39. Such, however, are not the only cases in which this order
is the most forcible. As the advantage of putting the simile
before the object depends on its being carried forward in the mind
to assist in forming an image of the object, it must happen that
if, from length or complexity, it cannot be so carried forward,
the advantage is not gained. The annexed sonnet, by Coleridge, is
defective from this cause:

"As when a child, on some long winter's night,
Affrighted, clinging to its grandam's knees,
With eager wond'ring and perturb'd delight
Listens strange tales of fearful dark decrees,
Mutter'd to wretch by necromantic spell;
Or of those hags who at the witching time
Of murky midnight, ride the air sublime,
And mingle foul embrace with fiends of hell;
Cold horror drinks its blood! Anon the tear
More gentle starts, to hear the beldame tell
Of pretty babes, that lov'd each other dear,
Murder'd by cruel uncle's mandate fell:
Ev'n such the shiv'ring joys thy tones impart,
Ev'n so, thou, Siddons, meltest my sad heart."

40. Here, from the lapse of time and accumulation of circumstances,
the first part of the comparison is forgotten before its application
is reached, and requires re-reading. Had the main idea been first
mentioned, less effort would have been required to retain it, and
to modify the conception of it into harmony with the comparison,
than to remember the comparison, and refer back to its successive
features for help in forming the final image.