similarly _accented_.

_Abbot._--And wh['y] not l['i]ve and ['a]ct with ['o]ther m['e]n?

_Manfred._--Beca['u]se my n['a]ture w['a]s av['e]rse from l['i]fe;
And y['e]t not cr['u]el, f['o]r I wo['u]ld not m['a]ke,
But f['i]nd a d['e]sol['a]tion:--l['i]ke the w['i]nd,
The r['e]d-hot bre['a]th of th['e] most l['o]ne simo['o]m,
Which dw['e]lls but ['i]n the d['e]sert, ['a]nd sweeps o'['e]r
The b['a]rren s['a]nds which be['a]r no shr['u]bs to bl['a]st,
And r['e]vels ['o]'er their w['i]ld and ['a]rid w['a]ves,
And se['e]keth n['o]t so th['a]t it ['i]s not so['u]ght,
But b['e]ing m['e]t is de['a]dly: s['u]ch hath be['e]n
The p['a]th of m['y] ex['i]stence.--BYRON.

s. 523. _Measures._--For every accented syllable in the following line,
write the letter a, and for every unaccented one, the letter x, so that a
may stand for an accent, x for the absence of one--

The w['a]y was l['o]ng, the w['i]nd was c['o]ld.--SCOTT.

or expressed symbolically

x a x a x a x a,

where x coincides with _the_, a with _way_, &c.

s. 524. Determine the length of the line in question.--It is plain that
this may be done in two ways. We may either measure by the syllables, and
say that the line consists of eight syllables; or by the accents, and say
that it consists of four accents. In this latter case we take the accented
syllable with its corresponding unaccented one, and, grouping the two
together, deal with the pair at once. Now, a group of syllables thus taken
together is called a _measure_. In the line in question _the way_ (x a) is
one measure, _was long_ (x a) another, and so on throughout; the line
itself consisting of four measures.

s. 525. _Trisyllabic measures._--The number of measures consisting of two
syllables, or dissyllabic measures, is necessarily limited to two,
expressed a x and x a respectively. But beyond these there are in the
English language measures of three syllables, or trisyllabic measures. The
number of these is necessarily limited to three.

The first of these is exhibited in the word _m['e]rrily_ (a x x).

M['e]rrily, m['e]rrily sh['a]ll I live n['o]w,
['U]nder the bl['o]ssom that h['a]ngs on the bo['u]gh.--SHAKSPEARE.

The second is exhibited by the word _dis['a]ble_ (x a x).

But va['i]nly thou w['a]rrest,
For th['i]s is al['o]ne in
Thy p['o]wer to decl['a]re,
That ['i]n the dim f['o]rest
Thou he['a]rd'st a low mo['a]ning,
And s['a]w'st a brigh