The verses with four feet are also frequently used; as— Earth has nothing | sweeter | fairer, The Anapestic verse has the accent on every third syllable, and like the Iambic and Trochaic, is of various lengths. It takes additional syllables at the end, and frequently commences with an Iambic or Trochaic foot. Four Feet. The Assyrian came down, | like the wolf | on the fold, And his cohorts were gleam- ing in pur- | ple and gold; And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea, When the blue | wave rolls night- | ly on deep | Galilee. With one Iambic Foot. And there | lay the steed | with his nos- | trils all wide, Three Feet. I am monarch of all I survey, By the admission of secondary feet, and by the judicious intermixture of principal ones, poetry may be varied almost without limit. EXERCISES. And its zone of dark hills-oh! to see them all bright'ning, The boy stood on the burning deck, The flames that lit the battle's wreck, More cruel far Than when the pagan world arose, On the cloud after tempests, as shineth the bow; The scene was more beautiful far to my eye, The land-breeze blew mild, and the azure-arch'd sky The murmur rose soft, as I silently gazed From the dim distant hill, till the light-house fire blazed, The faded palm-branch in his hand Man marks not thee, marks not the mighty hand I have brought but the palm-branch in my hand, I have won but high thought in the Holy Land, But, bark of eternity, Where art thou now? O'er each plunge of thy prow; If I lose thee, I'm lost. Kind Mother, let them see again Back to the home which, wanting them, So that no withering blight come down As when the moon, refulgent lamp of night! And not a cloud o'ercasts the solemn scene, Then shine the vales,-the rocks in prospect rise, A flood of glory bursts from all the skies! The warrior bow'd his crested head, and tamed his heart of fire, I bring thee here my fortress keys, I bring my captive train; As his corse to the rampart we hurried; The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds. POETICAL LICENSE. The difficulty of arranging words in poetical measure, authorises certain violations of the ordinary rules of grammar. The following are the principal:I. Words are frequently transposed; as— Oh! might I breathe morn's dewy breath, When June's sweet sabbath's chime. II. Some words are lengthened, others are abridged; as Presumptuous Xerxes next with efforts vain, To curb the billows and the sea enchain. For here neither dress nor adornment 's allow'd, But the long winding-sheet and the fringe of the shroud. III. Two words are sometimes contracted into one; as To riches? Alas! 'tis in vain : Who hid, in their turn have been hid; And soon they are squander'd again; For here, in the grave, are all metals forbid, Save the tinsel that shines on the dark coffin-lid. IV. Adjectives are often used instead of adverbs ; as Scarce has the warrior time his sword to wield, Or breathe awhile, or lift the fencing shield. V. The imperfect tense and past participle are used for each other; as The mother seats her by her pensive son, She prest his hand, and tender thus begun. VI. When conjunctions are used with corresponding conjunctions, nor is often put for neither, and or for either; as Nor love, nor joy, nor hope, nor fear, Has left one trace or record here. While the long strife ev'n tired the lookers-on, Or let me lift thee, chief, or lift thou me. VII. A great variety of elliptical expressions are also allowed in poetry, as of nouns, prepositions, verbs, &c. APPENDIX. PUNCTUATION. (1) Punctuation is the marking of the various pauses made in reading, by points or stops, which indicate the length of each pause, and which serve to make the meaning of the sentence more distinct. The points or marks in common use are,—the comma (,) the semicolon (;) the colon (:) the period (.) the dash (-) the point of interrogation (?) the point of exclamation, or admiration (!) the apostrophe (') and the parenthesis (). (2) The comma is used when short natural pauses are to be made. Its use, in many cases, depends upon taste it ought to be used, I. When other words, in a simple sentence, intervene between the nominative case and the verb. Ex.-The impious man, in drawing down upon himself the terrible vengeance of the future world, acquires no privilege which exempts him from the common accidents and sufferings of the present. (3) II. When the person named in a direct address, or the request made, is separated by commas from the rest of the sentence. Ex.-Paul, thou art beside thyself. Pardon me, I beseech thee, in thy mercy. III. When a simple sentence is long, it may be divided by a comma. Ex. To be constantly employed in consoling the afflicted, is the duty of the faithful Christian. (4) IV. Where the word which connects others is not expressed, the comma supplies its place. |