM. Flod.F. 6. 
 
 Give I the Scots grace] : by King Jem] yes fall]. 
 
 Same, 25.
 
 200 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 2 /. B. II. 
 
 If I the whole quere : of the nms|es nine]. 
 
 Skeltons Elegy. 
 
 2 : 10. is also found in the tumbling verse. It falls 
 within the rhythm of the triple measure, and is constantly 
 used by all the writers of that metre. 
 
 And I the whole povvrej : of the earle ] of Darby[. 
 
 M. for M. Flod. Field, 1 4. 
 
 To I the French king] : yf he list | to take heed|. 
 
 M.for M. Kg. James, 1 2. 
 
 No I 'tis your fool] : wherewith I | am so tak|en. 
 
 Ben Jons. Fox, 1 . 2. 
 
 The verse 2 1 : 1. is very common. When lengthened 
 it forms an Anglo-Saxon couplet, 
 
 Un|cler the haw [thorn: in | the dale]. L" Allegro. 
 
 Drug|on and dydjon : driht|ues wiljlau. Cadtnon. 
 
 Theodjen his theg|nas : thryni|mas weoxjon. Ccedtnoii. 
 
 Dior|e gecep|te : drih|ten Crec|a. Alf. 
 
 Cyn|inges theg|nas : cysjpan sith|than. Alf. 
 
 jE|thelstan cyn|ing : eor|ladrih|ten. War Song. 
 
 Min[ton forloetjan : Ieof|ne h]af|ord. Alf. 
 
 Yet 1 thou art hig|her : far [ descen|ded. IlPenseroso. 
 
 2 1: 2. was very common in Anglo-Saxon, but always 
 rare iu English, and may now be considered as obsolete. 
 
 Beorht 1 and geblaedl fast : bu[endraleas|. Cced. 
 
 rer|ede and ner|ede: fif|tena stod[. Cad. 
 
 Her cheeke, her chinne, her neck, her nose. 
 This I was a lyl[ye : that | was a rose]. 
 
 Puttenham. Parth. 7. 
 Terns easy for his easye tides. 
 Built all along with mannours riche, 
 Quin|borows salt | sea: brack|ish Grenewich|. 
 
 Parth. 16.
 
 C. III. VERSES BEGIXXIXG WITH SECTION 2/. 201 
 
 Through | the sharp haw] thorn : blows | the cold \vind[. 
 
 LeaVi 3, 4. 
 seom]odon s\veart|e : sith|e ne thorf|ton Ceed. 
 
 m8eg|en-craeft mic|el : mod|a gehwilcjes. Alf. 
 
 eal|de geguinjge: eal|le forhvverf|de. Alf. 
 
 hcEf|doii hi marje : mon|num gelicjes. Alf. 
 
 2 1: 5. is also common in Anglo-Saxon, but very rare in 
 English. 
 
 deep I ofcr dun[ura ; see dren|ce flod|. Cesd. 
 
 gief|eth atgujthe : thon gar|getrum|. Ex. MSS. 
 
 wearth | under wolclnuin : for \vig|es heard. Alf. 
 
 lath|wende herje : oa lang|e sith|. Cced. 
 
 cyn|inges doh|tor : sio Cirjce wees]. Alf. 
 
 Where I fore I fear | me: that now | I shall |. 
 
 M.forM. Kg. James 7. 
 
 Leavinge the land thye bcllsire wau 
 
 Too the barbarous Ottoman, 
 
 And I for grief chaungled: thy ho|ly haunt|. 
 
 Putt. Parth. 1 6. 
 
 God|-bearn on grundjum : his gief|e brytltath. Ex. MSS. 
 
 Tha I gytawid | land: ne weg|as nytjte. Cced. 
 
 Andjreccau spraecje : gelicjne ef|re. Alf. 
 
 It is seldom we find, in such short rhythms as the present, 
 the aUiteration fall on the second accent of the last section. 
 Rask's " complement " would assist but little in the scan- 
 ning of such a verse. 
 
 21:6. belongs to the triple measure, and, like all those 
 verses which have the rhythm running continuously 
 through both sections, is often met with in that metre. 
 This verse was common in the tumbling metre ; and also, 
 when lengthened, in the early English alliterative poems. 
 
 Thus I for my fol|ly . I feele ] I do smarte|. 
 
 M.for M. Kg. James, 3.
 
 202 VERSES BEGINNIM(i WITH SECTION 2 1. B. II. 
 
 By I mine own fol|ly : I had | a great fall|. Same, 7. 
 
 Which I for their iner|its : in field | with me fell]. 
 
 Same, 9. 
 
 Ad[juva pajter : then fast | did they cry|. 
 
 M.forM. Flod. Field, G. 
 
 Nes|til iloc|ed: hu long | hit the wer|e. 
 
 The Death-song . 
 
 Bronjt I up a buljle : wit bishjopes seel|es. P. Floughnan. 
 
 Com|en up knel|ing : to kisjsen his bul|le. Same. 
 
 Serjauntis it seemed : that serven at barre, 
 
 Pletlen for pen|yes : and pound|es the law|e. 
 
 And nougt for love of oure lord. P. Ploughnian. 
 
 'Tis I a good hearjing: when chil'dren are to|ward. 
 But I a harsh hear|iug: when wom|en are fro|ward. 
 
 T. of the Shrew, 5 . 2. 
 
 2 /: 9. and 2 /: 10. are also found in this rhythm. 
 
 Yet ) I beseech | you : of your charjityl. 
 
 M.for M. Kg. James, 15. 
 
 With I the Lord Con]iers : of the north | country]. 
 
 M. for M. Flo'd Field, 7 . 
 
 Presjed forth bold|ly : to withstand | the might[, 
 
 Skelton's Elegy. 
 
 Eche I man may sor I row: in his in | ward thought]. 
 
 Same, 24. 
 
 That I a king crown [ed : an earle durst ] not abide]. 
 
 M. for M. Flodd. Field, 5 . 
 
 And 1 our bokle bil]men : of them slewe | mony one]. 
 
 Same, 15. 
 
 Fled I away from | him : let liim lie | in the dust]. 
 
 Skeltons Elegi). 
 
 Of the verses beginning with 2 //. there is one, 2 //. : 2. 
 which has been adopted into the triple measure. It Avas 
 well known to our tumljling verse. 
 
 Conltrary to | mine othe : soljeinnly made]. 
 
 M.for M. Kg. James, 6.
 
 C. III. VERSES BEGIXXIXG WITH SECTION 5. 203 
 
 \'an|quished in fielde | I was : to | the rebiike[. Same, 7- 
 
 Lord j whom thou fa|vourest : win|neth the game|. 
 
 Same, 8. 
 
 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 5. 
 
 Tlie verse 5 : 1 . is often found in old English poems. It 
 did not become obsolete till after the reign of Elizabeth. 
 
 He warneth all and some 
 
 Of everiche of hir aventures. 
 
 By avisions, or by figures 
 
 But that j our flesh| : hath | no might | 
 
 To understand* it aright. Chau. House of Fame. 
 
 x\nd sum | thai put| : in | prisoun 
 
 For owtyn causs or exchesoun. The Bruce, 1. 280. 
 
 Her eyes, God wott, what stuff they arre, 
 
 I durst be sworne eche ys a starre ; 
 
 As clere | and brighte| : as | to guide [ 
 
 The pilot in his winter tide. Puttenham. Parth. 1 7. 
 
 Gentle breath of yours my sails 
 
 Must fiU, or else my project fails. 
 
 Which was | to please] : Now ] I want | 
 
 "Sp'rits to enforce, &c. Tempest, Epilogue. 
 
 Now mv charms are all o'erthrown. 
 
 And what strength I have 's my own. 
 
 Which is I most faintj : now | t'is true | 
 
 I must be here confined by you, 
 
 Or sent to Naples. Temjjest, Epilogue. 
 
 The lengthened verse was common in Anglo-Saxon, but 
 rare in the later dialects. 
 
 stod deop I and dim] : driht|ne fremlde. Cced. 
 
 thurh dright|nes word| : doeg | genem|ned Cad. 
 
 sum heard | geswincj : hab|ban sceol|dan Cced. 
 
 thurh handJ-moegen| : hal|ig drihjten. Coed. 
 
 * Query understaade.
 
 204 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 5. B. II. 
 
 tha segjnade : se]f|a drih|ten Coid. 
 
 and Re|tie| : ric|es hyrd|e. Jlf. 
 
 on fiflel stream] : fam|ig bos | ma. A If. 
 
 tha?t Aulixes] : iin|derh?ef|de. A(f. 
 
 ou mor|gen tid | : moer|e tunc|gol. War Song. 
 
 For by Christ lo thus it fareth 
 
 It is I not all| : gold | that glar eth. Chau. House of Fame. 
 
 And mo curious portraitures, 
 
 And queint manner of figures 
 
 Of gold work, than I saw ever ; 
 
 But cer|tainly| : I | n'ist nevjer 
 
 Where that it was. Chau. House of Fame. 
 
 Each byas was a little cherry. 
 Or as I I think] : a | strawberjry. 
 
 Puttenham. Prin. Paragon. 
 
 The verse 5 : 2. was ne'ver common, and is now almost 
 obsolete. 
 
 Of floesc]- homanj : flod | ealle wreahj. Ceed. 
 
 To gyrjwanne] : godllecran stolj. Cad. 
 
 Thow that besides forreine affayres, 
 
 Canst tend] to make] : yere]ly repayres | 
 
 By summer progresse, and by sporte. 
 
 To shire [ and towne] : citjye and portej — 
 
 Thow that canst tend to reade and write 
 
 Dispute], declame,] : arjgewe, endyte,] 
 
 In schoole and universitye. 
 
 In prose and eke in poesye, — Puttenham. Parth. IG. 
 
 And he 1 good prince] : hav]ing all lost] 
 
 By waves from coast to coast is tost. Pericles, Prol. 2. 
 
 By Pan ! I think she hath no sin 
 
 She is I so light] : lie | on these leaves]. 
 
 Sleep that mortal sense deceives 
 
 Crown thine eyes. Fl. Faith. Sh. 5. 2. 
 
 And from her fair unspotted side 
 
 Two blisjsful twins] : arc | to be born | 
 
 Youth and Joy : so Love hath sworn. Comas.
 
 C. III. VERSES BEGIXMXG WITH SECTION 5. 205 
 
 Of these I am I| : Coijla my name|. Burns. 
 
 The lengthened verse is not more common. 
 
 On foeg|e folk] : feow|ertig dagja Cad. 
 
 On wen|del soe| : wig|cndra scol|a Alf. 
 
 Se lic|ette | : litllum and micllum Jlf. 
 
 Advise 
 
 Forthwith | how thou| : oughtst [ to receive | him. 
 
 Sams. Agon. 
 
 The king 
 
 Is wise and virtuous, and his noble queen 
 Well-struck j in years] : fair | and not jeal|ous. 
 
 R3,\. ]. 
 
 The verse 5:5. has always been common in English 
 poetry ; in Anglo-Saxon it is found but rarely. 
 
 And as \ I wake| : sweet Music breathe | 
 
 Above,] about,| : or unlderneathj. II Penseroso. 
 
 Ne wiljle ic leng] : his geonjgra weorth]au. Cced. 
 
 Sweet bird | that shun'nst] : the noise | of foljly 
 
 Most mujsical] : most meljancholy. II Penseroso. 
 
 5 : 6. is only met with in the tumbling verse. 
 
 This nojble earlej : full wise|ly hath wrought]. 
 
 M.for M. King James, 3. 
 
 Whereof \ the Scots] : were right | sore afrayde]. 
 
 M.for M. Flodd.F. 19. 
 
 Fy fy j for shamej : their hearts | were too faint]. 
 
 Skelton's Elegy. 
 
 In the same licentious metre, we meet with the section 
 5: 9. 
 
 The Perjse out] : off Northum]berIande], 
 
 And a vow to God made he, 
 Tiiat he wolde hunte in the Mountains 
 
 Of Cheviat within dayes thre. Chevy Chase. 
 
 In seisons past| : who hath harde | or scene, 
 
 Skeltons Elegy, 4.
 
 206 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 5. li. 11. 
 
 The fa]mous erlc| : of Northum|berlaiidl. Same, 1(5. 
 
 Also with 5 : 10. 
 
 Hee cryde | as hc| : had been stikt | witli a swerd|. 
 
 M.for M. King James, 2. 
 
 From high | degreej : to the lovvjest of all|. Same, 7. 
 
 Now go I thy ways] : thou hast tam'd | a curst shrew | 
 
 T. of the Shrew, 5. 2. 
 
 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 5 /. 
 
 The verse 5 / : 1. is common. The lengthened verse is 
 also found in Anglo-Saxon. 
 
 In notes with many a winding bout 
 
 Of linjked sweetjness : long | drawn out|. L' Allegro. 
 
 gejgremmed grim|me : grap | on wrath|e. Cced. 
 
 sceop nih|te nam|an : nir|gend urje. Ceed. 
 
 gestath|elod|e : strang|um miht|ura, Cced. 
 
 on mer|e flod|e : niidduin weorthan. Cced. 
 
 Thoet on | tha tid|e : theodja aegjhwilc. Alf. 
 
 That hie | with driht|ne : d3el|on miht[on. Cced. 
 
 Ac him J se moer|a : mod | getwaef|de. Cccd. 
 But hail J thou God|dess : sage | and ho|ly. 11 Penscroso. 
 
 5 1:2. occurs very rarely, except in our old romances 
 and the tumljling verse. The lengthened verse may also 
 be found in Anglo-Saxon. 
 
 Tharfor thai went til Abyrdene 
 
 Qhuar Nele the Bruyss come, and the queyn 
 
 And othjir lad|yis : fayr 1 and farand | 
 
 Ilkane for luff off thair husband. The Bruce, 2. 320. 
 
 Both law I andnajture : doth \ me accuse]. 
 
 M. for M. King James, 4 
 And in | fovvle man|er : brake | their aray|. 
 
 M.for M. Flod. Field, 14. 
 What franjtick fren|sy: fyll | in youre brayne|. 
 
 Skeltons Elegy, 8.
 
 C. III. VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 5 /. 207 
 
 To sura|uin deor|e : s\vilc|um he aTJor. Alf. 
 
 His vvith|er brec|can: vvulldor gesteal|dum, Ceed, 
 
 5/ : 5. was always rare, and may now be looked upon as 
 obsolete. 
 
 geond fol|en fyr|e : and faer|-cyle|. Cied. 
 
 A noble hart may haiff nane ess, 
 
 Na ellys uocht that may him pless, 
 
 Gyfffre|dome failjyhe : for fre j Uking | 
 
 To yhamyt our all othir thing. The Bruce, 1. 232. 
 
 He is promis'd to be vviv'd 
 
 To fair I I\Iari|na : but in | no wise | 
 
 Till he had done his sacrifice. Pericles, 5. 2. 
 
 But I I will tarjry : the fool ] will stay | 
 
 And let the wise man fly. Lear, 2. 1. 
 
 Come hith]er, hithjer : my lit | tie page| 
 
 Why dost thou wail and weep ? Byron. 
 
 Why this | a fon]tome : why that | orac|les 
 
 In'ot I but who | so: of these miracles 
 
 The causes know, &c. Chau. House of Fame. 
 
 5 4 : (>. is only found in the tumbling verse. 
 
 With four|score thousland .- in good|ly array]. 
 
 M. for M. King James, 2. 
 
 That roy|all reljike : more precjious than golde|. Same, 6. 
 
 Fulfyld 1 with maljice : of fro|ward intente|. 
 
 Skeltons Elegy, 4. 
 
 Let doujble del|inge : in the ] have no place] Same, 25. 
 
 In me | all one|ly : were sett | and comprisyde|. Same, 23. 
 
 Alas 1 those pleas lures : be stale | and forsak|en. 
 
 Ben. Jons. Fox, 1. 2. 
 
 5/ : 10. is also to be found in the same barbarous rhythm. 
 
 St. Cut|berds banjuer : with the bish[ops men bolde|. 
 
 M.for M. Flod. Field, 0".
 
 208 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 5 //. B. II. 
 
 Sir Ed I ward Stan] ley : in the reare|-warde was he|. 
 
 Same, 14. 
 
 In this rhythm we may also find verses beginning with 
 5 //., for instance 5 //: 2. and 5 II: G. 
 
 I knew I not vc[rily : who | it should be|. 
 
 M.for M. King James, 2. 
 
 That vil aine hast|arddis : in their fu|rious tene|. 
 
 Skeltons Elegij, 4. 
 
 The first of these belongs to the triple measure, and is 
 common. 
 
 The class of verses beginning with the section 6, is now 
 almost obsolete, and in none of the better periods of our 
 literature did these rhythms meet with much favour. They 
 are not often found in Anglo-Saxon ; and though they occur 
 more frequently, they are still rare in the Old English 
 alliterative metre. In our ballads they are common ; and, 
 as might be expected, they abound in the tumbling verse. 
 The few which belong to the triple measure, have alone 
 survived in modern usage. 
 
 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 6". 
 
 Tlie verse G : 1. though its rhythm be abrupt and awk- 
 ward, was used both by Gower and Chaucer — doubtless 
 because it fell within the orthodox number of eight sylla- 
 bles. 
 
 And that his shipes dreint were 
 
 Or el|e3 ylost| : he ] n'ist where | Chau. Ho. of Fame. 
 
 6 : 2. though of the triple measure, is only found in the 
 tumbling verse and some of the later alliterative poems. 
 The sharp and sudden stop between the two sections, is 
 probably the cause why they have been so little favoured. 
 
 Of Scot|land he sayde] : late | 1 was king]. 
 
 M. for M. King James, 2. 
 
 Qiihyt,~s:enillie and soft] : as | the sweet lil|ies. D 
 
 imbur.
 
 C. III. VERSES BEGIXXIXG WITH SECTIOX G. 209 
 
 6 : 5. is also confined to our old romances and the 
 tumbling verse. 
 
 Durst nane of ^^'ales iu battle ride 
 
 No yhet fra evvyn fell, abide 
 
 Castell or wallyt town within 
 
 That he ] iie suld lyffj : and lyra|mes tyne]. 
 
 The Bruce, I. 108. 
 
 That us I to withstand! : he had | no might]. 
 
 M.forM. Flod. Field, 1. 
 
 The fa the r of wit| : we call | him mayj. Same, 1 1. 
 
 Beseechjing him there| : to show his might]. Same, 17. 
 
 The verse 6" : (i. belongs to the triple measure, and is used 
 without scruple even by the most careful writers of that 
 metre. 
 
 \V'^ith sor'owful sighes] ; as ev]er man herdej. 
 
 M.for M. King James, 2. 
 
 With crowue ) on my head] : and scepjter in hand]. 
 
 M.for M. K. James, 2. 
 
 The breatch ] of myne oath] : I did | not regarde. 
 
 Same, 10. 
 
 That aef jre undon] : the wulje tha durje. Death Song. 
 
 For Pyjthagores sake] : what bod]y then took | thee, 
 
 Ben. Jons. Fox, 1. 2. 
 
 The first of these verses was very common in the early 
 half of the 16th century. Many short poems were en- 
 tirely composed of it. It seems, however, to have fallen 
 into disuse shortly afterwards ; for Gascoigne, who regrets 
 the exclusive attention that was paid in his time to the 
 common measure, tells his reader, " we have used in time 
 past other kindes of meeters, as, for example, the fol- 
 lo^\'ing : 
 
 No wight in this world : that wealth can attaine, 
 Unless he believe : that all is in vain." 
 
 VOL. I. P
 
 210 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION G /. B. II. 
 
 This metre was afterwards revived. 
 
 6 : 9. was rarely met with except in the tumbling verse ; 
 
 I pui|posed vvar| : yet I fain|ed truce]. 
 
 M.for M. K. James, 4. 
 
 Thus did j I Frenclie Kiiige| : for the love | of thee|. 
 
 Same, 4. 
 
 To suf |fer him slain] : of his mor]tall foe]. 
 
 Skelton. El. (5. 
 
 Thus gat I lev}'t thai] : and in sic | thrillagej, 
 
 Bath pur and thai of hey perage. The Bruce, I. 275. 
 
 0" : 10. and 6:11. are two of the commonest verses in 
 the triple measure. They are also of constant occurrence 
 in the tumbling verse ; 
 
 In this I wretched world] : I may no | longer dwell]. 
 
 M.for M. K. James, 14. 
 Our her]ald at armes] : to King Jem]ye did say]. 
 
 M.for M. Flodd. Field, 4. 
 
 With all I the hole sorte] : of that glor]ious place]. 
 
 Skelton s El. 31. 
 
 As per]fightly as| : could be thought [ ordevysjed. 
 
 Same, 23. 
 
 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 6 /. 
 
 6 / : 1 . and 6 / : 2. are extremely rare, but when lengthened 
 are found both in Anglo-Saxon and in our later aUiterative 
 meters ; 
 
 Thai kyssit thair luffis, at thair partyng. 
 
 The King | wmbethocht | him : off | a thing]. 
 
 That he fra thaim on fate wald ga. The Bruce, 2. 747. 
 
 geslogjon aet saecjce : sweordja ec]gum. War Song. 
 
 Of sed]rageh\vaen]e : ego ]r stream Jas. Cad.
 
 cm. VKRSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION fi /. 211 
 
 In set|ting and sowjing : swonke* | full sore]. 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 
 But japers and Jangjlers : jud[as chil|dren. Same. 
 
 These verses of ten syllables are the shortest that are 
 found in Piers Plowman. They are rarely met with in 
 alliterative poems of a later date ; 
 
 His sore | exclamajtions : made | me afferde]. 
 
 M.forM. K.James, 2. 
 
 And held | with the comlmons : un|der a cloke|. 
 
 Skeltons El. 11. 
 
 Tha waer|on geset|te : wid|e and sid|e. Cad. 
 
 And rawyt ] with his rag|emen : riug]es and broch|es. 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 
 In glot|enye God | wote : gon ) they to bed|de. Same. 
 
 G / : 5. is almost peculiar to the tumbling verse; 
 
 Yet were | we iu norajber : to his | one three]. 
 
 M.for M. K. James, 8. 
 
 I trowe I he doth neijther : God love | nor dread j. 
 
 Same, 12. 
 
 That bufjfits the Scots | bare : they lac ked uonej. 
 
 M.forM. Flod. Field, 20. 
 
 But by I them toknow|lege : ye may | attaynej. 
 
 Skeltons El. 19. 
 
 Gl: G. belongs to the triple measure, and as the rhythm 
 runs continuouslv through the line, it has survived the 
 tumbling verse, of which it once formed one of the most 
 striking features. The lengthened verse is found in Piers 
 Plowman. 
 
 In peac|eable manjer : I ruljed my landj. 
 
 M.for M. Kg. James, 2. 
 
 The e is, I believe, a blunder of the transcriber. 
 P 2
 
 212 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 6 /. B. II. 
 
 Full friend]ly and faithlful : my sub|jects I fand|. 
 
 Same. 3. 
 
 Full bold|ly their biglmen : against | nie did come]. 
 
 Flod. Field. 17. 
 
 Your hap | was unhap]py : to ill | was your spede|. 
 
 Skeltons El. 9. 
 
 'Twas I I won the wagjer : though you | hit the whitej. 
 And t>e|ing awin|ner : God give ] you good night]. 
 
 Tarn, of the Shreiv, 5. 2. 
 
 And len|eth it los|elles : that lech|erye haun|teth. 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 
 There hovjed an hund|red : in hoav|es of selkje. Same. 
 
 Which soul j fast and loose | Sir : came first | from Apol|io, 
 
 B, Jons. Fox, 1. 2. 
 
 6 /: 9. and 61: 10. are only found in the tumbling verse 
 and some of the most slovenly specimens of the triple 
 measure ; 
 
 Ye had | not been a|ble : to have said | him Nay|. 
 
 Skeltons El. 10. 
 
 And could | not by fals|hode : either thrive | or thie|. 
 
 M.for M. Kg. James, 9. 
 
 For sor|rowc and pijty : I gan nere | to resortej. Same, 4. 
 
 Now room | for fresh game|sters : who do will | you to know.| 
 
 B. Jons. Fox, 1.2. 
 
 As blithe | and as artjless : as the lambs [ on the lea|, 
 A.nd dear to my heart as the light to my ee. 
 
 Burns. Auld Rob Morris. 
 
 Of the versei beginning with G II. we have one 6U: 2. 
 which still keeps its station in our poetry. It belongs to 
 that class of verses, which have the triple rhythm rvmning 
 through both sections. This was doubtless the cause of 
 its surviving. It is found occasionally in the tumbling 
 verse ;
 
 cm. VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 6 //. 213 
 
 Bothe teinlporal and spirit|ual : for | to complayne|. 
 
 Skeltons EL 26. 
 
 Why then \ thy dogmat|ical • si|lence hath left | thee — 
 Of that I an obstrep|eious : lavvjyer bereft | me. 
 
 B Jofis. Fox, 1. 2. 
 
 In the same loose metre, we sometimes meet with such 
 a verse as 611: 10. 
 
 The Bar|on of Killlerton : and both Asjtones were there|. 
 
 M.for M. Flodd. Field, 10.
 
 2ii VERSE OF FIVE ACCENTS. R. II. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 VERSE OF FIVE ACCENTS. 
 
 Our verse of five accents may be divided into two sec- 
 tions, whereof one contains two, and the other three ac- 
 cents. Accordingly as it opens with one or other of these 
 sections, the character of its rhythm varies materially. 
 We shall in the present chapter pass under review those 
 verses, wdiich begin with the section of two accents. 
 
 Before, however, we proceed, I would make one or two 
 observations on a subject, which has already been touched 
 upon in the opening of the last chajDter. Gascoigne 
 thought that in a verse of ten syllables, the pause would 
 " be best placed at the ende of the first four syllables." 
 He adds, however, soon afterwards, " In rithme royall it 
 is at the writer's discretion, and forceth not Avhere the 
 pause be until the end of the line." Now as the stanza, 
 known by the name of the rliythm royal, was borrowed 
 from the French, this strengthens an opinion already 
 mooted, that, with the other peculiarities of foreign 
 metre, the flow of its rhythm was introduced into our 
 poetry. But that it quickly yielded to the native rhythm 
 of the language is clear, no less from the versification of 
 such poets, as have survived to us, than from the silence 
 of contemporary critics. Gascoigne is the only writer 
 who alludes to this license — a strong proof that it was not 
 generallij recognised even as a peculiarity of tlie rhythm 
 roval.
 
 C. IV. VERSE OF FIVE ACCENTS. 215 
 
 In most of the manuscripts I have seen, containing verse 
 of five accents, the middle pause is marked; though not so 
 carefully, as in the aUiterative poems of the same age. 
 Below are the first eighteen lines of Chaucer's Prologue, 
 from MS. Harh 1758, and MS. Harl. 7333. The first ma- 
 nuscript gives both the middle and tlie final pauses. 
 
 Whan that April . wit liis shoures swote . 
 
 The drouglit of Marche . hath perced to the rote . 
 
 And bathed every veyne . in such licoure . 
 
 Of whiche virtue . engendred is the floure . 
 
 And Zephyrus eke . with his swete breth 
 
 Enspired hath . in everie holt and heth . 
 
 The tender croppes . and the yong sonne. 
 
 Into the ram his half cours ronne . 
 
 And smale fowles . maken melodye . 
 
 That slepen all the nyght . with open eye . 
 
 So pricketh hem nature . in here corages . 
 
 Than longen folk . to gon on pilgrimages . 
 
 And palmers for to seke . straunge strondes 
 
 To serve halwes . couthe in sondry londes . 
 
 And specialy . from everie schires ende . 
 
 Of Englond . to Canterburye thai vvende. 
 
 The holy blissful! martyr for to seke. 
 
 That hem hath holpen . when that they were seke. 
 
 Whanne that Aperyll wit his shoures swoote 
 The drowht of Marche hathe perced to the roote 
 And bathed every veyne . in suche likoure 
 Of wiche vertue . engenderid is the floure 
 Whenne Zej)hynis eke . wit his swete brethe 
 Enspiryd hathe in every holt and hethe 
 The tendre croppes . and the yownge sonne 
 Hathe in the rame . his halfe cours eronne 
 And smale foules . maken melodye 
 That slepen al the night wit open eye 
 So prickethe hem nature . in thaire courages 
 Thanne longer folkes to gon on pilgrimages 
 And palmers eke . to seke straunge strondes 
 To serve halwes . cowthe in suudrye landis
 
 216 VERSE OF FIVE ACCEXTS. B. II. 
 
 And speciallye . frome every sliyres ende 
 
 Of England to Cantcrbuiye thci wende 
 
 The hooly blyssfulle martyr, ffor to seke 
 
 That heni hathe holpon . vvhanne that thei were seke. 
 
 The occasional omission or misplacing of the dot, is 
 perfectly in keeping with the general inaccuracy of these 
 two copies. Indeed, in MS. Harl. 7333, the pause, when 
 inserted, is often nothing more than a mere scratch of the 
 pen. Still, as it seems to me, w^e can only come to one 
 conclusion, in examining these manuscripts; namely, that 
 each verse was looked upon as made up of two sections, 
 precisely in the same way as the alhterative couplet of 
 the Anglo-Saxons. 
 
 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 1, 
 
 are of very rare occurrence. They are chiefly used by our 
 dramatists. We shall begin with the verse 1 : 2. 
 
 Have I not heard these islanders cry out, 
 
 Vive 1 le roi| : as [ I have bank'd | their to\vns|. 
 
 King John, 2. 
 
 O I that's well : fetch | me my cloke | mycloke|. 
 
 B. Jons. Ev. M. in his Humor, 2, 3. 
 
 Hold, shepherd, hold ! learn not to be a wronger 
 
 Of 1 your word] : was | not your prom|ise laid] 
 
 To break their loves first ? F. Faith. Sheph. 4. 3. 
 
 1 : 5. is more common. 
 
 Like a pilgrime which that goeth on foote, 
 
 And hath none horse to relieve his travaile, 
 
 Whote dry and wery, and may find no bote 
 
 Of I wel cold I : whan thrust | doth him | assaile — 
 
 Right so fare 1. Lydgate. Fall of Princes. 
 
 Then as a bayte she bringeth forth her ware, 
 Siljver, gold,| : riche perle|, and precjious stone]. 
 
 Sir T. More. Boke of Fortune.
 
 C. IV. VERSES BEGIXXIXG WITH SECTION 1. 217 
 
 Barklouglily castle call you this at hand ? 
 
 Yea, I my lord| : how brook ] your grace [ the air|. 
 
 R 2, 3. 2. 
 
 Delights and iollv cames 
 
 That shepherds hold full dear, thus put I oft"; 
 
 Now I no more I : shall these j smooth brows | be girt| 
 
 With youthful coronals. FL Fa. Sheph. 
 
 Thrice from the banks of Wye, 
 
 And sandy-bottom'd Severn have I sent him 
 
 Boot|less home] : and weathler-beat|ea back|. 1 i/ 4, 3. 1. 
 
 Ja|el vvli |: with hos|pita|bleguile| 
 
 Smote Sisera sleeping. Sampson Agon. 
 
 Chaucer affords us a few instances of the same verse 
 lengthened ; 
 
 Ther n'as quicksilver, litarge, ne brimston, 
 
 Boras, ceruse, ne oile of tartre non, 
 
 Ne ( ointment| : that woljde clenjseor bit[e. 
 
 That him might helpen of his whelkes white. Chau. Prol. 
 
 Verses beginning with the section 1 /. abound in Anglo- 
 Saxon ; they are also met with in Chaucer and the writers 
 of the fifteenth century, but Avere rarely used after that 
 period, except by our dramatists. 
 
 sec]ga swat|e : sith|thau sun|ne up|. War Song. 
 
 won|nan W8eg|e : wer|a eth|el-land|. Ceed. 
 
 W8el|-grim wor|um : wul|dor cyn|inges. Cced. 
 
 gas|tas geom|re : geof|on death'e hweop|. Cad. 
 
 sid I and swegl|-torht : him ] thaer sar | gelamp|. Cced. 
 
 beot I forborsjten : and | forbyg|ed thrymj. Cced. 
 
 torhjte Tyrje : and | his torn | gevvraecj. Ceed. 
 
 wiht j gevvorjden : ac ] this widja grund|. Cxd. 
 
 won|ne wegjas : tlia | waes wTil|dor torhtj. Ceed. 
 
 Up j from eorth|an , thurh [ his ag|ea vvoi-d|. Cced. 
 
 sid 1 eet som|ne : tha | gesund|rod waes|. Cced. 
 
 micl|ura spedjum : mct|od englla hehtj. Cced.
 
 1218 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 1 /. 15. II. 
 
 niitl|dan geardjes : met|odaf|ter sceaf|. Cced. 
 
 stith I ferhth cynjing: stod | his hand] -gevveorc|. C(Ed. 
 
 or I ge\vord|eu : ue | nu en|de cyinth|- Cced, 
 
 gas|ta weard|um : hae|dou gleam ] anddream|. Cced. 
 
 mon|nes el|na : that | is mEe|ro wyrdj. Cad. 
 
 Wal|dend ur|e : and | geworh|te tha|. C<cd. 
 
 Ag|an wol|de : tha | wearth ir|re God|, Cced. 
 
 Tlie grete clamour and the waimenting 
 
 Which that the ladies made at the breuning 
 
 Of 1 the bodjies : and j the gretje honour \ 
 
 That Theseus the noble conqueror 
 
 Doth to the ladies. Chau. Knightes Tale. 
 
 Thou mightest vvenen that this Palamon 
 
 111 \ his fight|inge : \ver|e a wood | leon|.* Knightes Tale. 
 
 No more of tliis for Goddes dignitee 
 
 Quod I oure hos'te : for | thou mak|est me|. 
 
 So weary, &c. Chan. Prol. to Melibeus. 
 
 Like I a Pil|griine : which | that goeth | on foote|. 
 
 Lydgate. 
 
 Thus I fell Jujlius : from [ his migh|ty pow'r|. 
 
 Sir T. More. Boke of Fortune. 
 
 — Up the foresayle goes, 
 
 We fall on knees, amid the happy gale, 
 
 Whych j by God's ] will: kind | and calme|ly blovves|. 
 
 Gascoigne. Journey into Hollatid. 
 
 Tut ! I when struckst | thou : one | blow in | the field | ? 
 
 2 H6, 4. 7. 
 
 The other again 
 
 Is I my kinsjman : whom | the king | hath wrong'd|. 
 
 R 2, 2. 2. 
 
 When comes such another r 
 
 Nevjer ! nevjer! -. come|, away away] ! Jul , (Jess.?,. 2. 
 
 * Tyrwhitt very unnecessarily inserts an as to eke out the metre " were 
 as a wood Icon "
 
 C. IV. VERSES BEGIXXIXG WITH SECTIOX I/. 219 
 
 But hast thou yet latched the Athenian's eyes, 
 With I the love | juice : as | I bid | thee do|? 
 
 M. N. D. 3. 2. 
 
 () I this leaiu|ing : what I a thing | it is|. 
 
 j this wood [cock : what | an ass | it is|. 
 
 T. of the Shrew, 1 . 2. 
 
 1 thauk my blessed angel, never, never. 
 Laid 1 I pen|ny : bet;ter out | than this|. 
 
 B. Jons. E. M. out of his Humor, I. 3. 
 
 Let him that will ascend the tott'ring seat 
 Of 1 our granjdeur : and j become | as great | 
 As are his mounting wishes ; as for me 
 Let sweet repose and rest my portion be. 
 
 Sir M. Hale, from Seneca. 
 
 1 that tor|ment: should | not be | coniin'd [ 
 
 To tlie body's wounds and sores ! Samson. 
 
 The lengthened verse is more rare. 
 
 Ag|an woljdun : and | swa eath|e meah|ton. Cced. 
 
 AVyrd ] uiid weegje : thaer | ser wsegjas lag|on CW. 
 
 Fus I on froet | wum : ha^fjde foec|ne hyg|e. CW. 
 
 Let me think we conquer' d — 
 
 Do|, but so I think ; as | we may | be con|quer'd. 
 
 Fl Bouduca, 1.1. 
 
 Hear [ me capjtain : are | you not | at leisjure. 1 H 6, 5. 3. 
 
 1 / : 2- is rarely met with after the 15th century, save in 
 the works of our dramatists. 
 
 bBelc I forbig|de : tha | he gebolgjen wearth|. Caid. 
 
 And ran with all thair mycht. 
 
 To I the fech|taris : or | thai com ner ] that place'. 
 Of thaim persavvyt rycht weill was gud AVallace. 
 
 Wallace, 11. 105. 
 
 That deemst of things divine. 
 
 As I of hulman, : that | they may al|ter'd be|. 
 And chang'd at ])leasure for those imps of thine. 
 
 F.Q. 4. 2.51. 
 
 Cias|ta weard|as : tlui | he hit gearje wis|te. Cced.
 
 220 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 1 /. B. II. 
 
 Spenn | mid spong|um : vvis|te him sprae|ca fel|e. Cced. 
 
 Keep your words to-morrow. 
 
 And I do somelthiiig: worjthy yoiir meat] ; go guide | 'era 
 And see 'em fairly onward. Fl. Bondtica, 2. 3. 
 
 Pipes, trompes, : nakers and clarionues 
 
 That I in the bat|aille : blowjen blod|y sownjes. 
 
 Chnu. Knicjhtes Tale. 
 
 1 /: 5. seems at one time to have been recognised, as a 
 standard verse of ten syllables. It fell, however, into 
 almost total disuse, during the reign of Elizabeth. 
 
 Fa|um fol[mum: and hira | on faethm | gebraec|. Cced. 
 
 Scipjpend us|ser: that he | that scip | beleac|. Cad. 
 
 Nymph|es faun|es: and Am|adry|ades|. 
 
 Chau. Kn'tghtes Tale. 
 
 Adam el|dest : was growjand in | courage], 
 
 Forthward rycht fayr, auchtene yer of age. 
 
 Large of persone ; bath wiss worthi and wicht 
 
 Gude I king Robjert : in his | time mad | him knycht | 
 
 Lang I tyrae efjtir ; in Bruc|es werris | he haid | 
 
 On Engliss nan mone gud iorne maid. Wallace, 3. 45. 
 
 Full I gret slauch|ter : at pitjte was | to sej. 
 
 Of I trew Scot|tis : oursett | withsut|elte|. Same, 1. 110. 
 
 His rebell children three. 
 
 Henry and Richard, who bet him on the breast 
 Jeff|rey onejly : from that | offence | was free], 
 Hen|ry dy|ed : of Engjlands crown | possest|, 
 Rich|ard livled: his fa|ther to | molest], 
 John I the young|est: pect still | his fajther's eye|. 
 Whose deedes imkind the sooner made him die. 
 
 Ferrers. M.forM. Glocester, 14. 
 
 For having rule and riches in our hand. 
 Who durst gaynesay the thing that we averd ? 
 Will I was wisldom : our lust | for law | did stand]. 
 
 Sackville. M.for M. Buckingham, 37.
 
 C. TV. VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 2. 221 
 
 Idolatrye from deepe devotion, 
 
 Viil|gaire worjsbippe : from worldes [ promo|tion|. 
 
 Puttenhnm. Parth- 
 
 Mar|riage, luic'le : alass [ ray days | are young[. 
 
 And fitter is my study and my bookes. 1 H 6, 5. 1. 
 
 There is one verse in the P. L. which at first sight would 
 seem to fall within the present law. 
 
 Tasting concoct^ digest, assimilate. 
 And 1 corpor|eal : to injcorporleal turn|. 
 
 But when we remember the licence which Milton al- 
 lowed himself in the position of his pauses, and also that 
 an emphasis falls on the first syllable of incorporeal, I think 
 there can be little doubt but he read it as the verse 3 : 5.* 
 
 And 1 corpolreal to in ] : corpo|real turn|. 
 
 1/: 6. is exceedingly rare, and seems to have ended its 
 career in the tumbling verse. 
 
 A band thai maid in preua illusion 
 
 At 1 thair povvjer : to work | his confulsion|. 
 
 Wallace, 11.205. 
 
 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 2. 
 
 2 : 1 is met with in the writers of the 1 5th centur)', and 
 in our dramatists. 
 
 Ten I winter fullj : the ] sio|tid ] gelompj. Alf. 
 
 Learne what is \irt\ie, theiein is great solace. 
 Learue [ what is truth) : sadjness and [ prudence|. 
 
 Barclay. Schip of Foles. 
 
 Richlesse, honour,| : welth ] and aunlcestry], 
 Hath me forsaken, and lo now here I ]y. 
 
 Sir T. More. Ruful Lamentation. 
 
 Poilson'd, ill fare] ! : dead] ! forsook] ! cast offj! 
 
 Kg. John, b, 5. 
 
 Nay 1 if youmeltj : then ] will she | run mad|. 1 H4, 3. 1. 
 
 * See eh. 5.
 
 222 VERSES BEGIXXING WITH SECTION 2 /. B. II. 
 
 Break | open doors] ; noth|ing can ] youstealj, 
 
 But thieves do lose it. T. of Athens, 4. 3. 
 
 No more the company of fresh fair maids, 
 
 And wanton shepherds be to me delightful, 
 
 Nor the shrill pleasing sound of merry pipes, 
 
 Under some shady dell, when the cool wind 
 
 Plays 1 on the leaves] : all | be far | avvay| 
 
 Since thou art far away. Fl. Faithful Shep. 1.1. 
 
 Help'd by the great powr of the virtuous moon 
 
 In I her full lightj : oh | you sons* ] of earth]. 
 
 You only brood unto whose happy birth 
 
 Virtue was given, &c. Fl Faithf Shep. 2. 1. 
 
 In Ireland have I seen this stubborn Cade 
 
 Oppose himself unto a troop of kernes — 
 
 And in the end, being rescued, I have seen him 
 
 Ca]per upright] ; like | a wild | Morisjco. 2 H 6, 3. 1. 
 
 2:2. has always been one of the standard verses in the 
 metre of 5 accents. 
 
 Othjers apart] : sat | on a hill \ retir'dj. P. L. 2. 
 
 Curjteis he was] : low|ly and ser]visa;ble. 
 
 Chau. Knightes Tale. 
 
 2:3. was never used by Dryden and his school, nor 
 indeed were any of those verses, which included the section 
 3. I cannot help thinking that good taste was shown in 
 rejecting them, even though sanctioned by Spenser and by 
 Milton. 
 
 But the good knight^ soon as he them can spy 
 
 For I the cool shade] : thith]er has]tily got]. F. Q. \. 2. 29. 
 
 Fee]bly she shriek'd| ; but | so fee]bly indeed]. 
 
 That Britomart heard not. F. Q. 474. 
 
 Thou with thy lusty crew 
 
 False titled sons of gods, roaming the earth 
 
 Cast I wanton eyes] : on | the daughjters of men]. 
 
 P. R. 2. 180. 
 
 * That is, the plants whicli the speaker had just gathered.
 
 C. IV. VERSES BEGINXIXG WITH SECTION 2 /. 228 
 
 He who receives 
 
 Light I from above] : from | the founltain of light]. 
 
 No other doctrine needs. P. R- 4. 289. 
 
 2:5. has been one of our standard verses of five ac- 
 cents since the days of Chaucer. 
 
 But rich he was of holy thought and vverk ; 
 
 He 1 was also] : a lern]ed man ] a clerk | 
 
 That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche. Chan. Prol. 
 
 Some 1 to whom Heav'n] : in wit | has been | profuse | 
 Want I as much more] : to turn ] it to | its use]. Pope. 
 
 Creajture so fair] : his recloncile]ment seekjing. P. L. 10. 
 
 VERSES BEGINNIXG WITH SECTION 2 /. 
 
 2 Z : 1 . has been common in our poetry from the earliest 
 period, and is still counted among the standard verses of 
 5 accents. 
 
 Met]od on monlnum : merje swith]e grapj. Cad. 
 
 gar]um aget]ed : gumja nor]thernaj. War Song. 
 
 glad 1 ofer grunjdas : godjes con|del beorht). Same. 
 
 upjpe mid eng]lum : ec'e stath]elasl. Ex. MS. 
 
 rodjor aroer]de : and \ this rumje land]. Cad. 
 
 somjod on sandje : nys]ton sorjga vviht]. Cad. 
 
 dsel 1 ongedwiljde ; nol|don dreog|an leng]. Cad. 
 
 staelgjne gestig]au -. sum ] maegstil]ed sweord]. 
 
 Ex. MS. 
 
 sing|an and secjgan : tham | beth snytjtru-crseft. 
 
 Ex. MS. 
 
 wordjcwithe writ]an : sum]nm \vig]es sped]. Same. 
 
 leoht 1 eefter thys]trum : heht | tha lifjes weard]. Cad. 
 
 flotlan andsceotjta ; thaer | geflsem]ed wearth]. War-song. 
 
 A clerk ther was of Oxenforde also 
 
 That 1 unto log ] ike : hadjdc long [ Vgo]. The Knightes Tale.
 
 224 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 2 /. B. II. 
 
 Whence | and what art ] thou ; ex'ecra|ble shape|. P.L.2. 
 
 wlitje gevvem|med : heo | on \vrac|e sithjthan. Cad. 
 
 gum|-rinca gyd|en : cuth|e gal dra fel|a. Alf. 
 
 beor|nas forbred|an : and ] raid bal|o ciaf|tum. A//. 
 
 Thra|cla cyn|ing : thaet | hi thon|an mos|te. Jlf. 
 
 wid|e eteow|de : tha | se vvul|dor cyn|ing. Cad. 
 
 One I that lusts af|ter : ev|'ry sev|eral beaujty. 
 
 Fl. Faith. Sh. 1 . 2. 
 And with malicious fury stir theni up 
 Some I way or oth|er ; still far jther to | afflict | thee. 
 
 Samson Agonistes. 
 
 21 : 2. is met v/ith chiefly in the works of our dramatists. 
 It is not found in the " heroic verse " as used hy Dryden 
 and Pope. 
 
 God liketh not that men us Rabbi call 
 Nei|ther in raar|ket : ne j in your larg|e liall|. 
 
 Ch. Somjmoures Tale. 
 
 Knovv|and the wor|schip : and | the gret nojbilnacel 
 Of him quhilk sprang that tym in mony place. 
 
 Wallace, 11. 268. 
 Whiles 1 I in Irejland : nourjish a migh|ty bandj. 
 
 2iy6, 3. 1. 
 Keep I his brain fuming -. Ep|icurejan cooks | 
 Sharpen with cloyless sauce his appetite. A. and C. 2. 1. 
 
 Write"! them togeth|er : yours | is as fair | a name|. 
 
 Jul. Cces. 1. 1. 
 
 If aught propos'd — 
 
 Of difficulty or danger could deter 
 
 Me I from attemp|ting : where|fore do I | assume]. 
 
 These royalties ? P. L. 2. 
 
 Ic 1 the maeg eath|e : eal|dum and leas|um spel|lum. Alf. 
 
 .^|fter toal|dre : thaes | we herin ne mag|on. Cced. 
 
 Let I me not think | on't : frailjty thy name [ is womlan. 
 
 Hamlet, 1.1.
 
 C. IV. VERSES BEGIXNING WITH SECTION 5. 225 
 
 Where | is our un]cle ? : what ] is the mat^ter, Suf|folk ? 
 
 2 /i'6, 3, 2. 
 Give I me the map | there: know [ that I have ] divid]ed 
 In three our kingdom. Lear, 1. 1. 
 
 21: 5- like all those verses which had a supernumerary 
 syllable between the sections, was rejected by Dry den and 
 his imitators. 
 
 Lag'o mid lan|de : geseah | tha hf|es weard]. Cced. 
 
 God|es forg)-m|don : hie hyrja gal | beswaec|. Cad. 
 
 Draw I near to for|tune : andla]bour her [ to please|. 
 If that ye thynke yourselfe to wel at ease. 
 
 Sir T. More. Boke of Fortune, 
 
 Give I me the dag]gers : the sleepjing and | the dead | 
 
 Are but as pictures. Macbeth, 2. 2. 
 
 In vain thou striv'st to cover shame with shame, 
 
 Or ! by evajsions : thy crime j uncovjer'st niore[. Samson. 
 
 Har]pies or hydras ; or all | the mon^strous forms [ 
 
 Twixt Africa and Ind. Comus. 
 
 Fyrlena frem]man -, ac hie | on frith[e lif|don. Cad. 
 
 I hear a knocking 
 
 At I the south en [try : retire | we to | our chamlbers. 
 
 Macbeth. 
 
 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 5. 
 
 5 : 1 . is very rare. The cause is evidently the sharp and 
 abrupt division between the two sections. 
 
 Thaem Cae|serej : cynje ricju tvva|. Alf. 
 
 And he that is approv'd in this offence, 
 
 Though he hath twinn'd with me, both at a birth. 
 
 Shall lose | me. What! : in | a town | of war|. 
 
 To manage private and domestic quarrels ! Olhello, 2 3. 
 
 Shapes of grief 
 
 Which, look'd on as it is, is nought but shadows 
 
 Of what I is not. I ; Then, [ most grajcious queen ] 
 
 More than your lord's departure weep not. R 2, 2. 2. 
 
 And weor|thodonI -. swa ] swa wul|dres cyn|ing. Alf. 
 
 Thahe'an lyft| : tha|se ejgor her|e. C<ed. 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 226 VERSES BEGINNIXG WITH SECTION 5. B. II. 
 
 Yea, look'st [ thou pale| r let ] me see | the vvrit|ing. 
 
 R 2, 5.2. 
 The King of heav'ii forbid our lord the king 
 Should so with civil and uncivil arms 
 Be rush'd \ upon| ! : thy | thrice uojble cous in 
 Harry Bolingbroke doth humbly kiss thy hand. R 2, 3. 3. 
 
 5 : 2 has been common in our verse of ten syllables from 
 the clays of Chaucer. 
 
 This Pal am oil] : when [ he these vvordjes herd|, 
 Dispitiously he ioked and ansvver'd. Knujhtes Tale. 
 
 And Phoebus, fresh as bridegroom to his mate, 
 
 Came dan|cing forth| : shaking his devv|y hair|. F. Q.\. 5. 2. 
 
 False el|oquence| : like | the prismatjic glass | 
 
 Its gaudy colours spreads on every place. Pope. 
 
 Self displeas'd 
 
 For self | oftence| : more j than for God [ offen|ded. Samson. 
 
 Some of our later critics, and among others Johnson, 
 have recorded their objections to anv verse which ends 
 with the section 2. Pemberton, the friend and panegyrist 
 of Glover, considers the measure of the verse 
 
 And tow'rd | the gate| : rolllingher bes|tiall train|. 
 
 as faulty ; because the third foot is "a trochee." He would 
 correct it thus. 
 
 And rol|ling tow'rd | the gate] : her bes[tiall train[. 
 
 The alteration seems to me anything but an improve- 
 ment. The uneven flow of Milton's line, is far better 
 adapted to express a " rolling " motion, than the continuous 
 rhythm of his presvmiptuous critic. 
 
 5 : 3. was last patronized by Milton. Its revival is 
 hardly to be wished for. 
 
 Als bestiall thar rycht cours till endur 
 
 Weyle helpit ar be wyrkyn of natur. 
 
 On fute and vvcynge ascendand to the hycht 
 
 Conserjvved weill : be | the ma|kar of mycht|. Wallace, 3. 
 
 The parjdale swift] : and | the ty|ger cruell|. 
 
 The antelope and wolf both fierce and fell. F.QA. 6. 26.
 
 C. IV. VERSES BEGIXXIXG WITH SECTION 5. 227 
 
 His book enjoys not what itself doth say. 
 
 For it shall never find one resting day, 
 
 A thousand hands shall toss each page and line. 
 
 Which shall be scanned by a thousand eyne, 
 
 That sab| bath's rest| : or | the sabjbath's unrest | 
 
 Hard is to say, whethers the happiest. 
 
 Hall, upon the " Book of the Sabbath." 
 
 Tis true I am that sp'rit unfortunate 
 
 Who leag'd with millions more in sad revolt 
 
 Kept not my happy station, but was driven 
 
 AVith them j from blissj : to | the bot|tom]ess pit|. 
 
 P. L. 12. 
 
 Eternal wrath 
 
 Burnt af|ter them| : to | the botltomless pit . P. L. 6. 
 
 • In his own image he 
 
 Crea|ted thee| : in | the imlage of God | 
 
 Express. P. L. 7. 
 
 There can, I think, be little doubt, that Milton saw in 
 this rhythm a certain fitness for his subject. The reader 
 is almost forced to dwell on the preposition which begins 
 the second section ; otherwise he may miss the accent, and 
 sink the line into a miserable verse wuth only four accented 
 syllables. This resting place serves the purpose of an 
 emphatic stop, and seems to have been intended to give 
 force to the words which foUow^ " the bottomless pit," " the 
 image of God." 
 
 5 : 5. is one of the standard verses of 5 accents. 
 
 Fro cneo|-raaecuin| : that hie | on cam|pe oftj. 
 
 War So7ig. 
 
 And vvek|e ben' : the ox|en in | my plow]. 
 The rcmenant of ray tale is long enow. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 And horjrid woods] : and si|lence of | this place| 
 And ye | sad hours| : that move | a sul|len pace|. 
 
 Fl. Fa. Sheph. 44. 
 
 And pijous awe| : that fear'd ] to have | oftenlded. P. L. 5. 
 
 Q2
 
 228 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 5. B. II. 
 
 This verse is occasionally found doubly lengthened, in 
 the works of our dramatists. 
 
 He must j not live, : to trumlpet forth | my injfamy. 
 
 Per. 1 1. 
 
 And hence we do conclude 
 
 That whatlso'erj : hath flexjure and | humidlity. 
 
 Jl Jon. E. M. out of his H. Prol. 
 
 5 : 6. seems rarely to have been used after the 15th 
 century, even by our dramatists. 
 
 Schyr Rau|ald had| : the Perjcey's protec|tioun | 
 
 As for all part to bear remissioun. Wallace, 1. 333, 
 
 Tvva yeris thus with myrth AVallace abaid 
 
 Still un|to Frans] : and mou|y gud jor|nay niaid|. 
 
 Wallace, 11. 144. 
 
 How ftjeryl : and forjvvard ourpedjant is|. 
 
 T. of the Shrew, 3. 1. 
 
 5 / : 1 . has always been among the standard verses of 
 five accents ; 
 
 A mer| chant was | ther : with | a forked berd|, 
 
 In mottelee, and high on hors he sat. 
 
 And on his head a Flaundrish bever hat. Chau. Prol. 
 
 What strongjer breast|-plate : than | a heart | untain|ted. 
 
 2 H6,3. 2. 
 
 With all his host 
 
 Of reb|el an|gels : by ] whose aid | aspirjing 
 
 He trusted to have equall'd the Most High. P. L. 1. 
 
 The following is an instance of the verse doubly length- 
 ened; 
 
 If that my cousin King be King of England, 
 
 It must I be gran|ted : I | am Duke | of Lan [caster. 
 
 R 2, 2. 3. 
 5 /. 2. fell into disuse after Milton's death ; 
 
 And with that word he caught a great mirrour. 
 And saw that cbaunged was all his colour ;
 
 C. IV. VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 5 /. 229 
 
 And saw | his vis|age : all | in anoth|er kind|, 
 
 And right anon it ran him in his mind. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 Sound drums [ and trum|pets : boldjly and cheer|fully|. 
 
 72 3, 5. 3. 
 
 The guiltjless dam|sel : fly|ing the mad | pursuitj 
 
 Of her enraged step-dame. Comus. 
 
 My voice thou oft hast heard, and hast not fear'd. 
 
 But still rejoie'd ; how is it now become 
 
 So dreadjful to | thee ? : That | thou art na|ked, who] 
 
 Hath told thee? P. L. 10. 
 
 Besloh I syn sceath|an : sig|ore and | geweal|de, Cced. 
 
 Let grief 
 
 Convert ] to ang|er, blunt ] not the heart | enrage | it. 
 
 Macb. 4. 3. 
 
 When flame | and fu|ry : make | but one face | of hor|ror. 
 
 Fletch. Loy. Suhj. 1. 3. 
 
 Gentle to me and affable hath been 
 
 Thy con|descension : and [ shall be hon|our'd ev|er 
 
 With grateful memory. P. L. 8. 
 
 5 / : 5. did not sunnve Milton ; 
 
 Sterres that ben cleped in scriptures 
 
 That on I Puel|la : that oth|er Ru|beus|. 
 This God of armes was araied thus — 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 The swerd flaw fra him : a furbreid on the land, 
 
 Wal|las wasglad| : and hynt | it sone | in hand|. Wallace. 
 
 Then mayst | thou bold|ly : defy | her turn|ing chaunce|, 
 She can thee neither hinder nor advance. 
 
 Sir T. More. Boke of Fortune. 
 
 Now, broth|er Rich|ard, : Lord Hasltings, and | the restj. 
 
 3 H6,4. 7. 
 And to the ground her threw ; yet n'old she stent 
 Herbitt|er rail|ing : and foul | revil|ement|. F. Q. 2. 4. 12. 
 
 Or search'd the hopeful thicks of hedgy rows 
 For bri|ery ber|ries : or haws | or sowr|er sloes]. 
 
 Hall. Sat. 3. 1 .
 
 230 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 5 //. B. II. 
 
 How are you join'd with hell in triple knot, 
 
 Against the nnarm'd weakness of one virgin, 
 
 Alone I and helj)jless ! : is this [ the conltidence| 
 
 You gave me, brother ? Comus. 
 
 Ah ! fro|vvard Clar|ence : how evjil it | beseems | thee 
 
 To flatter Henry. 3 // 6, 4. 7. 
 
 Farewell my eagle ! when thou flew'st whole armies 
 
 Have stoop'd | below | thee : at pas|sage I | have seen | thee 
 
 Ruffle the Tartars. FL Loyal Subj, 1. 3. 
 
 Byron has given us one instance of the verse 5 / : 5. but 
 rather through neghgence than of set purpose ; 
 
 I see 1 before | me : the gladjiajtor lie]. Childe H. 4. 
 
 5/:6'. is very rare. It prevailed chiefly in the 15th 
 century ; 
 
 Schyr Ranjald Crawjford : beho| wide that tyme | be thar|, 
 For he throw rvcht was born schirref of Air. Wallace, 4. 5. 
 
 Verses beginning with 5 //. are occasionally found in 
 Chaucer, and are not unfrequent in our dramatists. Mas- 
 singer particularly aff'ected this double lengthening of the 
 first section. 
 
 511'. I. 
 
 They teach their teachers with their <le})th of judgment, 
 
 And are | with ar|guments : a ble to | convert 
 
 The enemies of our Gods. Mass. V'lrg. Martyr, 1. I. 
 
 When that the Knight had thus his tale told 
 
 In all I the coui|paynie : n'as [ ther yong | ne old|. 
 
 That he ne said it was a noble storie. 
 
 Chan. The Milleres Prol. 
 
 It is the Prince of \V;des that threatens thee. 
 Who nevjer promjiseth ; but | he means | to payj. 
 
 I H 4, 5. 4. 
 
 To meet | Northum|berland : and | the Prel|ate Scroop] . 
 
 Same, 5.5. 
 
 Verses beginning with the sections G. and 6"/. were 
 certainly used by Chaucer ; though, in the present condi-
 
 C. IV. VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 6. 281 
 
 tion of his works, it is difficult to say to what extent. They 
 were very common in the century, which succeeded his 
 death, hut in the 16"th century fell rapidly into disfavour. 
 They are found hut rarely even in the plays of our dra- 
 matists, though I suspect that Shakespeare's editors have 
 silently corrected the rhythm of many verses, which, as 
 Shakespeare wrote them, contained the ohnoxious section^ 
 The rare occurrence of these verses in Anglo-Saxon is 
 matter of some surprise. 
 
 G: 1. 
 
 Me lifjes onlah] : se | this leoht | onwrali| Rhiming Poem. 
 
 6: 2. 
 And as | lie was wont| : wbis|tered in 1 mine eare|. 
 
 M. for M. Kg. James 1 . 
 
 ^Vas not Richard of nhoni 1 spake before 
 
 A rebel] playne untill his father dyed. 
 
 And John likewise an en 'my evermore 
 
 To Rich|arde againe| : and | for a reb{ell tried] ? 
 
 Ferrers. M.forM. Gloucester, 8. 
 
 6 : 5. 
 Off cornekle qhuat suld I tarry long, 
 To AValjlace agayne| : now brief ly will | I gang|. Wallace. 
 
 Yet are mo fooles of this abusion, 
 Whiche of wise men despiseth the doctrine, 
 With moweSj mockes, scorne and collusion, 
 Rewardling rebukes| : for their 1 good dis|cipline|. 
 
 Bai-clay. Schip of Poles. 
 
 On Hol|yrood day| : the galjlant Hotlspur there|. 
 
 Young Harry Percy and brave Archibald 
 
 At Hohnedon met. 
 
 Lord Mar|shall command| : our of jficers ] at arms|,* 
 
 Be ready to direct these home alarmes. R 2, i. 1. 
 
 6 : 6". is only found in very loose metre, like that of the 
 tumbling verse ; 
 
 * Fol. Ed. 1623. Id the modern Editions the word Lord is omitted.
 
 232 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 6 I. B. II. 
 
 Hereaf|ter by mel : ray suclcessors may | beware]. 
 
 M. for M. Kg. James 6. 
 Preserve | the red rose] : and be ( liis protecltion|. Same, 
 
 Verses beginning with the section 6 /. are occasionally- 
 met with, but rarely after the middle of the 16th century. 
 
 61: 1. 
 
 I wonder this time of the yere 
 
 Whennes that swete savour cometh so. 
 Of ros|es and hljies : that ] I smeljle herej. 
 
 Chan. The second Nonnes Tale. 
 
 O heartless fooles haste here to our doctrine. 
 For here | shall I shewe | you : good [ and veri|tie|, 
 Encline | and ye find ] shall : great [ prosper|itie|, 
 Ensu|ing the doc|trine : of \ our fa|thers olde|, 
 Aud godly lawes in valour worth much gold. 
 
 Barclay. Schip of Foles. 
 
 His soldiers spying his undaunted courage, 
 
 A Taljbot, a Tal|bot : cri ed out | amain]. 1 /f 6, 1.1. 
 
 61: 2. 
 
 It also proved full often is certayne. 
 
 That they | that on moc|kers : al|vvay their min[des castj. 
 
 Shall of all other be mocked at the last. 
 
 Barclay. Schip of Foles. 
 
 61: 5. 
 Take ye example by Cham the son of Noy, 
 Which laugh I ed his fajther : un|to deris|ion|, 
 Which him j after cur|sed : for his | transgres|sionj. 
 
 Barclay. Schip of Foles. 
 
 Verses beginning with the sections 9:9/. are sometimes, 
 though rarely, met with in our dramatists. 
 
 9: 5. 
 We may boldjly spend] : upon | the hope J of what] 
 Is to conie in. H 4 3. \. 
 
 The people of Rome, for whom we stand, 
 
 A special party have by common voice.
 
 C. IV. VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 9. 233 
 
 In elec|tion for| : the Rolraan Eni|pery|, 
 
 Chosen Andronicus. Tit. And. 1.1. 
 
 In a charjiot of | : inesltirajable val|ue. Pericles, 2. 4. 
 
 y / : 1 /. 
 
 Tell him, if he will. 
 
 He shall ha' | the gro|grans : at | the rate | I told | hiin. 
 
 B. Jons. E. M. in his Humour, 2. 1 . 
 
 10 : 5. is a regular verse of the triple measure.
 
 234 B, II. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 We have now to consider those verses of five accents, 
 which have three accented syllahles in the first section ; 
 and shall begin with observing upon certain peculiarities 
 of their rhythm ; more esiDecially such as distinguish 
 them from the class of verses, we have just passed under 
 review. 
 
 There was, at one time, much vague and unprofitable 
 speculation as to the best position of the middle pause — 
 an indeterminate problem, which admits of several an- 
 swers. Gascoigne thought the pause would be " best 
 placed" after the fourth syllable; King James preferred 
 the sixth. The latter objects specially to the fifth, be- 
 cause it is " odde, and everie odde fute is short." John- 
 son's objection to the middle pause, when it follows an 
 unaccented syllable, has been already noticed ; he would 
 tolerate it when the sense was merely suspended, but not 
 when it closed a period. 
 
 There are certainly many sentences, which ought to 
 end with a full and strongly marked rhythm; and, as 
 certainly, others in which a fee])le ending, so far from a 
 defect, may be a beauty. I consider it a beauty in the 
 very verse which Johnson has quoted to prove it the con- 
 trary ; 
 
 He with his horrid crew 
 
 Lay vanquish'd, rolling in the fiery gulph 
 Confounded though xmmortal. But his doom 
 Reserv'd him to more wrath, &c. 
 
 When we are told, that such " a period leaves the ear 
 unsatisfied," we must remember, that Johnson's ear was 
 educated to admire the precise, but cold and monotonous
 
 (C 
 
 C. V. VERSES OF FIVE ACCENTS. 23f) 
 
 rhythm of Pope. As to its leaving the reader " in ex- 
 pectatio-n of the remaining part of the verse," I cannot see 
 in what consists the objection. 
 
 There are also sentences, which ought to end slowly 
 and with dignity ; but there are others, which may with 
 equal propriety end aljruptly. 
 
 Whether the pause, then, be best placed after the sec- 
 tion of two, or of three accents ; whether after an ac- 
 cented or an unaccented syllable; must depend entirely 
 on the circumstances of each case. It may be granted, 
 that the "noblest and most majectic pauses" are those 
 which follow the fourth and sixth syllables, and more 
 especially the sixth ; and though the latter ought not to 
 be preferred, because it makes " a full and solemn close," 
 yet it deserves our preference, whenever such a close is 
 necessEry. There is certainly something imposing in that 
 complete compass of sound," to which Johnson listened 
 with so much pleasure, when the pause followed the sixth 
 syllable. Those who are familiar with his favourite 
 rhythms, will readily understand " the strong emotions 
 of delight and admiration" with which he professes to 
 have read the following passages ; 
 
 Before the hills appear'd or fountains flow'd, 
 Thou with th' eternal wisdom didst converse. 
 Wisdom thy sister, and with her didst play 
 In presence of th' almighty Father, pleas'd 
 With thy celestial song. 
 
 Or other worlds they seem'd, or happy isles, 
 Like those Hesperian gardens, fam'd of old, 
 Fortunate fields and groves, and flow'ry vales, 
 Thrice happy isles I But who dwelt happy there 
 He staid not to mquire. 
 
 He blew 
 
 His trumpet, heard in Oieb siuce, perhaps 
 When God descended ; and perhaps once more 
 To sound at gen'ral doom. 
 
 From the importance which Milton attached to '• apt 
 numbers," it is clear that the poet and his critic differed
 
 236 VERSES OF FIVE ACCENTS. B. II. 
 
 no less in theory than in practice. The former moved 
 with majesty, whenever his subject required it ; the latter 
 loved the pomp of words for its own sake. The one 
 wished to suit his rhythm to his matter; the other too 
 often swelled out a thought, which could ill bear it, in 
 order to fill a rolling and a stately period. 
 
 We have seen that several of our modern critics, and 
 among them Johnson, objected to any verse, whose 
 second section began abruptly. As the objection is sup- 
 ported by examples, which belong to the class of verses 
 we are now considering, a few observations upon it wiU 
 not, I think, be altogether out of place. It is said, that 
 the injury to the measure is remarkably striking, when 
 the " vicious verse " concludes a period. 
 
 This delicious place 
 
 For us too large ; where thy abundance wants 
 Partakers, and uncropt : falls | to the ground]. 
 
 His harmless life 
 
 Does with substantial blessedness abound. 
 
 And the soft vAdngs of peace: cov|er him roundj, 
 
 In the first of these verses, I can only see those " apt 
 numbers," which Milton affected beyond any other poet, 
 that has written our language. But Cowley is indefensi- 
 ble. Instead of accommodating the flow of his verse to 
 the subject, he has expressed his beautiful thought in the 
 most jerking line his measure would allow. Giving all 
 his attention to the smoothness of his syllables, he seems 
 to have forgotten his rhythm. 
 
 The whole, however, of Johnson's criticism is founded 
 on false premises. When he denounced the verses last 
 quoted, as gross violations of " the laAV of metre," he had 
 set out with assuming, that the repetition of the accent 
 " at equal times," was " the most complete harmony of 
 which a single verse is capable." Our mixed rhythms 
 were merely introduced for the purposes of variety ; to 
 relieve us from the weariness induced by " the perpe-
 
 C. V. VERSES OF FIVE ACCENTS. 237 
 
 tual recurrence of the same cadence," and to make us 
 " more sensible of the harmony of the pure measure." 
 This notion is not of modern date ; for so early as the 
 sixteenth century, Webbe had laid it down, that " the 
 natural course" of English verse ran "upon the lambicke 
 stroke;" and that "by all likelihood it had the origin 
 thereof." He might have been taught sounder doctrine 
 by his contemporary Gascoigne. This critic laments that 
 they were fallen into such " a plain and simple manner 
 of writing, that there is none other foote used but one," 
 and that such " sound or scanning continueth through 
 the whole verse." He admires " the libertie in feete 
 and measures" used by their Father Chaucer; and tells 
 his reader, that " whosoever do peruse and well consider 
 his works, he shall find, although his lines are not alwayes 
 of one self-same number of syllables, yet being read by 
 one who hath understanding, the longest verse, and that 
 which hath most syllables in it, will fall to the eare cor- 
 respondent to that which hath fewest syllables in it; 
 and likewise that which hath in it fewest syllables, shall 
 be founde yet to consist of wordes, that have such natu- 
 ral! souiide, as may seeme equal in length to a verse, 
 which hath many moe syllables of lighter accents." 
 
 There can be no doubt, that our heroic metre was from 
 the first a mixed one ; and though, owing to various 
 causes — chiefly to the prevalence of false accentuation — 
 it has approached nearer and nearer to the common 
 measure, yet to narrow its limits, beyond what is neces- 
 sary for the security of the accent, is to impair its beauty 
 no less than its efficiency. 
 
 Our verses of five accents begin much more commonly 
 with sections 1. and 1 /. Avhen the pause follows the third 
 accent, than when it follows the second. The greater 
 length of the section, and the more continuous flow of 
 the rhythm, is doubtless the cause.
 
 238 VERSES BEGIXXIXG WITH SECTION 1. B. II. 
 
 1 : 1 /, is met with in Anglo-Saxon, but in English verse 
 hardly ever. 
 
 Se I the \Vce|trum \veold| : wreah | and tlieah|te. Cad. 
 
 Tha 1 \va2S soth | svva fer| : sibb | ouheof|num. Cad. 
 
 sitli|than wid|e rad| : wolc|num un|der. Cad. 
 
 svvang I that fyr | on tvva| : feond|es craef|te. Cad. 
 
 niht|a oth|er s\vilc| : nith j wics reth|e. Cad. 
 1 : 2. is also rare. 
 
 Hu|bert keep | this boy| : Phil|ip make up|, 
 
 My mother is assailed in her tent. 
 
 And ta'en I fear. Kg. John, 3. 2. 
 
 Wiil|der-fces|tan \vic| : \ver|odes thrym|me. Cad. 
 
 syn|nihte j be seald| : sus|]e gein|nod. Cad. 
 
 o|fer sealt|ne sae| : sundvvudu drif|an. Ex. MS. 
 
 Olferhydlig cyn| : engjla of lieof|num. Cad. 
 
 1:5. is not unfrequently used by the writers of the 
 fifteenth century, and by our older dramatists. 
 
 On I his lifjdagumj : gelic|ost waes| Alf. 
 
 On I thaem eg|londe| : the aiilUxes|. Alf. 
 
 Zephjirus | began] : his morjow courss] ; 
 
 The swete vapour thus fra the ground resourss. 
 
 Wallace, 6. 8. 74. 
 
 Serve | her day | and night] : as rev|erently| 
 Upon thy knees as any servaunt may, 
 And, in conclusion, that thou shalt win thereby. 
 Shall not be worth thy service I dare say. 
 
 Sir T. More. Boke of Fortune. 
 
 Sound trumpets and set forwards combatants. 
 
 Stay] ! the king | hath thrown^ : his v,ar|der do\vn|. 
 
 R2, 1. 3. 
 First that he lie upon the truckle bed, 
 \Milles his young master lieth o'er his head, 
 Seclond that | he do] : on no ] default]. 
 Ever presume to sit above the salt. Hall. Sat. 2. 6.
 
 C. V. VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 1. 239 
 
 Wharton reads the line thus, 
 Second that he do, upon no default. 
 
 I have nothing but a modern reprint at hand to refer 
 to ; but have little doubt that Wharton has been tam- 
 pering with his text. His motive for doing so is an 
 obvious one. By changing the preposition he gets at 
 once the orthodox number of syllables ; though the ac- 
 cents still remain inflexible. 
 
 Or 1 thon engjla weardj : for of|erhyg|de. Cccd. 
 
 Gifjum growjendej : on godjes ric|e. Cad. 
 
 Lif|es leoht j fruma' : on lid|es bos|rae. Ceed. 
 
 On j thahat|an hell] : thurh hygleleas',te. Cced. 
 
 Hit I gesael|de gio| : on sumje tid e. ^If. 
 I sometime lay here in Corioli, 
 
 At I a poor | man's housej : he usd ] me kind|ly. 
 
 Let's to the sea-side, ho ! 
 
 Cor. ]. 9. 
 
 As well to sec the vessel that's come in, 
 
 As I throw out | our eyes| ; for brave | Othelllo. 0th. 2. 1. 
 
 Examples that may nourish 
 
 Neglect and disobedience in whole bodies — 
 
 Must not be play'd withal ; nor out of pity 
 
 Make I agen|eral| : forget | hisdujty. Fl. Bonduca, A.3. 
 
 O I how comejly' it is| : and how ] reviv|ing. Samson. 
 
 This lengthened verse forms the great staple of Cam- 
 pion's "Trochaic measure." The following "epigram" 
 will serve as a specimen. 
 
 Cease ] fond wretch j to love| : so oft ] delud'ed, 
 
 Still 1 made litch | with hopes] : still unlrelievled. 
 
 Now I fly her | delaies' : she, that] debat eth. 
 
 Feels 1 not true | desire] : he that]* deferjred 
 
 Othjers time 1 attends] : his owne j betray]eth. 
 
 Learn | t' affect | thyself] : thy cheekes [ deform ]ed 
 
 AVith pale care, revive with timely pleasure ; 
 
 This is false accentuation, but was certainly intended by the author.
 
 240 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION W. B. II. 
 
 Or with scarlet heate them, or by painting 
 Make thee lovely, for such arte she useth, 
 Whom I in vayne | so long| : thy foljly lov|ed. 
 
 \ I: \. was used by Chaucer and his school, and also 
 by our dramatists. The lengthened verse was common in 
 Anglo-Saxon ; 
 
 How longe Juno thurgh thy crueltee, 
 Wilt I thou war|rein Thebjes : the | citee|. 
 
 Chau. The Knightes Tale. 
 
 Hath not two beares in their fury and rage, 
 Two I and for|tie chil dren : rent | and torn]. 
 For they the prophete Heliseus did scorne ? 
 
 Barclay. Schip of Foles. 
 
 Aljexanlder I|den : that's | my namej. 2 H 6, b. 1. 
 
 And thus do we of wisdom and of reach. 
 
 By indirections find directions out. 
 
 So 1 by for|mer lec|ture : and | advicej. 
 
 Shall you, my son. Hamlet, 2. I. 
 
 Twelve I years since, | Miran|da : twelve \ years since]. 
 Thy father was the Duke of Milan. Temp. 1. 2. 
 
 Some late editors tell us to make the first years a dis- 
 syllable ; 
 
 Twelve yejars since, 1 Miran|da : twelve \ years since] 
 
 Thus 1 much for ] your anjswer : for ] yourselves]. 
 Ye have lived the shame of women, die the better. 
 
 Fletch. Valent'mian, 1 . 2. 
 
 Out : 
 
 Out ] ye sluts], ye foljlies : from ] our swords]. 
 
 Filch our revenges basely ? Fletcher. Bonduca, 3. 5. 
 
 Fletcher's editor, in 1778, adds a third out, which he 
 has " no doubt was dropt by the compositor or trans, 
 criber ; " 
 
 Out! 
 
 Out, out ] ye sluts ] ye foljlies, &c. 
 
 While I their hearts | were jojcund : and ] sublime), 
 
 Drunk with idolatrv, &c. Samson.
 
 C. V. VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION I/. iM I 
 
 How reviving 
 
 To I the sp'rits | of just | men : long | oppress'dl. 
 
 Satnson. 
 
 flulgon forjtigen|de : foer | ongetlon. Cad. 
 
 hyht|lic heof |on tim|ber : hol|inas dael|de. Cced. 
 
 And I thurh of |ermet|to : eal|ra svvith|ost. Cad. 
 
 And I he eac | swa sam|e : ealjle moeg|ne. A//. 
 
 Wuljdor sped|um wel|ig : \vid|e stod|an. Cad. 
 
 Ac I hi for ] thaem yrin thuni : eard|es lys te. Alf. 
 
 On I gesac|um s\vith|e : sel|fes mih|tuin. Cad. 
 
 heo|ra cyn|e cynjnes : cuth | is wid|e. Jlf. 
 
 Of|er heof |on stol|as : heagjum tliryni|mum. Cad. 
 
 Wol|don her|e bleathje : ham|as fin|dan. Cad. 
 
 0|fer la'go tlod|e : leoht ] with thys|trum. Cad. 
 
 that 1 he God|e wol|de : geongIerdora|e. Cad. 
 
 that I he God|e woljde : geong|ra weorth|an. Cad. 
 
 Cvvaed|on that | heo nc|e : reth|e mod|e. Cad. 
 
 Oth|tha;t him | gelyf |de : leod|a un|rim. Jlf. 
 
 Oth|th8et him | ne meahlte ; mon|na EBJnig. Aff. 
 
 sit|tan letje ie hin|e : with | me sylfjne. Cced. 
 
 Is 1 this the I Lord Tal|bot : uncjle Gloslter ? \ H 6, 3. 4. 
 
 He shall not this day perish, if his passions 
 May 1 be fed | with mu|sic : are | they readjy? 
 
 Fletcli. Mad Lover, A. 1. 
 
 \l: 2. is common in Anglo-Saxon, but very rare in 
 English ; 
 
 un|der eorth|an neoth|an : £el|mihtig Godj. Cced. 
 
 thon|ne cymth | on uh|tau : aes|terne wind|. Cced. 
 
 wees 1 thses Job|es faejder : God | eac swa he|. Alf. 
 See I him pluck ( Aufid|ins : down ] by the hair|. Cor. I. 3. 
 
 heow|on heathjohnlde : ham era lafjuni. War Sony. 
 VOL. I. R
 
 242 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 1 /. B. II. 
 
 Sith|than her|e\vos|an : heof|on orgsef|on. Cced. 
 
 Of I tliseiu mod|e cum|ath : inon|na gehwil|cum. Alf. 
 
 Thaet | he to | his ear|de : aen|ige iiysjte. Alf. 
 
 Ac I he mid thsem wif|e : wuu|ode sith|than. Alf. 
 
 A large proportion of Alfred's verses have the alliterative 
 syllables thrown back to the very end of the section. 
 The same peculiarity^ is sometimes met with in the works 
 of Ceedmon and other Anglo-Saxon poets. This appears 
 to me fatal to Rask's theory. If all the syllables, which 
 occur before the alliterative syllable, form merely " a compli- 
 ment/' and take no accent, we shall have some hundreds of 
 sections with only one accented syllable ; a result which, 
 according to Rask himself, is opposed to the very first 
 principles of Anglo-Saxon verse. 
 
 ] /: 5. was at no period common ; 
 
 aBlc|ne aefjter oth|rum : for ec|ne God|. Alf. 
 
 What I an al|tera|tion : of hoa|our has| 
 
 Desperate want made ! T. of Athens. 
 
 But I am troubled here with them myself. 
 The rebels have assay'd to win the Tow'r — 
 But I get you | to Smithjfield : and gathjer head]. 
 
 2 //6, 4. 5. 
 
 Thaes | the heo | ongan|non : with God | e win | nan. C(ed. 
 
 The verse 2 : 1 . is sometimes found lengthened in Anglo- 
 Saxon, but is very rarely met Avith in English ; 
 
 Thonjne se hal|ga God| : hab|ban mihjte. Cad. 
 
 Wel|come, ye war|like Goths, : wel|come Lu|cius. 
 
 Tit. And. a. 3. 
 
 2 : 2. is one of the standard verses of five accents, 
 but was little favoured by Dryden and his school. Seldom 
 as they use it, it is much more rarely that they use it 
 happily. Its properties have been discussed at length 
 in the opening of this chapter.
 
 C. V. VERSES BEGIXXIXG WITH SECTION 2. 243 
 
 For the love of God, that for us alle died. 
 
 And as I may deserve it unto you, 
 
 What I shall this re|ceit cost*] r : tel|leth me novv|. 
 
 Chau. Chanone's Yemannes Tale. 
 
 This mighty man, quoth he, whom you have slain. 
 
 Of I an huge gi|antess| : whiljom was bred|. F. Q. 4. 8. 47. 
 
 And I for Mark Au|thony| : think j not on him|. 
 
 Jul. Ca:s- 2. 1. 
 There to converse with everlasting groans — 
 Ag|es of hopejless end| : this | would be worsej. P. L. 2. 
 
 He unobserved 
 
 Home j to his moth|er's house| : priv|ate return'd|. P. R. 4. 
 
 Is I the great charm | that draws] : all | to agree]. 
 
 Pope. Essay. 
 
 Brut]us is no]ble, wise] : valjiant and honjest, 
 Caesar was migh]ty, bold] : royjal and lovjing. 
 
 Jul. C(es. 3. I . 
 
 Where [ may she waulder now] : whithjer betake | her : 
 
 Comus. 
 
 2:5. was well known in Anglo-Saxon, and has always 
 been among the standard verses of five accents. 
 
 Laed]de ofer lagju stream] : saet lan]ge thaer]. Alf. 
 
 He I tha geferjede) : thurh feonjdes craeft]. C<Bd. 
 
 A Frankelein was in this compaynie, 
 
 AVhite was his berd ne as the dayesie. 
 
 Of 1 his complex|ionj : he was | sanguin], 
 
 Wei loved he by the morwe a sop in win. Chau. Prol. 
 
 And 1 the world's vicjtor stood] : subdued | by sound). 
 
 Pope. 
 
 werjige wunjedonj : and we|an cuthjon. Cced. 
 
 hcar]ran to hab]bane| : ic maeg | mid hanjdum. C(Ed. 
 
 Short was his gouu, with sieves long and wide, 
 Wei [ coude he sitjte on hors] : and fairje ridje. 
 
 Chau. Prol. 
 
 * Query, coste? 
 R 2
 
 244 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 2. B. II 
 
 One I that doth wear | himself| : away | in lone|ness, 
 
 Fl. Faith. Shep. 1. 2. 
 
 Till I an unu|sual stop] : of sud|den si|lence. Comus. 
 
 2:6. is found in the alliterative metre ; 
 
 Lew|yd men lik|ed wel| : and levjed his spechje. 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 
 2 I: 1. is one of the standard verses of five accents. 
 
 Whiljom as ol|de stor|ies : tei|len us|, 
 Ther was a duk^ that highte Theseus. 
 
 Chau. Knightes Tale. 
 
 Then | shall man's pride | and dul|ness : com|prehend| 
 
 His actions, passion's, being's, use and end. Pope's Essay. 
 
 For I thaem he waes | mid rih|te : ric|es hyr|de. Alf. 
 
 Give I not yourself | to lonelness: and [ those gracjes 
 Hide from the eyes of men. Fl. Faith. Sheph. 1. 2. 
 
 2 1 12. seems to have been last patronised by Milton. 
 Stathjolas eft | geset|te : svvegl|-torhtan seldj. Cced. 
 
 We 're fellows still 
 
 Serv|lng alike [ in sor|row : leak'd | is our bark|. 
 
 And we poor mates stand on the dying deck 
 
 Hearing the surges threat. T. of A. 
 
 I I shall remem|ber tru|ly ; trust ] me I shall|. 
 
 Fl. Lot/.SubJ. 1. I. 
 
 But 1 for that damn'd ] magicjian : let ] him be girt] 
 
 With all the grisly legions. Comus. 
 
 Nyl|e he seng|um an|um : ealjle gefyljlan. Ex. MSS. 
 
 21:5. fell into disuse at the same time as the verse 
 last mentioned. 
 
 Be't I as your Gods j will have | it : it on|ly stands] 
 
 Our lives upon to use our strongest hands. A. and C. 2. I. 
 
 Betlter at home | lie bedj-rid : not on|ly i|dle, Samson. 
 
 Inglorious.
 
 C. V. VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 21. 245 
 
 Come, j for the third, | Laerjtes : you do | but dally. 
 
 Hamlet, 5.2. 
 
 Let other men 
 
 Set up their bloods for sale, mine shall be ever 
 Fair | as the soul | it carjries : and un|chaste nev|er. 
 
 Fl. Fa. Shep. 1. 2. 
 
 2 1: 6 1, was not uncommon in our early English 
 rhythms. 
 
 deer | thu bist fest | bedyt|e : and daeth | hefth tha caeg|e. 
 
 Death-song. 
 
 Cov]eyten nawt | to con|tre : to carlien about|e. 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 
 2 II: 1 . may be found in some of our dramatists. 
 
 Nor caves nor secret vaults. 
 
 No nor the pow'r they serve, could keep these Christians 
 Or I from my reach | or pun|ishment : but | thy mag|ic 
 Still laid them open. Massinger, Virg. Martyr, 1.1. 
 
 The verses beginning with the sections 3. and 3 /. de- 
 serve attention, as being in the number of those which 
 strikingly characterize the rhythm of Milton. To a mo- 
 dern ear the flow of these verses is far from pleasing, nor 
 can I readily see what was their recommendation to one, 
 whose ear was so delicately sensitive. Whatever might 
 be the motive, he certainly employed them more pro- 
 fusely than any of his contemporaries. 
 
 3:1. 
 
 Tha I was wsestlmum aweaht] : world | onspreht]. 
 
 Rhiming Poem. 
 
 3: 2. 
 
 How I if when | I am laid] : in [to the tomb] 
 
 1 wake before the time ? R. and J. 4. 3. 
 
 The mighty regencies 
 
 Of seraphim and potentates and powers,
 
 246 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 3. B. II. 
 
 In I their tnp|le degrees] : re|gioiis to vvhicli] 
 
 All thy dominion, Adam, is no more 
 
 Than what this garden is to all the earth. P. L. .5. 
 
 Both ascend 
 
 In I the vis|ions of God| : It J was a hill| 
 
 Of Paradise the highest P. L 11. 
 
 Ir|recov|'rably bUndj : tojtal eclipse|. Samson. 
 
 Feljlow, come ] from the throng, | : look | upon Cae|sar. 
 
 Jul. CCES. 1. 2. 
 
 3 : 5. and 3:5/. 
 
 This gud squicr with Wallace bound to ryd. 
 
 And Edward Litill his sister sone so der, 
 
 Full I Weill graithjit in till] ; thar ar|mour cler|. 
 
 Wallace, .3. 57. 
 
 Or he decess, 
 
 Man|y thou|sandin fieldj : shall make | thar end|. 
 
 Wallace, 2. 3 18. 
 
 Hegjeit of | an huge hicht| : with haw[thorne tree|is. 
 
 Dunbar. 
 
 And eke wild roaring bulls he would him make 
 
 To tame, and ride their backs, not made to bear. 
 
 And I the roe|bucks in flight] : to o|vertake|. F. Q. \ . (). 24. 
 
 Who I then dares | to be half] : so kind | again] ? 
 For bounty that makes Gods, does still mar men. 
 
 T. of A. 4. 2. 
 
 Lead | me to j the revolts] : of Engjland here]. 
 
 Kg. John, 5. 4. 
 
 Dominion hold 
 
 0]ver fish | of the sea] : and fowl j of th' airj. P. L. 7- 533. 
 
 And for the testimony of truth, hast borne 
 U]niver]sal reproach] : far worse ] to bear] 
 Than violence. P- -L<- G- 33. 
 
 I come thy guide 
 
 To I the garjden of bhssj : thy seat ] prepar'd]. 
 
 P. L. 8. 299.
 
 C. V. VERSKS BEGINNING WITH SECTION 3 /. 247 
 
 Hoarse echo inurmur'd to his words applause, 
 
 Through | the in|finite host[ : nor less | for thatj 
 
 The flaming seraph fearless P. L b. 872. 
 
 From their blissful bow'rs 
 
 Of amarantine shade, fountain or spring. 
 
 By I the wa|ters of life| : vvher'eer | they sat|. 
 
 In fellowship of joy, the sous of light 
 
 Hasted. PL. 11 7S. 
 
 True image of the Father, whether thron'd 
 In I the bos|om of bhss| : and light | of light] 
 
 Conceiving, or remote from Heav'n P. R. 4. 595. 
 
 U|niver|sally crovvn'd| : with high|est prais|es. 
 
 Samson Agon. 
 
 Milton used just as freely the verses that begin with the 
 lensfthened section. 
 
 3/ : 1. 
 
 This { Valer|ian correc|ted : as | God wold], 
 
 Answer'd again. Chau. 2nd Nonnes Tale. 
 
 Then to the desert takes with these his flight. 
 
 Where still from shade to shade the son of God 
 
 Af|ter forjty days' fas]ting: had ] remaiu'd]. P. R. 2. 240. 
 
 Victory and triumph to the son of God, 
 
 Now entr'ing his great duel, not of arms 
 
 But I to van|quish by wisjdora : helllish wilesj. 
 
 P.R. I. 176. 
 
 Is this the man 
 
 That I invin|cible Sam 1 son : far | renown'd], 
 
 The dread of Israel's foes — Samson Agon. 
 
 Can this be he, 
 
 That heroic that renown'd 
 Irjresisjtible Sam|son : whom ] unarm]edl 
 No strength of man or fiercest wild beast could withstand ? 
 
 Samson Agon. 
 
 And through his side the last drops, ebbing slow. 
 
 From the red gash full heavy one by one. 
 
 Like I the first | of a thunjder :-shovv'r], and now] 
 
 The arena swims before him. Chllde Harold. C. 4.
 
 218 VERSES BEGIXMXG WITH SECTION 4. B. I. 
 
 S / : -2. 
 
 With gentle penetration, though unseen, 
 
 Shoots I invisjible vir|tue : e'en | to the deep]. P. L. 3. 
 
 There are very few verses that begin Avith the section 
 4. Not only is its length unwieldy, but the very marked 
 character of its rhythm prevents it from uniting readily 
 •with other sections. It is sometimes found in our old 
 English alliterative poems ; 
 
 4:9/. 
 
 Lov|ely lay | it along| : in his lonejly den|ne. 
 
 William and the Werwolf. 
 41:2. 
 
 Fra|grant all ful | of fresche oldours : fyn|est of smelle'. 
 
 Dunbar-. 
 5:1. has always been rare. 
 
 This yellow slave — 
 
 Will knit and break religions — place thieves 
 And give them title, knee, and approbation 
 With sen I 'tors on | the bench | : this | is it|. 
 Which makes the wappencd widow wed again. 
 
 T. of A. 4. 3. 
 
 Whether to knock against the gates of Rome, 
 
 Or rudely visit them in parts remote, 
 
 To fright I them ere | destroy. |: But | come in|. 
 
 Let me commend thee first to those, that may 
 
 Say yea to thy desires. Cor. 4.5. 
 
 Love is not love. 
 
 When it is mingled with respects, that stand 
 
 Aloof I from th' enjtire point| : will | you have | her? 
 
 Lear, 1.1. 
 
 I defy thee, 
 
 Thou mock I -made man | of straw] : charge | home, sir | rah. 
 
 Fl. Bonduca, 4. 2. 
 
 5 : 2. is one of the standard verses of five accents. 
 
 A sherjeve hadjde ho bcen| : and | a contourj. 
 
 Was no wher swiche a worthy vavasour. Chau. Prul.
 
 C. V. VERSES BEGINMXU WITH SECTION 5. 249 
 
 Instruct I me, for | thou know'st,j : thou j from the firsti 
 Wast present. P. L. 1. 
 
 We canjnot blame | iudeedl : but | we may sleep]. 
 
 Pope. Essay on Criticism. 
 
 One fatal tree there stands, of knowledge called, 
 Forbidjden them | to tastej : knowjledge forbidjden ! 
 
 P. L. 4. 
 
 At Sessions ther was he lord and sire 
 
 Ful of|ten times ] he was} : knight | of the shire]. 
 
 Chau. Prol. 
 
 5 : 5. is also one of the standard verses of five accents. 
 
 And tlu)u>rh he holv were and vertuous, 
 
 He was [ to sinful menj : not dis pitousj. Chau. Prol. 
 
 Learn hence | for anjcient rules' : a just | esteerai. 
 
 Pope's Ess. on Crit. 
 
 He dies | and makes ( no sign] : O God | forgive | him. 
 
 The feljlows of | his crime] : the folllow'rs rathjer. P. L. 1. 
 
 The following is an instance of the verse 5 : 5 //. 
 
 Will you permit that I shall stand condemnd 
 
 A wan|d'ring vagabond] : my rights | and royjalties. 
 
 Plucked from ray arms perforce r JR. 2, 2. 3. 
 
 5 : 6. was seldom used after the fifteenth century. 
 
 The faithful love that dyd us both corabyne, 
 
 In mariage and peasable concorde. 
 
 Into your haudes here I cleane resigne 
 
 To be 1 bestowed | upon] : your chil dreu and mine]. 
 
 Sir T. More. RuJ'ul Lament. 
 
 And was | a big | bold barni : and brem]e of his ag]e. 
 
 Williayn and the Wericolf. 
 
 And whan ] it was | out went] : so wel | hit him likjed. 
 
 Same.
 
 250 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 5/. B. II. 
 
 5 : 10. is very rare. 
 
 Kath'rine the curst, 
 
 A tijtle for | a maidj : of all ti|tles the worst]. 
 
 Tam. of the Shrew, 1. 2. 
 
 5 / : 1 . is one of the standard verses of five accents. 
 
 Befelle that in that season, on a day 
 
 ' ml 
 
 In Southlwark at [ the Tab|ard: as | I lay| — Ch. Prol. 
 
 Tliese leave the sense, their learning to display, 
 And those | explain | the mean|ing : quite | away|. 
 
 Pope's Ess. on Criticism. 
 
 From every shires ende 
 
 Of Englelond to Canterbury they vvende 
 
 The ho|ly blisjful marjtyr : for j to sekje. Chau. Prol. 
 
 His greedy wish to find. 
 
 His vv'ish I and best | advanjtage : us | asunjder. P. L. 9. 
 
 5 / : 2. and 5 1:5. were seldom used after the time of 
 Milton. 
 
 You have gone on and fill'd the time 
 
 With most I licenltious meas|ure : makjing your will| 
 
 The scope of Justice. T. of A. 5. 4. 
 
 I heard | thee in | the garjden : and | of thy voice] 
 
 Afraid, being naked hid myself — P.L.\0. 
 
 Obey I and be | atten|tive : canst | thou rememlber 
 
 A time before we came into this cell ? Temp. I. 2. 
 
 5/ : 5. 
 
 Thou and I 
 
 Have forjty miles j to ride | yet: ere din|ner time|. 
 
 1 Hen. i, 3.3. 
 For in | those days | might on|ly : shall be | admir'dj. 
 
 P.L. 10. 
 
 And from thy work 
 
 Now res|ting bless'd | and haljlow'd : the sevjenth day|. 
 
 P. L. 7. 
 
 The morn|ing comes | upon | us: we'll leave | you, Bru|tus. 
 
 Jul. r<es. 2. 1.
 
 C. V. VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 5//. 251 
 
 Begran 
 
 To loathe j the taste | of sweetlness : whereof [ a lit|tle 
 More than a little, is by much too much. Hen. 4, 5. 2. 
 
 5 1 : 61: is met with in the okl English alliterative 
 rhythms. 
 
 For son|e thu | bist lad [lie : and lad | to iseonltie. 
 
 Death Song. 
 
 ' In ab|yte* as | an her]mite ; unho|ly of \verk|es.' 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 
 I sloin|bred on | a slep|yng : it swy|ed so mer|y. 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 
 A-^erses that begin with the section 5 //. are met with, 
 not only in the tumbling verse, but occasionally also 
 in our dramatists. They give a loose and slovenly cha- 
 racter to the rhythm, and were very properly rejected by 
 Spenser, and by Milton. 
 
 5 11: 1 . 
 
 Who wears ] my stripes | impress'd | on him : who | must bear] 
 My beating to the grave. Cor 5. 5. 
 
 bll:2. 
 
 It may | be I | will go | with you : but yet [ I '11 pausej. 
 
 Ric. 2, 2. 3. 
 
 A sovereign shame ) so eljbows him : his own | unkind[ness. 
 
 Lear, 4. 4. 
 
 Verses beginning with the sections 6. 61. 6 II. were 
 rarely used even by our dramatists. Byron, whose neg- 
 ligent versification has never yet lieen properly censured, 
 has given us one or two examples of the verse 6:2. To 
 slip a verse of this kind into a modern poem, is little 
 better than laying a trap for the reader. 
 
 * This is clearly a mistake for habyte, which gives us the proper alli- 
 teration.
 
 252 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 6. B. II. 
 
 G : 2. 
 
 I have so much endur'd, so much endure, 
 
 Look on ] me, the grave | hath notj : changjed thee inor|e 
 
 Thau I am chang'd for thee. Manfred. 
 
 G : 5. 
 
 And there [ by the grace | of God| : he was | prostrate]. 
 
 M.for M. Flodden Fielde, 8. 
 
 He conquered all the reyne of feminie. 
 
 That whilom was ycleped Scythia, 
 
 And vvedjded the fresh|e quenej : Ippol|ita|. 
 
 The Knightes Tale. 
 
 The sen|ate hath sent | about] : three sev|eral quests] 
 
 To search you out. Othello, 1 . 2. 
 
 6 : 6. 
 
 And manjy a dead]ly stroke] : on him ( there did light] 
 
 M.for M. Flodd. Fielde, 8. 
 
 611:61. 
 
 Qui loqjuitur tur]piloqluiuni : is Lujcifer's hin]e. 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 
 Verses beginning with the sections 7- and 7 I- are very 
 rarely met with, except in the old Enghsh alliterative 
 metre. 
 
 7 : 6. 
 
 With that I in haist | to the hege] : so hard | I inthrangj. 
 
 Dunbar 
 
 Quhairon j ane bird [ on a branch] : so birst | out her notjis. 
 
 Same, 
 
 71:21. 
 
 To hav]e a li]cense and leavje : at Lonjdon to dwel]le. 
 
 Piers Ploughman. 
 
 Upon I the mid]summer evjen : raeririest of nich]tis. 
 
 Dunbar.
 
 C. V. VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 7- -^3 
 
 71:61. 
 
 The hel|evvaglas beoth lagje : sid-\vag|as iuiheg|e. 
 
 Death Song. 
 
 Verses beginning with the section 8. are no less rare 
 than those which begin Avith section 4. They must of 
 necessity approach close on the confines of the triple 
 measure ; liut verses belonging to that measure would, in 
 most cases, be of a most unwieldy length, if they con- 
 tained five accents. They are, however, occasionally 
 found in the alliterative metre, and there are some very 
 curious specimens in the Anglo-Saxon poem, called The 
 Traveller. 
 
 8 / : 1//. 
 
 Mid Weu|lum ic waes | and raid Waerlnuni : and j mid \Vic|ingum. 
 
 Song of the Traveller. 
 
 Nud Seaxjum ic waes | and mid Syc|gum : and [ mid Svvaerd|- 
 werum. Song of the Trav 
 
 Mid Fronclura ic vvaes | and mid Frysjum : and mid Frumj- 
 tingum. Song of the Trav. 
 
 Mid Engjlura ic waes | and mid Svvaef|um : and | mid Onjenum. 
 
 Song of the Trav. 
 
 Mid Rug|um ic waes | and raid Glora|mum : and | mid Runi;- 
 walura. Sotig of the Trav. 
 
 Mid Creac|um ic waes | and mid Fin|num : and | mid Caeslere. 
 
 Song of the Trav. 
 
 811: \ 11. 
 
 Mid Gefjthum ic waes | and mid Win[edum : and | mid Gef[- 
 legum. Song of the Trav. 
 
 SIl:6. 
 
 Of fals|nesse of fasjting of lesjinges : of vow|es y broke . 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 
 Verses beginning with the section 9. form a very 
 slovenly rhythm, but are occasionally found in tlie works 
 of our dramatists.
 
 254 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 9. B. II. 
 
 ;> : 5. 
 
 'Tis a wonjder by J your leave | : she will | be tam'd | so. 
 
 T. oftheShreio,'o. 2. 
 9/: I. 
 
 As an arrow shot 
 
 From a we]l-|exper|ienced ar|cher: hits | the mark] 
 
 His eye doth level at Per. 1.1 
 
 AVe gave way to your clusters 
 
 Wlio did luHit I him out | o' th' citjy : But j I fear| 
 
 They'll roar him in again. Cor 4. 6.
 
 c. VI. -£>^ 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 VERSE OF SIX ACCENTS. 
 
 Formerly the verse of six accents was the one most 
 commonly used in our language ; but for the last three 
 centuries it has been losing ground, and is now merely 
 tolerated, as affording a convenient pause in a stave, or as 
 sometimes yielding the pleasure of variety. 
 
 The place it once filled in English hterature would give 
 it some degree of importance, even though it had never 
 been one of our classical rhythms ; but its importance is 
 greatly increased, when we recollect the period when it 
 most flourished, and the writers by whom it was chiefly 
 cultivated. Poems in this metre ushered in the eera of 
 Ehzabeth ; and no one can look with other feelings than 
 respect upon the favourite rhythm of a Howard, a Sid- 
 ney, and a Drayton. 
 
 The verse of six accents is frequently met with in our 
 Anglo-Saxon poems, and also in the alliterative poems of 
 the fourteenth century. But the psalm-metres were 
 chiefly instrumental in rendering it familiar to the people ; 
 and doubtless gave it that extraordinary popularity, which 
 for a time threw into the shade all the other metres of 
 our language. 
 
 It must, however, be acknowledged, that our verse of 
 six accents is much inferior to the verse of five. Though 
 of greater length, its rhythm has a narrower range, and a 
 flow much more tame and monotonoiis. Its pause ad- 
 mits little change of position, and though in the numljer
 
 256 VERSE OF SIX ACCENTS. B. II. 
 
 of its possible varieties it equals the verse of five accents, 
 yet many of these have a length so inconvenient, as to 
 render them very unfit for any practical purpose. It is 
 also more difficult to follow a diversified rhythm in the 
 section of three, than in the shorter section of tM'o accents. 
 A verse, therefore, which admits only the former, cannot 
 safely allow the same license to the rhythm, as one which 
 contains the latter. Accordingly, our metre of six accents 
 departs in very few instances from the strictest law of the 
 common measure. 
 
 The name of Alexandrine has Ijeen given to this verse, 
 not only in our own, but also in foreign countries. The 
 origin of the term has been questioned -, but I see little 
 reason to doubt the common opinion, which traces it to 
 the French Romance of Alexander. This once famous 
 " Geste" M'as the work of several authors, some of whom 
 were English. Its verse in many respects resembles the 
 modern French Alexandrine, but generally contains six 
 accents. 
 
 Of late years the Alexandrine has kept a place in Eng- 
 lish literature, chiefly by its introduction into our heroic 
 verse. This intermixture of rhythms was unknown to 
 Chaucer, and seems to liave been mainly owing to the 
 influence of the tumbling metre. The poets of the seven- 
 teenth century introduced the Alexandrine, sometimes 
 singly, sometimes in couplets or triplets, and in some 
 cases used it for whole passages together. It would be 
 difficult to defend this practice, on any sound principles 
 of criticism ; but the intrusive verses are occasionally 
 introduced so happily, the change of rhythm is so well 
 adapted to change of feeling or of subject, that criticism 
 will probably l^e forgotten in the pleasure of the reader. 
 On this ground, the following passage seems to me to 
 have a fair claim on the forbearance of the critic, though 
 it will hardly meet with his approval. Sheffield thus 
 describes, or rather professes his inability to describe, the 
 nature oi genius.
 
 C. VI. VERSES OF SIX ACCENTS. 2.'>7 
 
 A spirit that inspires the work throughout, 
 As that of nature moves the world about ; 
 A flame that glows amidst conceptions fit 
 Ev 'n something of divine and more than wit ; 
 Itself unseen, yet all things by it shown. 
 Described by all men, but described by none. 
 Where dost thou dwell ? ^^'liat caverns of the brain 
 Can such a vast and mighty thing contain ? 
 ^Vhen I, at vacant hours, in vain thy absence mourn, 
 Oh, where dost thou retire ? And why dost thou return 
 Sometimes with powerful charms to hurry me away. 
 From pleasures of the night, and business of the day ? 
 
 Essay on Poetry. 
 
 The writers of our old English alliterative metre used 
 the Alexandrme with the utmost freedom, as also did our 
 dramatists ; but it was rejected by Milton, and has ever 
 since been considered as alien to the spirit of English 
 blank verse. 
 
 Verses of six accents beginning with the section 1, are 
 rarely found, except in our Anglo-Saxon poems, and the 
 works of our dramatists ; Milton, however, has occasion- 
 ally used them in his Samson. 
 
 1 : 1. is well-known to the Anglo-Saxon, but is hardly 
 ever met with in English verse. 
 
 heah|-cyningles haes] : him [ wses haljig leohtL Cad. 
 
 thurh I his an|es craeft] : ofjer othlre ford}. Ejc. MSS. 
 
 him I seo win ] geleah| : seth]than waljdendhis. Cad. 
 
 Hath I he ask'd j for me| ? Know \ you not | he has| ? 
 
 Macb. 1 . 7. 
 
 of|er rurajne grund| : rath[e waes | gefyljled. Cad. 
 
 Tha I seo tid 1 gewat] : of|er tibjer sceac|an. Cad. 
 
 Ne I waes her I tha gietj : nym | the heol|ster sceadjo. - 
 
 Cad. 
 
 By alternating the verse 1:1. with the common heroic 
 verse, Campion formed what he calls his elegiac metre. 
 
 VOL. I. s
 
 258 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 1. B. II. 
 
 It seems to have been his intention to imitate the rhythm 
 of Latin elegy ; if so, the attempt must be considered as a 
 failure. 
 
 Corastant to none, but ever false to me ! 
 Trai|ter still 1 to love| : through | thy false ] desires j, 
 
 Not hope of piltie now, nor vain redress 
 Turns | my grief ] to tears] : and ] renu'd | laments]. 
 
 So well thy empty vowes and hollow thoughts 
 Witjues both | thy wrongs] : and | remorsclles hart] — 
 
 None canst thou long refuse, nor long affect. 
 But I turn'stfeare ] with hopes] : sorjrow with \ delight], 
 
 Delaying and deluding ev'ry way 
 Those I whose eyes \ were once] : with ] thy beau]ty charm'dj. 
 
 1 : 2. is also rare. 
 
 Whose mention were alike to thee as lieve 
 As 1 a catch]polls fist] : unjto a bank]rupts sleeve 
 
 Hall. Sat. 
 
 O I ye Gods | ye Gods] : must j 1 endure | all this] ? 
 
 Jul. Cces. 4. 3. 
 
 Well I what remjedy] ? : Fenjton, Heav'n give ] thee joy]. 
 
 M. W. of Windsor, 5. 4. 
 
 The verse 1 ; 5. is somewhat more common. 
 
 Take pomp from prelatis, magistec from kingis, 
 Sol erane cirjcurastance] : from all \ these worldjlye thingis], 
 We vvalke awrye, and wander without light, 
 Confoundinge all to make a chaos quite. 
 
 Puttenham Parth. 
 
 O I despite]ful love] : uncon]stant womlankind] ! 
 
 T. of the Shreiv, 4. 1 . 
 
 Saf]er shall ] he be] : upon | the san]dy plaiusj 
 
 Than where castles mounted stand. i/. 6, 1 . 
 
 We'll 1 along | ourselves] : and meet [ them at \ Philipjpi. 
 
 Jul. Cces. 
 
 Vir]tue as \ I thought] : truth, du]ty so ) enjoining. 
 
 Samson Agon. 

 
 C. VI. VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 1 /. 259 
 
 Verses beginning with the lengthened section are more 
 commonly met with. The verse 1 /. 1. was used as late 
 as the 16'th century. 
 
 And I thurli of|erraetjto : soh|ton oth|er land|. Ceed. 
 
 Gan enquire 
 
 What stately building durst so high extend 
 Her lofty tow'rs, unto the starry sphere, 
 And I what un|kno\vn na|tion : there | empeo|pled vvere|. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 10. 50. 
 
 Let [ me be I recordjed : by | the right|eous Gods[, 
 
 I am as poor as you. T. of A. 4. 1. 
 
 The Duke of Norfolk is the first, and claims 
 
 To be high Steward ; next the Duke of Norfolk 
 
 He j to be I Earl Mar|shall : you \ may read | the rest[. 
 
 H. 8, 4. 1 . 
 
 Set|te sig|eleas|e : on | tha sweart|an hel|le. CW. 
 
 Gif I he to 1 thgem ric|e : waes | on rih|te bor|en. Alfred. 
 
 He I nom Sum|erset|e : and ] he nom | Dorset|e. 
 
 Layamon. 
 
 And I tha men ] withinjnen : oht|liche | agun|neu. 
 
 Layamon. 
 
 These evils I deserve ; and more. 
 
 Acknowledge them from God inflicted on me 
 Justjly, yet ] despair [ not : of | his fin|al par|dou. 
 
 Samsofi Agon. 
 
 1 /. 5. is met with in the Anglo-Saxon, and also in the 
 old English alhterative poems. 
 
 hcefldon heorja hlafjord : for thon|e heah|stan God|. Alfred. 
 
 On 1 tha deopjan da|lu : thaer he \ to deof|le wearth|. Cced. 
 
 Hehjste with \ tham her|ge : ne mih|ton hyg|eleas|e. Cad. 
 
 Rjedjan on \ this ricje : swa me ] that riht | ne thincleth. 
 
 Cced. 
 
 And I hi willtun scirje : mid withjere ] igratjte. Layamon. 
 
 s 2
 
 260 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 2. B. II. 
 
 Gif I me mot j ilasjten : that lif | a mir|e breos|ten. 
 
 Laijamon. 
 
 Ther J lai the j Kaiser[e : and Col|grim his [ iver|e. 
 
 Layamon. 
 
 Hizjed to [ the hiz|e : bot het|erly | they \ver|e. 
 
 Gaw. and the Green Knight. 
 
 In I a somjer ses|on -. when sof|te was | the sunjne. 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 
 Verses, which begin Avith the sections 2. and 2 /. have 
 been widely used in EngUsh poetry. Some of their va- 
 rieties have survived in modern usasre. 
 
 2 : 1. is found in our dramatists. 
 
 Was 1 not that no|bly donej : ay [ and wise|ly too]. 
 
 Macb. 3. 6. 
 
 How long should I be, ere I should put off 
 To 1 the lord Chancjellors tomb| : or | the She|riffs posts|. 
 
 B. Jon. 3. 9. 
 
 This young Prince had the ordering 
 
 (To crown his father's hopes) of all the army — 
 
 Fash|ion'd and drew | era up| : but | alas | so poor|ly. 
 
 So raggedly and loosely, so unsoldier'd. 
 
 The good Duke blush'd. Fletcher. Loy. Subj. 1.1. 
 
 • If there can be virtue, if that name 
 
 Be any thing but name, and empty title, 
 
 If I it be so 1 as fools| : have | been pleas'd | to feign it, 
 
 A pow'r that can preserve us after ashes 
 
 Fletcher. Valentinian, I. 2. 
 2:2. is still common. 
 Both I for her nolble blood] : and | for her tenjder youth |. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 1.50. 
 
 Throw out our eyes for brave Othello, 
 
 Ev'n I till we make | the mainj : and | the aer|ial blue| 
 
 An indistinct regard. Othello, 2. 2.
 
 C. VI. VERSES BEGIXXIXG WITH SECTION 2. 261 
 
 The verse 2 : 5, like the last, is used even at the present 
 day. 
 
 And 1 by his on'ly ayde| : preserv'de | our princ|es right]. 
 
 M./or M. Flodd. Fielde, 24. 
 
 Ban|ish'ci from liv |ing wights] : our wear[y days | we waste]. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 2. 42. 
 
 VVhi^ther the souls j do fly : of men | that live ] amiss]. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 2. 19. 
 
 Where ] they should live | in woe] : and die ] in wretchlednessj. 
 
 F. Q. \. 5. 46. 
 
 Then | by main force J pull'd up] : and on I his shouljders bore] 
 The gates of Azza. Samson Agoti. 
 
 Knych|tisar cow|hybyisl : and com'ons plukjkis crawis]. 
 
 Gaiv. Doug. ProL to 8 Eneid. 
 
 So I did that squire J his foes] : disperse | and drive | asiin]der. 
 
 F. Q. 0. 5. 19. 
 
 Yet ] were her words ] but wind] : and all ] her tears [ but 
 watjer. F. Q. 6. 6. 42. 
 
 Upon the British coast, what ship yet ever came. 
 That not of Plymouth hears, where those brave navies lie, 
 From cannons thund'ring throats, that all the world defv. 
 Which 1 to invas]ive, spoil] : when th' Enjglish list | to draw]. 
 Have check'd Iberia's pride, and held her oft in awe ? 
 
 Drayton s Poly-olbion. 
 
 The verse which follows appears to be doubly length- 
 ened ; 
 
 We have this hour a constant wish to publish 
 
 Our daughters sev'ral dow'rs, that future strife 
 
 May 1 be prevenjted now) : the princ]es France | and Bur'gundy 
 
 Long in our court have made their am'rous sojourn. 
 
 Lenr, 1.1. 
 
 VERSES BEGINXIXG WITH THE SECTION 2 I. 
 
 Johnson has given it as his opinion that the Alexandrine 
 " invariablv requires a break at the sixth syllable." This, 
 he tells us, is a rule which the modern French poets never
 
 262 VERSES BEGINNIXG WITH SECTION 2/. B. II, 
 
 \aolate; and he censures Dryden's negligence in having 
 so ill observed it. But the French and English Alexan- 
 drines have little in common save the name, and to rea- 
 son from the properties of the one to the properties of 
 the other, is very unsafe criticism. The former may have 
 four, five, or six accents ; the latter never has less than 
 six. In the numl)er of their syllables they approach 
 more nearly to each other ; but their pauses are regulated 
 by very different laws. The English pause* divides the 
 accents equally, but the French pause has frequently two 
 on one side, and three on the other. Again, in French 
 the pause must divide the syllables equally, but not neces- 
 sarily so in English. Johnson's acquaintance with the 
 English Alexandrine seems to have been very limited; 
 in one place he even represents it as the invention of 
 Spenser. 
 
 Dryden only followed the last mentioned poet, in 
 rising Alexandrines beginning with a lengthened section. 
 Such verses are also found in every page of our drama- 
 tists ; and are full as common in the works of our earlier 
 poets. Pope seems to have imitated Drayton in rejecting 
 them ; and as Johnson formed all his notions of rhyth- 
 mical proportion in the school of Pope, we have an easy 
 clue to the criticism, which gave rise to these observa- 
 tions. 
 
 21'. 1. 
 
 liwait 1 sceal ic vvinlnau cvvaeth | he : nis|me wih|te thearf. 
 
 Cecd. 
 
 Rapt I in eterlnal si|leiice • far | from eii|emies|. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 1. 4!. 
 
 Up I to the hill | by Hejbron : seat | of gi|auts old|. 
 
 Samson Agon. 
 21:51. 
 
 Lisjta and tha]ra la|ra : he let | heo that | land bujan. Cted. 
 
 * This observation does not apply to those verses of six accents, which 
 contain a compound section ; see ch. 7. But such rhythms have long since 
 been obsolete.
 
 C. VI. VERSES BEGINNIXG WITH SECTION 5. 2GS 
 
 The sections 3. and 3 /. but seldom open an English 
 verse, whateA^er be the number of its accents. When 
 there are six accents, such a verse is rarely, if ever, met 
 with after the 15th century. 
 
 3: 1. 
 
 Swa I mec hyht|-giefu heold| : hyg|e dryht [ befeold|. 
 
 Rhiming Poem. 
 
 3:5/. 
 
 Wen|te forth ] in here way] : with manjy wis]e taljes. 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 This I was heorje iheot| : ar heo [ to Bathje com en. 
 
 Lai/atnon. 
 
 3 / : 1 /. 
 
 I [ was wer|y forwan|dred : wenjte me | to res[te. 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 
 SI: 3. 
 
 Monjy mar|vellus mat|er : uev|er mark|it nor ment|. 
 
 Gaic. Doug. Prol. to Eneid. 
 
 He I nom al|le tha lonldes : ni | to tha|re sa stron|de. 
 
 Layamon. 
 
 Verses beginning with the sections 5. and 5 /. are by 
 far the most common of our modern Alexandrines. They 
 are also well known in old English poetry, but are rare 
 in Anglo-Saxon. 
 
 5 : 1. 
 
 I know I you're man | enough] : mould ) it to | just ends[. 
 
 Fletch. Log. SubJ. 1.3. 
 
 5: 2. 
 
 Such one | was I|delnessl : first | of that com|pany|, 
 
 F. Q. 1. 4. 20. 
 
 To gaze \ on earth|ly wight] : that | with the night [ durst ridej. 
 
 F. Q. 1.5.32.
 
 264 VERSES BEGI^'XING WITH SECTION 5, B. II. 
 
 Then gins | her griev|ed ghost] : thus | to lament ] and moum[. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 7.21. 
 
 Or by the girdle grasp'd they practice with the hip. 
 The forward, backward falls, the mar, the turn, the trip, 
 When stript into their shirts each other they invade. 
 Within j a spajcious ring' ; by | the behollders made|. 
 
 Draijton. 
 
 Which men | enjoy|ing sight] : oft [ without cause ] complain[. 
 
 Samson Agon. 
 
 This and much more, much more than twice all this 
 Condemns | you to ] the death] : see | them delivjer'dojver 
 To execution. R. 2, 3. 2. 
 
 The dominations, royalties, and rights 
 
 Of this I oppressjed boy : This | is thy el]dest son's ] sou 
 
 Unfortunate in nothing but in thee. K. John, 2. 1. 
 
 5 : 3 is only found in old English. 
 
 I muvjit furth ] alane] : qhen | as mid-nicht wespast]. 
 
 Dunbar s Midsummer Eve, 
 
 Quod he [ and drew | nie down] : derne ] in delf ] byane dyke], 
 
 Gaw. Doug. Prol. to Eneid 8. 
 
 His seel | schul nat | be sent] : to | dysseyjve the pejple. 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 
 Owho 1 does know ] the bent] : of womjan's fan]tasyl ? 
 
 F. Q. 1.4. 24. 
 
 In shape \ and life [ more like! : a mon]ster than | a man]. 
 
 F.Q. 1. 4. 22. 
 
 He cast \ about | andsearch'd] : his bale jful books | again]. 
 
 F.Q. 1.2.2. 
 
 And hel]mets hew Jen deep] : shew marks | of eijthers mightj. 
 
 F, Q. 1.5. 7. 
 
 This is the vcrse^ which Drayton used in the Poly- 
 olbion. Other varieties are occasionally introduced, but
 
 C. VI. VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION '). 265 
 
 rarely — too rarely, it may be thought, to diversify the 
 tameness and monotony of the metre. Of the fifteen 
 verses which open the poem, fourteen belong to the pre- 
 sent rhythm ; yet, notwithstanding this iterated cadence, 
 there is something very pleasing in their flow. Much of 
 this, however, may arise from mere association. 
 
 Of Allbion's glo|rious isle| : thewon|ders whilst | I vvrite|, 
 The sun|dry var|yiiig soils[ : the pleasjures in|fiinte|, 
 Where heat | kills not ] the cold] : nor cold ] expels | theheat|. 
 The calms | too mildjly sinalll : nor winds j too rough'ly great|, 
 Nor night | doth hin|der day] : nor day j the night | dothwrong|. 
 The sum|mer not | too shortj : the winlter not j too long| — 
 What help | shall I [ invoke} : to aid ] my muse | the while| ? 
 
 Thougenjius of | the place! : this most | renown|ed isle|. 
 Which livjedst long ] before| : the all|-earth-drovvnling floodj. 
 Whilst yet | the earth | did svvarm| : with her ] gigan]tic brood|. 
 Go thou I before j me stillj : thy cir'cling shores | abouti, 
 Direct | my course ] so right] : as with | thy hand | to shovvj 
 Which way | thy forjests range |: which way | thy riv|ers Howj 
 Wisegen|ius ! by | thyhelp| : that so | I may ] descry| 
 How thy fair mountains stand, and how thy vallies lie. 
 
 Drayton's Poly-olbioii. 
 
 The lengthened verse Avas also common. 
 
 So long 1 as these | two arms| : were a|ble to | be wrok|en. 
 
 F.Q. 1 . 2. 7. 
 
 And drove ] away j the stound| : which raorjtally [ attack'd | him. 
 
 F. Q. 6. 3. 10. 
 
 Oft fur|nishiug ] our dames| : with In|dia's rar'st [ devic|es. 
 And lent | us gold ] and pearl| : rich silks | and dain|ty spicjes. 
 
 Drapon. 
 
 Verses beginning with the lenghtened section, were 
 common till the end of the seventeenth century. Dray- 
 ton, however, rejected them, and they were proscribed by 
 Johnson.
 
 266 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 5 /. B. II. 
 
 Some spa|ris nowjthir spirit|ual : spousjit \\-yffe | nor ant|. 
 
 Gaw. Doug. Prol. Eneid, 8. 
 
 A may|ny of | rude vil|lyans : made | him for | to bledej, 
 
 Skelton's Elegy. 
 
 Whose semjblance she ] did car|ry : un|der feig|ned shovv[. 
 
 F. Q. 1. 1.46. 
 
 But pin'd I away | in ang]uish : and | self-will'd | annoy]. 
 
 F. Q, 1. 6. 17. 
 
 More ug}ly shape J yet nev|er : liv|ing creajture saw]. 
 
 F.Q.I. 8. 48. 
 
 And oft 1 to-beat '[ with bil|lows : beatjing from | the main|. 
 
 F.Q.I. 12.5. 
 
   Whom unarm'd 
 
 No strength | of man], or fiercjest : wild | beast could [ withstand]. 
 
 Samson. 
 
 And with 1 paternal thun|der : vinldicates his throne]. 
 
 Dri/den. 
 
 The last verse is the one specially objected to by- 
 Johnson. 
 5 / : 3/. 
 
 And wer]eden | tha richje: with | than stron]ge Childrich]e. 
 
 Loycwion. 
 
 5 1 : 5. like all those verses, which have a supernume- 
 rary syllable in the middle, was rarely used after the 
 fifteenth century. It was, however, sometimes met with 
 in ovir dramatists. 
 
 Of drevlllling \ and drem]ys : what do]ith to | endyte] ? 
 
 Gaw. Doug. Prol. Eneid 8. 
 
 Ful rude [ and ryjot res]ons : bath roun]dalis | and ryme|. 
 
 Same. 
 
 Na laujbour list | they luik | till : thare lufjis are | burdlyme]. 
 
 Same. 
 
 Yet shamejfully ] they slew \ hira : that shame ] mot them | 
 befall]. Skellons Elegy.
 
 C. VI. VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 7- '^G7 
 
 And furth | he wuljde bugjen : and Bath|eu al ] beliglgen. 
 
 Lai/amon. 
 
 Ah swa I me hel]pen drih|ten : thse scop ] thaes dai|es lih|ten. 
 
 Lai/amon. 
 
 Despise ] me if j I do | not : Three great | ones of | the cit|y. 
 
 In personal suit to make me his lieutenant^ 
 
 Oft capp'd to him. Othello, 1 . 1 . 
 
 Verses beginning with the sections 6 and 6" /. are found 
 in the old Enghsh alliterative metre. 
 6: 1. 
 
 Quha spor]tis thame on | the sprayj : sparjis for | na space]. 
 
 Gaiv. Doug. 
 6:61. 
 
 As anjcres and her|metis| : that hol|de hem in | here sel|les. 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 
 That Xa|ture ful no]bilie| : annamjilit fine | with flou|ris. 
 
 Diutbur. 
 6:[)L 
 
 So glitjterit as | the gowd| : wer their glor|ious | gylt tres|ses. 
 
 Dunbar. 
 61: 5. 
 
 Syth Char ite hat | be chapjman: and chef ] to schriv|e lordjes. 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 
 Unclos ed the kenlel dore] : and cal|de hem | ther out|e. 
 
 Gaw. and the Green Knight. 
 
 In the same metre may also be found verses beginning 
 with the sections 7 and 7 ^• 
 7: W. 
 
 The bremle buklkes also| : wit [ herbrodje paumjes. 
 
 Gaw. and the Green Knight. 
 
 By that ] that anjy day-lizt| : lem|ed up|on erthje. 
 
 Gaw. and the Green Knight. 
 
 I say I a tour | in a toft] : tryc|lyche ] imaked. 
 
 P. Ploughman.
 
 268 VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 8. B. II. 
 
 7:3/. 
 
 And getjen gold | wit here gle| : siu|fullich|e y trow|e. 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 
 7 : 5. 
 
 So thoch|tis tliret|ls in thraj : our bresjtis o|ver thort|. 
 
 Gaw. Doug. 
 
 The schiplman schrenkjis the schourl : and set|tith to | the 
 schore|. Gaw. Doug. 
 
 With such I a crakjkande cry] : as klif |fes hadjden brus|ten|. 
 
 Gaw. and the Green Knight. 
 
 Of aljle nianler of men] : the menle and | the rich|e. 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 
 I drew I in derne | to the dyke] : to dirkjen afjler myrth|is. 
 
 Dunhar. 
 
 71: 1. 
 
 I wene | thou bid|dis na bet|tir : bot ] 1 breke ] thy brow|. 
 
 Gaw. Dougl. 
 
 11:21. 
 
 Ich wol|le wurthlliche wrek|en ; al|le his with|er-ded]en. 
 
 Layamon. 
 
 7 l:Sl. 
 
 And sum|me put | hemtopryd|e: aparjayleth | hem there af|tur. 
 
 P. PlougJiman. 
 
 71:51. 
 
 Bot in]compcltabil clerjgy : that Chrisltendome | oflfend|dis. 
 
 Gaw. Doug. 
 
 Verses beginning with sections 8. and 8 /. are very rare. 
 They are found, however, m the Song of the Traveller. 
 8:5/. 
 
 That travlyllis thus | with thy boist] : qwhen berujis with | the 
 bourdjis. Gaio. Doug. 
 
 81: W. 
 
 Mid Hronluni ic wies 1 and mid Deaujum: and | mid hcathlo- 
 Reomlura. Trav. Song.
 
 C. VI. VERSES BEGINXIXG WITH SECTION 9. 269 
 
 Mid Scot|tum ic wa?s ] and mid Pcoli|tum : and | mid Scrid[e- 
 Finjnum. Trav. Song. 
 
 Verses beginning with sections 9. and 9 /. are also rare. 
 Ben Jonson has used them once or twice in tliat strange 
 medley of learning, coarseness, and extravagance, with 
 which the three sycophants amuse the crafty epicure, 
 their master. We have the verses 9:7- and 9:9. in the 
 first four lines. 
 
 Now room for fresh gamesters, who do w ill you to know, 
 They do bring | you nei therplay| : nor U[niver|sity show[ ; 
 And therefore do intreat you, that whatsoever they rehearse 
 May not fare | a whit | the worse | : for the false | pace of [ the 
 verse [. The Fox, 1. 2. 
 
 There are also verses in Piers Ploughman, which may 
 be read, as if they began with the section 9. But I have 
 doubts, if the custom, now so prevalent, of slurring over 
 an initial accent, were practised at so early a period. If 
 this license be allowed, we may give to the following Hne 
 the rhythm 91 : 2l. 
 
 All in hop|e for | to hav|e : hev|ene rich[e bHs|se.
 
 270 VERSES WITH A COMPOUXD SECTIOX. B. II. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 VERSES WITH A COMPOUND SECTION. 
 
 The origin of those sections which have more than 
 three accents, has already been matter of discussion ;* in 
 the present chapter we shall consider them all as com- 
 pound. This will enable us, at once, to double the range 
 of our notation. 
 
 Every section of four, five, or six accents, may be re- 
 presented as an Anglo-Saxon couplet ; and if we add a 
 c to the figures, which denote the rhythm, we shall be in 
 no danger of confounding a compound section, with the 
 couplet to Avhich it probably owes its origin. Thus we 
 may represent the section 
 
 Then[den heo | his hal|ige word] 
 
 by the formula 1 : 6. c. — assviming that the middle pause 
 of the couplet followed after the third syllable. I have 
 already stated my belief, that the hypothesis, M'hich has 
 been started, as to the nature and origin of these com- 
 pound sections is the true one ; but whether true or 
 false, there can be little doubt as to tlie convenience of the 
 notation. 
 
 VERSES OP SIX ACCENTS 
 
 may be ranged under two heads, accordingly as they be- 
 * SeeB. 2. ch. 1,3, and 4.
 
 C. VII. VERSES OF SIX ACCENTS. 27 1 
 
 gin or end witli the compound section. Those which 
 belong to the latter class are rare in Anglo-Saxon ; but 
 common in our psalm metres, and all those rhythms 
 which were derived from, or influenced by them. They 
 are, however, seldom met with after the sixteenth century. 
 
 I : 6. c : 1 /. 
 
 Heo waeron leof gode 
 
 Then|den heo j his hallige \vord| : heal|dan wol|don. 
 
 They were dear to God, 
 
 While they his holy word would keep. Ceedmon. 
 
 2 I : I IL c : 6. 
 
 No man ys wurthe to be ycluped kyng, 
 
 Bot|e the heyje kyng | of hev|ene : that wrog|te al thingj. 
 
 R. C/oK. 322. 
 
 5 : 5. c : 6". 
 
 About|e seint J Ambros|e day| : ido ] was al this|, 
 Tuelf hundred in zer of grace, and foure and sixti iwis. 
 
 R. Glou. 546. 
 
 Lewelin prince of Walis robbede mid is route 
 The erl|es lond ] of Glou|cetrel : in Waljis aboutje. 
 
 R. Glou. 551. 
 
 5 : 6. c : 61. 
 
 So ho|ly lyf ] he ladlde and god[ : so chast J and so clen[e 
 
 That hey men of the lond wolde hem alday mene 
 
 That hii nadde non eyr bytwene hem. R. Glou. 330. 
 
 G : 5. c : 6". 
 
 And wel vaire is oflfringe to the hey waved* ber 
 And suth|the ofte wan | he thudjer com] : he off|rede ther|. 
 
 R. Glou. 545. 
 
 * Weved is the Anglo-Saxon w'igbed, an altar.
 
 272 VERSES OF SIX ACCENTS. B. II. 
 
 5 : 5 /. c : 61. 
 
 And ris]en up | wit rib|audy|e : tho rob|erdes knav|es. 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 5 1 : 5l. c : 61. 
 
 To syn|ge ther|e for sym|ouyIe : for sil|ver is swet|e. 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 
 Who with his wisdom won, him strait did chose 
 Their king | and swore | him fejalty| : to win | or lose|. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 10. 37. 
 
 Yet secret pleasure did offence impeach, 
 And wonlder of | antiq|uity| : long stop'd | his speech|. 
 
 F. Q.2. 10. 68. 
 As well ] in cm-|ious in|strumentsl : as cunning lays|. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 10.59. 
 
 They crown'd | the sec[ondCon|stantine| : withjoyjous tearsj. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 10. 62. 
 
 How he I that lady's lib|ertiel : might en|terprise|. 
 
 F. Q. 4. 12. 28. 
 
 Their hearts | were sick, | their eyes ] were sore] : their feet 
 were larae|. F. Q. 6. 5. 40. 
 
 • Gracious queen 
 
 More I than your lords | deparjture weep | not: more's | not 
 seen]. R. 2, 2. 
 
 Verses ending with section 2, are chiefly found in the 
 works of our dramatists. 
 
 1 /: l.c : 2/. 
 
 Art I thou ccrjtain this | is truej : is | it most cer|tain. 
 
 Cor. 5. 4. 
 
 The sea | and unlfrequen]ted desjerts : where | the snowdwells[. 
 
 Fletcher, Bonduca, 4. 3. 
 
 Verses which end with the compound section are much 
 more common in Anglo-Saxon, than in the later dialects. 
 They yielded to the favourite rhythms of our psalm-
 
 C. VII. VERSES OF SIX ACCENTS. 273 
 
 metres; and though their popularity revived in some 
 measure during the sixteenth century, they have since 
 fallen into almost total neglect. 
 
 Ccedmon frequently made both his sections begin ab- 
 ruptly, and for opening the couplet preferred the section 
 2 1 
 
 1 / : 5 / : 1 /. r. 
 Hie liabbath me to lieanan gecorene. 
 
 Rof|e rin|cas: raid swil] cum maeg | man iced | gethen|can. 
 
 They have me for Lord y- chosen, 
 
 Warriors famous ! with such may man council take ! Cced. 
 
 21:2: h.c. 
 Gif hit eovver senig maege 
 
 gewendan mid wihte : that hie word Codes 
 
 lar|e forlse|ten : son|a hie him ] the lath|ran beoth]. 
 
 If any of you may 
 
 Change this with aught — that they food's word 
 And lore desert — soon they to him the more loath d will be. 
 
 Cad. 
 
 Thsem he getruwode wel 
 
 Thffit hie his giongerscipe : fyligen wolden 
 
 Wyr|cean his wiljlan : for | thon he him | gewit j forgeaf|. 
 
 In whom he trusted vvell 
 
 That they his service would follow. 
 
 And work his will — for that he gave them reason — Cad. 
 
 21:2:5 1. c. 
 
 Gif ic seuigum thegnc : theoden madmas 
 
 Gear|a forguef|e : then[den we on | tham god|an ricje 
 
 Gesoel|ige sset|on : and ha-fldon ur|e set|la gewealdj. 
 
 If I to any thane lordly treasures 
 
 Gave of yore — while we in that good realm 
 
 Sat happy and o'er our seats had sway C<ed. 
 
 The last of these verses has the rhythm Gl : 5 1 : 2 c. 
 It will be observed that in all these examples the allite- 
 ration falls on the third accented syllable of the second 
 
 VOL. I. T
 
 2/1 VERSES OF SIX ACCENTS. H. II. 
 
 section. According to Rask, all the preceding syllables 
 form the "" complement ; " they are to be uttered in a 
 softer and a lower tone, so that the first accent may al- 
 ways fall on the alliterative syllable. Were this theory 
 true, the rhythm of Anglo-Saxon verse would be poor 
 indeed ! 
 
 Sometimes, though rarely, we find the alliteration falling 
 upon other syllables ; and occasionally we have even two 
 alliterative syllables in the second section. 
 
 2 / : 1 / : M.c. 
 
 Hyge hreoweth : that hie heofon rice 
 
 Ag|an to al|dre : gif | hit eo|wer £e[nig maeg|e 
 
 Gewendara mid wihte. 
 
 Rueth my heart, that they heaven's realm 
 
 Possess for ever ! If any of you may 
 
 This change by aught, &c. Cccd. 
 
 Though not unknown to the old English dialect, these 
 verses are so rarely met with in the interval which elapsed 
 between the Anglo-Saxon period, and the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, that we shall pass at once to the rhythms of the 
 Faery Queen. 
 
 5 : 5 : .5. c. 
 
 You shame|fac"d are| : but shame|fac'dness j itself | is she|. 
 
 F. Q. 2. 9. 43. 
 
 By which she well perceiving what was done, 
 (Jau tear her hair, and all her garments rent. 
 And beat [ her breast| : and pitjeously | herself | torment]. 
 
 F. Q. G. 5. 4. 
 
 For no demands he stay'd 
 But first I him loos'd] : and af|terwards | thus to | him said|. 
 
 F. Q. C. 1. 11. 
 
 The common metre of six accents, which spread so 
 widely during the sixteenth century, seldom tolerated a 
 verse with a compound section. The reluctance to ad- 
 mit these verses was strengthened by the example of 
 Drayi'on, who rigidly excluded them from the Polyolbion.
 
 C, VII. VERSKS OK SIX' AC"CENT.S. 'I^ti 
 
 There are, however, a few poems, in whicli they are ad- 
 mitted freely enough to give a pecuhar character to tlie 
 rhythm. One of these poems is the Elegy written hy 
 Brysket, (though generally ascribed to Spenser,) on the 
 death of Sir Philip Sidney. It has very little poetical 
 merit, but deserves attention, as having undoubtedly beer, 
 in Milton's eye, when he wrote his Lycidas. From it 
 Milton borrowed his irregular rhimes, and that strange 
 mixture of Christianity and Heathenism, which shocked 
 the feehngs and roused the indignation of Johnson. It 
 may be questioned, if the peculiarity in the metre can 
 fairly be considered as a blemish. Like endings, recur- 
 ring at uncertain distances, impart a wildness and an ap- 
 pearance of negligence to the verse, which suits well with 
 the character of elegy. But to bring in St. Peter hand in 
 in hand with a pagan deity is merely ludicrous ; it was 
 the taste of the age, and that is all that can be urged in 
 its excuse. Still, however, the beauties of this singular 
 poem may well make us tolerant of even greater absurditv. 
 No work of ^lilton has excited Avarmer admiration, or 
 called forth more strongly the zeal of the partizan. The 
 elegy on Sir Philip Sidney will afford us a specimen of 
 rather a curious rhythm ; and at the same time enable us 
 to judge of Milton's skill in changing the baser metal 
 into gold. It should be observed, that, in some editions, 
 the sections are written in separate lines, as if thev formed 
 distinct verses. 
 
 THE MOURMXG MUSE OF THESTYLIS. 
 
 Come forth, ye Nymphs I come forth, forsake your wat'ry bowers. 
 Forsake your mossy caves, and help nie to lament ; 
 Help I me to tune | my doIe|ful notes] : to gurjghng sound] 
 Of Liffies tumbling streams, come let salt tears of ours. 
 Mix with his waters fresh : O come, let one consent 
 Joyn I us to mourn | with wail|ful plaints! : the deadjly wound] 
 Which fatal clap had made, decreed by higher powers 
 The dreryday, in which they haAC from us yrent 
 The noblest plant that might from cast to west be found, 
 
 T -2
 
 i'76 VERSES OF SEVEN ACCENTS. B. II. 
 
 Mourn, mourn great Pliilij)'s fall ! mourn we his woeful end, 
 AVhom spiteful death hath pluckt untimely from the tree. 
 Whiles yet his years in ilowrc did promise worthy fruit, &c. 
 
 Up I from his tomb' : the niigh|ty Corjinelus rose|. 
 Who cursing oft the Fates that his mishap had bred, 
 His hoary locks he tare, calling the Heavens unkind ; 
 The Thames was heard to roar, the Reyne and eke the Mose, 
 The Schald, the Danow's self this great mischance did rue, 
 With torment and with grief their fountains pure and clear 
 Were troub|led and | with swel|lingfloods| : declar'd \ their woes|. 
 The Muses comfortless, the Nymphs with pallid hue. 
 The Sylvan Gods likewise came running far and near ; 
 And, all with tears bedevv'd and eyes cast up on high, 
 O help, O help, yc Gods ! they ghastly gan to cry, 
 O change the cruel fate of this so rare a wight, 
 And grant that nature's course may measure out his age. 
 The beasts their food forsook and trembled fearfully. 
 Each sought his cave or den this cry did them so fright, 
 Out from amid the waves by storm then stirr'd to rage. 
 This cry did cause to rise th' old father Ocean hoar ; 
 Who grave with eld and full of majesty in sight 
 Spake I in this vvise| : Refrain,] quoth he,| your tears ] and plaints], 
 Cease these your idle words, make vain requests no more 5 
 No humble speech nor raone may move the fixed stint 
 Of Destiny or Death ; such is his will that paints 
 The earth with colours fresh, the darkest skyes with store 
 Of starjry lights] : and though { your tears | a heart | of Hint] 
 Might tender make, yet nought herein they will prevail. 
 Whiles thus | he saidj: the no|ble Knight | who gan | to feel| 
 His vital force to faint, and death with cruel dint 
 Of dire|ful dart] : his morjtal bod|y to | assail]. 
 With eyes lift up to Heav'n, and courage frank as steel, 
 AVith cheer]ful face] : where valjour livejly was | exprest]. 
 But humble mind, he said, O Lord, if ought this frail 
 And earthly carcass have thy service sought t'advance. 
 If my desire hath been, still to relieve tli' opprest ; 
 If justice to maintain, that valour I have spent 
 Which thou me gav'st ; or if henceforth [ might advance 
 Thy namOjj thy truth,] then spare ] me. Lord] : if thou I think best]
 
 C. VII. VERSE OF SEVEN' ACCENTS. 277 
 
 Forbear these unripe years. But if thy will be bent. 
 
 If that ! prefix|ed time | be come| : which thou [ hast set|, 
 
 Through pure and fervent faith I hope now to be placed 
 
 In th' everlasting bliss, which with thy precious blood 
 
 Thou purchase did for us. \\'ith that a sigh he fet^ 
 
 And straight a cloudy mist his senses over-cast ; 
 
 His lips waxt pale and wan, like damask roses bud 
 
 Cast from the stalk, or like in field to purple flowre, 
 
 Which languisheth being shred by culter as it past. 
 
 A trembling chilly cold ran through their veins, which were 
 
 With eyes brimfuU of tears, to see his fatal houre, &c. 
 
 VERSES OF SEVEN' ACCEXTS 
 
 May be divided, like those of six, into two classes, ac- 
 cordingly as they begin or end Avith the compound section. 
 Both these classes were kno-^ni to the Anglo-Saxons ; but 
 under the influence of the psalm metres the latter gra- 
 dually gave way, in the same manner as the corresponding 
 rhythm in the metre of six accents. It was, however, 
 very freely used by certain of our poets, during the six- 
 teenth and seventeenth centuries ; more especially by 
 Phaer and Chapman. 
 
 "We A^-ill first take the verses that begin with the com- 
 pound section. Ceedmon generally opened the first sec- 
 tion with an accent, and the second with an unaccented 
 syllable. 
 
 1/ : \l.c:2U. 
 
 And moste ane tid : ute weorthan 
 
 Wes|an anje win|ter stunjde : thonjue ic mid j this wer|ode 
 
 And might I one season outfare 
 
 And bide one winter's space ! then I with this host — Cced. 
 
 1 : 6 Z. c : 8. 
 
 hselleth helm | on heafjod asetjte : and thon]e full heardje geband| 
 Hero's-helm on head he set, and it full hard y-bound. Cad. 
 
 2 : 5. e : 5. 
 
 ^^'arliath inc | with tlionje w£estm| : ne wyrth | iuc willnaga-dj 
 Be ye both ware of that fruit, ne let it goad your lust. Cccd.
 
 278 VERSES OV SEVEN ACCENTS. 15. II. 
 
 Lag|on tlia otli|re fyrid | on tliam fy|re : the aer | swa feal|a lia^f|do!i 
 Gevvinnes with heora vvaldend. 
 
 Lay the otlier fiends in fire, that erewhile had so fele 
 
 Strife with their Ruler. C(ed. 
 
 21:5 I. c : 5 /. 
 
 Naeron metode 
 
 Tha I gytawidjlond newegjas nyt|te : ac stod | bewrigjen faes|te 
 FoUle mid flode. 
 
 Nor had the Maker 
 
 As yet wide | land, nor pathways useful ; but fast beset 
 With flood earth stood. Cad. 
 
 5/ : 1 /. r : 5 /. 
 
 Tha spraec | se ofjer mod|a cyn|ing: the ter | waes engjla scyujost. 
 Then spake the haughty king, that erewhile was of angels sheenest. 
 
 r^ 
 
 ) : y 
 
 Lc:4L 
 
 Se feond | mid his | gefer|um eal|lum : fealjlon tha u|fon of heof|nuui 
 The fiend with all his feres fell then on high from heaven. 
 
 The last verse approaches very nearly to the favourite 
 rhythm of Chapman ; of which we have no less than five 
 examples in the first six lines of his Iliad. 
 
 .5/ : I.e.: ,5. 
 
 Achiljles banelful wrath | resound] : O God|dess ! that | imposed| 
 Infinite sorrows on the Greeks : and many brave souls los'd 
 From breasts } hero|ique, sent j them farre| : to that | invisliblc 
 
 cave I 
 That no I light com [forts, and 1 their lims| : to dogs | and vul|tures 
 
 gave'. 
 To all I which Jove's | will gave | effect] : from whom [ strife 
 
 first I begunnej 
 Betwixt I Atridjes, king of men] : and Tho]tis' godjlike sonne]. 
 
 Iliad, 1. 
 
 The same verse is also common in the translations of 
 Pliaer and Goldin;^. Like Chapman also, these poets 
 frecueutly becin the first section abruptly, and sometimes
 
 C. VII. VERSES OF SEVEN ACCENTS. 279 
 
 even tlie second; but they never allow themselves the 
 liberty, which the latter so often takes, of opening a verse 
 with the section 5 : 2. c. 
 
 5 : 2. 6" : 5. 
 
 This grace desir'd 
 Vouchsafe | to me| ! paines \ for my teares| : let these | rud*" 
 
 Greekes | repay] 
 Fore'd with thy arrowes. Thus he pray'd, and Phrebus heard 
 
 him pray. 
 And vext | at heart | down | from the tops] : of steepe | heaven 
 
 stoopt] ; his bow ; '• 
 
 And quiver cover'd round his hands did on his shoulders throw 
 
 And of the angrie deitye, the arrowes as he mov'd 
 
 Ratl'd about him . Iliad, 1. 
 
 5 : 2. c : 2 
 
 Jove's and Latona's soune, who fired against the king of men 
 For contumelie shown his priest, infectious sicknesse sent 
 To plague the armie ; and to death, by troopcs the soldier went 
 Occa|sion'd thus] ; Chryjses the priest] : came | to the fieete | to 
 
 buy] 
 For presents of unvalu'd price his daughter's liberties &c, 
 
 Iliad, 1. 
 
 5 : 2 /. c : 1 . 
 
 Thus Xan]thus spake] ; ajblest Achiljles : now | at least | our 
 
 care] 
 Shall bring thee off ; but not farre hence the fatal moments arc 
 Of thy grave mine. Iliad. 
 
 This kind of verse is sometimes used in Layamon, but 
 more rarely than might have been expected. Robert of 
 Gloucester has made it the great staple of his Chronicle. 
 He uses a very loose rhythm, one of his sections approach- 
 ing to the triple measure, while the other not unfrequently 
 belongs to the strictest law of the common measure. 
 
 2 : .5. c : 8. 
 Eng]elond ys [ a wcl [ god land] : ich vven]e of echje land best] 
 Yset in the end of the world. Rob. Glouc. p. I.
 
 280 VERSES OF SEVEN ACCENTS. B. II. 
 
 G : G. c. : 51. 
 
 The Sax|ones and | the Eng|lische tho| : heo had|den aljon honlde. 
 Five and thritty schiren heo maden in Engelonde. 
 
 Rob. Glonc. p. 3. 
 
 He seems to have preferred opening his verse abruptly, 
 and, Uke Csedraon, generally began the second section with 
 an unaccented svlla1)le. 
 
 Ev|erwyk | of fairjest vvood|e : Lyn|colue of fair|est men], 
 Gran|tebrug|ge and Hon|tyndon|e : mest plen|te of | dep fen|, 
 Ely of fairest place, of fairest scyte Rochestre, 
 Ev|ene a|gayn Denjemarc stoii|de : the conltre of | Chiches|tre. 
 
 Rob. Glonc. p. 6, 
 
 We have now to consider those verses which end with 
 the compound section ; and will begin with some exam- 
 ples furnished by Csedmon. 
 
 1 / : 2 : 5 /. c. 
 
 forthon he sculde grund gesecan 
 Heardjes hel|le wit|es ; thtes | the he wann ] with heof|ues 
 waljdend. 
 
 therefore must he seek th' abyss 
 (M dread hell-torment, since he warr'd with heavens-weilder. 
 
 C(cd. 
 
 2 / : 5 : 5 /. c. 
 God sylfa wearth 
 Miht|ig on mod|e yr|re : wearp hin|e on | that mor|ther in|nan. 
 
 God's mighty self became 
 At heart enraged ; he hnrl'd him to that murderer's den 
 
 C<ed;. 
 
 2 / : 5 / : \ I. c. 
 
 thaer he haefth men geworhtne 
 ^fjter his on|licnisIse : mid tham [ he wil|e eft j gcsct|tan. 
 Heofonaricc mid hlutrum saulum.
 
 C. VII. VERSES OF SEVEN ACCENTS. 281 
 
 there he hath man yvvrought 
 After his likeness ; with whom he wills again to people 
 Heaven's realm with shining souls. Cad. 
 
 SI: 5: 5 I. c. 
 
 hehsjta heofjones waljdend : wearp hinje of | than he|au stojle. 
 
 The highest Heaven-wielder hurl'd him from the lofty seat. 
 
 Coed. 
 
 This kind of verse is to be found in Layamon. 
 
 7 : I :9L c. 
 
 To Bathje com | the Kaise|re : and | bilai | thene casltel therlc, 
 
 To Bath came the Kaiser, and beset the castle there. Lai/. 
 
 2:6:6.c. 
 
 Ferjde geond al ] Scotland] : and set|te it an ] his ag|ere hand]. 
 
 He went through all Scotland, and brought it under his own hand. 
 
 Lay. 
 
 Pliaer and Chapman also used similar rhythms ; the 
 latter more sparingly than the former. 
 
 Then for disdaine, for on themselves their owne worke Jove did 
 
 fling, 
 TheiFsislter crawjlydfurthl : both swift | of feete | and wight | of 
 
 wing], 
 A niou|sterghastlly great] : for ev|ery plume | her car|cas bearesj, 
 Like number leering eyes she hath, like number harckning eares. 
 
 Phaer. 
 
 Great Atreus' sonnes ! said he. 
 And all ] ye well'|-griev'd Greekes| : the Gods | whose hab|ita|tions 
 
 be|, 
 In heavenly houses, grace your powers with Priam's razed town. 
 And grant ye happy conduct home. Chapman. 
 
 Seed of the Harpye ! in the charge ye undertake of us. 
 Discharge ] it not ) as when] : Patroc|lusye 1 left dead | in field]. 
 
 Chapman. 
 
 Verses of seven accents are not unfrequently met with 
 in the loose metre used bv our dramatists. Such as begin
 
 282 VERSES OF SEVEN ACCENTS. B. II. 
 
 witli the compound section appear to have been most 
 favoured. There can be little doubt that Shakespeare's text 
 has suflered from the attempts, which have been made by 
 his editors, to remove these seeming anomalies. Some- 
 times we find a word dropt, or altered, and at other times 
 the verse broken up into fragments, in order to bring it 
 within the limits of the ordinary rhythms. For example, 
 in the foho of 1625, there is the following passage : 
 
 We speak no treason man, we say the King 
 Is wise and virtuous ; and his noble Queen 
 Well struck in years ; fair, and not jealous ; 
 We say that Shore's wife hath a pretty foot, 
 A cher|ry lip|, a bon|ny eye| : a pasjsing plcasjing tongue|. 
 And the Queen's kindred are called gentlefolks. R2, 1.1. 
 
 The difference in the flow of the two last verses was 
 certainly not accidental. The libertine sneer upon the 
 wretched mistress, was to be contrasted with the bitter 
 sarcasm levelled at more formidable, and therefore more 
 hated rivals. But in the text, as " corrected" by Steevens, 
 this happy turn of the rhythm is lost ; 
 
 We say that Shore's wife hath a pretty foot, 
 
 A cherry lip, 
 
 A bonny eye, a passing pleasing tongue, 
 
 And the Queen's kindred are called gentlefolks. 
 
 In Boswell's edition of Malone's Shakespeare we have 
 the line written, as in the folio, with seven accents. But 
 in neither of the editions do the notes give the reader the 
 slio-htest hint of any interference with the text, either for 
 the purposes of amendment or of restoration ! 
 
 The poets of the seventeenth century occasionally intro- 
 duced the verse of seven accents into their "heroic metre." 
 But the change of rhythm was too violent. The license 
 hardly survived the age of Dryden. 
 
 Let such a man begin without delay. 
 But he must do beyond w hat I can say.
 
 C. Vir. VERSES OF EIGHT ACCENTS. 283 
 
 Must above Milton's lofty flight prevail. 
 Succeed | where great ] Torqua|to : and | where great |er Spen|ser 
 fail[. Sheffield, Essay on Poetry, 1st edition. 
 
 In the second edition this line was altered to give Mil- 
 ton the preference, when it quietly settled down into an 
 Alexandrine. 
 
 They meet, they lead to church, the priests invoke 
 The pow'rs, and feed the flames with fragrant smoke, 
 This done, they feast, and at the close of night 
 By kindled torches vary their delight. 
 These | lead the livejly dance] : and those | the brim|ming bowls ( 
 invite]. Ci/mon and Iphegenia. 
 
 It %\'ill be observed that each of these verses ends wdth 
 the compound section. 
 
 VERSES OF EIGHT ACCENTS. 
 
 The longest verse which has been used to form any 
 English metre, is the one of eight accents. This unwieldy 
 rhythm was not unknown in the seventeenth centurv, and 
 according to Webbe " consisteth of sixteen .syllables, each 
 two verses r^'ming together, thus : 
 
 AVher virtue wants and vice abounds, there wealth is but a baited 
 
 hooke 
 To make men swallow down their bane, before on danger deepe 
 
 they looke." 
 
 Even at that period this metre was " not very much used 
 at length." The cou})let was more commonly divided into 
 the stave of eight and eight; in which shape it is still 
 flourishing in our poetry. 
 
 In his longer rhythms Ceedmon not unfrequently inserts 
 a couplet of eight accents ; of which five were sometimes 
 given to the one section, and three to the other ; as, 
 
 7 : 3 : G //. <?. 
 
 Big standjath me strangjegeneatjas : tlia ] ne wiljlath me aet [ tham 
 
 stnth]e gcswicjan, 
 Heelethas hardmodo.
 
 284 VERSES OF EIGHT ACCENTS. B. II. 
 
 By me stand liegemen strong, they that will not at the strife fail 
 
 me. 
 Heroes stalwart. Ccedmon. 
 
 But in the great majority of cases the accents are equally 
 divided, each section taking four. It is highly probable 
 that this was owing to the ecclesiastical chaunts ; and that 
 the Latin metre of four accents, which, if not invented, 
 was chiefly cultivated by the celebrated Ambrose Bishop 
 of Milan, had already begun to exercise an influence over 
 our English rhythms. 
 
 1 : 5 /. c : 1/ : 1 /. r. 
 
 Worh|teman | him hit ] to\vit]e : hyr|awor|uld waes | gehwyrf|ed. 
 
 They wrought them this for punishment ; their world was changed ! 
 
 Cced. 
 
 I / : \ I. c : 5 : 5 /. r. 
 
 Deor|e waes | he driht]ne ur|e : ue mihjte him | bedyrn]ed 
 
 weorthjan. 
 That his engyl ongan ofermod wesan. 
 
 Dear was he to our Lord, nor might from him be hidden. 
 That his angel gan to wax o'er-proud. Cccd. 
 
 II : I II. c : 2 : 5 l. c. 
 
 Gif I he brec|ath his | gebod|scipe : thon|ne he him | aboljgen 
 wurth|ath. 
 
 rf he break his commandment, then he gainst him enrag'd becomes., 
 
 Cced. 
 2:61 : 51:6/. 
 He let him swa micles wealdan, 
 Hehst|ne to him | on heof|ona ric|e : ha?f|de he hin|c swa hwitjne 
 gehworht|ne. 
 
 He let him so mickle weild, 
 Next to himself in heaven's realm ; he had him so purely wrought. — 
 
 CiEd. 
 2 I : I /. c : II : II. c. 
 
 Hwy sceal ic a?fter his hyldo theowian, 
 Bugjan him swil|ces gcong|ordom|es : ic | maeg wes|an God ( swa 
 hei.
 
 C. VII. VERSES OF EIGHT ACCENTS. 285 
 
 \\'hy must I for his favour serve — 
 Bow to liiin with such obedience ? I may be God as he. 
 
 C(ed. 
 
 Frynd synd hie mine georne, 
 Hol'de on hyr|a hyg|e-sceaf|tum : ic | maeg hyr|a hear|ra wes'an. 
 
 Friends are they of mine right truly. 
 Faithful in their hearts deep councils ; I may their liege lord be. 
 
 CdEd. 
 
 5 : 5 I. c. : 5 I : \. c. 
 
 Ac iiiot|ath inc [ thaes oth|res ealjles : forlaetjath thon|e aenlne 
 
 beam. 
 But enjoy ye all the other — leave ye that one tree. Cad. 
 
 5 : 5 11. c : 1:6'/. c. 
 
 Swa wynllic waes | his vwaestm | on heof|onum : that j him com | from 
 
 \ver|oda driht|ne. 
 So precious was the meed in heaven, came to him from the Lord of 
 
 Hosts. Cced. 
 
 G:5 1. c. : \ 1 : 5 I. c. 
 
 jEniie hsefde he swa swithne gehworthtne, 
 Swa miht|igne on | his mod | gethoh|te : he | let hin|eswa micjles 
 weal I dan. 
 
 One had he so mighty wrought. 
 So powerful in his mind's thought — he let him so mickle wield. 
 
 Cad. 
 
 These verses are also to be found in the psalm metres of 
 the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Robert of Glou- 
 cester used them very freely in his Chronicle. 
 
 King ^Vyllam was to milde men debonere y nou, 
 Ac to men that hym with sede to al sturnhede he drou. 
 In cliyrchle he was | devout y iiou| : vorhyra | ne sso]|de non day| 
 
 abyd|e, 
 That he | ne hur|de mas|se and mat|yns : and ev|eson | and ech|e 
 tyd|e. R. Glou.369.
 
 2HG VERSES OP NINE ACCENTS. B. II. 
 
 VERSES OF NINE ACCENTS. 
 
 Ceedmon occasionally uses couplets, which contain nine, 
 or even more than nine accents. 
 
 I I: 2Lc. : 1:5. c. 
 
 And I heoaljle for|sceop drili|ten to deof|lum : for | then heo | his 
 
 dacd I and word] 
 Noldon vveorthian. 
 
 And them all the Lord transhaped to fiends^ for that they his deed 
 
 and word. 
 Would not worship. Cad. 
 
 'S:GL c : ll-.lll.c. 
 
 Hetje h8ef|de he a?t | his hear]ran gewunnen : hyljdo haiflde his| 
 ferlorjene. 
 
 Hate had he from his Lord y-won ; his favour had forlorn. 
 
 Cad. 
 
 In the following couplet we have as many as twelve 
 accents. 
 
 And sceolde his drihtne thancian, 
 Thaes leanjesthe [ he him | on [ tham leoh|te gescyr]ede : thonjne 
 let|e he ] his hin|e Iang|e weal|dan. 
 
 And should his Lord have thank'd 
 For the portion he him in light had given, then had he let him 
 long time weild it. Cad. 
 
 These long rhythms may be traced through our litera- 
 ture, till they ended in the doggrel verses, which Shake- 
 speare put into the mouth of his Clowns, and Swift used 
 as a fit vehicle for his coarse but witty buffoonery. Their 
 revival is hardly to be wished for.
 
 C, Vill. THE SECTIONAL PATSE. 28? 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE SECTIONAL PAUSE 
 
 gives a character so very marked and peculiar to those 
 rhythms into which it enters, as makes the consideration 
 of them apart from the others, not only a matter of con- 
 venience, but almost of necessity. We have, therefore, 
 reserved the present chapter for tracing the history, and 
 noticing the peculiarities, of those sections which admit the 
 pause. 
 
 As to the origin of this pause, I have already ventured 
 an opinion. I think it owes its existence, in our poetry, 
 to the emphatic stop ; but as the question is one of diffi- 
 culty, and as I may have occasion hereafter to refer to 
 some of the reasons, which lead me to this conclusion, I 
 make no apology for laying those reasons at some length 
 before the reader. 
 
 In the earlier and primitive languages, we find the 
 intonation of words a matter of very high importance. 
 In the Greek and Latin, there are many words which have 
 nothing else to distinguish them, bvit the tone ; thus the 
 Latin ne, when it signified not, Avas pronounced with a 
 sharp tone — when it signified lest, with a grave one ; or to 
 speak with greater precision, it was pronounced, in the 
 first case, more sharply than the ordinary pitch of the 
 voice, and more gravely in the latter. In the Chinese, 
 there are monosyllables, with no less than five distinct 
 meanings, according to the tone which is given them ;
 
 288 THE SECTIONAL PAUSE. B. II. 
 
 and those, who have heard them pronounced by a native, 
 will readily understand the immense resources, which may 
 thus be placed within the reach of language. I am not, 
 however, aware that these differences of tone have ever been 
 applied to the purposes of construction. There does not 
 seem to have been any relative and subordinate intona- 
 tion in a sentence ; a word had its tone fixed, and this it 
 retained, whatever its position. 
 
 Whether the metrical arsis heightened the tone of the 
 syllable on which it fell, has been doubted. Bentley 
 thought it did ; but later critics have seen reason to ques- 
 tion his opinion ; and as it must often interfere with the 
 verbal tone, their objections are entitled to much Aveight. 
 There are, however, passages in the old grammarians, which 
 favour the notion of there having been some change in the 
 voice. May not the arsis have been marked by a stress, 
 resembling our modern accent? If this were so, the 
 change from the temporal to the accentual rhythm, in the 
 fourth century, would be natural and easy; the same syl- 
 lable taking the accent in the new rhythm, which (accord- 
 ing to Bentley and Dawes) received the ai^sis in the old. 
 
 With this exception (if it be one), I know no instance 
 in the Greek and Latin, where an alteration either in the 
 tone or loudness of the voice, has been used for pur- 
 poses of construction or of rhythm. The tone seems to 
 have been a mere accident of the iDord ; and had no 
 influence on the sentence, further than as it contributed 
 to its harmony. The stress of the voice seems to have 
 been employed solely for the pvirposes of emphasis ; and 
 was certainly considered by Quintilian as reducible to no 
 system, for he leaves the learner to gather from expe- 
 rience, " quando attollenda vel submittenda sit vox." 
 Had the stress of voice been in any way dependent on 
 the construction, its laws might have been readily ex- 
 plained; and would have certainly fixed the attention of a 
 people who scrutinized the peculiarities of their language 
 with so much care.
 
 C, VIII. THE SECTIONAL PAUSE. 289 
 
 But though I can find no system of accents like our 
 own, in these kindred languages, yet there are reasons 
 for believing, that our present accentuation has been 
 handed down to us from a very remote antiquity. We 
 find it reduced to a system in our Anglo-Saxon rhythms ; 
 and its wide prevalence in the other Gothic dialects, 
 points clearly to an origin of even earlier date. The pre- 
 cision of the laws, which regulated the accents in Anglo- 
 Saxon verse, is one of the most striking features of their 
 poetry. We find none of those licentious departures 
 from rule,* which are so common in the old Enghsh, 
 and are occasionally met with, even in our later dia- 
 lect. It may be questioned, if any primanj accent -were 
 doubtful t in the Anglo-Saxon ; at any rate, the Hmits of 
 uncertainty must have been extremely narrow. 
 
 In modern usage, we sometimes hear a word accented, 
 though it immediately adjoin vipon an accented syllable ; 
 especially Avhen it contains a long vowel-sound. The 
 rhythm of Sackville's fine, 
 
 Their great | cru]elty : and the deepe bloodshed 
 Of friends 
 
 is not without example, in the every-day conversation of 
 many persons, who have accustomed themselves to a slow 
 and emphatic mode of dehvery. Were this practice generally 
 sanctioned by that of our earlier and more perfect dialect, 
 we might infer, with some plausiliility, that our English ac- 
 cents were at one time, like those of the Greek and Latin, 
 strictly verbal ; and that the sectional pavise was a conse- 
 quence, Avhich followed naturally from the system of ac- 
 centuation, originally prevalent in our language. But 
 
 * The widest departure from the common rhythm of the language wliich 
 the Anglo-Saxon poet allowed himself, was owing to the frequent use of the 
 sectional pause. We shall have more to say on this head shortly. 
 
 f There are perhaps instances, in which the same sentence has been dif- 
 ferently accentuated. But this may be owing to a difference of dialect. The 
 Anglo-Saxon author is, I believe, always consistent with himself. 
 
 VOL. I. U
 
 I?y0 THE SECTIONAL PAUSE. B. II. 
 
 there are grounds for believing, that in the Anglo-Saxon 
 the stress on the adjective was always subordinate to that 
 on the substantive. In nine cases out of ten, it was 
 clearly subordinate ; in no case is it found predominant;* 
 and when with the aid of the sectional pause, it takes the 
 accent, there is, in the great majority of cases, an evident 
 intention on the part of the poet, to use the pause for 
 the purposes of emphasis — the substantive, in all proba- 
 bility, still keeping the stronger accent. There are, in- 
 deed, instances of the sectional pause, where it is cer- 
 tainly nof used as an emphatic stop ; but these, I believe, 
 are, for the most part, found in poems of inferior merit, 
 or in those artificial rhythms f which Avere probably in- 
 vented in the course of the ninth and tenth centuries. 
 They may perhaps be laid to the account of carelessness 
 or of incapacity, and ranked with those cases, where the 
 ordinary rhythm of the language has been made to yield 
 to the rhythm of its poetry. These exceptions may shake, 
 but I do not think they are sufficiently numerous to over- 
 turn, the hypothesis that has been started. 
 
 Having thus given the reasons, which incline me to 
 the opinion already stated as to the origin of the pause, I 
 shall now proceed to range in order, those sections into 
 which it enters. If we consider the pause as filling the 
 place of an unaccented syllable, we may use nearly the 
 same notation to indicate the rhythm, as hitherto. We 
 have merely to show the presence of the pause, by the 
 addition of a p. Thus the section we have already quoted 
 from Sackville, 
 
 Their great \ ciuleltie. 
 would be represented by the formula, 5 //. p. 
 
 * When the adjective has a stronger accent than its substantive, it always 
 forms part of a compound, and is no longer subject to inflexion. 
 •J- Conybeare's rhiming poem, for example.
 
 291 
 
 THE SECTION 1 p. OF TWO ACCENTS. 
 
 Sections, which admit the pause, may be divided into 
 two classes, accordingly as they contain two or three 
 accents. When the section contains only two, the pause 
 cannot change its position, for it must fall between the 
 accented syllal^les; but as the section may vary l)oth its 
 beginning and its end no less than three different ways, it 
 admits of nine varieties. Of these six have established 
 themselves in English literature, to wit, \.p. 1 1, p. I 11. p. 
 5. p. 5 l.p. 5 //. J}. 
 
 Whether the section I. ]). were knoAvn in Anglo-Saxon, 
 is a matter of some doubt. In Beowulf, there is the 
 couplet, 
 
 Spra?c|tha| : ides Scyldinga. 
 
 Spake then the ScykUng's Lady 
 
 and in Csedmon, 148, we have, 
 
 Thy Ises him westengryre, 
 Har 1 haeth] : holmegum wederum 
 Oferclamme. 
 
 Lest them the desert- horror — 
 The hoar heath— with dehigiug storms 
 O'erwhelm. 
 
 The lengthened section, 1 /. 2^- is somewhat more com- 
 mon; 
 
 Tha on dunum gesaet — 
 Earc I No'iCs : the Armenia 
 Hatene syndon. 
 
 Then on the downs rested 
 Noah's arc — thei/ Armenia 
 Are hight. Cad. 71. 
 
 See also, 
 
 Peer ) Nojes. Cad. 66. 
 
 The section 1 p. was never common. It was chiefly 
 used by our dramatists ; and more particularly in their 
 faery dialect. 
 
 u 2
 
 292 THE SECTION I. p. OF TWO ACCENTS. B. II. 
 
 On the ground 
 Sleep I sound I I 
 I '11 apply 
 To your eye. 
 Gentle lover, remedy. 
 When thou wak'st, 
 Thou 1 tak'st| 
 True delight 
 In the sight 
 Of thy formei^ lady's eye. M. N. D. 3. 2. 
 
 Up and down, every where, 
 
 I strew these herbs to purge the air. 
 
 Let your odour : drive | hence] 
 
 All I mists] : that dazzle sense. Fl. Fa. Sh. 3. 1. 
 
 Mark what radiant state she spreads 
 In circle round her shining throne. 
 Shooting her beams, like silver threads ; 
 This 1 this] : is she alone. 
 
 Sitting like a goddess bright, 
 
 In the centre of her light. Arcades. 
 
 This is the only instance of the section in Milton, who 
 doubtless borrowed it from Fletcher. The propriety of 
 Shakespeare's rhythm will be better understood, if we 
 suppose (what was certainly intended) that the fairy is 
 pouring the love-juice on the sleeper's eye, while be pro- 
 nounces the words, "Thou tak'st." The words form, 
 indeed, the fairy's " charm," and the rhythm is grave and 
 emphatic as their import. I cannot thinkj with Tyrwhitt, 
 that the line would be improved, "both in its measure 
 and construction, if it were written thus : 
 
 See I thou tak'stj." 
 
 I know not how the construction is bettered, and the 
 correspondence, no less than the fitness of the numbers, 
 is entirely lost. Seward, in like manner, took compassion 
 upon the halting verses of Fletcher. His corrections af- 
 ford vis an amusing specimen of conjectural criticism. 
 
 Let your odour : drive \from henee] 
 All I mistes : that dazzle sense !
 
 C. VIII. THE SECTION I N. p. OF TWO ACCENTS. 293 
 
 Fletcher, like Shakespeare, had a charm to deal with ; 
 and, to gain the same object, he used the same rhythm. 
 
 The sections I, p. and 1 I. p. are both of them to be 
 found in Spenser's Auyust ; but the strange rhythm 
 which he adopted in his roundle can only be considered as 
 an experiment. It would be idle to trace out every variety 
 he has stumbled upon, in writing a metre for which he had 
 no precedent, and in which he has had no imitator. 
 
 The section 1 //. p. is peculiar to the Anglo-Saxon. In 
 that dialect it is met with, not only among the short and 
 rapid rhythms of Beo'\A'ulf, but also in the stately numbers 
 of Ceedmon ; and of all the pausing sections known to our 
 earliest dialect, was the one most widely used. It is sin- 
 gular it should so completely have disappeared from the 
 early English. I do not recollect one single instance of 
 it in that dialect. 
 
 We will begin with the couplet of four accents. 
 
 Tha I theah'itode : theoden ure. Ceed. 
 
 Deop I dream|aleas : drihteu ure. Cced. 
 
 Beorn ] blandlen feax ; bill geslehtes. 
 
 Battle of Briinauburgh. 
 
 mod I m3eg]nade : mine fa?gnade. Rhhn. Posm. 
 
 Har I Hillderinc ; lireman ne thorfte. War Song. 
 
 Sweart ] syn|uilite : wide and side. Cced. 
 
 Sweart \ switb Irian : geond sidne grund, Cced. 
 
 Treow 1 teljgade : tel ] wellgade. Rhhn. Poem. 
 
 Gold I gearjwade : gim j hwearlfade. Same. 
 
 Sine I searlivade : sib ] near] wade. Rhim. Poem. 
 
 Faege feollon : feld ] dyn|ede. War Song. 
 
 Sar and sorge : susl | throwledon. Cad. 
 
 Ellen eacnade : ead | beacjnade. Rhi7n. Poem. 
 
 haten for herigura : heo ] riclsode. Alf. 
 
 The following are instances of this section, when found 
 in the couplet of live accents.
 
 294 SECTION I /I. p. OF TWO ACCENTS. B. II. 
 
 Hof I herlgode : hyge teonan wrfEC. C<£d. 
 
 Word I vveortli|ian : hiefdon vvite micel. Cced. 
 
 Ofor holmes hrincg : hof | sel|este. Ccad. 
 
 Tha com ofer foldaii : fus | sith|ian. Cad. 
 
 Wlite beorhte gesceaft : wel | licjode. Cced. 
 
 ealra feonda gehvvilc : fyr [ ed|neowe. Cad. 
 
 The section 5.|>. was used by our dramatists in their 
 faery dialect. It was also found in Sackville, and must, 
 at one time, have taken deep root in the language, for it 
 forms a striking feature in the staves of several popular 
 
 songs. 
 
 Troy I ! Troyj ! : there is no bote but bale. 
 The hugie horse within thy walls is brought. 
 Thy turrets fall. 
 
 Sackville. M. for M, Induction, C5. 
 
 Let her fly, let her scape, 
 
 Give again : her own | shapej. Fl. Fa. Sh. 3. 1. 
 
 1 do wander every where, 
 
 Swifter than : the moons | sphere]. M. N. Dream. 
 
 Warton, in qvioting Sackville, added a third Troy, 
 without authority from the poet, or notice to the reader. 
 
 O Troy I ! Troy] ! Troy] ! there is no bote but bale. 
 
 The passages he has thus corrupted are more numerous, 
 and the corruptions more serious than his late able editor 
 suspected. They would have fully satisfied even the 
 spleen of a Ritson, had it been his good fortune to have 
 lighted on them. Steevens also, with that mischievous in- 
 genuity which called down the happy ridicule of GifFord, 
 thought lit to improve the metre of Shakespeare. He 
 reads the line thus : 
 
 Swifter than the moon|e5 sphere]. 
 
 But the quarto of HIOO, and the folio of 16'23, are both 
 against him. The flow of Shakespeare's line is quite in
 
 C. VIII. SECTION 5. p. OF TWO ACCEXTS. 295 
 
 keeping with the peculiar rhythm which he has devoted 
 to his fairies. It wants nothing from the critic but his 
 forbearance. 
 
 Burns, in his " Lucy," has used this section often 
 enough to give a peculiar character to his metre. 
 
 O wat ye wha's : in yon | to\vn|, 
 Ye see tlie e'enin sun upon ? 
 The fairest dame's : in yon | town], 
 That e'enin sun is shining on. 
 
 The sun blinks blithe : on yon ] town|. 
 And on yon bonie braes of Ayr ; 
 But my delight : in yon | town]. 
 And dearest bliss is Lucy fair, &c. 
 
 Moore also, in one of his beautiful melodies, has used 
 a compound stanza, which opens vnth a stave like Burns'. 
 His stanza contains also other specimens of this section. 
 
 While gazing : on the moon's | light], 
 A moment from her smile I turn'd. 
 To look at orbs : that, more | bright |, 
 In lone and distant glory burn'd ; 
 But too I far I 
 Each proud | star| 
 For me to feel its warming flame. 
 Much more | dear] 
 That mild | sphere] 
 Which near our planet smiling came ; 
 Thus Mary dear ! be thou my own. 
 
 While brighter eyes unheeded play, 
 I '11 love those moonlight looks alone 
 
 Which bless my home, and guide my way. 
 
 The day hal sunk : in dim \ showers [> 
 But midnight now, with lustre meek. 
 Illumined all : the pale ] flowers |, 
 
 Like hope that lights a mourner's cheek. 
 I said I , (while I 
 The moon's j smilei 
 Play'd o'er a stream, in dimpling bliss)
 
 20S SECTION 51. p. OF TWO ACCENTS. B. II. 
 
 " The moon | looks] 
 On many brooks j 
 " The brook can see no moon but this : " 
 And thus, I thought, our fortunes run. 
 
 For many a lover looks on thee ; 
 AV'liile, oh ! I feel there is but one, 
 One Mary in the world for me ! 
 
 Sir Jonah Barriiigton tells us, in his Memoirs, that this 
 singular stanza belonged to a well-known Irish song, which 
 was popular some fifty years since. 
 
 The section 5 /. p. was used from the earliest period to 
 which we can trace our literature^ down to the close of the 
 sixteenth century. It is found in the almost perfect 
 rhythms of Ceedmon, and in the majestic stanza which we 
 owe to the genius of a Spenser. Sackville used it with a 
 profusion, which has given a very marked character to his 
 metre ; and there are grounds for suspecting that it was 
 not altogether unknown to Milton. My search, however, in 
 the works of this poet has hitherto been without success. 
 
 Verses of four accents. 
 
 On last I leg|dun : lathum theodum. War Song. 
 
 The King | ef|tir : that he wes gane, 
 
 To Louch-lomond the way has tane. Bruce, 2. 800. 
 
 Stowe gestaifnde : tha stod j rath|e. Cad. 
 
 Theet hi that rice : geraeht | ha?f|don. Alf. 
 
 He is dead : and gone|, La|dy, 
 
 He is dead and gone ; 
 At his head a green grass turf, 
 
 At his heels a stone. Hamlet. 
 
 A year or two ago there was published a book of songs, 
 written on the model of the exquisite little pieces, which 
 are scattered through the works of our dramatists. Many 
 of these songs are extremely beautiful ; but the author 
 seems to have caught more happily the spirit * than the 
 
 * Certainly a much more important matter !
 
 C. VIII. SECTION 5 /.j9. OF TWO ACCENTS. 29/ 
 
 form of his originals ; to have followed the flow of thought 
 and feeling much better than the rhythm. He must have 
 been thinking of Shakespeare's metre when he wrote. 
 
 Lady sing no morej 
 
 Science is in vain. 
 
 Till I the heart | be touch'd|, Lady, 
 
 And give forth its pain. 
 
 But in the one stave, luady forms an essential part of 
 the rhythm, Avhile it may be rejected from the other with- 
 out doing it the slightest injury. It is, in fact, a mere 
 pendant ; and might as well have been written between 
 the verses, as at the end of one of them. 
 
 The section 5 /. }). is also common in verses of five 
 accents. 
 
 His freond | frithjo : and gefean ealle. C(Ed. 
 
 Our prince | Da|wy : the erle of Huntyntovvn 
 
 Thre dochtrys had. Wall. 64. 45. 
 
 Coinpleyne | Lord|ys : conipleyne yhe Ladys biycht, 
 Compleyne for him, that worthi was and wyclit. 
 
 Wall 2. 226. 
 
 The deepe | daunjger -. that he so soon did feare. 
 
 SackvillQ. M.for M. Buckm. 45. 
 
 Whom great Macedo vanquisht there iu sight, 
 \^'ith deepe | slaughlter ; despoiling all his pride. 
 
 Sackville. M.for M. Inductio7ij 58. 
 
 When Hannibal, 
 And worthy Scipio last in armes were sene. 
 Before Carthago gate, to try for all 
 The worlds | em|pire : to whom it should befall. 
 
 Sackville. M.for M. Induction, 60. 
 
 Her eyes | swoljlen : with flowing stremes aflote. 
 
 Sackville. Induction, 1,3. 
 
 The hugie hostcs, Darius and his powei-. 
 
 His kings|, princ|es : his peeres and all his flower. 
 
 Sack. Induction.
 
 298 SECTION 5 /, p. OF TWO ACCENTS. B. II. 
 
 What could binde 
 The vaine ] peo|ple : but they will swerve and sway. 
 
 Sack. Buckingham. 62. 
 
 Yet ween'd by secret signs of manliness, 
 Which close appear'd in that rude brutishness. 
 That he | wlii|lom : some gentle swain had been. 
 
 F. Q. 4.7. 45. 
 
 His land | mort[gag'd : he sea-beat in the way 
 Wishes for home a thousand sithes a day. 
 
 Hall. Sat. 4. G. 
 
 Which parted thence. 
 As pearls from diamonds dropt : in brief], sorjrow 
 Would be a rarity most belov'd, if all 
 Could so become it. Lear, 4.3. 
 
 With all my heart, good Thomas : I have], Thom|as, 
 A secret to impart unto you. 
 
 B. Jons. Ev. M. in his H.2.2>. 
 
 Make your own purpose 
 How in my strength you please : for you[, Ed|mund, 
 Whose virtue and obedience doth this instant 
 So much commend itself, you shall be ours. Lear, 2. 1 . 
 
 Our dramatists very commonly placed a pause before 
 the last accent, when they ended the verse with the name 
 or title of the person addressed. There are three or four 
 examples of this practice among the verses last quoted, 
 and we shall meet with others as we proceed further. 
 
 THE SECTION 5 //. p. 
 
 is found in the old English metre of four accents, and in 
 the works of our dramatists. It was also used by other 
 writers of the sixteenth century, more especially hy Sack- 
 ville. In the Anglo-Saxon it is of very rare occurrence, 
 but is occasionally met with ; 
 
 Him tha secg hrathe : gewat | sithjiau. 
 
 Then a soldier quickly gan speed him. C(ed. 94.
 
 C. VIII. SECTION 5 11. p. OF TWO ACCENTS. 2*)9 
 
 AVhan corn ripetli in every steode, 
 
 Mury hit is in feld and liyde ; 
 
 Synne hit is and schame to chide ; 
 
 Knightis wolleth on huntyng ride ; 
 
 Thedeor | gal|opith : by wodis side, &c. Alesaunder, I. 4G0. 
 
 Yet saw I Scilla and Marius where tliey stood 
 Their greate ] crujeltee : and the deepe bloodshed 
 Offrends. Sack. M./or M. Induction. 
 
 O Jove ! to thee above the rest I make 
 
 My humble playnt, guide me that what I speake 
 
 j\Iay be thy will upon this wretch to fall. 
 
 On thee I ! Ban|istaire : wretch of wretches all. 
 
 Sack. Bnckingham, 92. 
 
 Remove | mys[terie : from religion. 
 
 From godly fear all superstition. Putt. Parth. 
 
 Have you yourselves, Somerset, Buckingham, 
 Brave York], Salis|bury : and victorious Warwick, 
 Receiv'd deep scars, &c. 2 ^. 6, 1. 1. 
 
 O ! who hath done 
 This deed | ? Nolbody : I myself, farewell ! Othello, 5. 2. 
 
 But room|, fa|ery : here comes Oberon. 
 
 And here my mistress, would that he was gone ! 
 
 M.N.D. 2. 1. 
 
 The verses 5 /. p : 5. and 5 11. p : \. contain, each of 
 them, ten syllables. This was doubtless the reason of the 
 forbearance shown to them by our classical writers of the 
 sixteenth century. 
 
 THE SECTION OF THREE ACCENTS. 
 
 In the section of three accents the pause may fall be- 
 tween the first and second accented syllables, between the 
 second and third, or in both these places. We might 
 provide for these three possible contingencies by dividing 
 the pausing sections (like the rhiming sections,*) into 
 three classes. But, in fact, the two first classes are alone 
 
 * See page 133.
 
 300 SECTION \.p. OF THREE ACCENTS. B. II 
 
 met with in our literature, none of our sections containinc 
 two pauses.* 
 
 THE SECTION \.J). 
 
 is occasionally found in Anglo-Saxon poems, of the first 
 
 class ; 
 
 Hremmas wundoii, 
 Earn ] a?sles geoni| ; waes on eorthan cyrm. 
 
 The ravens wheel'd around — 
 The em, "reedy for its prey j their scream was on the earth. 
 
 Battle of Maldon. 
 
 and very commonly of the second class, when lengthened ; 
 Thurh I gevveald [ God|es : wuldres bearnum Cad. 
 
 Waes I rain dream \ drihtjlic : drohtad hihtlic. 
 
 Riming Poem. 
 
 Thurh 1 his word | vvesjan : waiter gemaene. Cced. 
 
 Olfer scild \ scotjen : swilce scottisc eac. War Song. 
 
 Us I is riht \ micjel : thaet we rodera weard. CcBd. 
 
 geomre gastas -. wses \ him gylp | forjod ! Cad. 
 
 modes mynlan : olfer maegth ] guin|ge. Alf. 
 
 Sah to setle : thter j laeg secg | meenlig. Cad. 
 
 Codes ahwurfon : haefldon gielp \ miclel. C(Bd. 
 
 gewendan mid wihte : that ] hie word \ God|es. Ccsd. 
 
 And glosed his Gospel : as 1 hem good \ Hkled. P. P. 
 
 Worching and wandring : as | the world | asjketh. P.P. 
 
 It is nought by the bishop : that | the boy ] prech|ed. 
 
 P.P. 
 
 O there are divers reasons : to | dissuade], broth [er. 
 
 B. Jons. Ev. M. in his H. 2. I. 
 
 * Sydney has used them in the song quoted at page 155. But he adopted 
 this singular rhythm, avowedly, as an experitnenf.
 
 C. VIII. SECTION I l. ])• OF THREE ACCENTS. 301 
 
 Tliis section is sometimes, though 1)ut rarely, found 
 doubly lengthened. 
 
 Meniiisces metes : ac j lie ma | lufjedon. ^If. 
 
 THE SECTION 2 1.]). 
 
 1 
 
 can only be of the second class. It is found both in Anglo- 
 Saxon rhythms and in the old English alliterative metre. 
 
 cwseth 1 that his lie | \ver|e : leoht and scene. Cced. 
 
 Her sire Typhaeus was, who mad with lust, 
 And drunk with blood of men, slain by his might 
 Through incest her of his own mother Earth 
 Whil|om begot|, be|ing : but half | twin of | that birth|. 
 
 F. Q. 3. 7. 47. 
 
 I shop me into shrowdes : as | I a shepe | wer|e. P. P. 
 
 There preched a pardonor : as | he a preoste | wer[6. 
 
 P.P. 
 
 And hadde leve to lize : a\\\e here lif J af|tur. 
 
 P. P. 
 
 What says the other troop ! : They | are dissolv'd|, hangj'em. 
 
 Cor. 1. I. 
 
 THE SECTION S. p. 
 
 is more rare, but is occasionally met withj and, of course, 
 must be of the first class. 
 
 thrang | thrysltre genipj : tbam the se theoden self. 
 
 Cisd. 
 
 heold I heof ona frea| : tha bine halig God. Cced. 
 
 You shall close prisoner rest. 
 
 Till that the nature of your fault be known 
 
 To the Venetian state : come ] bring | him aloug[. 
 
 0th. 5. 2. 
 
 Where be these knaves ? What] ! no ] man at door[. 
 To hold my stirrup, nor to take my horse ? 
 
 T. of the Shrew, 4. 1.
 
 302 SECTION' 5. p. OF THREE ACCENTS. R. II. 
 
 The section 5 p. is rare. It is found, however, in the 
 old romance of Sir Tristrcm, and was not unknown to the 
 Anglo-Saxons. 
 
 The folk I stood [ unfain ] The folk stood sad 
 
 Befor that levcdl fre. Before that lady free, 
 
 " Rowland my Lord is slain, " Roland my lord is slain, 
 
 He speketh no more with me." He speaketh no more with me." 
 
 Tristr. 1. 22. 
 
 TheDouke ] an|swer'd then|. The Duke answer'd then, 
 " I pray mi Lord so fre, " I pray my Lord so free. 
 
 Whether thou bless or ban, ^Vliether thou bless or curse. 
 
 Thin owen mot it be." Thine own may it be." 
 
 Trist. 1. 77. 
 
 haeste hrinon : ac hie ] hal|ig God[. Cad. 
 
 hyge hreoweth : that hie | heof|on ric|c. Coed. 
 
 A modern poet has used this section in one of those 
 songs which have been already mentioned, and which re- 
 call, so vividly, the Ipical outpourings of our dramatists. 
 The propriety of doing so may, however, admit of some 
 question. Even in the sixteenth century, when the sec- 
 tional pause was common, it was seldom introduced into 
 a song, unless its place in the rhythm was marked out by 
 some regular law. To introduce it at random now, when 
 the pause is obsolete, seems little better than throwing a 
 needless difficulty in the way of the reader. How many 
 persons would read the following Hues, for the Jirst time, 
 without a blunder ? 
 
 The brand is on thy brow, 
 A dark and guilty spot, 
 'Tis ne'er to be erased, 
 'Tis ne'er to be forgot. 
 
 The brand is on thy brow. 
 Yet I must shade the spot, 
 For who will love thee now 
 If I I love 1 thee not] ?
 
 C. VIII. SECTION 5.]). OF THREE ACCENTS. 303 
 
 Thy soul Is dark, is staiu'd, 
 
 From out the bright world thrown. 
 
 By God and man disdain'd, 
 
 But not by me — thy own. The Felon's Wife. 
 
 The section b.p, vrhen lengthened, is met with of the 
 second class, not only in the Anglo-Saxon, but also in the 
 old English alliterative metre, and the Avorks of our dra- 
 matists. In this last division of our literature, we occa- 
 sionally find it without the lengthening syllable. 
 
 In that it sav'd me, keep it. In like necessity. 
 Which God protect thee from : it may | protect | thee|. 
 
 Per. 2. 1. 
 
 What shall I be appointed hours, as though belike 
 I knew not which to take : and what | to leave, | ha| ? 
 
 Tam. of the S. ] . 1 . 
 
 Are bees 
 
 Bound to keep life in drones : and i|dle mothsj ? No|. 
 
 Ben Jons. Ev. M. out of his H. 1.3. 
 
 These examples, however, are very rare. Tlie length- 
 ened section is common. 
 
 Duk Morgan was blithe Duke Morgan was blithe 
 
 Tho Rouland Riis was doun, AMien Roland Riis was down. 
 
 He sent 1 his sonde | swith|e. He sent his mesenger quickly. 
 
 And bad all shuld be boun. And bade all should be boun. 
 
 And to his lores lithe. And to his bests attend, 
 
 Redi to his somoun. Ready at his summons, 
 
 Durst non again him kithe. Durst none against him strive, 
 
 Bot yalt him tour and town. But yielded him tow'r and town. 
 
 Tristr. 1. 24. 
 
 To sek|e seint ] Jamje : and seintes at Rome. 
 
 p. Ploiighma?i. 
 
 But on I a May | Mor|we : upon Malverne hilL-s. 
 
 P. Ploughman. 
 
 Nay more | than this], broth^er : if I should speak, 
 
 He would be ready, &c. B. Jons Ev. M. in his H. 2. 1,
 
 304 SECTION 5.;;. of three accents. R. II. 
 
 beorhte bllsse : wacs licor'abkod ] mic|cl. Cced. 
 
 gscstes snytru : thy Ises \ liim giclp ] sceth|ae. Ex. MSS. 
 
 A love of mine ? I would : it were | no worse|, brotlijer. 
 
 B. J. Ev. M. in his H. 2. 3. 
 
 Hark what I say to you: I must | go forth], Thomlas. 
 
 Same, 4. 3. 
 
 It may here be observed, that if the section of an 
 An o-lo- Saxon couplet take the pause, the alHteration almost 
 always falls on the syllal^le which precedes it. If the allite- 
 ration be double, it falls also (with very few exceptions) 
 upon the syllable which follows the pause. These obser- 
 vations will also apply to the old Enghsh alliterative 
 metre. 
 
 the section /.p 
 
 admits of only one form. From the pecuhar nature of 
 the rhythm, the pause must fall between the first and se- 
 cond accented syllables. 
 
 Of all those sections which contain the pause, this is 
 the one which has played the most important part in our 
 literature. It is rarely met with in the Anglo-Saxon, 
 but was very generally used by our old Enghsh poets, 
 by the poets of the Elizabethan £Era, by Shakespeare, 
 and by Milton. It is the only one of our pausing sec- 
 tions which survived the sixteenth century, and it is found 
 occasionally re-appearing even after Milton's death. 
 Burns has used it once — probably the last time it has 
 been patronized by any of ovir classical writers. 
 
 This section occurs so frequently, as to render necessary 
 a more careful arrangement than we have hitherto found 
 practicable. We shall begin with the verse of three ac- 
 cents, of which several examples are found in the ro- 
 mance of Tristrera.
 
 C. VII 1. 
 
 SECTION 7 p. OF THREE ACCENTS. 
 
 305 
 
 The forster, for his rihtcs, 
 The left | shu]|der yaf he|, 
 U'it hert | liv|er and Iigh|tes, 
 And blod till he quirrc. 
 
 Mi fader me hath forlorn, 
 Sir Rohant sikerly, 
 The best | blovv|er of horn|, 
 And king of venery. 
 
 The forester for his rights 
 The left shoulder gave he, 
 A\'ith heart, liver and lights. 
 And blood for his share. 
 
 Tr'istr. \.M'). 
 
 My father hath me lost, 
 Sir Rohant truly. 
 The best blower of horn, 
 And king of venery. 
 
 Tristr. \.4\). 
 
 " Your owhen soster him bare" Your own sister bare him, 
 The king | lith ed him then|, — The king listened then — 
 I n'am sibbe him na mar, I am akin to him no more, 
 
 Ich aught to ben his man. I ought to be his man. 
 
 Tristr. 1. 
 
 Among the verses of five accents, which contain this 
 section, 7 7^ : 5 is the one the most commonly met with in 
 our poetry. The orthodox number of its syllables, is 
 doubtless one of the causes of its popularity. 
 
 1 have this day ben at your churche at messe. 
 
 And said a sermon to my simple wit. 
 
 Not all 1 af|ter the text : of hojly writ|. Sompnoure's Tale. 
 
 The Mar | kepjytthe post] : of that | willage| 
 ^Vallace knew weill, and send him his message. 
 
 Wallace, 4. 360. 
 
 He callyt Balyoune till answer for Scotland, 
 
 The wyss j lord ys gert himj : sone brek | that band]. 
 
 Wallace, 1. 75. 
 
 And cry'd | mcrjcy sir Knight; : and mer|cy Lordl. 
 
 F. Q.2. 1. ?7. 
 
 At last I turnjing her fear| : to fooljish wrath], 
 
 She ask'd— F. Q 3. 7. 8. 
 
 Cupid their eldest brother, he enjoys 
 
 The wide | king|dom of love| : with lord|ly sway|. 
 
 F. Q. 4. 10. 42. 
 
 VOL. I. X
 
 aUli SECTION 7 P- OF THREE ACCENTS. B. II. 
 
 So peace [ bejing confirin'd| : amongst ] them all|. 
 
 They took their steeds— F. Q. G. 4. 39. 
 
 What man is he that boasts of fleshly might, 
 And vain assurance of mortality, 
 AA'hich all so soon as it doth come to fisfht 
 Against | spirit|ual foes| : yields by | and by|, 
 
 F. Q. 1. 10. 1. 
 
 Let not light see my black and deep desires. 
 
 The eye | wink | at the hand| : yet let | that be|, 
 
 Wliich the eye fears, when it is done, to see. Macb. 1 . 4. 
 
 The owl ] shriek'd | at thy birth : an ejvil sign|. 
 
 3/^6, 5. 6. 
 
 Be a man ne'er so vile. 
 
 If he can purchase but a silken cover. 
 
 He shall not only pass, but pass regarded ; 
 
 Whereas | let | him be poor| : and meanly clad|, &c. 
 
 B. J Ev. M. in his H. 3. 9. 
 
 But far I be I it from mej : to spill ] the blood] 
 
 Of harmless maids. Fl. F. Sh. 3. \. 
 
 None else can write so skilfully to shew 
 
 Your praise| ; ag;es shall pay| : yet still | must owe. 
 
 Geo. Lucy to Ben Jons, on the Alchemist. 
 
 Anon I out | of the eartli| : a fa|bric huge| 
 
 Rose like an exhalation. P. L. 1 . 
 
 A mind [ not | to be chang d| : by place | or timej. P. L. 
 
 Bird, beast], injsect or worm] : durst en^ter none]. P. L. 4. 
 
 And when a beest is ded he hath no peine. 
 
 But man | af|terhis deth] : mote welpe and pleinje. 
 
 Knightes Tale. 
 
 AVritiiigs all tending to the great opinion 
 
 That Rome | holds | of his name] : wherein | obscure]ly 
 
 Ca?sar's ambition shall be glanc'd at. /. Cces. 1 . 2. 
 
 But since, ] time | and the truth] : have wak'd | myjudgjment. 
 
 B. J. Ev. M. in his H. 1. 1.
 
 C. VIII, SECTION 'J p. OF THREE ACCENTS. SO/ 
 
 The verse 'J p : 2 is more rare. 
 
 Yet saw I Silla and Mariiis where they stood 
 Their greate crueltie^ and the deepe bloudshed 
 Of friends| ; Cyr|us 1 saw| : and | his host dead]. 
 
 Sackville. M. for M. Induction, (i 1 . 
 
 Tis good, I go I to the gate] : some j body knocks |. 
 
 ^ Jul. Cces. 2. 2 
 
 In ragej, deep } as the sea| : has|ty as tire]. R. 2, 1. 1. 
 
 So spake [ Islrael's true king] : and | to the fiend | 
 Made answer meet. P. R. 3. 440. 
 
 He speaks, [ let | us draw near| : matchjless in might|, 
 The glory late of Israel, now the grief. Samson Agon. 
 
 The section 7i^' is also found in the verse of six ac- 
 cents 5 7 P '• ^ was the most usual combination. 
 
 She almost fell again into a swound, 
 
 Ne wist I wheth|er above] ; she were | or un|der ground]. 
 
 F. Q. 4. 7. 9. 
 
 I pray thee now, ray son, 
 
 Go to them with this bonnet in thy hand, 
 
 Thy knee | buss|ing the stones] : for in | such busjinessj 
 
 Action is eloquence. Cor. 3. 1 . 
 
 Much care is sometimes necessary to discover this sec- 
 tion, when it ends the verse ; owing to the hcense which 
 certain of our poets allow themselves, in the management 
 of their pauses. There is danger of confounding tlie mid- 
 dle pause with the sectional. We shall first give exam- 
 ples of the verse 2 : 7 P- and then of the verse 5 : 7 P- 
 
 AValJlace scho said] : that full ] worthjy hasbeynej, 
 
 Than wepyt scho that pete was to seyne. Wallace, 2. 335. 
 
 Thre ver in pess the realme stude desolate, 
 Qiihairlfor thair raiss] : a full | grew ous debate]. 
 
 Wallace, 1. 43. 
 
   When merchant-like I sell revenge. 
 
 Broke 1 be my svvordj ! : my arms | torn | and defaced] 1 
 
 2^. 6, 4. 1.
 
 308 SECTION 7 I. JJ. OV THREE ACCENTS. B.I. 
 
 5 :7 p. 
 
 Qliuasperd], sclio said| : to Saint | Marglrct thai socht| 
 Qhua scrjuit hir]. Full grct | frendlschipe thai faud| 
 AVith Sothran folk, for scho was of Ingland. 
 
 Wallace, 1. 283. 
 And next in order sad, eld age wee found. 
 His beard j all hoare] : his eyes | holjlow and bleared], 
 AA'ith dronping chere still poring on the ground. 
 
 Sackville. M.forM. Induction, 43. 
 
 Thrice happy mother, and thrice happy morn. 
 
 That bore \ three such ] : three such ] not | to be found. 
 
 F. Q.4. 2. 41. 
 
 I should be still 
 
 Peering in maps for ports and piers and roads: 
 
 And every object that might make me fear 
 
 Misfortune to ray ventures, out of doubt 
 
 Would make | me sad]. Salar. — My wind | cooljing my broth] 
 
 Would blow me to an ague, when I thought 
 
 What harm a wind too great might do at sea. 
 
 M. of Venice, 1. 1. 
 
 The lengthened section 7 /. p- is as common as the one 
 we have been considering. It has been used by Shake- 
 spear as a complete verse. 
 
 If you dare fight to-day, come to the field. 
 
 If not I when | you have stom achs. Jul. Cees. 5. 1. 
 
 But it was the verse 7 f. p : 1 that spread it most 
 widely through our literature. In this verse it Avas used 
 by our dramatists, and by Milton : and may be traced far 
 into the eighteenth century. 
 
 For the dearth — 
 
 The Gods, | not | the patric|ians: make | it, and| 
 
 Your knees to them, not arms must help. Cor. J . 1. 
 
 Must I of force be married to the County, 
 
 No, no], this I shall forbid | it : lie | thou there]. 
 
 Rotn. and Jul. 4. 2. 
 
 Your father were a fool 
 
 To give thee all, and in his waning age 
 Sot foot 1 unjdcr thy ta|ble : tut ] a toy| ! 
 
 Tarn, o/'t/ir Shrew, 2. 1.
 
 C. VIII. SECTION "i I. p. OF THREE ACCENTS. 309 
 
 One that dares 
 
 Do deeds ] worth|y the hurldle : or | the \vheel|. 
 
 B. Jons. Cynthia's Revels, 3.4. 
 
 More foul diseases than e'er yet the hot 
 
 Sun bred], thorjough his burn |ings : while | the dog| 
 
 Pursues the raging lion. Fl. Fa. Sheph. 1. 2. 
 
 Whose veins ] like | a dull riv|er ; far | from springs] 
 
 Is still the same, dull, heavy, and unfit. 
 
 For stream or motion. Fl. Fa. Slieph. \. 2. 
 
 And to despise, or envy, or suspect. 
 
 Whom God | hath | of his speclial : fajvour rais'd| 
 
 As their deliverer. Sams. 
 
 Light the day and darkness night. 
 
 He nam'd], thus | was the first [ day: ev'n | and mornj. 
 
 P. L. 7. 252. 
 
 That all 
 
 The -sentence, from thy head remov'd, may light 
 
 On me, the cause to thee, of all this woe. 
 
 Me, me 1 on ly, just ob|ject : of ] his ire|. P. L. 10. 936. 
 
 Me also he hath judg'd, or rather 
 
 Me not], but ] the brute ser|pent : in | whose shape] 
 
 Man I deceiv'd. P- L. 10. 494. 
 
 I go to judge 
 
 On earth [ these | thy transgres|sors : but ] thou know'st] 
 Whoever judg'd, the worst on me must light. P. L. 1 0. 72. 
 
 Shall he | nurs'd | in the Pea|sant's : lovvjly shed]. 
 To hardy independence bravely bred. 
 Shall he be guilty of these hireling crimes. 
 The servile mercenary, Swiss of rhymes ? 
 
 Burns' Brig of Ayr. 
 
 The following are instances of the same verse length- 
 ened. 
 
 This ilkc monk let olde thinges pace 
 
 And held [ afjtir the nevv|e : world ] the trac|e. Chait. Prol. 
 
 Light 
 
 Sprung from the deep ; and from her native east 
 To journey through the aery gloom began.
 
 310 SECTION "tip. OF THREE ACCENTS. B. II. 
 
 Spher'd in a radiant cloud, for yet the sun 
 Was not] ; she | inacloud|y: tab|ernalcle 
 Sojourn'd the wliile. P. L. 7- 245. 
 
 AMierever fountain or fresh current flow'd, 
 
 1 drankj, from | the fresh rail|ky : juice j allayjing 
 
 Thirst. Samson Agon. 
 
 Surrey has given us an example of the verse "J I. p : 5. 
 
 The fishes flete vvitli newe repayred scale. 
 The adder all her slough away she flinges, 
 The swift 1 swaljlow pursuleth : the flyjes smale|- 
 
 Description of Spring. 
 
 These are the principal combinations in which the sec- 
 tion 7 /. p. is met with. Others, however, have occasion- 
 ally been found, more especially in the old Enghsh allite- 
 rative metre. Thus Dunbar, in his " Twa mariit women 
 and the wedo," gives us an example of the verse '] I. p'.2l. 
 
 I hard | unjder ane holjyn : hewm|iie green hew|it. 
 
 Dunbar. 
 
 Such examples, however, are rare. 
 
 Before I close a book, which treats thus fully of the 
 rhythm of English verse, it may be expected that I should 
 notice a series of works, which have been published dur- 
 ing the last thirty years, on the same subject, by men 
 some of whose names are not unknown to the public. 
 These wTiters entertain a very humble opinion of those 
 " prosodians," " who scan English verse, according to the 
 laws of Greek metre," and they divide our heroic line, not 
 into five feet, but into six cadences ! They are not, how- 
 ever, so averse to foreign terms, as might have been looked 
 for. With them rhythm is rhythmus, and an elided syl- 
 lable, an apoyiatura. One of these critics assures us, 
 that there are eight degrees of English quantity ; and if 
 the reader should ^' deny that there is any such thing as 
 eight degrees of it, in our language, for this plain reason, 
 because he cannot perceive them," it will be his duty to 
 confide in the greater experience, and better educated ear
 
 C. VIII. WRITERS UPON ''rHYTHMUS. 311 
 
 of those, Avho have paid mor eattention to the subject ! 
 I will not follow the example set by these gentlemen, 
 when they speak of the poor " prosodian." It may be 
 sufficient to say, that much Avhich they advance, I do 
 not understand, and much that I do understand, I cannot 
 approve of. 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 LONDON : 
 PRINTED BY J. B. NICHOLS AND SON, 25, PARLIAMENT-STREET.
 
 C. Vlir. WRITERS UPON " RHYTHMUS. 311 
 
 of those, who have paid more attention to the subject ! 
 I will not follow the example set by these gentlemen, 
 when they speak of the poor " prosodian." It may be 
 sufficient to say, that much which they advance, I do 
 not understand, and much that I do understand, I cannot 
 approve of. 
 
 VOL. I,
 
 NOTES TO THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 (A.) The Letters. 
 
 In investigating the properties of our letter-sounds, I have wished to 
 follow ray own observations rather than the authority of grammarians. It 
 is not, however, easy entirely to free oneself from the influence of pre- 
 conceived notions, and they have, in one or two instances, led me into 
 statements that require correction. 
 
 Our grammarians tells us, that " r is never mute." Now, if I may trust 
 my ear, r is not pronounced at the end of a syllable, unless the following 
 syllable open with a vowel. It is said, that at the end of a syllable r is 
 obscurely pronounced ; but I have observed, that a very slight pronuncia- 
 tion of this letter has been sufficient to comict the speaker of being an 
 Irishman, and that many who insist upon its pronunciation, drop it, imme- 
 diately their attention is diverted, or their vigilance relaxed. 
 
 In ordinary speech, I believe the words burn, curb, hurt, lurk, Sfc. differ 
 from bun, cub, hut, luck, i^-c. only in the greater length of the vowel-sound. 
 If this be so, then instead of five (see p. Ill), there are six vowel-sounds 
 in our language, each of which furnishes us with two vowels, accordingly as 
 the quantity is long or short. 
 
 Again ; I would say that farther differs in pronunciation from father, 
 only in the greater length of its first vowel. If so, there is one vowel- 
 sound in our language, which furnishes us with three vowels. These are 
 found respectively in the words fathom, father, farther. There are some 
 languages, which thus form three vowels from almost every one of their 
 vowel-sounds. See p. 106. 
 
 In p. 9, I have considered A as a letter. Our grammarians differ on 
 this point, but I must confess that usage is against me. There is little 
 doubt, that its old and genuine pronunciation was much like the palatal 
 breathing of the Germans ; and such is the power which some persons 
 still give to it. But the people altogether neglect h, and others look 
 upon it merely as the symbol of aspiration. In like manner, wh is usually 
 treated as an aspirated w. Such, however, is the unsettled state of our 
 lano-uao-e, that I have known men who prided themselves on their accuracy 
 and refinement in the pronunciation of these letters h, wh, &c., and who 
 nevertheless gave them three or four different properties, ere they had well 
 uttered as many sentences. 
 
 There is a statement, too, in p. 10, which requires correction. The Latin 
 rh and Greek p were certainly aspirated letter -sounds. The accounts of
 
 314 NOTES. 
 
 their pronunciation, handed down to us by the old grammarians, are too 
 explicit to leave any room for doubt upon the subject. 
 
 (B.) Accentuation, 
 
 The consideration of the laws, which regulate the accents of an EngKsIs 
 sentence, has occasioned the writer much difficulty. Instead of working his 
 way gradually from results to principles, he has been obliged, owing to the 
 nature of the materials he had to work with, first to assume principles, and 
 then to deduce conclusions. The practice is common enough, though not 
 the less dangerous on that account. The following notices will correct one 
 or two mistakes, into which it has led him. 
 
 In p. 84, the definite and indefinite articles are placed upon the same 
 footing. Now the latter originally was nothing more than the first cardinal 
 number, and must, when placed in construction, have obeyed the same law 
 as regards its accentuation. As the cardinal numbers were accented more 
 strongly than the accompanying substantive (see vol. ii. p. 52. n. 5.), it 
 follows that the examples quoted from Spenser and Jonson are instances 
 rather of an obsolete than of a false accentuation, though such a mixture of 
 the old with the new system is still open to objection. 
 
 The same observation will apply to the examples quoted in p. 86, from 
 the Paradise Lost. Prepositions formerly took the accent before personal 
 pronouns, and, indeed, still do so in some ef our provincial dialects ; the 
 accentuation therefore is not, properly speaking, false, though it takes the 
 reader by surprise, more particularly as an emphasis falls on the pronouns, 
 in the two cases cited. 
 
 Again, in an Anglo-Saxon sentence, an adverb generally, and a proposi- 
 tion occasionally, was placed before the concluding w-ord, which, for the 
 most part, was a verb. When so placed, the adverb or proposition seems 
 always to have taken a predominant accent. See Vol. ii. p. 54. n. 5. This 
 rule has been generally observed in the text, though violated in the scansion 
 of the following verses — here scanned according to what I conceive to be 
 their true prosody. 
 
 Lif|es bryt|ta : leoht | forth | cuman 
 
 p. 193, 1. 30; and v. ii. p. 32, 1. 26. 
 Sweart|e swog|an : sses | up | stigon 
 
 p. 193, 1. 20, 
 Thegn]ra sinjra : thser | mid | wesan 
 
 p. 144, 1. 1, 
 Stream|as stod]on : storm | up | gewat| 
 
 p. 196, 1. 16. 
 Lathje cyrm|don : lyft | up | geswearc| 
 
 p. 194, 1. If). 
 
 Willi respect to the two last verses some doubt may be enterluined wlie-
 
 NOTES. 315 
 
 ther the accent on the substantive did not eclipse that on the adverb, but I 
 incline to think not. 
 
 In Beowulf, I. 3fa"37, is found the passage — 
 
 wseron her tela 
 Willum bewenede : tliu us wel dohtest 
 
 and in the translation, just published by Mr. Kemble, is the following note, 
 " The alliteration is upon thu, and Thorpe therefore suggests bethenede.^^ 
 The proposed amendment is an ingenious one, but still I think it was some- 
 what hastily adopted in the translation, for the chief alliterative syllable in 
 the last verse is certainly wel not thu, 
 
 Wiljlum bewenjede : thu | us wel | dohtest 
 
 In the preface (which exhibits much curious research and speculation, 
 though I cannot agree in its conclusions) certain proper names are reduced, 
 by a variety of hypotheses, to the following series ; 
 
 Woden. 
 
 Bed-Wiga. 
 
 Hwala. 
 
 Hadra. 
 
 Iter-Mon. 
 
 Here-Mod. 
 
 Sceafa. 
 
 Sceldwa. 
 
 " And here we have the remarkable and pleasing fact, that of all the twenty- 
 four names, two only (Beowa and Tsetwa) do not stand in alliteration with 
 one another, /row ivhich we may reasonably assume, that in times older than 
 even these most ancient traditions, another and equivalent adjective stood in 
 the place of Tiefiva.'" I have quoted this statement, respecting the allitera- 
 tion, which, it will be seen, is made the ground-work of an important infer- 
 ence, in order to point out two oversights, that seem to have escaped the 
 author. There is certainly no alliteration between jyo\den and Bed\-Wi(/a, 
 nor between /| ^er-Mon and He\re-Mod. In the last case, indeed, secondary 
 accents may fall on the syllables Mon and Mod, but such accents cannot 
 support an alliteration. 
 
 I know by experience how difficult it is altogether to avoid these over- 
 sights. In the forregoing pages, I have (at least once) been guilty of the 
 very same blunder. In p. 229. 1. 11, the accent of a common adjectival 
 compound (see p. 102. 1. 4,) is misplaced. The verse should have been 
 scanned thus, 
 
 Besloh I sin | sceathan : sig|ore and | geweal|de 
 
 Beowa. 
 
 Baldseg. 
 
 Tffitwa. 
 
 Brand. 
 
 Geata. 
 
 Freotho-gar. 
 
 God-wulf. 
 
 Freothowine 
 
 Finn. 
 
 Wig. 
 
 Freawine. 
 
 Gewis. 
 
 Freothola. 
 
 Esla. 
 
 Freothowalda. 
 
 Elesa.
 
 316 NOTES. 
 
 (C.) Secondary Accents. 
 
 The rule, in p. 78, defining the syllables on which the secondary accent 
 may fall, is, I have no doubt, a correct one. But it is difficult to say, under 
 what circumstances the Anglo-Saxon poet availed himself of the privilege. 
 I incline to think, that when a word, accented on the last syllable but 
 two, closed an alliterative couplet, no secondary accent was made use of, 
 unless wanted to make up the two accents, without which no English sec- 
 tion can subsist. When such a word closed the first section, and the two 
 necessary accents were provided for, I think there was no secondary accent, 
 except in cases where the second section began with an unaccented syllable. 
 These two rules have been deduced chiefly from an examination of Caedmon's 
 rhythms. They are laid down with some degree of diffidence, but they seem 
 to agree so well with the general character of Anglo-Saxon rhythm, that I 
 have not hesitated to correct (in the Errata) the scansion of any verse, in 
 which they have not been observed. 
 
 (D.) Rhime. 
 
 The vowel-rhime (see p. 117), or, as it is termed by French and Spanish 
 critics, the assonant rhime was common in the Romance of Oc, and all the 
 kindred Spanish dialects, and is found in one (I believe only one) of our 
 Anglo-Norman poems. It is clearly the Irish comhardadh, though not sub- 
 ject, in the Romance dialects, to the nice rules which regulate its assonances 
 in the Gaelic. 
 
 The fact of there having been tzvo kinds of fiual rhime in the Celtic, both 
 of which are found in the Romance dialects that arose out of its ruins, and 
 only one of which was ever adopted in the Latin " rhythmus," is a strong 
 argument in favour of the view taken in p. 120 as to the Celtic origin of 
 final rhime. It must, however, be confessed, that one of the arguments 
 there used is somewhat strained. The influence, which final rhime exerted 
 over our English rhythms, is certainly overrated. See Vol. ii. p. 295. 
 
 The perfect correspondence in the unaccented syllables of the double rhime 
 (see p. 118) was sometimes dispensed with. The authors of the Alisaunder, 
 of Havelok, and of other romances, written in the thirteenth century, occa- 
 sionally contented themselves with a rhime between the last accented sylla- 
 bles, and wholly neglected what King James calls the " tail." This must 
 have been a recognised and legitimate kind of rhime, for the dullest ear 
 would have been offended, if such correspondences as te7if and deontis, car- 
 peth and harpe, were palmed upon it as regular double rhimes. See Vol. ii. 
 p. 142, 
 
 It has been stated, in the course of this note, that the vowel or assonant 
 rhime is the representative of the Irish coynhardadh. I believe there is 
 another peculiaiity of modern versification, which may be traced to the 
 sister dialect ; for I have little doubt that some species of the bob (see 
 Vol. ii. p. 341) represent the Welsh cyrch. These correspondences be-
 
 NOTES. 31/ 
 
 tween the original and derivative tongues are valuable, and sliouhl, in all 
 cases, be carefully investigated. 
 
 (E.) Versification. 
 
 In p. 164. 1. M). were given two rules, whereby to form the elementary 
 versicle. A third should have been added. 
 
 3. No section can begin or end with more than two unaccented syllables. 
 It was to this third rule (by some mistake omitted in transcription) that the 
 succeeding remarks were meant chiefly to apply. 
 
 The elision of the final e is occasionally a matter of much doubt. Ormin 
 elided it, both before a vowel, and also before the k. In Anglo-Saxon verse, 
 it was sometimes elided, sometimes not; but whether the ehsion were re- 
 gulated by rule, or left to the caprice or convenience of the poet, I cannot 
 say. When quoting the verse in p. 165. 1. 3. it escaped my recollection, 
 that this verse had already been scanned by Conybeare, and (as he elides 
 one of the es) scanned differently from what appears in the text. The rea- 
 soning, however, is but slightly affected by this oversight. 
 
 In many compound sections, besides the regular alliteration, which binds 
 together the couplet, there is a kind of subordinate alliteration, which is 
 confined to the section, and may therefore be called the sectional. In the 
 following examples, the syllables, which contain the sectional alliteration, 
 are written in italics. 
 
 Heard|es hel|le wit|es : thses | the he wan \ with heof|nes wal\dend 
 
 See p. 280. 
 Migt|ig on modje ir|re : wearp | hine on \ thffit morjther 2w|nan 
 
 lb. 
 Worh|te man | him hit | to wit|e : hyr\a. wor|uld wses | gahu-i/r\{ed 
 
 p. 284. 
 Hearm | on this|se hel|le : M'a|la ah|te ic . min|ra han|da geiceald\ 
 
 p. 38. 
 
 Ne I gelyf|e ic | me nu| . thses leoh|tes fur|thor : tkces | the him ^^/Hc[eth 
 
 lang|e niot|an. Vol. ii. p. 42. 
 
 Forswaplen on | thas sweartjan misjtas : swa | he m* | ne mseg (en\ige syn|ne 
 
 gestael an. Vol. ii. p. 40. 
 
 Swa mig|tigne on | his modjgethoh|te : fie \ let hin]e swa mic|les weal]dan. 
 
 p. 285. 
 
 This sectional alliteration is worthy of notice on two accounts. First, it 
 strengthens the hypothesis, advanced in p. 270, as to the origin of the com- 
 pound section ; for, in most cases, the alliterative syllables are so distri- 
 buted, as to give the compound section all the properties of an alliterative 
 couplet. And, secondly, it countenances the opinion thrown out in Vol. ii. 
 p. 278, that the solitary section, sometimes met with in Icelandic poetry, is 
 merely the concluding portion of a compound section. If we suppose the
 
 318 NOTES. 
 
 sectional alliteration b to fall in the latter part of a compound section, and 
 the regular alliteration a in the first part, we might divide the whole couplet, 
 so as to get an alliterative couplet and supernumerary section — the allitera- 
 tive syllables being thus distributed ; 
 
 a a : a 
 
 b b 
 
 The student may sometimes be led, oviing to the sectional alliteration, to 
 consider a compound section as a regular alliterative couplet. Perhaps 
 the verses in Vol. ii. p. 52. 1. 4. and Vol. ii. p. 60. 1. 1. might have been 
 better scanned, as follows. 
 
 He I w8esThrajcia-theod|a aljdor : and Re|tie-ric]es hird|e 
 
 Thset mod | mon|na £en|iges : eal|lunga to | him sefjre meeg | onwen(dan 
 
 The f.rst of these coiiplets is bound together by a very weak alliteration 
 {he and hirde) ; but still I think such a scansion of the verse preferable to the 
 one given in the text, inasmuch as the latter makes the middle pause fall in 
 the midst of the compounds Thracia-ihioda and Retie-7-ices — a mode of di- 
 vision, which I believe is unexampled in Anglo-Saxon poetry. 
 
 From an observation in p. 214. it might be inferred, that the French 
 verse of five accents had no middL pause. This is incorrect; the French 
 verse oi four accents, like the rliythmus of the Iambic Dimiter, had none, 
 but the verse of five accents always divided after the fourth syllable. See 
 Vol. ii. p. iQQ. n. * 
 
 Before concluding this note it should be observed, that the stanzas in- 
 serted in p. 113 have not " the same" rhythm as the stanzas quoted in 
 p. 112. I shall not, however, trouble the reader with a second version of 
 them. The reasoning, though certainly weakened, is still strong enough to 
 bear the inference it was meant to support. 
 
 EMJ OF VOL. I. 
 
 J. B. NICHOLS AM) SOX, 
 25, I'arliainpnt Stvcfl, Wcslniinster 
 
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