490 Transactions. 



There is less pause between the units of the first Une than between the 

 units of the second, because in the former case there is more articulate 

 sound in the units, they being much more heavily charged with consonants. 

 In the second line there appears a distinct though undefinable pause, or, 

 rather, a sustaining of the voice, after each unit : — 



(2a.) To live with her, and live with thee 



Each unit is occupied by something more than the words — a space which 

 in the first line is almost entirely occupied by the consonantal sounds of 

 " fresh," " roses." and " wash'd." When the unit has a naturally long 

 vowel in the stressed place the pause is perhaps not so apparent, as such 

 vow'el is instinctively dwelt on ; so. too, when the stressed vowel is fol- 

 lowed by a liquid, upon which the voice finds no difficulty in dwelling. The 

 reality of this " vocal pause " is more apparent when syllables are inserted 

 to take its place, as in the following lines from " L' Allegro " : — 



(3.) The \-A/bouring clovdsj do of/ ton rest/. (1. 74.) 



(4.) Are at/ their sb,/ voury din/nev set/. (1. 84.) 



(5.) The clouds/ in thou/sand li/ veries dight/. (1. 62.) 



(6.) To ma/ny a youth/ and Yaa,/ny a maid/. (1. 95.) 



In each italicised unit the pause has been filled by an extra syllable, and 

 the effect produced is unmistakable. The pause can be restored by writ- 

 ing and pronouncing " labouring " " lab'ring," " savoury " " sav'ry."" 

 " liveries " " liv'ries," and by eliding or coalescing the vowels '^ y " and " a " in 

 " many a " — " many'a " ; and it will be remembered how common such muti- 

 lated forms are in verse printed according to the older rigid artificial school 

 of poetry, whose inflexible rule was that in duple metre no unit could con- 

 tain more than two syllables. When such mutilations are indulged in, it will 

 be noted that the restored pause, whilst it follows the unit, divides the word. 



3. The pause is made more apparent by the presence of triple units : — 



(7.) As blithe as the linnet sings in the green wood, 

 >So blithe we'll wake the mom ; 

 And through the wide forest of merry Sherwood, 

 We'll wind the bngle horn. 



(Ballad-farce, " Robin Hood," 1751.) 



Here the palpable pauses in the second and fourth lines seem to call for 

 syllables, and the call is answered and satisfied by saying, — 



(7rt.) As blithe as the linnet sings in the green wood. 

 So blithely we'll waken the morn ; 

 And through the wide forest of merry Sherwood, 

 We'll blow on the echoing horn. 



This, it may be held, is an undoubted proof that the metre in this instance 

 is triple, not duple, and is so indicated by the opening line, even though 

 in the whole stanza there are only six triple against eight duple units. There 

 are poems, however, in which the duple and triple units blend so perfectly 

 that the contrast is not so pronounced as in (7). Take, for example, " The 

 Fairy's Song," by J. H. Dixon : — 



(8.) When the village is WTajjt in quiet sleep. 

 And the hum of voices is still. 

 From our tiny mansions we softly creep, 

 And hie to the tliymy hill. 



And there we trip with our nimble feet. 



While the moonbeams fall on the fell. 

 And our melod_y is the music sweet 



That jieals from the heather-bell. 



