strike, wound, charm, heart, eyes and ears, are all of them accented, though only separated by a pause. It is probable, that at one time every stop, which separated the members of a sentence, was held, for rhythmical purposes, equivalent to a syllable. At present, however, it is only under certain circumstances that the pause takes a place so important to the rhythm. As no pause can intervene between the syllables of a word, it follows that no two of its adjacent syllables can be accented. There was however a period, when even this rule was violated. After the death of Chaucer, the final e, so commonly used 'by that poet and his contemporaries, fell into disuse. Hence many dissyllables became words of one syllable, mone became moon, and sunne sun; and the compounds, into which they entered, were curtailed of a syllable. The couplet, Ne was she darke, ne browne, but bright : Romaunt of the Rose. would be read, as if mone light were a dissyllable; and as the metre required two accents in the compound, they would still be given to it, though less by a syllable. By degrees this barbarous rhythm became licensed, though it never obtained much favour, and has been long since exploded. Spenser has left us some examples of it. Per. All as the sunny beam so bright, Wil. So love into my heart did stream. Per. Or as Dame Cynthia's silver ray, We have said that the rhythmical accent must be stronger than that of any syllable immediately adjoining. When the verbal accent is both preceded and succeeded by an unaccented syllable in the same word, it is, of course, independent of the position such word may occupy in a sentence. But when the accent falls on the first or last syllable, it is not necessarily preserved, when the word is combined with others; or-to vary the expression—the verbal accent is not necessarily the same as the accent of construction. Thus the word father has an accent on its first syllable, but in the lines Look, father, look, and you'll laugh to see | How he gapes and glares | with his eyes on thee. such accented syllable adjoins a word, which has a stronger stress upon it, and consequently loses its accent. The verbal accent, however, can only be eclipsed by a stronger accent, thus immediately adjoining. The license, which is sometimes taken, of slurring over an accent, when it begins the verse, is opposed to the very first principles of accentual rhythm. In Moore's line, Shining on, shining on, by no shadow made ten der. The verbal accent of shining is eclipsed, in the second foot, by the stronger accent on the word on; but in the first it adjoins only to an unaccented syllable, and therefore remains unchanged. It is true, that by a rapid pronunciation, and by affixing a very strong accent to the third syllable. we may slur it over; but, in such case, the rhythm is at the mercy of the reader; and no poet has a right to a false accent, in order to help his rhythm. Neither length of usage, nor weight of authority, can justify this practice. When a verse is divided into two parts or sections, by what is called the middle pause, the syllable, which follows such pause, is in the same situation as if it began the verse, and cannot lose its accent, unless it be succeeded by a more strongly accented syllable. In this case, however, the same license is often taken as in the last, particularly in the triple metre. As Emphasis and Accent are too often confounded, I shall add a few words on the nature of the former, and endeavour to shew, in what particulars they resemble, and in what they are distinguished from each other. A very common method of pointing out an emphatic word or syllable is by placing a pause, or emphatic stop, before it. There is little doubt that this pause was known from the earliest periods of our language, and that it had a considerable influence in regulating the flow of our earlier rhythms. It is still common, and indeed in almost hourly use. When I burned in desire to question them further, they made themselves-air, into which they vanished. Macbeth, 1. 5. If the accent be on the first syllable, our expectation is not only excited by the pause, but the accent becomes more marked; and as the importance of a word depends on that of its accented syllable, the word itself stands the more prominently forward in the sentence. This method of heightening the accent is sometimes used, even when the first syllable is unaccented, and when consequently the pause must fall in the midst of the word. Thus we hear some persons who spell, as it were, the words pro-digious, di-rectly, in order to throw the greater stress on the second syllable. One result, that follows from this mis-pronunciation, is a tendency to fix, in some degree, the pause on the first syllable, and thereby to lengthen its vowel. Another method of marking the emphasis, is a strengthening of the accent, without any precedent stop. We have seen, that under such circumstances the speaker is apt to dwell upon the accented word or syllable. Hence we sometimes find, that the emphatic word lengthens its quantity. When the vulgar wish to throw an emphasis on the word little, they pronounce it leetle. But the chief difficulty occurs, when the emphatic syllable adjoins upon one, which ought, according to the usual laws of construction, to be more strongly accented. In such a case, we very commonly have a transference of the accent. In Shakespeare's verse, Is this the Lord Talbot: uncle Gloster ? 1 H 6, 3. 4. the emphasis, which is thrown on the article, gives it an accent, stronger than that of the word either preceding or succeeding. Sometimes, however, it would seem, that we distinguish the emphatic syllable by mere sharpness of tone; and leave the stress of the voice, or in other words the essential part of the accent, on the ordinary syllable. Thus in Spenser's line, Flesh may impair, quoth she | but reason can repair. F. Q. 1. 7. 41. both the rhythm, and the common laws of accentuation will have the last syllable of repair accented; but the purposes of contrast require that the first syllable should be emphatic. The stress therefore falls on the last syllable, and the sharp tone on the first. In the same way must be read Milton's verses, Who made our laws | to bind | us: not | himself. Sam. Agon. Knowing who I am: as I know who thou art]. P. R. 1. In some cases a very intimate acquaintance with a poet's rhythm is necessary, to know whether he intended to mark his emphasis by a transference of the accent, or by mere change of intonation. ACCENT OF CONSTRUCTION. This branch of our subject may perhaps be treated most advantageously, if, in each case, we first state the law, which has been sanctioned by the general usage of our language; and then notice such violations of it, as have arisen from making it yield, instead of adapting it, to the laws of metre. G 2 Of all the words that may be used in the construction of an English sentence, the articles are the least important. In the greater number of cases, in which they are now met with, they are useless for any purposes of grammar, were unknown to our older dialects, and still sound strangely in the ears of our country population. The circumstances, which justify their accentuation, are accordingly rare; yet by the poets of the 16th century they were sometimes accented even more strongly than their substantive. Skill which practice small Will bring, and shortly make | you: a | maid Mar|tiall]. This man is great, Mighty and fear'd; that lov'd, and highly favour'd; Ben Jonson's Every Man out of his Humour. : This is noted And gen 'rally whoever the | king favours, F. Q. 6. 3. 7. H 8, 2. 1. But a more common fault-one of which even Pope was guilty is the accentuation of the article when it occurs before the adjective. Defence | is a good cause]: and heav'n | be for | us. Samson. She was not the prime cause | but I myself. |