Rule 2. In two or more syllables that rhyme with each other, the sounds which precede the vowel cannot be alike.
Now the number of sounds which can precede a vowel is limited: it is that of the consonants and consonantal combinations; of which a list can be made a priori.
| p | pl | pr | b | bl | br |
| f | fl | fr | v | vl | vr |
| t | tl | tr | d | dl | dr |
| th | thl | thr | dh | dhl | dhr |
| k | kl | kr | g | gl | gr |
| s | sp | sf | st | sth, | &c. |
and so on, the combinations of s being the most complex.
This gives us the following method (or receipt) for the discovery of rhymes:—
1. Divide the word to which a rhyme is required, into its constant and inconstant elements.
2. Make up the inconstant element by the different consonants and consonantal combinations until they are exhausted.
3. In the list of words so formed, mark off those which have an existence in the language; these will all rhyme with each other; and if the list of combinations be exhaustive, there are no other words which will do so.
Example.—From the word told, separate the o and -ld, which are constant.