Andehsen. — TJic Vcrse-iiiiit . 627 



the half-verse, or line of four stresses. The breath-sentence, as a. rule, 



falls naturally into two parts : — 



(4.) Everye white will have its blacke, 

 Ami everye sweete its sowre ; 

 This founde the ladye Christabelle 

 In an untimely howre. 



For so it befelle, as syr Caulinc 



Was with that ladye faire. 

 The kinge her father walked forthe 



To take the evenyng aire : 



And into the arboure as he went 



To rest his wearye feet, 

 He founde his daughter and syr Cauline 



There sette in daliaunce sweet. 



The kinge hee sterted forthe, I-wys, 



And an angrye man was hee : 

 ' Nowe, traytoure. thou shalt hange or drawe. 



And rewe shall thy ladie.' 



{" Sir Cauline," part II, stanzas 1 to 4.) 



If this or any other ballad be read aloud, it will be found that the breath is 

 invariably taken after the seventh stress, at the place of the dropped eighth 

 unit. It may be said that advantage is taken of the verse-end to take the 

 breath, not that the verse was moulded of a length to enable the breath to 

 be so taken ; but the breath is the imperative need, and it is more Hkely 

 that the articulations borne on the breath will be made coterminous with 

 the natural breath than that the natural breath Avill be unduly shortened 

 or lengthened to accommodate the articulations. Development is along the 

 lines of least resistance, and it is easier to accommodate the articulations to 

 the breath than the breath to the articulations. Again, it is easier to take a 

 leisured breath than it is to take a hurried breath ; and the unit was dropped 

 from the eight-stressed Romance verse to avoid the gasp and discomfort of 

 a hurried breath. Now, whilst the unit was usually dropped at the verse- 

 end, instances may have occurred — indeed, must almost necessarily have 

 occurred — where the unit was dropped at the opening of the second verse, 

 and not at the end of the first. In the fourth stanza of example No. (4) 

 the verse 



(5.) The kinge hee sterted forthe, I-wys, and an angrye man was hee, 

 can be divided either as two lines of four and three stresses respectively : — 



(5a.) The kinge hee sterted forthe, I-wys, 

 And an angrye man was hee : 



or as two lines of three and four stresses respectively : — 



(56.) The kinge hee sterted forthe, 



I-wys, and an angrye man was hee : 



Verses of the latter type are of frequent occurrence, and are probably 

 examples of a type where the unit was dropped at the beginning of the 

 second verse instead of at the end of the first. The following occur in the 

 first book of Chapman's translation of Homer's " Iliad " :— 



(6.) a. Jove's and Latona's son/ ; who, fired against the king of men 



(Verse 4.) 



6. Obeying his high will/, the priest trod off with haste and fear ; 



(Verse 33.) 



c. And quiver covered round/, his hands did on his shoulders throw ; 



(Verse U.) 



d. Filled all his faculties/ ; his e3^es sparlded like kindling fire, 



(Verse 101.) 



