The construction of the following verses, from which the letter s is omitted, shows that our language is not of necessity a succession of sibilant sounds, as it is generally supposed to be:

Oh! come to-night, for naught can charm

The weary time when thou’rt away.

Oh, come! the gentle moon hath thrown

O’er bower and hall her quivering ray.

The heather bell hath mildly flung

From off her fairy leaf the bright

And diamond dew-drop that had hung

Upon that leaf a gem of light.

Then come, love, come!