"He' on his im'pious foes-right on'ward drove,-
Gloom'y as night,-un'der his burning wheels-
The stead'fast empyrean-shook' throughout―
All' but the throne itself of God'.-Full soon'-
Among them he arrived,—in his right hand'-
Grasp''ing ten thousand thun'ders,—which he sent’—
Before' him,-such' as in their souls' infixed-
Plagues". They, aston'ished, all resist'ance lost,-
All cou'rage;-down' their idle wea'pons dropt.-
O'er shields,' and helms,-and hel'med heads he rode-
Of thrones', and mighty seraphim prostrate'
That wish'ed the mountains-now might be again'
Thrown" on them,—as a shel'ter from his ire.-
Yet half' his strength he put not forth,-but check'ed-
His thun'der in mid vol'ley;—for he meant'—
Not' to destroy, but root' them out of heaven.—
The overthrown' he raised,—and as a herd'-
Of goats', or timorous flock',-together throng'ed,—
Drove" them before him thun'derstruck,-pursued'
With ter'rors and with fuʼries,-to the bounds'—
And crystal wall of heaven,-which, opening wide',-
Roll'd in'ward, and—a spacious gap' disclosed-
In'to the wasteful deep.-The monstrous sight'-
Struck" them with horror backward;-but, far worse',-
Urg'd' them behind.-Head'long themselves they threw'-
Down" from the verge of heaven ;-eternal wrath’—
Burnt" after them-to the bot'tomless pit."

This description is far more spirited and energetic

than it would have been, if, instead of the emphatic words with which so many of the lines, and especially the last six, begin, iambics had been used. They not only give rapidity and power to the modulation, but the verbs that are used, consisting of a single syllable, were requisite to paint the scene with a vividness that corresponds to its awful nature. Ordinary iambic verbs would have rendered the spectacle tame, compared to the terrible energy with which it is now drawn. There are several exquisite cadences also in the passage. That in the eighth line, formed of the first syllable, falls on the ear with the abruptness and force of a thunder crash.

The fine effect of a trochee at the commencement of a line, in giving force to the expression, and a grateful variety to the modulation, is exemplified in many of the psalms and hymns; as in the Hundredth Psalm, in eight syllables. In this, as in blank verse, an emphatic accent is usually to be thrown on only two or three syllables in a line:

"Before Jehovah's aw'ful throne

Ye na'tions bow with sa'cred joy.
Know"-that the Lord' is God' alone;
He"-
'—can create, and he' destroy.

"His sov'ereign power, without' our aid,
Made" us of clay, and form'ed us men
And when', like wand'ring sheep, we strayed,
He brought us to his fold' again.

"We" are his peo'ple, we' his care',

Our souls', and all our mor'tal frame;
What last'ing hon'ors shall we rear,
Almigh'ty Ma'ker, to thy name!

"We'll crowd' thy gates' with thankʼful songs,
High"-as the heavens' our voic ́es raise;
And earth', with her ten thou'sand tongues,
Shall fill' thy courts with sound'ing praise.

"Wide"-as the world' is thy command;

Vast"-as eter'nity thy love;
Firm"-as a rock' thy truth' shall stand,
While roll'ing years shall cease' to move."

The trochees with which so many of the lines commence thus present the acts they are employed to express in a far bolder and more impressive attitude than they could have received had iambics been used, and give a vivacity and force to the modulation that brings it into harmony with them, and makes it as indicative almost of their vehemence as the emphatic monosyllables are by which

they are so vividly depicted. On the other hand, the introduction of the first three lines in the last stanza with an emphatic trochee, renders the change to an iambic, and the enunciation of the fourth line, in the diminishing voice which the cadence requires, highly pleasing.

The same effect of the trochee is seen in the

following hymn:

"While all' our hearts', and all' our songs',

Join'-to admire' the feast,

Each' of us cry,
Lord",-why was I' a guest!

with thank'ful tongues,

"Why' was I' made to hear thy voice,
And en'ter while there's room,

When thou'sands make a wretch'ed choice,
And rather starve' than come?

""T was the same love' that spread' the feast
That sweet'ly forced' us in;

Else' we had still refused' to taste,
And per'ished in our sin.

"Pi'ty the na'tions, O our God;

Constrain' the earth to come;
Send' thy victorious word' abroad,

And bring the strangers home.

"We long' to see thy church'es full;
That all' the cho ́sen race

May with one' voice, and heart', and soul',
Sing' thy redeem'ing grace."

The frequent change throughout the hymn from an iambic to a trochee, and from a trochee to an iambic, thus adds greatly to the point and grace of the expression, and the spirit and beauty of the rhythm.

A spondee is sometimes used in place of a trochee, and with much the same effect, as in the third line of the following hymn:

"Mor'tals awake, with an'gels join,
And chant' the solemn lay;
Joy', love', and gra'titude combine
To hail' the auspi'cious day.

"In heaven' the rap'turous song began;
And sweet' seraph'ic fire
Through all' the shining le'gions ran,
And swept' the sounding lyre,