Through flood, through fire—”
What a noble pair of ears this worthy Theobald must have had! The eight amphimacers or cretics,—
“Ovĕr hīll, ōvĕr dāle,
Thōrŏ' būsh, thōrŏ' brīar,
Ovĕr pārk, ōvĕr pāle,
Thrōrŏ' flōōd, thōrŏ' fīre”—
have a delightful effect on the ear in their sweet transition to the trochaic,—
“I dŏ wāndĕr ēv'ry whērĕ
Swīftĕr thān thĕ mōōnĕs sphērĕ,” &c.
The last words, as sustaining the rhyme, must be considered, as in fact they are, trochees in time.