Page:Alexander and Dindimus (Skeat 1878).djvu/38

 C of course answers to k; as in 13, 26, 29, 38, 42, 48, &c. Also ph to f; as in 457, 1070. Also soft c to s; as in the word Ceres, 724; cf. syte, written for cyte, i.e. city, in l. 9; see the note. Also soft g to i (=j); 656. Scarce rimes are those with i (=j); 462, 553, 659, 697, 1118: with qu; 541, 608, 950, 1047: and with u; 671, 693. Examples of double rime-letters are numerous; examples are bl, 411, 523, 543, 624; br, 134, 287, 393, 430, 503, 521, 586, &c.; ch, 107, 110, 417, 727, 894, 941, 1080; cl, 489, 625, 636, 899, &c.; dr, 156, 529, 1032; gl, 676, 790; gr, 7, 87, 124, 133, 252, 254, 447, 502, &c.; pl, 296, 495, 847, 853; pr, 5, 161, 225, 280, 366, 509, 547, &c.; sch, 294, 330, 401, 412, 416, 421, 432, &c., especially the consecutive lines 959 and 960; scl=sl, 344; sk, 159, 871, 1020; sm, 1063; sp, 136, 172, 367, 699; st, 97, 114, 429, 487, 609, 686; sw, 310, 493, 719, 855, 921; tr, 513, 829; wr, 139, 660, 777, 814, 1136. There are even examples of triple rime-letters, as spr, 123, 729; and str, 756; but we must not include amongst these sch and scl, already mentioned, since these are merely ways of writing sh and sl respectively. But it was not thought at all necessary that, if a double consonant began one rime-word, the same sound should occur throughout the line. We have br riming with b, 175, 683, 714, 723; fr with f, 352; gl with g, 391; gr with g, 193, 274, 525, 824, 1025; sp with spr, 623; st with str, 530; and numerous other examples. The strongest example is an apparent rime of br with pr, 1075; but the word prest may be wrong.

We sometimes find four rime letters in the linel as in 499, 544, 546; these lines are not very common, and the fourth letter is not needed.

Occasionally there is a failure of one of the sub-letters, as in l. 11, 22 (where it is easy to supply tid); 81, where k seems to answer (by poetical license) to sk; 290; 302 (where refe should be bruten, see note); 558; 782 (where ȝou lif should perhaps be ȝou silf); 793 (unless the t in Tricerberus is counted in); 815. One of other of