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8 FRANCIS BACON'S CRYPTIC RHYMES<br />

O Lord,<br />

And e'er as my worldly blessings were exalted,<br />

so secret darts from thee have pierced me ;<br />

and when I have ascended before men,<br />

I<br />

have descen<br />

ded in huw/liation before thee.<br />

Up to the word " exalted," we must treat the lines as a<br />

preparatory introduction, so to speak. But, from the<br />

words: "so secret darts," an abundance of perfect<br />

rhymes sets in to a rhythm of unexcelled elasticity,<br />

and so moulded to the ideas conveyed by the words,<br />

as to excite our admiration, while it were difficult to<br />

find a passage<br />

in literature excelling<br />

it. The conclud<br />

ing long line with its internal rhymes, commencing at :<br />

"<br />

I have descended," may be said to describe in melli<br />

fluous tones the self-humiliation of the erstwhile<br />

exalted one, whose heart, once filled with worldly<br />

thought and pride, now humbly bows in the dust<br />

in prayer.<br />

If we emphasise<br />

all the inner-rhymes, the principal<br />

passage<br />

would assume this form :<br />

so se<br />

cret darts from thee<br />

have pierced me;<br />

and when<br />

I<br />

have ascen<br />

ded before men,<br />

I have descen<br />

nation be<br />

fore thee.<br />

ded in huim-<br />

three -<br />

rhymes on a long e.<br />

four rhymes on "en."<br />

two rhymes on a short i.<br />

\<br />

fourth rhyme on a long e.<br />

We may quote a short passage from the Shake<br />

speare dramas, to prove that exactly similar instances

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