The ninth line is—“From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.”
In the eighth line we have “bells” seven times repeated in all—bells being taken in their utmost generality, viz., musical action. But in the ninth or last line we have the very specific action of the bells, to wit: “From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.” We can make a short analysis, which is always better than unthinking repetition, as: 1. From the bells. 2. From the jingling of the bells. 3. From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells. The seventh, eighth, and ninth lines are as follows:
- To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
- From the bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells—
- From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.
Having already learned the first six lines, we have but to preface these last three by the previous six, and we have the first stanza as follows:—
- Hear the sledges with the bells—silver bells—
- What a world of merriment their melody foretells!
- How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle in the icy air of night!
- While the stars that oversprinkle
- All the heavens, seem to twinkle with a crystalline delight;
- Keeping time, time, time, in a sort of Runic rhyme,
- To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
- From the bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells—
- From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.
In a similar manner, the pupil can memorise the three remaining stanzas.
Having heretofore learned the order of the four different kinds of bells, and having dealt with the first or “silver” bells, we know that the next or second stanza is concerned with the “golden” bells. Similarly, when we finish the second stanza, we know that the third stanza deals with the “brazen” bells, and the last with the “iron” bells.
No further hints need be offered except perhaps in regard to the last ten lines of the last stanza.
Notice the coincidences, the resemblances, or Inclusions, the Exclusions, and the Concurrences. “Keeping time, time, time, in a sort of Runic rhyme,” occurs three times—but on the third appearance of that phrase, there is a change which must be observed; for it bears this form: “Keeping time, time, time, as he knells, knells, knells, in a happy Runic rhyme.” But the main difficulty with most students seems to be to remember the number of times the word “bells” is repeated in the different lines. We must keep to the text and not resort to any foreign matter to help the feeble memory. The words pæan, throbbing, sobbing, rolling and tolling occur in the lines where the “bells” are mentioned (except in that next to the last line, where “bells” occurs three times, and there is no other word in that line), and in the last line “bells” is found once, and the words “moaning” and “groaning” appear. Memorise these seven words by Analysis, to wit: pæan, throbbing, sobbing, rolling, tolling, moaning and groaning. Thus pæan—a song of triumph—might cause heart throbbing, an inward act accompanied in the present instance by sobbing, and this outward manifestation of grief would be intensified by the rolling of the bells and their tolling. Moaning and groaning are figurative expressions for the moaning and groaning of the mourners.
Now the figures 2, 4, 1, 4, 8, 1 (easily learned by analysis as 2, 4, 1 and 4, 8, 1, or 2, 4 with 1 following, and 4, 8, with 1 following, or 2, 4 with 1 following, and [double 2, 4] 4, 8 and 1 following) give the number of times the word “bells” occurs in connection with the words just learned. Opposite the line where tolling occurs we have marked 8, since “bells” occurs in that line five times and three times in the next line, where no other word is found.