"Then, when the | gloamin comes,
Low in the | heather blooms.
Sweet will thy | welcome and | bed of love | be.
Emblem of | happiness,
Blest is thy | dwelling-place;
O! to a |-bide in the | desert with | thee!"
OBS. 3.—It is observed by Churchill, (New Gram., p. 387,) that, "Shakspeare has used the dactyl, as appropriate to mournful occasions." The chief example which he cites, is the following:—
"Midnight, as |-sist our moan,
Help us to | sigh and groan
Heavily, | heavily.
Graves, yawn and | yield your dead,
Till death be | uttered
Heavily, | heavily."—Much Ado, V, 3
OBS. 4.—These six lines of Dactylic (or Composite) Dimeter are subjoined by the poet to four of Trochaic Tetrameter. There does not appear to me to be any particular adaptation of either measure to mournful subjects, more than to others; but later instances of this metre may be cited, in which such is the character of the topic treated. The following long example consists of lines of two feet, most of them dactylic only; but, of the seventy-six, there are twelve which may be otherwise divided, and as many more which must be, because they commence with a short syllable.
"THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS."—BY THOMAS HOOD.
"One more un |-fortunate,
Weary of | breath,
Rashly im |-portunate,
Gone to her | death!
Take her up | tenderly,
Lift her with | care;
Fashioned so | slenderly,
Young, and so | fair!
Look at her | garments
Clinging like | cerements,
Whilst the wave | constantly
Drips from her | clothing;
Take her up | instantly,
Loving, not | loathing.
Touch her not | scornfully;
Think of her | mournfully,
Gently, and | humanly;
Not of the | stains of her:
All that re |-mains of her
Now, is pure | womanly.
Make no deep | scrutiny
Into her | mutiny,
Rash and un |-dutifull;
Past all dis |-honour,
Death has left | on her
Only the | beautiful.
Still, for all | slips of hers,—
One of Eve's | family,—
Wipe those poor | lips of hers,
Oozing so | clammily.
Loop up her | tresses,
Escaped from the comb,—
Her fair auburn tresses;
Whilst wonderment guesses,
Where was her | home?