WORDS ALIKE IN SOUND, BUT OF DIFFERENT SIGNIFICATION. xxi ALIKE IN SOUND, OR NEARLY SO, BUT DIFFERENT IN SIGNIFICATION AND SPELLING. Complement, the [mainder re Com'pliment, kind words Creak, to make a noise Darnn, to condemn Do, the verb Due, owing Dyer, one who stains Done, acted [creditor Dun, а troublesome Ear, a part of the body Year, a part of time East, a point of the compass Yeast, what works beer Exercise, labour [devils cast out Forth, abroad Glair, the white of an egg Grater, for nutmegs Hallow, to make holy Heart, a part of the body Heard, did hear Hugh, a man's name Higher, more high Whore, a lewd woman Isle, an island Aisle, of a church In, within Inn, for travellers New, fresh Knight, a title Lane, a narrow road Less'en, to make less Lyre, an instrument Loathe, to dislike Lose, to suffer loss Maid, a virgin Mete, to measure Mower, one who mows Nought, nothing Ne'er, never Oar, to row with O'er, over Ore, of metals Oh! alas Owe, to be indebted Rice, a sort of grain Seer, a prophet Seize, to lay hold of Soared, did soar Tail, the end Tale, a story Tare, weight allowed Tear, to rend Team, of horses Teem, to abound Their, of them There, in that place Throne, a seat of state Thrown, cast Thyme, a herb Time, an hour, &c. Tide, a flux of the sea Tied, bound Toe, of the foot Tow, hemp dressed Too, likewise To, unto Two, a couple Told, related Tolled, as a bell Vain, fruitless Vane, a weathercock Vein, for the blood Vail, to cover Vial, or Phial, a bottle Viol, an instrument Whale, a fish Wain, a waggon Wane, a decrease When, at what time Weak, feeble Yarn, spun wool Yearn, to moan PROSODY; OR, THE LAWS OF VERSIFICATION. VERSIFICATION is the arrangement of a certain number of syllables according to certain laws established in a language by frequent repetition, the harmony of which consists in a pleasing variety of accented and unaccented syllables, which, connected, form a foot. They are called feet, because it is by their aid that the voice, as it were, steps along through the verse, in a measured pace; and it is necessary that the syllables, which mark this regular movement of the voice, should, in some manner, be distinguished from the others. This distinction was made among the Greeks and Romans, by dividing their syllables into long and short, and ascertaining the quantity by an exact proportion of time in sounding them; the long being to the short as two to one, and the long syllables, being thus the more important, marked the movement. In English, syllables are divided into accented and unaccented; and the accented syllables, being as strongly distinguished from the unaccented, by the peculiar stress of the voice upon them, are equally capable of marking the movement, and pointing out the regular paces of the voice, as the long syllables were, by their quantity, among the ancients. All feet used in poetry consist either of two or of three syllables, and are reducible to eight kinds; four of two syllables, viz. a Trochee, an Iambus, a Spondee, a Pyrrhic; and four of three syllables, viz. a Dactyl, an Amphibrach, an Anapest, and a Tribrach. A Trochee has the first syllable accented, and the last unaccented; as, "Hateful, péttish." An Iambus has the first syllable unaccented, and the last accented; as, "Betray, consist." A Spondee has both the words or syllables accented. No word of two syllables is without an accent, or with a double one in English; as, "The pale moon." A Pyrrhic has both the words or syllables unaccented; as, "on the tall tree." A Dactyl has the first syllable accented, and the two latter unaccented; as, 'Labourer, pōs'sĭblě." An Amphibrach has the first and last syllables unaccented; and the middle one accented; as, "Děli'ghtful, doméstic." An Anapast has the two first syllables unaccented, and the last accented; as, "Contrǎve'ne, acquiésce." A Tribrach has three syllables unaccented; as, "Numĕrăblě, cónquerable." Some of these feet may be denominated principal feet; as pieces of poetry may be wholly or chiefly formed of any of them. Such are the Trochee, Iambus, Dactyl, and Anapæst, which we shall endeavour to explain. The others may be termed secondary feet; because their chief use is to diversify the numbers, and to improve the verse. IAMBIC verses may be divided into several species, according to the number of feet or syllables of which they are composed. The first form of our Iambic which we shall notice is too short to be continued through any great number of lines. It consists of two Iambuses. What place is here! The second form consists of three In places far or near, Where wholesome is the air, The third form is made up of four And may ǎt last my weary age, The fourth species of English Iambic consists of five Iambuses. This is called the Heroic measure. In its simplest form it consists of five lam buses; but by the admission of other feet, as Trochees, Dactyls, Anapæsts, &c. it is capable of many varieties. The sixth form of our Iambic is commonly called the Alexandrine measure. It consists of six Iambuses. For thōu ǎrt būt of dust; be humble and be wise. In all these measures the accents are to be placed on even syllables; and every line considered by itself is, in general, more melodious, as this rule is more strictly observed." TROCHAIC verse is of several kinds. The shortest Trochaic verse in our language consists of one Trochee and a long syllable; but this measure is defective in dignity, and can seldom be used. The second English form of the Trochaic consists of two feet: On the mountain By a fountain. It sometimes contains two feet or trochees, and an additional long syllable; as, In the days of ōld Fables plainly told. The third species consists of three trochees; as, When our hearts are mōurning; or of three trochees with an additional long syllable; as, Restless mōrtăls tōil för nōught; Bliss in vain from earth is sought. The fourth Trochaic species con sists of four trochees; as, The preceding are the different kinds of the principal feet, in their more simple forms. They are capable of numerous variations by the intermixture of those feet with each other, and by the admission of the secondary feet by which two short vowels coalesce into one syllable, as question, special; when a word is contracted by the expulsion of a short vowel before a liquid, as av'rice, temp'rance, &c. or |