Thefirst and third lines to rhime -- second
andfourth
--
fifth and eighth -- sixth and seventh.
fifth and eighth -- sixth and seventh.
Carey - Practice English Prosody Exercises
Versification.
.
>> 2J \
The warder applies his key at. the door,
Shoots the bolt backward, and all his fortitude dies.
If, at that moment, just at that moment, all thought
of mercy being lost,
When hope, long lingering, at last gives up the ghost,
The sound of pardon penetrate his startled ear,
He drops at the same moment his chains and his terror;
In every thing that he speaks and looks, a transport
glows;
And the first tears of gratitude | wet his cheeks.
679--- Cosciusko.
Warsaw's last champion viewed, from her summit,
A waste of destruction laid widely over the field.
He exclaimed, " Oh! Heaven! preserve my bleeding
country! [valiant?
Is there no hand in the regions above, to protect the
Nevertheless, though ruin sweep these lovely plains,
Arise, fellow men ! our country remains yet.
By that awful name we brandish the sword on high,
And swear to live for her, to perish with her. "
Thus he spoke, and, on the heights of the ramparts,
arrayed
His warrion, few, but undaunted.
Firm in their pace, an I slow, they form a horrid front,
As still as the breeze, but as terrible as the tempest.
Sounds lowly murmuring fly along. their banners:
The watchword and reply, " Revenge or death ! "
To no purpose, alas! to no purpose, ye brave few,
Your volleyed thunders flew from rank to rank
For a time, Hope bade farewell to the world?
And Liberty \ uttered a shriek as Cosciusko fell.
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? 212
Versification.
680. --Beauty's Eclipse.
The storm of a winter's night howled loudly,
And lamps | gave a rfi/n liglit.
No star illuminated the vault of heaven
But clouds were wildly driven over its face.
In each street, I silence \ prevailed*, -)
Except where the blast, or sleet, <'
Was heard to whistle, or to beat rudely.
It was then, that, leaning on a step,
Resigned to all the power of wretchedness,
With famine in her eve, and with grief on her cheek,
A child of misfortune was observed to lie.
The wind blew roughly \ round her shivering frame:
Her sighs were lost in the storm.
Exposed was her bosom, once so beautiful,
Now the abode of despair.
Her hair lay loose down her back--
Those locks, once dressed in shozey colors.
Her temples were damp with the dews of death,
And her struggling and thick respiration slowly drawn.
Life's taper hastened to an end:
She invokes Death -- an acceptable friend to her.
1 observed the termination of her tempestuous day :
I saw her, lingering graces gradually vanish --
Heard the last sounds tremble on her lips,
While nature heaved a sigh at the eclipse of Beauty.
--- 1 r
* Here is a triplet--three verses rhiming together.
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? Versification. 213
Iambics of eight and six syllables, with alternate
rhime; the Italic words subject to alteration and addi-
tion, as in the preceding examples.
681
Do not inquire of me the essential form
That highly-prized beauty weareth.
Ah! who is able to paint ihe magical charm,
That ensnares each | bosom?
Search for the reply in your breast;
For the secret is discovered there.
It is your own taste that points me arrow,
And causes our beauty to wound.
Iambics of eight syllables, with alttrnate rhime; the
Italics, as above.
682
I am pleased with the tear, the pearl of sorrow,
_ That adorns the e)e affected by sympathy --
To behold the stream of grief \Jiowing,
To hear deeply-heaving sighs.
683
Yes, let the miser reckon his money,
Aud labor and scrape to increase the heap:
Say, can the heart, that is cold and hard,
Enjoy the fruitful pleasures of riches?
634
I delight to hear the woodlark singing,
As, rising from her nest,
She makes the valleys and woods resound.
And pleasingly sooths my soul to peace.
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? 214 Versification.
685
Tortured by the hand of disease,
See, our favorite bard lies ;
While every object, calculated to give pleasure,
Ungratefully flies to a distance from his couch.
Iambics of ten syllables, with alternate rhime; tht
Italics, as above.
686
No wisdom of man can foresee the injury:
No prudence of man can turn aside its force.
L'. ke the whirlwind, \ behold! it rushes along*
And nothing but heaven can check its career.
687
Come, Sleeu! iuirt assuage this sickuess of soul:
Come, Sleep ! and clasp me to thy bosom.
Offspring of oblivion! roll over my imagination,
And grant "Be repose in some long, long slumber.
688
Not affected by care, the whistling hind goes
To yon bank, where hig;h the poplar moves
Its limbs: as he makes ready his repast,
His dog craves the morsel which he expects.
68y
Ah ! of what advantage is it, that the face of day
Wears the verdure of returning spring?
Alas! it does not shed any genial beam on me:
Its approaches do not bring any soft feelings.
690
Though pearls enrich the depths of the sea,
No eye sees the beauty of their ray.
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? Versification 21 -,
They sleep in deep caves under the waters,
And from the gaze of day conceal their brilliancy.
691. --To a Red-breast.
Wanderer! to this shed thou art welcome:
For thou hast endured the cold pitiless tempest,
Felt the blast on thy undefended head,
And heard destruction threaten thy gentle frame,
69^
Perking in my face, and perching upon my book,
The Robin, void of guile \ appears to watch my
Ah! he is not acquainted with man's race, [thoughts,
By whose allurement birds are taken.
Even man to man is but rarely true:
The love, which he professes, is art.
Though heaven's image appear on his forehead,
Yet Robin boasts a heart of greater purity.
693
OU! she was as beautiful as lilies of the valley:
Her voice was divine: on her cheek,
Pale with pain and long sickness,
Sat patience ever mild, and calm-eyed faith.
Family \ affection would watch the whole day,
Smoothing her pillow: | in the mean time, she
Passed the hours in thankful silence,
Reviving hope wjth many a smile.
694. --To the Violet. [are past,
Now winter's gloomy and uncomfortable \ mornings
And the sun's renovating warm beams prevail.
Now wandering over the waste of the common,
To breathe the scents | conveyed on the wind
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? 216 Versification.
From the pale primrose or gold-colored furze-broom,
I discover thy blue gems, spread so lowly
Beneath some solitary thorn adown the valley,
Hardly rearing thy head from the ground.
695
Delightful Hope, that with fond delusive dreams still
Cheerest the melancholy heart, surcharged with
sorrow and care,
My mind longs for those healing streams [fison.
Which flow from thee, arrd delight beyond compa-
Oh ! vouchsafe \ therefore to visit my solitary cell,
And breathe thy influence on my fatigued soul:
Pleasing flatterer, come, and, with a smile, | declare
That my hours shall yet pass infelicity;
That the tide of Fortune shall flow again,
That foes shall relent, and friends smile;
That I shall increase in wisdom, as in years,
And find all my moments crowned with sweet con-
696 [tentment.
Where woods extend their shade, [night,
And give additional horrors to the obscurity of
If, chance, the swain bend his steps,
In fear pausing for some light; [the glade,
How joyously | does his heart; beat, when, through
He perceives the moon's ray \ penetrating the clouds!
With vigorous and light step he springs onward,
And salutes the empress of the fainter day.
Thus, while I ramble through life's paths,
Should despondence spread the gathering darkness,
May Hope's lustre, streaming from on High,
Dispel the bodings of a sad | destiny.
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? Versification. 217
097
Solitary* and full of thought, near some unfrequented
shore,
At a distance from the resorts of men, I love to
wander,
And with caution | explore my path at a distance,
W here the step of man never marked the way.
1 endeavour to fly far from the gaze of the public,
And communicatt my sorrows to the winds alone,
While, in my eye and cheek,
The fire, that consumes my inmost heart, appears.
But, alas! I fruitlessly go to scenes ^/ar removed:
No solitude allays ray thoughts.
Methinks, even lifeless things must know
The flame that secretly preys on my soul.
698
Farewell, autumn ! I feel the breath
And influence of winter's reign.
How extensively the empire of death spreads round,
Usurping pleasure's | domain.
The sun now ascends slowly over eastern hills,
WhWefogs besiege the vale:
His oblique beams now shine faintly at mid day,
And the valley is only half illuminated.
Clouds sail through the shy in rapid sue'eession,
And obscure all the solemn view round :
The wood murmurs to the gale :
The storm \ rapidly rushes along the ground.
* Compare this piece with No. 822.
T
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? 218 Versification.
699. --To a Candle.
Hail, luminous companion of my solitary hours,
My midnight sun with light faintly glimmering!
Thy master now pours a sonnet to thee: ,
Accept the poetry: it is all the poet can pay.
When darkness veils the earth,
And Night with black sceptre exercises her dominion
over the plain,
When \ Fear gives spectres birth,
And imaged horrors fill the. brain of the vulgar;
Then I withdraw to my chamber,
Where books and solitude invite;
Trim my fire with secret satisfaction,
And light my taper from its flame.
More pleasing to me thy little quivering rays,
Which hardly \ enlighten my study round,
Than the glare, where thousand torches burn,
And Folly and Mirth pour their united sound.
700
Inconstantly seen through dust driven in whirlwinds,
The swords thickly flash : the frequent Yictim^ies;
While, over his mutilated trunk, and ghastly visage,
Armies rush trampling, where fury calte.
Tell me, soldier, grim spectacle of pain, tell me,
What Siren decoyed thee from thy home,
To abandon thy poor, thy small domestic train,
To wander over billowy deeps for labors of arms?
Ho beams of glory cheer thy unfortunate \ destiny;
Thy name does nut descend to future ages--
Forced to fight for thou knowest not what,
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? Versification. 219
And impelled to butchery by the rage of anothtr
person.
Thy widow, thy children weep,
And beg their subsistence from door to door,
While thy limbs, mangled with wounds, sleep with-
out honor,
And waste and rot on the shore of a strange country.
Thefirst line to rhime with thefourth--the 'idwith the 3d.
701
At a distance from the disturbance of the busy multi-
tude,
I court the grove's \ shdde;
And, as I behold the tints of the sun | fading,
1 perceive the hours dragging along heavily.
I ramble onward, and, rapt* in pensive gloom,
Meditate on the various evils of wayward life,
On falsehood's wiles, ambition's contention,
And virtue rapidly going to an early grave.
702
Ah! dear pleasures of youth, forever gone!
Ah! were I once again a child here,
Again this strand, these wood-walks,
And dells, I would trend witti careless step.
The wanderings of more mature years
Would then present no unpleasant retrospect;
Nor regret for time imprudently | muted
Would fill my foreboding \ bosom witn jears.
* See. the nofe en Rapt, No. 651, page 199.
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? 220 Versification.
70S--To a Red-breast.
In autumn's decline, thy lay which sweetly sooths,
Thy querulous warblings, idled ray cares to peace:
When vyinter came, arrayed in horrors,
I beheld thee silent on the spray.
The trees again dressed in gay leaves,
While reflected rays streak the west,
Thy cadence again sooths my uneasy | bosom,
And trills the requiem of day-light departing.
Thefirst and third lines to rhime -- second andfourth --
fifth and eighth -- sixth and seventh.
704
The transitory \ little flower is no sooner born*,
Than, quickly ripening, it hastily proceeds to decay:
Nursed by the beams of morning,
Its little year is terminated at evening.
* Born. -- Although many persons confine this word to the
birth of living creatures, and some even exclusively restrict it
to the human species, there is no impropriety -- none in poetry
at least'--in applying it to irrational creatures, or to inanimate
productions. As a cow bears a calf, and the' earth bean
flowers, the calf is born of the cow, and the flowers born of tilt
earth; which, in reality, means nothiug else than borne by At
cow or the earth; born and borne having been originally the
same identical participle from Bear, though they now happen to
be differently pronounced. But that difference of sound is purely
accidental, and such as we may every day observe in Tom,
Shorn, and Forlorn; some speakers making them to rhime with
Horn, others with Sworn; which latter prounciation, by the way,
is more agreeable to etymology; those words being formed by
syncope from the antique Tdren, Shbren, Forloren, as Born and
Sworn from Bor'en and Sxeorhi; whereas the other sound (rhim-
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? Versification. 281
And thus man's life: -- the child
Speedily enters into youth's spring;
Theu remains a while, 'till Time, with quick wing,
Drive$ him on to Age's dreary wilderness.
The first and fourth lines to rhime --second and third
--fifth and eighth -- sixth and seventh--ninth and
eleventh -- tenth and twelfth.
705
Man of the grey \ hair, thou must wander
Through [the*] waste destitute of water, and over
[the*] hill destitute of herbs,
Where no blossom blooms, and where no rivulet
rolls,
To cheer thy journey to Death, thy journey | void of joy.
But. youth, whose soul is hope, anticipates no evil;
Trees arch his path; and cAeer/M/landscapes
Smile all round him, while the sun
Shines on shades resounding with the song of birds,
and quiet valleys.
He looks right before him with that eye void of fear,
Which does not discover a sorrow in futurity:
But age, that heaves many sighs over past pleasures,
Shall soon humble his fond aspiring thoughts.
ing with Horn) was originally only a provincialism, such as, to
ibis day, we may pen eive m many of the natives of certain di- '
slant counties, who often pronounce the long O like AW, thus
converting Joe into Jam, Know into Gnuw, Whole into Wall,
sounded exactly like the wall of a nouse,
* " The'' is to be omitted, in both cases.
T3
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? 222 Versification.
Trochaic Verses to be scanned -- some of tlt&n pure
Trocha'ics, as
Quips and | cranks and ) wanton | wiles,
Nods and | becks and | wreathed | smiles--
others having an admixture of different feet, or a super-
numerary un-accented syllable at the end.
706
Laura's eyes, in soft dismay,
Chiding frowns would fain betray.
707
Hail to Pleasure's frolic train !
Hail to Fancy's golden reign !
Festive Mirth, and Laughter wild,
Free and . sportive as the child!
708. --To the Skylark.
Sweetest warbler of the skies,
Soon as morning's purple dies
O'er the eastern mountains float,
Wake me with thy merry note.
709. --Written in a Garden.
Here, amidst this blest retreat,
May each fairy fix her seat:
May they weave their garlands here,
Ever blooming, ever fair. . . .
May the songsters of the vale
Warble here the tender tale,
Pour the thrilling cadence sweet,
Each blest habitant to greet.
May Pomona, ever gay,
Here her smiling gifts display,
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? Versification. 2'23
And with autumn's mellow hoard
Heap the hospitable board.
710
Where the rising forest spreads -
Shelter for the lordly dome,
To their high-built airy beds
See the rooks returning home.
711
Haste, ye sister pow'rs of song !
Hasten from the shady grove,
Where $he river rolls along
Sweetly to the voice of love;
Where, indulging mirthful pleasures, <
Light you press the flow'ry green,
And, from Flora's blooming treasures, i
Cull the wreath for fancy's queen.
Trochaics to be made.
Each line to be one verse; each couplet to rhime;
the Italic zeords requiring alteration or addition, as in
page 196.
712
Now battle glows with fury :
In torrents flows hostile blood.
713
Earth resumes all her verdure :
All its splendor illumes heav'n.
714
The voice, the dance, obey thee,
To thy warbled lay temper'd.
Wherever she directs her welcome step,
715
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? 224 Versification.
Poverty | ceases to grieve:
Where her smiles enliven the prospect,
Anguish dries the tear.
716
Here you will meet with ! intellectual pleasures--
Pleasures that ornament the mind.
The pleasures of sense-are transitory:
They give no solid happiness.
717
Be no longer alarmed, little trembler:
Thou liasi plentiful crops stored up--
Seed, sown by genial sorrows,
More than all thy scorners possess.
718
Rise, | amiable \ repentant;
Come, and lay claim to thy kindred leaven.
Come ! thy sister angels declare
Thou hast wept our thy stains.
719
Charming songster, begin the song,
Ever new and gay.
Bring the wine which inspires joy,
Ever fresh andfine.
Gentle boy, whose feet
Move lighny to melodious cadence,
Quickly fill us the wine,
Ever fresh and fine.
720
Now let ex. pe; ience determine
Between the good aud evil of which you hare made trial,
In the level ground where enchantment reigns,
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? Veradication. 225
'Declare, unfold the treasures that you discovered. . . .
Seas that lie smoothly dimpling,
While the tempest | threatens 1 above.
Exhibiting, in an obrious glass,
Pleasures that vanish in possession ;
Gay, light, fickle, and transitory,
Flattering, only for the purpose of betraying.
721
With prophetic voice, sisters,
Let us pour now the dirge of death.
<<. 722
Will the stork, when she intends rest,
Build her nest on the wave?
723
Listen! among yonder | old trees,
The breeze sighs, wandering.
724
Over Me head of a parent, hast thou
Shed drops of filial affection?
725
Heaven shall conduct thy unbefriended steps,
Enliven thy hours, and protect thy side.
Trochaics with alternate rhime, requiring alteration or
addition, as the preceding.
726
The roar of the battle brayed faintly,
At a distance, down the hollow wind.
Terror fled before :
In the rear were left wounds and Death.
" We will still keep our arms ?
727
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? 226 Versification.
Thus answered the noble king:
" Helmet and mail shall remain,
And the sword tinged in btuod. "
728
The shepherd dines beside the rivulet,
From the fierce heat of noon
protected by the pines,
Which hang over his seat.
729
But from river, dell, or mountain,
Not a Zephyr | rises,
Afraid, lest the beam of noon
Should scorch his silken, his delicate wings.
730
With the rose, the plant of love,
Let us tinge our wine;
With the most beautiful flower that blotxeth,
Let us entwine crowns.
731
The sword, in the king's hand,
Cleft brazen | helmets, like water,
While, over \ valiant Macon's head,
Sword and lance pass, without hurting him.
The first and third lines hyper meter,frith double rhimt
the other two of the regular measure.
732
Behold! the spirited band comesformard,
Sabres brandished aloft.
Hope dances in each breast;
In each eye, courage speaks.
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? Versification. 227
733
Amiable, gay, whimsical creature,
Source of every pain and pleasure,
Beautiful, imperfect production of nature,
Vain, tender, and too apt to believe.
734. -- To the Rose.
Thou delicious, sweet flower, hail!
Once more summer bids thee welcome
To my agreeable and neat bower--
Thee, the most sweet of her train.
735
While every | ancient poetic mountain
Breathed inspiration round abont,
Every shade and hallowed spring
Deeply murmured a solemn sound.
736
With declining motion, in the west,
The sun, the monarch of day, goes down,
From the eastern sea early
To emerge with-golden beam.
The first and third lines regular-- the second and
fourth, hypermeter, double-rhimed.
737
Shall the budded rose blow,
Wasting its beauties on the air,
Not cropped by any desiring hand,
None enjoying its early sweets f
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? vi'J8
Vertification.
All of the regular measure ; each couplet rhiming.
' 738
Begone hence, mistaken* woman!
Do not attend to what the Sirens say.
Pleasure, as rapidlyfleeing as the wind, .
Leaves after it pain and repentance.
739. -- To the Cricket.
Diminutive inmate, full of merriness,
Chirping on the hearth of my kitchen,
Wheresoever be thy residence,
Always the forerunner of good !
For thy warm shelter, \ rezeard me
With a softer and sxceeter song.
Thou shalt have, in return,
Such a strain as 1 am able to give. . . .
Neither night nor morning
Puts an end to thy sport.
Sing, therefore, and lengthen out thy span
Far beyond the date of mankind.
Miserable man, whose days are passed
In discontentment,
Does not live, | although he be old,
Haifa span, in comparison with thee.
* Sec the note on Mistaken and Mistaking, page 68.
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? Versification*
229
The second and fourth lines rhiming; the first and
third, without rhinie.
740
First trace her glossy lodes:
Paint them soft, and as black as jet:
And, if thy imitative power be such,
Paint them breathing ev'ry sweetness.
Prom the cheek, luxuriant, full,
Partially appearing through her dark-colored hair,
Lei the forehead rise,
Fair, smooth, and glittering bright.
The first and third lines hypermeter, without rhime; the
second and fourth, regular, and rhiming.
741. -- To Sleep. . -
My eyes have a long time sought thee to no purpose.
Come, and hring the relief which I wish for.
Come, and assuage my tormented | breast,
Sick with care and sorrow \ at the same time.
Stealing over my eye-lids,
Steep my sense in rest,
Shedding from thy wings
Kind forgetful'ness over my sorrows.
Under thy friendly shade, Hope
Shall spread her fairy colors,
And with acceptable, | cheerful illusions,
Dance round my head again.
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? 230
Versification.
The warder applies his key at. the door,
Shoots the bolt backward, and all his fortitude dies.
If, at that moment, just at that moment, all thought
of mercy being lost,
When hope, long lingering, at last gives up the ghost,
The sound of pardon penetrate his startled ear,
He drops at the same moment his chains and his terror;
In every thing that he speaks and looks, a transport
glows;
And the first tears of gratitude | wet his cheeks.
679--- Cosciusko.
Warsaw's last champion viewed, from her summit,
A waste of destruction laid widely over the field.
He exclaimed, " Oh! Heaven! preserve my bleeding
country! [valiant?
Is there no hand in the regions above, to protect the
Nevertheless, though ruin sweep these lovely plains,
Arise, fellow men ! our country remains yet.
By that awful name we brandish the sword on high,
And swear to live for her, to perish with her. "
Thus he spoke, and, on the heights of the ramparts,
arrayed
His warrion, few, but undaunted.
Firm in their pace, an I slow, they form a horrid front,
As still as the breeze, but as terrible as the tempest.
Sounds lowly murmuring fly along. their banners:
The watchword and reply, " Revenge or death ! "
To no purpose, alas! to no purpose, ye brave few,
Your volleyed thunders flew from rank to rank
For a time, Hope bade farewell to the world?
And Liberty \ uttered a shriek as Cosciusko fell.
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? 212
Versification.
680. --Beauty's Eclipse.
The storm of a winter's night howled loudly,
And lamps | gave a rfi/n liglit.
No star illuminated the vault of heaven
But clouds were wildly driven over its face.
In each street, I silence \ prevailed*, -)
Except where the blast, or sleet, <'
Was heard to whistle, or to beat rudely.
It was then, that, leaning on a step,
Resigned to all the power of wretchedness,
With famine in her eve, and with grief on her cheek,
A child of misfortune was observed to lie.
The wind blew roughly \ round her shivering frame:
Her sighs were lost in the storm.
Exposed was her bosom, once so beautiful,
Now the abode of despair.
Her hair lay loose down her back--
Those locks, once dressed in shozey colors.
Her temples were damp with the dews of death,
And her struggling and thick respiration slowly drawn.
Life's taper hastened to an end:
She invokes Death -- an acceptable friend to her.
1 observed the termination of her tempestuous day :
I saw her, lingering graces gradually vanish --
Heard the last sounds tremble on her lips,
While nature heaved a sigh at the eclipse of Beauty.
--- 1 r
* Here is a triplet--three verses rhiming together.
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? Versification. 213
Iambics of eight and six syllables, with alternate
rhime; the Italic words subject to alteration and addi-
tion, as in the preceding examples.
681
Do not inquire of me the essential form
That highly-prized beauty weareth.
Ah! who is able to paint ihe magical charm,
That ensnares each | bosom?
Search for the reply in your breast;
For the secret is discovered there.
It is your own taste that points me arrow,
And causes our beauty to wound.
Iambics of eight syllables, with alttrnate rhime; the
Italics, as above.
682
I am pleased with the tear, the pearl of sorrow,
_ That adorns the e)e affected by sympathy --
To behold the stream of grief \Jiowing,
To hear deeply-heaving sighs.
683
Yes, let the miser reckon his money,
Aud labor and scrape to increase the heap:
Say, can the heart, that is cold and hard,
Enjoy the fruitful pleasures of riches?
634
I delight to hear the woodlark singing,
As, rising from her nest,
She makes the valleys and woods resound.
And pleasingly sooths my soul to peace.
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? 214 Versification.
685
Tortured by the hand of disease,
See, our favorite bard lies ;
While every object, calculated to give pleasure,
Ungratefully flies to a distance from his couch.
Iambics of ten syllables, with alternate rhime; tht
Italics, as above.
686
No wisdom of man can foresee the injury:
No prudence of man can turn aside its force.
L'. ke the whirlwind, \ behold! it rushes along*
And nothing but heaven can check its career.
687
Come, Sleeu! iuirt assuage this sickuess of soul:
Come, Sleep ! and clasp me to thy bosom.
Offspring of oblivion! roll over my imagination,
And grant "Be repose in some long, long slumber.
688
Not affected by care, the whistling hind goes
To yon bank, where hig;h the poplar moves
Its limbs: as he makes ready his repast,
His dog craves the morsel which he expects.
68y
Ah ! of what advantage is it, that the face of day
Wears the verdure of returning spring?
Alas! it does not shed any genial beam on me:
Its approaches do not bring any soft feelings.
690
Though pearls enrich the depths of the sea,
No eye sees the beauty of their ray.
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? Versification 21 -,
They sleep in deep caves under the waters,
And from the gaze of day conceal their brilliancy.
691. --To a Red-breast.
Wanderer! to this shed thou art welcome:
For thou hast endured the cold pitiless tempest,
Felt the blast on thy undefended head,
And heard destruction threaten thy gentle frame,
69^
Perking in my face, and perching upon my book,
The Robin, void of guile \ appears to watch my
Ah! he is not acquainted with man's race, [thoughts,
By whose allurement birds are taken.
Even man to man is but rarely true:
The love, which he professes, is art.
Though heaven's image appear on his forehead,
Yet Robin boasts a heart of greater purity.
693
OU! she was as beautiful as lilies of the valley:
Her voice was divine: on her cheek,
Pale with pain and long sickness,
Sat patience ever mild, and calm-eyed faith.
Family \ affection would watch the whole day,
Smoothing her pillow: | in the mean time, she
Passed the hours in thankful silence,
Reviving hope wjth many a smile.
694. --To the Violet. [are past,
Now winter's gloomy and uncomfortable \ mornings
And the sun's renovating warm beams prevail.
Now wandering over the waste of the common,
To breathe the scents | conveyed on the wind
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? 216 Versification.
From the pale primrose or gold-colored furze-broom,
I discover thy blue gems, spread so lowly
Beneath some solitary thorn adown the valley,
Hardly rearing thy head from the ground.
695
Delightful Hope, that with fond delusive dreams still
Cheerest the melancholy heart, surcharged with
sorrow and care,
My mind longs for those healing streams [fison.
Which flow from thee, arrd delight beyond compa-
Oh ! vouchsafe \ therefore to visit my solitary cell,
And breathe thy influence on my fatigued soul:
Pleasing flatterer, come, and, with a smile, | declare
That my hours shall yet pass infelicity;
That the tide of Fortune shall flow again,
That foes shall relent, and friends smile;
That I shall increase in wisdom, as in years,
And find all my moments crowned with sweet con-
696 [tentment.
Where woods extend their shade, [night,
And give additional horrors to the obscurity of
If, chance, the swain bend his steps,
In fear pausing for some light; [the glade,
How joyously | does his heart; beat, when, through
He perceives the moon's ray \ penetrating the clouds!
With vigorous and light step he springs onward,
And salutes the empress of the fainter day.
Thus, while I ramble through life's paths,
Should despondence spread the gathering darkness,
May Hope's lustre, streaming from on High,
Dispel the bodings of a sad | destiny.
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? Versification. 217
097
Solitary* and full of thought, near some unfrequented
shore,
At a distance from the resorts of men, I love to
wander,
And with caution | explore my path at a distance,
W here the step of man never marked the way.
1 endeavour to fly far from the gaze of the public,
And communicatt my sorrows to the winds alone,
While, in my eye and cheek,
The fire, that consumes my inmost heart, appears.
But, alas! I fruitlessly go to scenes ^/ar removed:
No solitude allays ray thoughts.
Methinks, even lifeless things must know
The flame that secretly preys on my soul.
698
Farewell, autumn ! I feel the breath
And influence of winter's reign.
How extensively the empire of death spreads round,
Usurping pleasure's | domain.
The sun now ascends slowly over eastern hills,
WhWefogs besiege the vale:
His oblique beams now shine faintly at mid day,
And the valley is only half illuminated.
Clouds sail through the shy in rapid sue'eession,
And obscure all the solemn view round :
The wood murmurs to the gale :
The storm \ rapidly rushes along the ground.
* Compare this piece with No. 822.
T
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? 218 Versification.
699. --To a Candle.
Hail, luminous companion of my solitary hours,
My midnight sun with light faintly glimmering!
Thy master now pours a sonnet to thee: ,
Accept the poetry: it is all the poet can pay.
When darkness veils the earth,
And Night with black sceptre exercises her dominion
over the plain,
When \ Fear gives spectres birth,
And imaged horrors fill the. brain of the vulgar;
Then I withdraw to my chamber,
Where books and solitude invite;
Trim my fire with secret satisfaction,
And light my taper from its flame.
More pleasing to me thy little quivering rays,
Which hardly \ enlighten my study round,
Than the glare, where thousand torches burn,
And Folly and Mirth pour their united sound.
700
Inconstantly seen through dust driven in whirlwinds,
The swords thickly flash : the frequent Yictim^ies;
While, over his mutilated trunk, and ghastly visage,
Armies rush trampling, where fury calte.
Tell me, soldier, grim spectacle of pain, tell me,
What Siren decoyed thee from thy home,
To abandon thy poor, thy small domestic train,
To wander over billowy deeps for labors of arms?
Ho beams of glory cheer thy unfortunate \ destiny;
Thy name does nut descend to future ages--
Forced to fight for thou knowest not what,
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? Versification. 219
And impelled to butchery by the rage of anothtr
person.
Thy widow, thy children weep,
And beg their subsistence from door to door,
While thy limbs, mangled with wounds, sleep with-
out honor,
And waste and rot on the shore of a strange country.
Thefirst line to rhime with thefourth--the 'idwith the 3d.
701
At a distance from the disturbance of the busy multi-
tude,
I court the grove's \ shdde;
And, as I behold the tints of the sun | fading,
1 perceive the hours dragging along heavily.
I ramble onward, and, rapt* in pensive gloom,
Meditate on the various evils of wayward life,
On falsehood's wiles, ambition's contention,
And virtue rapidly going to an early grave.
702
Ah! dear pleasures of youth, forever gone!
Ah! were I once again a child here,
Again this strand, these wood-walks,
And dells, I would trend witti careless step.
The wanderings of more mature years
Would then present no unpleasant retrospect;
Nor regret for time imprudently | muted
Would fill my foreboding \ bosom witn jears.
* See. the nofe en Rapt, No. 651, page 199.
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? 220 Versification.
70S--To a Red-breast.
In autumn's decline, thy lay which sweetly sooths,
Thy querulous warblings, idled ray cares to peace:
When vyinter came, arrayed in horrors,
I beheld thee silent on the spray.
The trees again dressed in gay leaves,
While reflected rays streak the west,
Thy cadence again sooths my uneasy | bosom,
And trills the requiem of day-light departing.
Thefirst and third lines to rhime -- second andfourth --
fifth and eighth -- sixth and seventh.
704
The transitory \ little flower is no sooner born*,
Than, quickly ripening, it hastily proceeds to decay:
Nursed by the beams of morning,
Its little year is terminated at evening.
* Born. -- Although many persons confine this word to the
birth of living creatures, and some even exclusively restrict it
to the human species, there is no impropriety -- none in poetry
at least'--in applying it to irrational creatures, or to inanimate
productions. As a cow bears a calf, and the' earth bean
flowers, the calf is born of the cow, and the flowers born of tilt
earth; which, in reality, means nothiug else than borne by At
cow or the earth; born and borne having been originally the
same identical participle from Bear, though they now happen to
be differently pronounced. But that difference of sound is purely
accidental, and such as we may every day observe in Tom,
Shorn, and Forlorn; some speakers making them to rhime with
Horn, others with Sworn; which latter prounciation, by the way,
is more agreeable to etymology; those words being formed by
syncope from the antique Tdren, Shbren, Forloren, as Born and
Sworn from Bor'en and Sxeorhi; whereas the other sound (rhim-
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? Versification. 281
And thus man's life: -- the child
Speedily enters into youth's spring;
Theu remains a while, 'till Time, with quick wing,
Drive$ him on to Age's dreary wilderness.
The first and fourth lines to rhime --second and third
--fifth and eighth -- sixth and seventh--ninth and
eleventh -- tenth and twelfth.
705
Man of the grey \ hair, thou must wander
Through [the*] waste destitute of water, and over
[the*] hill destitute of herbs,
Where no blossom blooms, and where no rivulet
rolls,
To cheer thy journey to Death, thy journey | void of joy.
But. youth, whose soul is hope, anticipates no evil;
Trees arch his path; and cAeer/M/landscapes
Smile all round him, while the sun
Shines on shades resounding with the song of birds,
and quiet valleys.
He looks right before him with that eye void of fear,
Which does not discover a sorrow in futurity:
But age, that heaves many sighs over past pleasures,
Shall soon humble his fond aspiring thoughts.
ing with Horn) was originally only a provincialism, such as, to
ibis day, we may pen eive m many of the natives of certain di- '
slant counties, who often pronounce the long O like AW, thus
converting Joe into Jam, Know into Gnuw, Whole into Wall,
sounded exactly like the wall of a nouse,
* " The'' is to be omitted, in both cases.
T3
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? 222 Versification.
Trochaic Verses to be scanned -- some of tlt&n pure
Trocha'ics, as
Quips and | cranks and ) wanton | wiles,
Nods and | becks and | wreathed | smiles--
others having an admixture of different feet, or a super-
numerary un-accented syllable at the end.
706
Laura's eyes, in soft dismay,
Chiding frowns would fain betray.
707
Hail to Pleasure's frolic train !
Hail to Fancy's golden reign !
Festive Mirth, and Laughter wild,
Free and . sportive as the child!
708. --To the Skylark.
Sweetest warbler of the skies,
Soon as morning's purple dies
O'er the eastern mountains float,
Wake me with thy merry note.
709. --Written in a Garden.
Here, amidst this blest retreat,
May each fairy fix her seat:
May they weave their garlands here,
Ever blooming, ever fair. . . .
May the songsters of the vale
Warble here the tender tale,
Pour the thrilling cadence sweet,
Each blest habitant to greet.
May Pomona, ever gay,
Here her smiling gifts display,
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? Versification. 2'23
And with autumn's mellow hoard
Heap the hospitable board.
710
Where the rising forest spreads -
Shelter for the lordly dome,
To their high-built airy beds
See the rooks returning home.
711
Haste, ye sister pow'rs of song !
Hasten from the shady grove,
Where $he river rolls along
Sweetly to the voice of love;
Where, indulging mirthful pleasures, <
Light you press the flow'ry green,
And, from Flora's blooming treasures, i
Cull the wreath for fancy's queen.
Trochaics to be made.
Each line to be one verse; each couplet to rhime;
the Italic zeords requiring alteration or addition, as in
page 196.
712
Now battle glows with fury :
In torrents flows hostile blood.
713
Earth resumes all her verdure :
All its splendor illumes heav'n.
714
The voice, the dance, obey thee,
To thy warbled lay temper'd.
Wherever she directs her welcome step,
715
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? 224 Versification.
Poverty | ceases to grieve:
Where her smiles enliven the prospect,
Anguish dries the tear.
716
Here you will meet with ! intellectual pleasures--
Pleasures that ornament the mind.
The pleasures of sense-are transitory:
They give no solid happiness.
717
Be no longer alarmed, little trembler:
Thou liasi plentiful crops stored up--
Seed, sown by genial sorrows,
More than all thy scorners possess.
718
Rise, | amiable \ repentant;
Come, and lay claim to thy kindred leaven.
Come ! thy sister angels declare
Thou hast wept our thy stains.
719
Charming songster, begin the song,
Ever new and gay.
Bring the wine which inspires joy,
Ever fresh andfine.
Gentle boy, whose feet
Move lighny to melodious cadence,
Quickly fill us the wine,
Ever fresh and fine.
720
Now let ex. pe; ience determine
Between the good aud evil of which you hare made trial,
In the level ground where enchantment reigns,
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? Veradication. 225
'Declare, unfold the treasures that you discovered. . . .
Seas that lie smoothly dimpling,
While the tempest | threatens 1 above.
Exhibiting, in an obrious glass,
Pleasures that vanish in possession ;
Gay, light, fickle, and transitory,
Flattering, only for the purpose of betraying.
721
With prophetic voice, sisters,
Let us pour now the dirge of death.
<<. 722
Will the stork, when she intends rest,
Build her nest on the wave?
723
Listen! among yonder | old trees,
The breeze sighs, wandering.
724
Over Me head of a parent, hast thou
Shed drops of filial affection?
725
Heaven shall conduct thy unbefriended steps,
Enliven thy hours, and protect thy side.
Trochaics with alternate rhime, requiring alteration or
addition, as the preceding.
726
The roar of the battle brayed faintly,
At a distance, down the hollow wind.
Terror fled before :
In the rear were left wounds and Death.
" We will still keep our arms ?
727
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? 226 Versification.
Thus answered the noble king:
" Helmet and mail shall remain,
And the sword tinged in btuod. "
728
The shepherd dines beside the rivulet,
From the fierce heat of noon
protected by the pines,
Which hang over his seat.
729
But from river, dell, or mountain,
Not a Zephyr | rises,
Afraid, lest the beam of noon
Should scorch his silken, his delicate wings.
730
With the rose, the plant of love,
Let us tinge our wine;
With the most beautiful flower that blotxeth,
Let us entwine crowns.
731
The sword, in the king's hand,
Cleft brazen | helmets, like water,
While, over \ valiant Macon's head,
Sword and lance pass, without hurting him.
The first and third lines hyper meter,frith double rhimt
the other two of the regular measure.
732
Behold! the spirited band comesformard,
Sabres brandished aloft.
Hope dances in each breast;
In each eye, courage speaks.
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? Versification. 227
733
Amiable, gay, whimsical creature,
Source of every pain and pleasure,
Beautiful, imperfect production of nature,
Vain, tender, and too apt to believe.
734. -- To the Rose.
Thou delicious, sweet flower, hail!
Once more summer bids thee welcome
To my agreeable and neat bower--
Thee, the most sweet of her train.
735
While every | ancient poetic mountain
Breathed inspiration round abont,
Every shade and hallowed spring
Deeply murmured a solemn sound.
736
With declining motion, in the west,
The sun, the monarch of day, goes down,
From the eastern sea early
To emerge with-golden beam.
The first and third lines regular-- the second and
fourth, hypermeter, double-rhimed.
737
Shall the budded rose blow,
Wasting its beauties on the air,
Not cropped by any desiring hand,
None enjoying its early sweets f
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? vi'J8
Vertification.
All of the regular measure ; each couplet rhiming.
' 738
Begone hence, mistaken* woman!
Do not attend to what the Sirens say.
Pleasure, as rapidlyfleeing as the wind, .
Leaves after it pain and repentance.
739. -- To the Cricket.
Diminutive inmate, full of merriness,
Chirping on the hearth of my kitchen,
Wheresoever be thy residence,
Always the forerunner of good !
For thy warm shelter, \ rezeard me
With a softer and sxceeter song.
Thou shalt have, in return,
Such a strain as 1 am able to give. . . .
Neither night nor morning
Puts an end to thy sport.
Sing, therefore, and lengthen out thy span
Far beyond the date of mankind.
Miserable man, whose days are passed
In discontentment,
Does not live, | although he be old,
Haifa span, in comparison with thee.
* Sec the note on Mistaken and Mistaking, page 68.
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? Versification*
229
The second and fourth lines rhiming; the first and
third, without rhinie.
740
First trace her glossy lodes:
Paint them soft, and as black as jet:
And, if thy imitative power be such,
Paint them breathing ev'ry sweetness.
Prom the cheek, luxuriant, full,
Partially appearing through her dark-colored hair,
Lei the forehead rise,
Fair, smooth, and glittering bright.
The first and third lines hypermeter, without rhime; the
second and fourth, regular, and rhiming.
741. -- To Sleep. . -
My eyes have a long time sought thee to no purpose.
Come, and hring the relief which I wish for.
Come, and assuage my tormented | breast,
Sick with care and sorrow \ at the same time.
Stealing over my eye-lids,
Steep my sense in rest,
Shedding from thy wings
Kind forgetful'ness over my sorrows.
Under thy friendly shade, Hope
Shall spread her fairy colors,
And with acceptable, | cheerful illusions,
Dance round my head again.
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? 230
Versification.
