Seldom my goosequill, of goose from Germany, fatted in England,
(Frolicksome though I have been) have I tried on Hexameter, knowing
Latin and Greek are alone its languages. We have a measure
Fashion'd by Milton's own hand, a fuller, a deeper, a louder.
Germans may flounder at will over consonant, vowel, and liquid,
Liquid and vowel but one to a dozen of consonants, ending
Each with a verb at the tail, tail heavy as African ram's tail,
Spenser and Shakspeare had each his own harmony; each an enchanter
Wanting no aid from without. Chevy Chase had delighted their fathers,
Though of a different strain from the song on the Wrath of Achilles.