ells, with his characteristic indecision, forbears all
recognition of this difference, and all intimation of the quality of the
sound, whether smooth or rough; saying, in his own text, only this: "_R_
has the sound heard in _rare_."--_School Grammar_, p. 40. Then, referring
the student to sundry authorities, he adds in a footnote certain
"quotations," that are said to "present a general view of the different
opinions which exist among orthoepists respecting this letter." And so
admirably are these authorities or opinions balanced and offset, one class
against an other, that it is hard to tell which has the odds. First, though
it is not at all probable that Wells's utterance of "_rare_" exhibits twice
over the _rough snarl_ of Johnson's _r_, the "general view" seems intended
to confirm the indefinite teaching above, thus: "'_R_ has one constant
sound in English.'--_Johnson_. The same view is adopted by Webster, Perry,
Kendrick, Sheridan, Jones, Jameson, Knowles, and others."--_School
Grammar_, p. 40. In counterpoise of these, Wells next cites about as many
more--namely, Frazee, Page, Russell, Walker, Rush, Barber, Comstock, and
Smart,--as maintaining or admitting that _r_ has sometimes a rough sound,
and sometimes a smoother one.

XIX. OF THE LETTER S.

The consonant _S_ has a sharp, hissing, or hard sound; as in _sad,
sister, thus_: and a flat, buzzing, or soft sound, like that of _z_; as in
_rose, dismal, bosom, husband. S_, at the beginning of words, or after any
of the sharp consonants, is always sharp; as in _see, steps, cliffs, sits,
stocks, smiths_. _S_, after any of the flat mutes, or at the end of words
when not preceded by a sharp consonant, is generally flat; as in _eyes,
trees, beds, bags, calves_. But in the English termination _ous_, or in the
Latin _us_, it is sharp; as _joyous, vigorous, hiatus_.

_Ss_ is generally sharp; as in _pass, kiss, harass, assuage, basset,
cassock, remissness_. But the first two Esses in _possess_, or any of its
regular derivatives, as well as the two in _dissolve_, or its proximate
kin, sound like two Zees; and the soft or flat sound is commonly given to
each _s_ in _hyssop, hussy, and hussar_. In _scissel, scissible_, and
_scissile_, all the Esses hiss;--in _scissors_, the last three of the four
are flat, like _z_;--but in the middle of _scissure_ and _scission_ we hear
the sound of _zh_.

_S_, in the termination _sion_, takes the sound of _sh_, after a consonant;
as in _