[124] _Previous_ may be vindicated on another principle; viz. by considering it as qualifying the whole subsequent member of the sentence. "The resolutions of Congress could not be enforced by legal penalties; this _fact_ was _previous_ to the establishment," &c. But the other is the real construction. [Illustration] DISSERTATION V. _Of the Construction of English Verse.--Pauses.--Expression.--Of reading Verse._ [Illustration] _Of the_ CONSTRUCTION _of_ ENGLISH VERSE. [Illustration] As poetry has ever been numbered among the _fine arts_, and has employed the pens of the first geniuses in all nations, an investigation of the subject must be gratifying to readers of taste. And it must be the more agreeable, as it has been much neglected, and the nature and construction of English verse have frequently been misunderstood. Most prosodians who have treated particularly of this subject, have been guilty of a fundamental error, in considering the movement of English verse as depending on long and short syllables, formed by long and short vowels. This hypothesis has led them into capital mistakes. The truth is, many of those syllables which are considered as _long_ in verse, are formed by the shortest vowels in the language; as _strength_, _health_, _grand_. The doctrine, that long vowels are requisite to form long syllables in poetry, is at length exploded, and the principles which regulate the movement of our verse, are explained; viz. _accent_ and _emphasis_. Every emphatical word, and every accented syllable, will form what is called in verse, a long syllable. The unaccented syllables, and unemphatical monosyllabic words, are considered as short syllables. But there are two kinds of emphasis; a natural emphasis, which arises from the importance of the idea conveyed by a word; and an accidental emphasis, which arises from the importance of a word in a particular situation. The first or natural emphasis belongs to all nouns, verbs, participles and adjectives, and requires no elevation of voice; as, "Not _half_ so _swift_ the _tremb_ling _doves_ can _fly_." The last or accidental emphasis is laid on a word when it has some particular meaning, and when the force of a sentence depends on it; this therefore requires an elevation of voice; as, "Perdition catch my soul--but I _do_ love thee." So far the prosody of the English language seems to be settled; but the rules laid down for the construction of verse, seem to have been imperfect and disputed. Writers have generally supposed that our heroic verse consists of five feet, all pure Iambics, except the first foot, which they allow may be a Trochee. In consequence of this opinion, they have expunged letters from words which were necessary; and curtailed feet in such a manner as to disfigure the beauty of printing, and in many instances, destroyed the harmony of our best poetry.