4.  The Dactyl is a poetic foot consisting of one long syllable and two short ones; as, l=ab~our~er, p=oss~ibl~e, w=ond~erf~ul.

These are our principal feet, not only because they are oftenest used, but because each kind, with little or no mixture, forms a distinct order of numbers, having a peculiar rhythm.  Of verse, or poetic measure, we have, accordingly, four principal kinds, or orders; namely, Iambic, Trochaic, Anapestic, and Dactylic; as in the four lines cited above.

The more pure these several kinds are preserved, the more exact and complete is the chime of the verse.  But exactness being difficult, and its sameness sometimes irksome, the poets generally indulge some variety; not so much, however, as to confound the drift of the rhythmical pulsations:  or, if ever these be not made obvious to the reader, there is a grave fault in the versification.

The secondary feet, if admitted at all, are to be admitted only, or chiefly, as occasional diversifications.  Of this class of feet, many grammarians adopt four; but they lack agreement about the selection.  Brightland took the Spondee, the Pyrrhic, the Moloss, and the Tribrach.  To these, some now add the other four; namely, the Amphibrach, the Amphimac, the Bacchy, and the Antibacchy.

Few, if any, of these feet are really necessary to a sufficient explanation of English verse; and the adopting of so many is liable to the great objection, that we thereby produce different modes of measuring the same lines.  But, by naming them all, we avoid the difficulty of selecting the most important; and it is proper that the student should know the import of all these prosodical terms.

5.  A Spondee is a poetic foot consisting of two long syllables; as, c=old n=ight, p=o=or s=ouls, ~am~en, shr=ovet=ide.

6.  A Pyrrhic is a poetic foot consisting of two short syllables; as, presumpt-|_~uo~us_, perpet-|_~u~al_, unhap-|_p~il~y_, inglo-|_r~io~us_.

7.  A Moloss is a poetic foot consisting of three long syllables; as, De~ath’s p=ale h=orse,—­gre=at wh=ite thr=one,—­d=eep d=amp v=a=ult.

8.  A Tribrach is a poetic foot consisting of three short syllables; as, prohib-|_~it~or~y_, unnat-|_~ur~all~y_, author-|_~it~at~ive_, innum-|_~er~abl~e_.

9.  An Amphibrach is a poetic foot of three syllables, having both sides short, the middle long; as, _~impr=ud~ent, c~ons=id~er, tr~ansp=ort~ed._

10.  An Amphimac, Amphimacer, or Cretic, is a poetic foot of three syllables, having both sides long, the middle short; as, w~ind~ingsh=eet, l=ife-~est=ate, s=oul-d~is~eased.

11.  A Bacchy is a poetic foot consisting of one short syllable and two long ones; as, th=e wh=ole w~orld,—­~a gre=at v=ase,—­=of p=ure g=old.