Pope varied this by a sort of compromise—
"And the´ smooth strea´m in smo´other nu´mbers flo´ws,"
would be the right scansion. But the accent passes in a subdued form from "the" to "smooth," which pleasantly modulates the line, and gives the flow required for the figure treated of.[[3]]
But there was another means of varying the verse which was not in those days adopted. It was not then recognised that there were some cases in which the unaccented syllable might have two "beats." Pope wrote,
"The gen'rous pleasure to be charm'd with wit."
Had he written "generous," it might have stood, and would have given a variety. And this would have saved the eyesore of such lines as—
"T' admire superior sense and doubt our own."
Line Fourth does not exactly describe the fault it commits. "The open vowel" is no offence, but rather a beauty, though like all beauty it must not be too lavishly displayed. The fault of the line really lies in the repetition of the same broad sound—"o." The same vowel-sounds should not be repeated in a line.[[4]] This especially holds good where they are so associated with consonants as to form a rhyme, or anything approaching to it.
Line Fifth points out an inelegance which no one with any ear could be guilty of—the use of "do" and "did," to eke out a line or help a rhyme.
Line Sixth indicates a practice which those who have studied Latin versification would avoid without such a hint, since the nature of the cæsura compels the avoidance of monosyllables.