Page:Johnson - Rambler 2.djvu/217

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N° 90
THE RAMBLER.
209
Of Hermes, or his opiate rod. MeanwhileTo re-salute the world with sacred lightLeucothea wak'd.
He ended, and the sun gave signal highTo the bright minister that watch'd: he blewHis trumpet.
First in the east his glorious lamp was seen,Regent of day; and all th' horizon roundInvested with bright rays, jocund to runHis longitude through heav'n's high road; the grayDawn, and the Pleiades, before him danc'd,Shedding sweet influence.

The same defect is perceived in the following line, where the pause is at the second syllable from the beginning.

The raceOf that wild rout that tore the Thracian bardIn Rhodope, where woods and rocks had earsTo rapture, 'till the savage clamour drown'dBoth harp and voice; nor could the muse defendHer son. So fail not thou, who thee implores.

When the pause falls upon the third syllable or the seventh, the harmony is the better preserved; but as the third and seventh are weak syllables, the period leaves the ear unsatisfied, and in expectation of the remaining part of the verse.

He, with his horrid crew,Lay vanquish'd, rolling in the fiery gulph,Confounded though immortal. But his doomReserv'd him to more wrath; for now the thoughtBoth of lost happiness and lasting painTorments him.
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