Mn. Davis on the Poetry of the Chinese. 407 



demand, that in a line perfectly euphonic, the caesura should fall after the first 

 syllable of the third foot.* 



5. Of rhymes, it is chiefly to be observed, that they occur, in regular 

 poetry, at the end of the alternate verses which answer to the even numbers, 

 — that is, at the termination of every second verse. The first one of all 

 frequently gives the rhyme to the whole stanza ; but the rest of the uneven 

 numbered lines seem subject to no rule, and end with any sounds indif- 

 ferently. The length of the stanza is determined by the recurrence of the 

 same rhyme, and, in a poem of any continuity, it is generally of four lines 

 only — that is, a quatrain, whose second and fourth lines rhyme together; 

 but occasionally it consists of eight verses, of which four have the same 

 ending. Stanzas, however, or rather short pieces of poetry, are very com- 

 mon of twelve, and even sixteen lines, some of which might, with no great 

 impropriety, be assimilated to what we call sonnets. In the stanza of four 

 lines, it cannot be objected that the rhyme is too frequent ; and even in 

 that of eight, it should be considered, that only the second line of every 

 couplet possesses the rhyme ; while the intermediate ones are blank, and 

 thus aflTord a relief to the ear. In our own Spencerian stanza, consisting of 

 nine lines, no less than four of them have the same ending, that is, the 

 second, fourth, fifth, and seventh — while three others likewise rhyme toge- 

 ther, the sixth, eighth, and ninth. The Chinese, however, do not seem to 

 have a very nice ear for the perception of true rhymes ; and this inaccuracy 

 may partly arise from their not possessing such precise symbols, or marks of 

 sound, as our alphabetic letters. In the odes of the Sheeking, as the lines 

 and stanzas are occasionally extremely irregular in their length and general 

 structure — "numeri lege soluti" — so the rhymes appear to be under no 

 strict regulation. This seeming neglect may partly result from a change of 

 pronunciation : but there can be little doubt that the subjection of rhyme 

 to more rigid laws was, as well as the other improvements in versifica- 

 tion, introduced in the general advancement of the art, under the Tang 

 dynasty. 



The following specimen affords an example of the rhymes in two stanzas 

 of eight lines each. 



• ' Purpureus veluti — cum flo«, succisus aratro, 

 Languescit moricns — lassove papavera collo 

 Dcmisere caput — pluvia cum forte gravantur.' 



3 G '^ 



