38 
MAITHIL CIIRISTOMATHY. 
[Extra No. 
(3.) 
1st foot. 
2nd foot. 
3rd foot. 
4th foot. 
\y vy vy vy 
KJ \J V/ 
vy vy vy vy 
o o o o 
o 
A 
1 
c 
c 
or — vy vy 
or — vy 
o r — vy vy 
or vy vy — 
or v -y vy — 
or vy vy — 
or vy — w 
or v ~ / — w 
or — — 
or — — 
or — — 
or — vy -f- ^ vy vy 
or y o' w 
vy vy vy 
or — vy 
V O U 
or v; w w -f- vy \j k-s 
5th foot. 
6th foot. 
7th foot. 
vy vy vy vy 
\j \J vy vy 
or — v-/ vy 
or — vy y 
Bhyme. 
Coesura. 
or vy vy — 
or — — 
or kj — + vy vy 
In this metre the fourth and sixth feet must end with two short 
instants. 
There are other metres, but the above three are the commonest. It 
must be observed, however, that, by poetical license, the last couplet of a 
poem, called the Bhanitd, is not bound by the rules of the preceding lines. 
Moreover, the last syllable of a line or phrase is not common ; on the 
contrary it is frequently lengthened or shortened by poetic license for the 
sake of metre. 
As regards the quantity of syllables, a vowel short by nature, and 
also by position, is always short, but a vowel short by nature, and long by 
position, or a vowel, or even a diphthong, long by nature, may be con¬ 
sidered either long or short for the scansion of a verse. In fact accent 
has quite as much to do with scansion as prosody, and the result of the 
two combined is that, as Mr. Beanies rightly observes, the verses “ trip 
oft the tongue with a lilt and grace which are irresistible.” 
According to native custom, I have grouped the songs into classes, 
according to the subjects of which they treat; one class, for instance, 
