_Báck to the gátes of Héaven; | the súlphurous háil._ Par. Lost, I. 171. Quite peculiar, however, to Milton's blank verse is the extensive use he makes of run-on lines, and in connexion with the great variety in his treatment of the caesura. Milton has more than 50 per cent. run-on lines; sometimes we have from three to six lines in succession that are not stopt. As to the caesura, we mostly have masculine and lyric caesura (more seldom epic caesuras) after the second or third foot; besides, we have frequent double caesuras (generally caused by run-on lines), about 12 per cent.[167] Finally, as the third peculiarity of Milton's epic blank verse, the almost exclusive use of masculine endings deserves mention. The number of feminine endings in the various books of _Paradise Lost_ and of _Paradise Regained_ is only from 1 to 5 per cent.; in _Samson Agonistes_, on the other hand, we have about 16 per cent., nearly as many as in the plays of Shakespeare's second period.[168] The following example (_Paradise Lost_, V. 1-25) may illustrate Milton's blank verse: _Now Mórn, | her rósy stéps | in the éastern clíme Adváncing, | sówed the éarth with órient péarl, When Ádam wáked, so cústomed; | fór his sléep Was áery líght, | from púre digéstion bréd, And témperate vápours blánd, | which the ónly sóund Of léaves and fúming rílls, | Auróra's fán, Líghtly dispérsed, | ánd the shrill mátin sóng Of bírds on évery bóugh. | So múch the móre His wónder wás | to fínd unwákened Éve, With trésses díscompósed, | and glówing chéek, As thróugh unquíet rést. | Hé, on his síde Léaning half ráised, | with lóoks of córdial lóve Hung óver hér enámoured, | ánd behéld Béauty | which, whéther wáking | ór asléep, Shot fórth pecúliar gráces; | thén, with vóice Míld as when Zéphyrús | on Flóra bréathes, Her hánd soft tóuching, | whíspered thús:-- | 'Awáke, My fáirest, mý espóused, | my látest fóund, Heaven's lást best gíft, | my éver-néw delíght! Awáke! | the mórning shínes, | ánd the fresh fíeld Cálls us; | we lóse the príme | to márk how spríng Our ténded plánts, | how blóws the cítron gróve, What dróps the mýrrh, | and whát the bálmy réed, How Náture páints her cólours, | hów the bée Síts on the blóom | extrácting líquid swéet._' § =178. The dramatic blank verse of the Restoration= is strongly influenced by the heroic verse of the same period, and is on this account very different from the blank verse of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. For this period the blank verse of Dryden is most interesting; he uses it with great skill, but also with great restriction of its former licences.