idiosyncrasies of different students. One way is as follows:--"Hear the
sledges with the bells--silver bells." Applying this method, we have--1.
Hear the sledges; 2. Hear the sledges _with the bells_; 3. Hear the
sledges with the bells--_bells_; 4. Hear the sledges with the
bells--_silver_ bells. Or, if we use the Interrogatory Analysis Method
we could proceed thus: 1. What act of the mind do we exercise in regard
to the sledges with the bells--silver bells? "_Hear_ the sledges with
the bells--silver bells." 2. What kind of a vehicle do we hear with the
bells? "Hear _the sledges_ with the bells--silver bells." 3. What is it
we hear in connection with the sledges? "Hear the sledges with _the
bells_--silver _bells_." 4. What kind of bells do we hear? "Hear the
sledges with the bells--_silver_ bells."
We advance to the second line, which is a reflection on the facts stated
in the first line. The two lines are thus connected through the
operation of cause, or occasion. [Con.] "What a world of merriment their
melody foretells." We will henceforth only use the Analytic-Synthetic
Method. 1. Melody foretells. 2. _Their_ melody foretells. 3. _What
merriment_ their melody foretells. 4. What _a world_ of merriment their
melody foretells. Having seen that the second line grows out of the
first, and having memorised both we can recall them together thus:
1. Hear the sledges with the bells--silver bells--
2. What a world of merriment their melody foretells!
The third line runs thus: "How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle in the icy
air of night." Melody means "a succession of agreeable musical sounds."
It is a general term--"tinkle, tinkle, tinkle," means a species of
musical sounds, the sounds of the bells. Thus we see that these two
lines bear towards each other the relation of genus and species. This
relation carefully noticed will tend to hold the lines together. Let us
now apply our Method: 1. They tinkle. 2. They tinkle _in the night_. 3.
_How_ they tinkle in the night. 4. How they tinkle, _tinkle_ in the
night. 5. How they tinkle, tinkle, _tinkle_ in the night. 6. How they
tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, in the _air of_ night. 7. How they tinkle,
tinkle, tinkle in the _icy_ air of night. Now let us recall all the
lines together, thus:
1. Hear the sledges with the bells--silver bells--
2. What a world of merriment their melody foretells!
3. How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle in the icy air of night!
The fourth li
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