The same rhythmic cadence is observable in the following passage, copied verbatim from the _American Notes_:— I think in every quiet season now, Still do those waters roll, and leap, and roar, And tumble all day long; Still are the rainbows spanning them A hundred feet below. Still when the sun is on them, do they shine And glow like molten gold. Still when the day is gloomy do they fall Like snow, or seem to crumble away, Like the front of a great chalk cliff, Or roll adown the rock like dense white smoke. But always does this mighty stream appear To die as it comes down. And always from the unfathomable grave Arises that tremendous ghost of spray And mist which is never laid: Which has haunted this place With the same dread solemnity, Since darkness brooded on the deep And that first flood before the Deluge—Light Came rushing on Creation at the word of God. To any one who reads this we need not say that but three lines in it vary at all from the closest requisitions of an iambic movement. The measure is precisely of the kind which Mr. Southey so often used. For the reader’s convenience, we copy from _Thalaba_ his well remembered lines on Night, as an instance:— How beautiful is Night! A dewy freshness fills the silent air, No mist obscures, nor cloud, nor speck, nor stain Breaks the serene of heaven. In full orbed glory yonder Moon divine Rolls through the dark blue depths. Beneath her steady ray The desert circle spreads, Like the round ocean, girdled with the sky. How beautiful is Night! INVOLUNTARY VERSIFICATION IN THE SCRIPTURES. The hexametric cadence in the authorized translation of the Bible has been pointed out in another portion of this volume. It is very noticeable in such passages as these, for example, from the Second Psalm:— Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? Kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together. The anapæstic cadence prevalent in the Psalms is also very remarkable:— That will bring forth his fruit in due season.—v. 6. Whatsoever he doth it shall prosper.—v. 4. Away from the face of the earth.—v. 5. Be able to stand in the judgment.—v. 6. The way of th’ ungodly shall perish.—v. 7. Couplets may be drawn from the same inspired source, as follows:— Great peace have they that love thy law: And nothing shall offend them.—Psalm, cxix. 165. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace Whose mind is stayed on thee.—Isaiah, xxvi. 3.