proper of the sentence; and the scanningscanning being merely the notation of the reading that so presents it, is simply childish.

Tenth. The critic lays down this "rule:" "A poem, or even a stanza, may begin with iambuses, in the first line, and proceed with anapests in the second, or even with the less accordant dactyls." We entirely agree with the critic in holding that anapests may follow and mix in with iambs, or the reverse; and also agree that mones-or caesuras, as he prefers to name them-may fall among either iambs or anapests. We take issue with the phrase in italics; to wit, that a poem beginning with iambs may proceed with the less accordant dactyls. To our mind this is absurd. We appeal to the example that our critic of the prosodists relies on for his illustration. It is "in the opening of quite a pretty specimen of verse by Miss Mary A. S. Aldrich," and runs in this wise:

"The water lily sleeps in pride

Down in the depths of the azure lake."

The critic, to prove his rule in illustration, scans it thus:

"The water lily sleeps | in pride |

Down in the depths of the | azure | lake." | He informs us that the first line is iambic, which is true; that "Down in the" and "depths of the" are dactyls, which is not true; that "azure" is a spondee, which is absurd; and that "lake" is a caesura, which is possible, but is not true. We have elsewhere given our reason for rejecting dactyls not only as associates with iambs and anapests, but also as poetic feet in our language; and we need not repeat it here. We give the verses in question with the correct, because natural, scanning :

"The water li | ly sleeps | in pride |

Down in the depths of the a | zure lake." | Here we have all harmonious feet, and none that is 'less accordant."

Eleventh. Our critic gives us this example from Longfellow's Evangeline, with this scanning:

"Also the church with in was adorned, for | this was the season |

In which the young their | parents' | hope and the loved ones of Heaven |

Should at the | foot of the altar re | new the | vows of their | baptism; |

Therefore each nook and corner

and cleaned and the dust was

was swept

Blown from the walls and ceiling and ❘ from

the oil-painted | benches." |

As we have already given our views in general of this so-called dactylic system, we shall here merely give our scanning of these lines; and quote our critic's own view of the aim and meaning of scanning, or scansion as he prefers to call it, in order to endorse it: "The scansion and the reading flow should go hand in hand. The former must agree with the latter. The former represents and expresses the latter; and is good or bad, as it truly or falsely represents and expresses it." We leave the verses with their ends not disturbed and scan them-because we read them -thus:

"Also the church | within | was adorned, for this | was the season

In which the young | their parents' hope | and the loved ones of Heaven

Should at the al| tar renew the vows of their baptism;

Therefore each nook and corner was swept | and cleaned and the dust | was

Blown from the walls and ceiling and from the oil-painted bench | es."

Twelfth. In disposing of a verse of some apparent difficulty-discussed in Ninth, above -that our critic says: 'And it is because there is no end to instances of just such lines

[opening verse of Mr. Christopher Pearse Cranch's stanza] of apparently incomprehensible music, that Coleridge thought proper to invent his nonsensical system of what he calls 'scanning by accents'-as if 'scanning by accents' were anything more than a phrase." We quote this confident announcement only to mention the fact that accent is the foundation-idea of the whole system of English prosody; and that all the scanning ever done by Edgar Poe, by the prosodists, and by ourself, has been scanning by accents-Coleridge's idea of measuring by accents, upon which he constructed Christabel. The "nonsensical system " in question is as old as English prosody.

Thirteenth.

The Rationale of Verse con tains this remarkable sentence: The terminations of Hebrew verse (as far as understood) show no signs of rhyme; but what thinking person can doubt that it did actually exist?" We quote this to express the opinion that if rhyme "did actually exist" in Hebrew verse, the terminations" would be likely to "show" some "signs of it." We think so.

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