gay 
Nes gh 
410 Correction of Inaceuracies in the Letters of a Wanderer. (Dee. 1, 
Théy swéep o’ér| thé cGncave]. of heaven, | 
ind, closing{, erase 
ThE last{ piilid streak] of day.J° No light} 
from thé stréam , : 
Trembigs, | faiat flashing} 5 save when] the 
half-|dark moon, ‘ 
Through dim cloiids| striggling,| jist beams 
dnf thé mountains|, grey heads. 
Winds sigh}. frm-thé heath} on the éar,} 
and then} die away. 
Darknéss|. impéné | erXblé spreads] o’er the 
bidod-| drénch’d field,- 
Aid hides{ sliughtér’d hér|oés in gloom]. 
Now, éaglér of bload, 
Cirniyjdrotis, bel | lowing, beasts} emerge} 
from their déns, &c. &c. 
The following may be assumed as part 
of the rules for the construction of this 
measure ; 
1. Each line must consist of five feet, 
and none to be less than twelve; nor any 
to exceed fourteen svilablesin length. I 
have perceived the subsequent exceptions 
to this rale. Sometimes, when a line 
contains a trochee, or spondee, eleven 
syllables may be allowed; and where two 
syilables coalesce so completely that 
they may he pronounced either as one.or 
two, fifteen syllables may be admitted. 
OF these latter are the words, mllion, 
companion, ocean, &c. which may be pro- 
nounced mil-le-on, or mill-yon, &c. 
2. The leading measures, or principal 
feet, must bethe iambus aad the anapest. 
‘The amphibrach may be frequeatly 
substituted for the anapest, but the dac- 
tyle not so frequently. In fact, a mix 
ture of iambic and anapzstic feet may 
often be scanned so as to form either 
amphibrachs or dactyles. 
The trochee may begin a line, but 
must not be admitted elsewhere, except 
to follow an amphibrach or dactyle, 
after a pause. 
The spondee may be used in the 1st, 
$d, or 4th, foot of a line, but in no-other 
part of it. The spondee counts the 
saine asa long, or foot of three syllables. 
"The tribrach and pyrrhic are rarely, if 
ever, to be used. 
3. More than four long, or four short 
feet in succession, must not be allowed ; 
whether counted im one line, or at the 
end @f one, and the beginning of ano- 
ther. 
4, The last syllable of every line must 
be accented, or long. 
5. A step in the sente at the end of the 
tird measure must not be followed by 
-two long feet, but by one short and one 
long foot 5 Or vice versa. 
6. The best-place of the cesura is 
the end of the seeond or third foot, &e, 
_ This structure of verse wiil, through 
ieee 
- guage. 
Numbers of your Magazine. 
———--Liletinns  votain 2 certair simMie ei 
she describes, page 211, appeared t 
larity of movement, which, I conceive, 
is requisite to the unity of composition, 
and essential. where an uninterrupted 
flow of melody is to be preserved. It 
will, with cultivation, be capable of being 
made the source of endless variety. It 
will associate, without strangeness, ail 
the beauties of our rhythmatical lan- 
On solemn subjects, it will ap- 
proximate to the majestic sublimity of 
the hexameter; yet, in cheerful passages, 
will it not be inimical to the more 
sprightly current of lyrical measures ? 
It will perhaps be disrelished until 
the ear becomes accustonied to its mo- 
dulations, and the. understanding ac- 
guainted with its powers and regula- 
tions. Familiarity often cherishes that 
which novelty abhors. There are few 
kinds of beauty that aré self-evident. 
All beauty implies possession of superior 
qualities; and we do not perceive and 
allow them, but from a reference to, and 
comparison with, previously-acknow- 
ledged points of perfection. 
As soon as we have discovered its 
graces, and taught ourselves properly 
to estimate and relish them, then 
is the moment of fruition, beyond which 
there is no maximum; but afterward, if 
too often presented to our observation, it 
gradually diminishes in the effect of. its 
charms. From greatly admiring the com- 
mon heroic metre, I have, by accustom. 
ing my ear to the movement of this, 
worked myself into a predilection for it ; 
and am persuaded that it is equally 
susceptible of power and elegance, in 
every respect, with a greater degree of 
harmony and variety. In the grandeur 
of its movement, it is as much superior 
to the iambic pentameter line, as that 
line is to the trochaic measure of six syl- 
lables. . | 
I have made but little essay of this 
metre in rhyme. It appears to me as 
though the jingle would impart to ita 
mnore uniform smoothness; but, at the 
same time, would humble its majestic 
dignity, and circumscribe its diversi- 
fying powers, by reducing it to a regular 
five-feet anapestic measure, ” ee 
=e 2 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
Sl By iis 1 Aas 
Hiri last year made a tour 
of pleasure through Derbyshire, I 
am able to appreciate the justice of 
most ef the remarks of your correspon- 
dent, a “ Wanderer,” ef las 
ad a 
The, ebbiag and flowing Well, 
