Trochaic.

Boiling in the troubled sea.
Full of mirthful hope to be.

Anapæstic.

From the brow of the hill see the hermit appear,
And with joy in his face mark the waters so clear, &c.

Exercises.

Having previously attempted to form verses in all the dif ferent sorts of measure that have been described, with words without reference to sense, the student may arrange the following lines in regular order. The lines themselves contain all the words necessary both for the harmonious construction and the expression of the sense. The order of them is, how ever, disturbed, as will be seen by the following

Example.

Adieu to the woodlands, where, gay and sportive,
The cattle play so frolicsome, light bounding.
Adieu to the woodlands where I have roved oft,
And, with the friend that I loved, conversed so sweetly
Same words properly arranged.

Adieu to the woodlands, where, sportive and gay,

The cattle light bounding so frolicsome play.
Adieu to the woodlands where oft I have roved,

And sweetly conversed with the friend I have loved.

Exercises.

Verses to be arranged by the Student in Anapastic * lines of four feet

Content and joy are now fled from our dwellings,
And, instead, disease and want are our inmates.

* Dr. Carey, in his English Prosody, says, "If, like Tertæus of old, I had to awake dormant valor with the voice of song, I would in preference to every other form of English metre, choose the Anapæstic, of four feet in couplets, which, if well written, in real anapæsts, unincumbered with an undue weight of heavy syllables, and judiciously aided by appropriate music, could hardly fail to martialize even shivering cowards, and warm them into heroes; the brisk, animating march of the verse having the same effect on the soul, as the body experiences from the quick, lively step, which, by accelerating the circulation of the blood, at once warms and dilates the heart, and renders the warrior more prompt to deeds of provess." If any one would test the justness of Dr. Carey's opinion, as thus expressed, his doubts will be resolved by the perusal of Campbell's beautiful piece, enti tled "Lochiel's Warning."

Now chivalry is dead, and Gallia ruined,
And the glory of Europe is fled for ever.

'Tis woman, whose charms impart every rapture,
And to the pulse of the heart add a soft spring.
Her sway is so supreme, the miser himself
Resigns her his key, and to love grows a convert.
Sorrow lifts up his head at the sound of her voice
And, from his shed, Poverty well pleased listens.
Even age, hobbling along, in an ecstasy

Beats time to the tune of her song with her crutch.

How sweet is the thought of to-morrow to the hear
When Hope's fairy pictures display bright colors,
How sweet when we can borrow from futurity
A balm for the griefs that to-day afflict us.

To be made into Iambic verses with four feet.

And while I feel thy gracious gifts
My song shall reveal all thy praise.

The search shall teach thee to prize life,
And make thee good, wise, and grateful.
With ease you wear a thousand shapes,
And still you please in every shape.

Neither wealth I pursue, nor power,
Nor hold in view forbidden joys.

The prudent nymph, whose cheeks disclose
The blushing rose and the lily,

Will screen her charms from public view,
And rarely be seen in the crowd.

Iambic verses of five feet, or the Heroic measure.

As Orpheus tunes his song in Thracian wilds,
The raptured beasts throng around him in crowds.

Seek not thou to find, with vain endeavor,

Of Almighty mind the secret counsels;
The great decree lies involved in darkness;

Nor can the depths of fate by thee be pierced.

O could some poet rise, bold in wisdom,
And unfold half thy beauties to the world,
Roving on fancy's wing, impart thy fire,
And feel thy genius beaming on his heart, -
I'd wish humbly, though the wish would be vain,
That on me some small portion might alight.

This is the principal metre of our language, and it is happily adapte

to every kind of subject, from the most exalted to the most humble and fa miliar, and it may be used with or without rhyme.

Trochaic verses.

Where spreads the rising forest,
For the lordly dome shelter,
To their airy beds high built,
See returning home the rooks.

Now battle glows with fury
In torrents flows hostile blood.

Here you'll find mental pleasures,
Pleasures that the mind adorn.
The joys of sense are transient,
They dispense no solid bliss.

The shepherd dines by the brook
Heat the fierce meridian from
By the branching pines sheltered
O'er his grassy seat pendent.

But from stream, dell, or mountain
Springs not a fluttering zephyr,
Lest the noontide beam, fearful
His silken, his soft wings scorch.

RHYME.

Rhyme is a similarity, or agreement, in the sound of firal syllables.

Verse without rhyme is called blank verse.*

It is a general rule in poetry, with regard to rhymes, that they should begin on the accented syllable.

In the forming of verses with rhyme, it is a good rule to let the weaker line stand first.†

Rhyme is by no means to be considered as an essential constituent in English poetry. Much poetry has been written, and that, too, of the choicest description, in which rhyme has no part. The poetry of Milton, Shakspeare, Thomson, Young, and a host of others, whose writings have contributed so much to the literature of the language, seldom admits this "meretricious" ornament, as it has been called. But it has been said, that, although, in the five feet Iambic measure, the measured dignity of the verse supplies the place of rhyme, in the other forms of English versification it is absolutely essential. Whoever will be at the pains to convince himself that this is an erroneous opinion, may easily do so by the perusal of the works of Dr. Southey, especially, his "Thalaba, or the Destroyer."

†The student, in his first attempts at versification, should be cautioned against the injudicious use of expletives. An expletive is a word introduced merely to fill out the line, while it not only contributes nothing to the sense. but absolutely weakens it. Pope, in his Essay on Criticism, exemplifies, while he condemns this fault.

"While expletives their feeble aid do join,
And ten low words oft creep in one dull line."

Rhymes may occur in consecutive, or alternate lines, or ir any other regular order, at the pleasure of the writer.

Rhymes are of two kinds, perfect rhymes and allowable rhymes. The difference between the two kinds will readily be seen by the following Vocabulary, taken from Walker's "Rhyming Dictionary." *

*On the same principle of association, on which some of the earlier les sons in this volume are founded, it is thought that this vocabulary will aid the student, not only in finding a rhyme, but likewise in suggesting ideas. Dr. Carey, in the Preface to his "English Prosody," says: "It is not with the view of making poets and poetesses that I send forth this publication. That must be the work of nature alone: it is not in my power to create them; and if it were, I might be accused of doing more harm than good, in tempting many of my young readers to quit a gainful calling for the un gainful trade. My aims are more humble;-1. To teach the learner to read poetry with propriety and grace; 2. To improve and polish his style for prose composition." And, further on, he adds; "Indeed, every person, whether poet or not, who has received any tolerable education, and pretends to write decent prose, ought likewise to be qualified for the occasional production of a few verses, smooth, at least, and metrically correct, whatever may be their merit or demerit in other respects. That the practice of versi fication materially improves the style for prose composition, there cannot be a doubt. The ear which is acutely sensible to the harmonies of verse, will naturally revolt against inharmonious harshness in prose; and the pains bestowed in searching for a variety of words of different lengths, quantities, and terminations, to suit the exigencies of the metre,

'the shifts and turns,

Th' expedients and inventions multiform,
To which the mind resorts in chase of terms,
T' arrest the fleeting images, that fill
The mirror of the mind.'

will enable him

will copiously enlarge the writer's stock of expressions, to array his thoughts in a more elegant and attractive garb, and to vary that garb at pleasure, by the ready aid of a diversified phraseology. It will, at the same time, produce a more important and beautiful effect, it will enrich the intellectual store of thought; for, while in search for an epithet, for an example, or a periphrase, he is obliged to view the subject in all its possible bearings and relations, that he may choose such particular word or phrase, as shall exhibit it in the most advantageous light. And what study more effectual to call into action the powers of the mind, to exercise the judgment, to whet the sagacity, and give birth to a variety of ideas, which might otherwise have lain for ever dormant? For these weighty consid erations, the practice of verse-making has been recommended by Locke, Chesterfield, Franklin, &c., &c."

The teacher will find the following exercise, called by the French "Bouts Rimes," interesting to the young student, and, like all other inducements to thought, auxiliary to the subject of composition.

"One of a party writes down the rhyming words for a short poem; which another undertakes to complete, by filling up the several verses, on a subject either chosen at pleasure, or prescribed, as the case may be. The following stanza, in which the words in italic are the rhyming words pre viously assigned, will be sufficiently explanatory of the practice:

LXXV.

VOCABULARY OF RHYMES.

Directions for finding Rhymes.

1. In looking for a word in the following vocabulary, consider the five vowels, A, E, I, 0, U, and begin at the vowel that precedes the last consonant of the word; for example, to find persuade, and the words that rhyme to it, D is the last consonant, A the vowel that precedes it; look for ADE, and you will find made, fade, invade, and all the other words of that rhyme.

Another sort of poetical amusement has the name of Echo Verses. In these the repetition of the last word or syllable of a verse gives an answer to a question, or explains some subject, which that verse contains. The following echo verses allude to the Roundheads in the reign of Charles the First.

Now, Echo, on what's religion grounded?

Roundhead.

O fie!
Pitts.

What church have they, and what pulpits?

Are crosses, images, and ornaments their scandal?

All!

Evil.

How do they stand affected to the government civil?