This measure, after all, is ambiguous; for if the stress of the voice be laid on the first and third syllables, it becomes trochaic. Perhaps, therefore, it is best to consider the first form of our Anapæstic verse, as made up of two anapæsts: as,
“Sĕt ă schōolbŏy ăt wōrk
With a knife and a fork.”
And here, if you like, you may have another short syllable: as,
“Ănd hŏw sōon thĕ yoŭng glūttŏn
Will astonish your mutton!”
2. The second species consists of three anapæsts: as,
“Ămărȳllĭs wăs slēndĕr ănd tāll,
Colin Clodpole was dumpy and fat;
And tho’ she did’n’t like him at all,
Yet he doted on her for all that.”
This metre is sometimes donominated sing-song.
3. The third kind of English Anapæstics may be very well exemplified by an Irish song:
“Hăve yŏu ē’er hăd thĕ lūck tŏ sĕe Dōnny̆brŏok Fāir?”
It consists, as will have been observed, of four anapæsts. Sometimes it admits of a short syllable at the end of the verse: as,