This method can be applied in several different ways according to the
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 line being very short had better be memorised in connection
with the fifth line, and in the expression of the Analysis, we can print
the first word of the fifth line with a capital letter. The two lines
are:
4. While the stars that oversprinkle
5. All the heavens, seem to twinkle with a crystalline delight.
Before proceeding we may notice "night" of the third line is directly
connected with "stars" of the fourth line by Concurrence. This observed
relation will tend to cement the lines together. Using our Method we
say: 1. Stars oversprinkle. 2. _While the_ stars oversprinkle. 3. While
the stars oversprinkle _the heavens_. 4. While the stars oversprinkle
_All the heavens_. 5. While the stars _that_ oversprinkle All the
heavens. 6. While the stars that oversprinkle All the heavens _seem to
twinkle_. 7. While the stars that oversprinkle All the heavens seem to
twinkle _with delight_. 8. While the stars that oversprinkle All the
heavens seem to twinkle with a _crystalline_ delight. So far we have
learned the following lines:
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!
4. While the stars that oversprinkle
5. All the heavens, seem to twinkle with a crystalline delight.
The _sixth_ line is in these words: "Keeping time, time, time, in a sort
of Runic rhyme." We observe that as "time" is here repeated three times,
so "tinkle" was repeated three times in the third line. We must have
observed, too, that it is "stars" of the fourth line that are said to
"twinkle" in the fifth line. The two lines are as closely connected as
grammatical construction and the expression of thought could make them.
And the sixth line is an obvious continuation of the description.
Analytically we say: 1. Keeping time in a rhyme. 2. Keeping time,
_time_, in a rhyme. 3. Keeping time, time, _time_ in a rhyme. 4. Keeping
time, time, time in a _sort_ of rhyme. 5. Keeping time, time, time in a
sort of _Runic_ rhyme.
Let us now recall the six lines together.
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!
4. While the stars that oversprinkle
5. All the heavens, seem to twinkle with a crystalline delight;
6. Keeping time, time, time, in a sort of Runic rhyme.
The seventh line is the continuation of the sixth. Keeping time to what?
"To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells." 1. The
tintinnabulation wells. 2. The tintinnabulation _that_ wells. 3. The
tintinnabulation that _musically_ wells. 4. The tintinnabulation that
_so_ musically wells. 5. _To_ the tintinnabulation that so musically
wells. Wells from what? From the bells, bells--occurring altogether six
times more. This makes the eighth line. But some pupils say at once, "I
can never be sure in reciting the line to recall bells only seven times,
no more or less." These pupils will admit that they can be sure to say
bells _four_ times, as bells, bells, bells, bells. Then, of course, they
can say bells _three_ times more, making seven times altogether. Here,
then, we have the seventh and eighth lines, as follows:
7. To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
8. From the bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells--