s book which you have thus far read have been
in prose. I intend to give you some lessons in verse, or, as it is
sometimes, but improperly called, poetry.

2. There is a great deal of difference between verse and poetry; but as
this book is intended for those who are not quite old enough to
understand all these differences, I shall not attempt at present to
point them out to you.

3. But I wish you first to understand the difference, which you can see
with your eye, between prose and verse. The lines of verse often end in
what are called _rhymes_. Thus, if one line ends with the word _found_,
the next line ends with a word which sounds very much like it, as
_ground, round, bound, sound, hound, wound_.

4. These are called _rhymes_. Here are a few such lines.

IMPROVEMENT OF TIME.

"Defer not till to-morrow to be wise;
To-morrow's sun to thee may never rise."

BEST USE OF MONEY.

"When wealth to virtuous hands is given,
It blesses like the dew of Heaven;
Like Heaven, it hears the orphan's cries,
And wipes the tears from widow's eyes."

5. Sometimes the rhymes occur in alternate lines; that is, two lines
come together which are not rhymes, and are followed by two lines to
make rhymes to both, as follows:

"Let the sweet work of prayer and praise
Employ our youngest breath;
Thus we're prepared for longer days,
Or fit for early death."

6. There are some kinds of verses that do not rhyme. These are called
_blank_ verse. Here is an example of blank verse:

"Mark well, my child, he said; this little stream
Shall teach thee charity. It is a source
I never knew to fail: directed thus
Be that soft stream, the fountain of thy heart.
For, oh! my much-loved child, I trust thy heart
Has those affections that shall bless thyself;
And, flowing softly like this little rill,
Cheer all that droop. The good man did not err."

7. Now, there are several things that I wish you to notice in these
lines. In the first place, if you will count the syllables, you will
find that there are exactly ten syllables in each line; and it is always
the case, that in verse it is necessary that there should be a certain
number of syllables of a certain kind.

8. What that number is, I cannot now explain to you; but you will be
able to understand from a book called a grammar, which you will probably
study at some future time, if you do not study it