Abstracting at present from the peculiarity of modulation arising from the different pauses, it cannot fail to be observed in general, that they introduce into our verse no slight degree of variety. Nothing more fatigues the ear, than a number of uniform lines having all the same pause, which is extremely remarkable in the French versification. This imperfection will be discerned by a fine ear even in the shortest succession, and becomes intolerable in a long poem. Pope excels all the world in the variety of his modulation, which indeed is not less perfect of its kind than that of Virgil. From what is now said, there ought to be one exception. Uniformity in the members of a thought, demands equal uniformity in the members of the period which expresses that thought. When therefore resembling objects or things are expressed in a plurality of verse-lines, these lines in their structure ought to be as uniform as possible, and the pauses in particular ought all of them to have the same place. Take the following examples. By foreign hands || thy dying eyes were clos’d, By foreign hands || thy decent limbs compos’d, By foreign hands || thy humble grave adorn’d. Again, Bright as the sun, || her eyes the gazers strike, And, like the sun, || they shine on all alike. Speaking of Nature, or the God of Nature: Warms in the sun || refreshes in the breeze, Glows in the stars || and blossoms in the trees, Lives through all life || extends through all extent, Spreads undivided || operates unspent. Pauses are like to dwell longer upon hand than I imagined; for the subject is not yet exhausted. It is laid down above, that English heroic verse, considering melody only, admits no more than four capital pauses; and that the capital pause of every line is determined by the sense to be after the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, or seventh syllable. And that this doctrine holds true so far as melody alone is concerned, every good ear will bear testimony. At the same time, examples are not unfrequent, in Milton especially, of the capital pause being after the first, the second, or the third syllable. And that this licence may be taken, even gracefully, when it adds vigour to the expression, I readily admit. So far the sound may be justly sacrificed to the sense or expression. That this licence may be successfully taken, will be clear from the following example. Pope, in his translation of Homer, describes a rock broke off from a mountain, and hurling to the plain, in the following words. From steep to steep the rolling ruin bounds; At every shock the crackling wood resounds; Still gath’ring force, it smokes; and urg’d amain, Whirls, leaps, and thunders down, impetuous to the plain: There stops || So Hector. Their whole force he prov’d, Resistless when he rag’d; and when he stopt, unmov’d.