Rhymes may occur in consecutive, or alternate lines, or in any other regular order, at the pleasure of the writer.

Rhymes are of two kinds, perfect rhymes and allowable rhymes. The difference between the two kinds will readily be seen by the following Vocabulary, taken from Walker's "Rhyming Dictionary."*

*On the same principle of association, on which some of the earlier lessons in this volume are founded, it is thought that this vocabulary will aid the student, not only in finding a rhyme, but likewise in suggesting ideas. Dr. Carey, in the Preface to his "English Prosody," says: "It is not with the view of making poets and poetesses that I send forth this publication. That must be the work of nature alone: it is not in my power to create them; and if it were, I might be accused of doing more harm than good, in tempting many of my young readers to quit a gainful calling for the un gainful trade. My aims are more humble; -1. To teach the learner to read poetry with propriety and grace; 2. To improve and polish his style for prose composition." And, further on, he adds; "Indeed, every person, whether poet or not, who has received any tolerable education, and pretends to write decent prose, ought likewise to be qualified for the occasional production of a few verses, smooth, at least, and metrically correct, whatever may be their merit or demerit in other respects. That the practice of versi fication materially improves the style for prose composition, there cannot be a doubt. The ear which is acutely sensible to the harmonies of verse, will naturally revolt against inharmonious harshness in prose; and the pains bestowed in searching for a variety of words of different lengths, quantities, and terminations, to suit the exigencies of the metre,

'the shifts and turns,

Th' expedients and inventions multiform,

To which the mind resorts in chase of terms,
T'arrest the fleeting images, that fill

The mirror of the mind.'

will copiously enlarge the writer's stock of expressions, - will enable him to array his thoughts in a more elegant and attractive garb, and to vary that garb at pleasure, by the ready aid of a diversified phraseology. It will, at the same time, produce a more important and beautiful effect, it will enrich the intellectual store of thought; for, while in search for an epithet, for an example, or a periphrase, he is obliged to view the subject in all its possible bearings and relations, that he may choose such particular word or phrase, as shall exhibit it in the most advantageous light. And what study more effectual to call into action the powers of the mind, to exercise the udgment, to whet the sagacity, and give birth to a variety of ideas, which might otherwise have lain for ever dormant? For these weighty consid erations, the practice of verse-making has been recommended by Locke, Chesterfield, Franklin, &c., &c."

The teacher will find the following exercise, called by the French "Bouts Rimes," interesting to the young student, and, like all other inducements to thought, auxiliary to the subject of composition.

"One of a party writes down the rhyming words for a short poem; which another undertakes to complete, by filling up the several verses, on a subject either chosen at pleasure, or prescribed, as the case may be. The following stanza, in which the words in italic are the rhyming words pre viously assigned, will be sufficiently explanatory of the practice:

LXXV.

VOCABULARY OF RHYMES.

Directions for finding Rhymes.

1. In looking for a word in the following vocabulary, consider the five vowels, A, E, I, O, U, and begin at the vowel that precedes the last consonant of the word; for example, to find persuade, and the words that rhyme to it, D is the last consonant, A the vowel that precedes it; look for ADE, and you will find made, fade, invade, and all the other words of that rhyme.

Another sort of poetical amusement has the name of Echo Verses. In these the repetition of the last word or syllable of a verse gives an answer to a question, or explains some subject, which that verse contains. The following echo verses allude to the Roundheads in the reign of Charles the First.

Now, Echo, on what's religion grounded?

Roundhead.

Pitts.

Are crosses, images, and ornaments their scandal?

All!

How do they stand affected to the government civil?

Evil.

2. In like manner, if a word end in two or more consonants, begin at the vowel that immediately precedes the first of them; for example, land, N is first of the final consonants, A the vowel that precedes it; see AND, and you will find band, stand, command, &c.

3. But if a diphthong, that is to say, two or more vowels together, precedes the last consonant or consonants of a word, begin at the first of these two vowels; thus, to find the rhymes to disdain, look not for IN but for AIN, and you will find brain, chain, gain, &c.

4. To find a word that ends in a diphthong preceded by a consonant, begin only at the first vowel of the diphthong; for example, to find the rhymes to subdue, look for UE, and you will find clue, due, ensue, &c.

5. All the words that end in a single vowel, preceded by a consonant, are found by looking for that vowel only, except always the words that end in mute E, which are constantly found by the same method that has been already prescribed for finding the rhymes to persuade, whose final E is silent, and serves only to lengthen the sound of the A in the last syllable

AB.

Bab, cab, dab, mab, nab, blab, crab, drab, scab stab. Allowable rhymes babe, astrolabe, &c. See Direction 3.

ACE.

Ace, dace, pace, face, lace, mace, race, brace, chace, grace, place, space, trace, apace, deface, efface, disgrace, displace, misplace, embrace, grimace, interlace, retrace, populace, &c. Perfect rhymes, base, case, abase, debase, &c. Allowable rhymes, grass, glass, &c., peace, cease, &c., dress, less, &c.

ACH.

Attach, detach, &c. Perfect rhymes, batch, match, &c. Allowable rhymes. fetch, wretch, &c. See Direction 3.

ACK.

Back, cack, hack, jack, lack, pack, quack, tack, sack, rack, black, clack, crack, knack, slack, snack, stack, track, wrack, attack, zodiac, demoniac symposiac, almanac. Allowable rhymes, bake, take, &c., neck, speck, &c.

ACT.

Act, fact, pact, tract, attract, abstract, extract, compact, contract, de tract, distract, exact, protract, enact, infract, subtract, transact, cataract, with the preterits and participles of verbs in ack, as backed, hacked, &c. Allowable rhymes, the preterits and participles of verbs in ake, as baked, caked, &c. See Direction 3.

But to the King they say they are most loyal.

Lie all.
Amen.

Then God keep King and state from these same men.

It remains to be observed: 1. That the two corresponding syllables of a rhyme must not only begin their consonance with the accented vowel, but must preserve it through the remaining letters; thus, text and vext, song and long echo with one another respectively, in the sounds ext and ong.

2. The sounds, and not the letters, constitute the rhyme. Thus, muff and rough, blew and grew, though different to the eye, form an unobjectionable rhyme; but bough and tough, though similar to the eye, have no similarity in sound.

3. The letter or letters in the syllable which precede the accented vowel, must be different in form and sound, otherwise the consonance will be dis agreeable to the ear. Hence, tend and the last syllable in contend sent and scent are not allowable rhymes.

AD.

Add, bad, dad, gad, had, lad, mad, pad, sad, brad, clad, glad, plad, chad, &c. Allowable rhymes, cade, fade, &c., glede, bead, read, &c. See Direc

tron 3.

ADE.

Cade, fade, made, jade, lade, wade, blade, glade, shade, spade, trade, de grade, evade, dissuade, invade, persuade, blockade, brigade, esplanade, cavalcade, masquerade, renegade, retrograde, serenade, ambuscade, cannon ade, pallisade, &c. Perfect rhymes, aid, maid, braid, afraid, upbraid, &c., and the preterits and participles of verbs in ay, ey, and eigh, as played, obeyed, weighed, &c. Allowable rhymes, add, bad, &c., bed, dead, &c., bead, mead, &c., heed, need, &c. See Direction 3.

AFE.

Safe, chafe, vouchsafe, &c. Allowable rhymes, leaf, sheaf, &c., deaf, &c., laugh, staff, &c

AFF.

Gaff, chaff, draff, quaff, staff, engraff, epitaph, cenotaph, paragraph, &c. Perfect rhyme, laugh. Allowable rhymes, safe, chafe, &c.

AFT.

Aft, haft, raft, waft, craft, shaft, abaft, graft, draft, ingraft, handicraft. Perfect rhymes, draught, and the preterits and participles of verbs in aff and augh, as quaffed, laughed, &c. Allowable rhymes, the preterits and partici ples of verbs in afe, as chafed, vouchsafed, &c.

AG.

Bag, cag, fag, gag, nag, quag, rag, tag, wag, brag, crag, drag, flag, knag, shag, snag, stag, wrag, scrag, Brobdignag.

AGE.

Age, cage gage, page, rage, sage, wage, stage, swage, assuage, engage, disengage, enrage, presage, appenage, concubinage, heritage, hermitage, parentage, parsonage, personage, pasturage, patronage, pilgrimage, villan age, equipage. Allowable rhymes, edge, wedge, &c., liege, siege, oblige &c.

AID, see ADE.
AIGHT, see ATE.
AIGN, see ANE.
AIL.

Ail, bail, fail, hail, jail, mail, nail, pail, quail, rail, sail, tail, wail, flail, frail, snail, trail, assail, avail, detail, bewail, entail, prevail, retail, counter vail, &c. Perfect rhymes, ale, bale, dale, gale, hale, male, pale, sale, tale vale, wale, scale, stale, swale, whale, impale, exhale, regale, veil, nightin gale, &c. Allowable rhymes, peal, steal, &c., bell, cell, &c.

AIM, see AME.
AIN.

Cain, blain, brain, chain, fain, gain, grain, lain, main, pain, rain, vain, wain, drain, plain, slain, Spain, stain, swain, train, twain, sprain, strain, abstain, amain, attain, complain, contain, constrain, detain, disdain, disain, enchain, entertain, explain, maintain, ordain, pertain, obtain, refrain, regain, remain, restrain, retain, sustain, appertain. Perfect rhymes, bane, cane, dane, crane, fane, jane, lane, mane, plane, vane, wane, profane, hurri cane, &c., deign, arraign, campaign, &c., feign, reign, &c., vein, rein, &c. Allowable rhymes lean, mean, &c., queen, seen, &c., ban, can, &c., den, pen, &c.

AINT.

Faint, paint, plaint, quaint, saint, taint, acquaint, attaint, complaint, con

straint, restraint, &c. &c., lent, rent, &c.

Perfect rhyme, feint. Allowable rhymes, cant, pant

AIR, see ARE.

AISE, see AZE.

AIT, see ATE.

AITH, see ATH.

AIZE, see AZE.

AKE.

Ake, bake, cake, lake, make, quake, rake, sak ›, take, wake, brake, drake, Bake, shake, snake, stake, strake, spake, awake, betake, forsake, mistake, partake, overtake, undertake, bespake. Perfect rhymes, break, steak, &c. Allowable rhymes, back, rack, &c., beck, deck, &c., speak, weak, &c.

AL.

Cabal, canal, animal, admiral, cannibal, capital, cardinal, comical, conju gal, corporal, criminal, critical, festival, funeral, general, hospital, interval, liberal, madrigal, literal, magical, mineral, mystical, musical, natural, original, pastoral, pedestal, personal, physical, poetical, political, principal, prodigal, prophetical, rational, satrícal, reciprocal, rhetorical, several, tem poral, tragical, tyrannical, carnival, schismatical, whimsical, arsenal. Al inwable rhymes, all, ball, &c., ail, mail, &c., ale, pale, &c.

Bald, scald, emerald, &c.

verbs in all, aul, and awl, as

ALD.

Perfect rhymes, the preterits and participles of called, mauled, crawled, &c.

ALE, see AIL.

ALF.

Calf, half, behalf, &c. Allowable rhymes, staff, laugh, &c.

ALK.

Balk, chalk, stalk, talk, walk, calk, &c. Perfect rhyme, hawk. Allow ble rhymes, sock, clock, &c.

ALL.

All, ball, call, &c. Perfect rhymes, awl, bawl, brawl, crawl, scrawl, sprawl, squall. Allowable rhymes, cabal, equívocal, &c. See AL.

ALM.

Calm, balm, becalm, psalm, palm, embalm, &c., whose plurals and third persons singular rhyme with alms, as calms, becalms, &c.

ALT.

Halt, malt, exalt, salt, vault, assault, default, and fault, the last of which is by Pope rhymed with thought, bought, &c.

ALVE.

Calve, halve, salve, valve.

AM.

Am, dam, ham, pam, ram, sam, cram, dram, flam, sham, swam, epigram, anagram, &c. Perfect rhymes, damn, larnb. Allowable rhymes, dame, lame, &c.

AME.

Blame, came, dame, same, flame, fame, frame, game, lame, name, tame shame, inflame, became, defame, misname, misbecame, overcame, &c. Perfect rhumcs, aim, claim, maim, acclaim, declaim, exclaim, proclaim, re claim. Allowable rhymes, dam, ham, &c., hem, them, &c., theme, scheme &c., dream, gleam, &c.

AMP.

Camp, champ cramp, damp, stamp, vamp, lamp, clamp, decamp, en mp, &c.