A 5 6 4 9 3 3 — — > W. p. Uph THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES ^■■>* — ~-. — • as to the possibility of improvement upon those which have thus g far been published. "* The following work contains, in Part I, a brief historj' of ste- nography with a particular account of the earliest system of which an3thing definite is known, viz., the "Tironian Notes," or Roman method of short-hand, and a description of many of the systems published during the last three centuries. The Roman short-hand is illustrated by several fac-simile specimens taken from the works of Grutcr, Mabillon, and Carpentier. In Part II, is exhibited a new sjstem of phonetic short-hand intended for use in literary composition, business correspondence, writing from dictation, taking notes of lectures, addresses or evidence, and making copies or extracts for reference. A largely extended list of word-signs and abbreviations, such as is required in any s^'stem (V) 448549 VI PREFACE. of short-band to adapt it to verbatim reporting, would, for the purposes above mentionetems of short-hand 25 •' VI. Conclnsion. giving an account of the systems of Bishop Wilkins (16(i8) and A. M. Bell (1869), and some observations on the " pho- nographic" systems now in use ...;> 39 Tables of Short-hand Alphabets and List of Authors 4C PART II. a XEW system of phonetic SHOKT-H.AXD. ISTROUUCTIOX .i 51 Sect. I. Definition of phonetic short-hand 51 " II. Advantages of the plionetic method : 51 " III. Phonetic short-hand not an enemy to orthography. .1 53 " IV. Plan of tlie phonetic system here proposed 54 1. The forms of the characters 55 2. Description of the characters 55 3. Use of difference in length or size of characters 58 4. Compound sounds :: 58 5. Use of word-signs 58 Chap. I. Analysis of the articulate sounds of the English language 59 Sect. I. Necessity of a preliminary analysis 59 II. The voice and the breathing 60 III. Definition of vowels and consonants G3 I V. Vowcl-sounds 64 V. Compound-vowels 70 VI. Obscure vowel-souuds 71 VI I. Consonant-sounds '2 VIII. Compound consonants 75 IX. Explanation of the compound consonants ch. j, sh. zi/, ngk, and ngi;. 7(S X. Example of phonetic spelling 77 (vii) VIU CONTENTS. PAGE Table I. Vowel-characters 78 " II. Consonant-characters 79 " III. Compound vowel-characters 80 " IV. Compound consonant-characters 80 Chap. II. Directions for the use of tlie characters 81 Sect. I. Difference in heaviness of stroke not used 81 " II. Joining the characters 81 " III. Vowel-characters 82 " IV. Consonant-characters 85 " V. Compound consonant-characters 87 " VI. Double-consonant forms 88 " VII. Directions for the use of characters for m, n, f, v, th, dli, w, y, wh, yh, andh 88 Table V. Consonant-characters joined in one form 90 Chap. III. Directions for writing 92 Sect. I. The line of writing 92 " II. Size of the characters 92 *' III. Continuity of the writing 93 " IV. Words to be written according to the sound !)t " V. Sounds that may be omitted in writing 94 Chap. IV. Word-signs and abbreviations 97 Sect. I. Definition of word-signs '. 97 " II. Use of word-signs 97 " III. Difference of position 98 " IV. AVord-signs for pronouns 08 " V. Word-signs for the auxiliary verbs 101 " VI. Abbreviations for prefixes and terminations 103 " VII. Word-signs for words denoting position or direction 104 Key to the Short-hand Examples , 106 Table VI. Prefixes and terminations 113 " VII. Contractions 114 «' VIII. Example of Long-hand and Short-hand 116 Examples of Short-hand : 117 PART I. HISTORY OP STENOGRAPHY. CHAPTER I. ORIGIN OF SHORT-HAND WRITING. Short-hand writing, though understood and practised by comparatively few persons, has always been regarded as possessing a high value and importance, both as an aid to literary labor, and as a means of preserving extemporary discourse. A brief account of the origin and growth of this art, and of some of the principal methods of short-hand that have prevailed in former times, may be not without interest as a matter of curious history, and may also have some value as a guide in the study of ancient manuscripts in which short-hand writing occurs. Many of the principles now rec- ognized as most necessary to render such a method of writ- ing practically useful, were either laid down in the old systems of short-hand, or have been suggested by a com- parative study of them. The term short-hand ^ in its general signification, denotes any abbreviated or contracted method of writing having for its object compactness or celerity, and consisting in the use of word-signs, abbreviations, or special characters more suitable for rapid writing than the ordinaiy letters. The usual writing is sometimes called long-hand to distinguish it from the shorter method. Among the various names applied to this art that which is now most generally used to denote (1) 2 HISTORY OF STENOGRAPHY. short-hand writing of any kind, is stenography ^ from the Greek, writing. • "Where the short-hand is based upon the ordinary alphabet, or upon a series of characters arranged to confoiTa to the ordinary alphabet, it may be called alphabetic short-hand, the ■word alphabet being derived from the Greek names for the two first letters a and b. Where, on the other hand, it is based upon a series of characters representing the articulate sounds of speech without regard to the ordinary alphabet^ it is called, to distinguish it from the former, phonetic shoi^t- hand ; the word phonetic being derived from the Greek word ^wi'5j, the voice, or a sound of the voice. Although most of the systems that have existed in former times were alphabetic, phonetic shoi't-hand — that is, short- hand following the sound without regard to the ordinary spelling — is by no means a recent invention, for many of the veiy numerous systems devised during the last two or three centuries have had such a phonetic structure. This phonetic principle was very skilfully applied to the construction of a short-hand alphabet, in the system invented by Isaac Pitman, first published at London in 1837, and since, with various modifications, extensively adopted in England and in the United States. The name phonography, which Pitman gave to his system, is sometimes erroneously used as designating any phonetic system of short-hand. The word phonograph}', by its derivation, signifies voice-writing or sound-icriting . The art of short-haud writing, in its alphabetic form at least, comes down to us from a remote antiquity. It is said that the HISTORY OF STEXOGRAPHT. 3 Greeks had under the name of rayvypafo'. "quick-writers," and Essaj towards a Real Character, &c., London, 1668, p. 13. 12 HISTORY OF STENOGRAPHY. That Cicero was familiar with short-hand is evident from the following passage in his letter to Atticiis (lib. xiii, epist. 32) : Et^ quod ad te de decern legatis scrtpsi, parum intel- lexisti; credo ^ quia 8cd fffjiieimv scripseram, "You did not understand what I wrote to you concerning the ten deputies, because, I suppose, I wrote in short-hand." Carpentier, whose work will be hereafter mentioned, thinks that the use of the Greek word for short-hand, ffijusia, by Cicero, and also by Plutarch (see above p. 7), indicates that the art was borrowed from the Greeks, and that Cicero could not be the inventor of it, "as Plutarch would not have defrauded him of the praise justly due him, nor would Cicero himself have left it to be commemorated by others." CHAPTER III. SPECIMENS OF ROMAN SHORT-HAND. The not(2 were published in 1603 by Gruter, under the title Notm Romanorum Veterum^ quibus liiera verbum facit, Tullii Tironis et Anncei Senecae erutceque nunc primum edi- tceque. In an edition of Gruter's Inscriptions, by Graevius, Amsterdam, 1707, his list of the NotoR Tironis ac Senecce is given as an appendix. The editor, in his preface, remarks that, although " no author can be assigned to them with cer- tainty, it is probable that some few were in use in the begin- ning, whether invented by Tiro or by some other, and that they were increased by the industry of later times. Thus Vossius, lib. IV de vitio sermonis^ cap. ii, rightly thinks that very many additions were made to this system by later writ- ers ; which is indeed quite evident from the number of words in it abhorrent to the Augustan age, and even barbarous. Reinesius (acZ inscriptionem cv classis primce) thinks it was the work of the fifth century Salmasius refers it to the time of Gregory the Great, who lived at the end of the sixth century, because in an ancient book on these notes he had seen a preface in which the compiler dedicates his book to Pope Gregory, and states that he collected these notes by his cotoimand." Attention is also called to the names of the Roman emperors given in the list of these (13) 14 HISTORY OF STENOGRAPHY. notes published by Gruter, the last name being that of An- toninus, which would indicate that the date of these notes was not long after the reign of that emperor (A. D. 138 — 161). A few of the " notes " taken from the first page of Gruter's list will serve as specimens. The whole list comprises sev- eral thousand words and terminations arranged in columns without any particular order, and rather rudely engraved ; a sort of moles indigesia, as Carpentier calls it, not very en- couraging to one who would hope to find in it a key to the Roman system of short-hand. ^. de L. per 2 ne < an ^ di 7 pro 2L. ui > ac \ dis ti pre ^ num H nescio V- ex f>^ re ^ enim ^ nescit 1 ad S se n et W alit :> con 5^ sibi u sese A\ me I in n trans o circum • s super a §b h a o. circa 1i tibi A small table of the same " Tironian notes " is given by Mabillon (De Re Diplomatica, Lutetia3 Parisiorum, 1681, p. 457), from which I take the following: h a ^ fecit T» panem lo tuo V bonis Cs" gloria % quia ^ tua G cor «>» nos •y;- regis U h. via V deus 5^ omnibus S< suas n3 tibi HISTORY OF STENOGRAPHY. 15 A very full account of these "Tironian notes," together with representations of certain charters or decrees of Louis the Pious, successor of Charlemagne, written in these short- hand characters in a royal codex of the ninth century, was published in 1747, at Paris, by Pierre Carpentier, under the title " AliDhabetum Tironianum, seu Notas Tironis explicandi Methodus," <&c. The system seems to be substantially, if not wholly, the same as that of the notes given by Gruter and by Mabillon. Carpentier does not give any alphabet of the characters for letters, but arranges in alphabetical order about six hundred words with the signs that represent them. From this list it appears that twenty-one letters were repre- sented by at least sixty-seven characters, a different charac- ter being used for the same letter in different words. In fact, the system seems to be devoid of any certain or uni- form rule. Numerous tables of signs for terminations are added in which the same irregularity and uncertainty is apparent. The following is a representation of one of the charters of Louis the Pious, written in these "notes" during thS early part of the ninth century, copied from a fac-simile given by Carpentier. I have altered the division of the lines in order to bring it to the width of the page, but have preserved the size of the characters and the closeness of the writing, so as to show the general appearance and the degree of compact- ness of the original. I also give Carpentier's Latin version. Each portion of the version indicated by the figure in the margin corresponds to one line of the short-Jiand fac-simile. 16 HISTORY OF STENOGRAPHY. [CHARTA XXXIII.] O.'j; ^,.'?-^'''V "^-^T -V IC^^*^" '^^^^ Ut c<*/3^ 9/ V^ -^ 31 /-^H.V>trv, H. ^ ^ -h-tT vx^ "Z^ fn,€|,ai^a^te >,<»XM/.tt-«^e Cl^ ^ (^i i^^^ ^"5^ [CHARTA XLV.] CnAUTA DEN'AUIALIS ET IMPKRIALIS. 1. Notiim sit igitur omnibus fltlelibns nostris, praesentibns scilicet ct fu- turis, quia nos pro mcrcedis nostra; 2. au-rmcnto servum nostrum, nomine ilium, in procerura nostrorum praesentia, manu propria nostra excuticntes 20 HISTORY OF STENOGRAPHY. 3. a manu ejus dcnarium, secundum legem Sallcam liberura fecimus, cj usque 4. absolutionem per prsesentem auctoritatem nostram conflrmamus, atque nostris et fnturis 6. temporibus flrmlter atque invlolablliter mansuram esse volumua. Pra3cipient.es ergo 6. jubemus, ut sicut reliqui manumissi, qui per hujusmodi titolura abso- lutionis a rcgibus 7. vel imperatorilius a jugo servitutis noscuntur esse relaxati ingenui, ita deinceps memoratus 8. ille per hoc nostrum prseceptum plenius in Dei nomine conflrraatum, nullo inquietante, 9. Deo auxiliante, perpetuis temporibus valcat permanere bene ingen- uus 10. atque securus. Et ut hrec auctoritas flrmior babeatur et per futura tempora melius conservetur CHARTER XLV. CHAKTKlt DENARIAL AND IMPERIAL. '* Be it known to all our faithful subjects both present and future that we, for the increase of our revenue, have made free our slave, called . . . , in the presence of our nobles, striking out with our own hand, from his hand, a denarius according to the Salic Law, and by our present authority we do confirm his freedom and wish it so to continue firm and inviolable for our and the future times. Having thus or- dered we now command, that, as other manumitted slaves who by a title of this kind arc known to have been released from the yoke of slavery by kings or emperors, so also the said . . . , by virtue of this decree fully confiimed in the name of God, shall, God helping, remain free and secure for all time, no one molesting him. And that this authority may be held more fii-m and the better observed for the future CHAPTER ly. PROBABLE ORIGIN OF THE ROMAN SHORT-HAND. Although it is evident both from the tables of Gruter and from the specimens of Carpentier that the same letter was very often represented by several enth-ely different characters, and on the other hand that the same character often represented entirely different letters, yet one can discern what might have been the original alphabet of the system, and some at least of the characters have a marked resemblance to the ancient Roman letters. Carpentier observes in his preface that " there is another kind of notes which are called singularice, more re- cently siglce, in Greek aiylat, because single letters expressed a word. Of this sort exjimples arc common; S. P. Q. R., Senatus Populusque Romanus; P. R. E., post reges ex- ados; A. A. S. L. M., apud agrum sibi locum monumenti ; B. A., bonam actionem^ or bonis auspiciis, or bonis avibus; which may be seen in Valerius Probus, Peter Diaconus and Magno ; all which Sertorius Ursatus has collected to- gether and arranged. And I could easily believe that this system of notation was more used by the ancients, since it is easier and swifter." He then cites a passage from Valerius Probus, to the effect, that before the short-hand notes were used it was the custom with those who could write, especially in the Roman Senate, to note down by the first (21) 22 HISTORY OF STENOGRAPHY. letters certain words and names for the sake of brevity. This method of abbreviation wtus afterwards much used in manuscripts on account of the scarcity and cost of parch- ment. In manuscripts of the eleventh century scarcely a Dne occurs where there are not from eight to ten abbrevia- tions, and finally public documents were rendered so obscure by their use that laws were passed to put a stop to the prac- tice. In printed editions of the fifteenth century the abbre- viations are so numerous and so complex as not only to fatigue the reader but even to render the sense unintelligi- ble.! There is reason to believe that the Tironian notes grew out of this earlier system of the singiilarice, or notce literce^ and that the single letters were at first written in full, but I h 3 C 3 'i — /^ ^ M ABCDEFOH A^NOPQRST afterwards in a contracted manner, and variously altered, either in direction or form, to distinguish different words be- ginning with the same letter ; marks for terminations being subsequently added to the system. Supposing this to be the case we reproduce, as above, the original alphabet ; selecting > See Home's Introduction, cited above; also Savage's Dictionary of tlio Art of Printing, London, 1841. I K L 1 K L u •y- V V X z HISTORY OF STENOGKAniY. 23 from the various forms representing each letter, in the speci- mens transmitted to us, that which would seem to have been most naturally derived from the ordinary Roman letter. From the statement by Plutarch, that Cicero statioiled several scribes in different parts of the Senate chamber to take down the speech of Cato, we may infer that the custom prevailed then, as in modern times, of eraplo^nng a consid- erable number of short-hand Avriters at the same time so as to relieve each other at short intervals. St. Augustine speaks, in his epistle clii, of eight notaries assisting at his discourses, four on his part and four named by others, who relieved each other and wrote two and two, in order that nothing which he taught might be omitted or altered. St. Jerome had four notaries and six librarii or "transcribers " ; the former wrote at his dictation by notes, and the latter transcribed at length in the ordinary letters that which the notaries had written. 2 The system of reporting in the French Chamber of Depu- ties before 1849 is described as consisting in the simulta- neous employment of "nine roideurs (that is, stenographers, who relieved each other every two or three minutes), and four reviseurs (that is, the most skilful stenographers) , who write (notent) for twelve or fifteen minutes at a time, and are charged also with the oversight and correction of the work of the roideurs.^ A similar method is adopted by the reporters in the House of Representatives at "Washington ; * Encyclopedie, tachi/graphie. ' llUtoire Ue Stenographic, cited above. 24 HISTORY OF STENOGRAPHY. each one reporting for a certain number of minutes, and then, while another takes his place, carrying his notes to the reporter's room where they are written out in long- hahd ; so that within a few minutes after a member has finished a speech a page can hand him the whole for his revision. In the time of Justinian, contracts, written by the notaries in abridged writing or characters, were not binding until they had been transcribed or written out in full, and an edict was issued by him forbidding the employment of these abbrevia- tions for the future in public writings, on account of the ambiguity which might arise from the resemblance of the signs. As already stated, their use ceased entirely in the tenth century. The decline of literature in the following centuries caused them to fall into such oblivion that a short- hand Book of Psalms, which Trithemius mentions as found by him in a monastery, was entitled, in the catalogue of the convent, "A Psalter in the Anuenian language." The pos- session of such manuscripts was, in those days of ignorance and superstition, considered proof of sorcery and witchcraft, and both the manuscripts and their owners were ruthlessly consigned to the flames. CHAPTER y. MODERN SYSTEMS OF SHORT-HAND. After the disappearance of the notce there seems to have been no revival of the art of short-hand until the latter part of the sixteenth centuiy, when a Mr. Ratcliff, of Plymouth, in England, is said to have proposed a kind of short-hand writing by retaining the ordinary letters, but omitting the vowels and such consonants or even syllables as could be spared without rendering the writing unintelligible. This system was published at London, in 1688, after the death of the author. In 1588, a system by Timothy Bright, called " Characterie, An Art of Short, Swift, and Secret writing, by Character," was published at London, in which, as in the Tironian notes, each word was represented by a distinct sign, the whole being arranged in the form of a dictionary. The first attempt to invent a shoii-hand alphabet was by John Willis, whose "Art of Stenographic or Short- Writing " was published at London in 1602. An interesting descrip- tion of his system is given in " An Historical Account of Short-Hand" by James Henry Lewis, ^ by which it appears that Willis omitted such letters as are superfluous or imper- fectly sounded, and employed two sizes for each character, distinguishing most of the vowels and diphthongs by the junc- ' Printed at London \rithoat date, but soon alter the year 1815. (25) 26 HISTORY OP STENOGRAPHY. tion of the small character to the large, or the large to tne small in various positions. The short vowels he expressed by dots. He also made use of symbolical and special ab- breviations. Some of the characters in his alphabet repre- senting simple letters were compounded of more simple characters already used for other letters, a defect which con- tinued in all the systems which succeeded that of AVillis until the invention of the loop system, published by Byrom, in 1767. Another defect of this system, and of the others founded on a similar plan, is that the characters do not readily join to form words. John Willis's system was used by Thomas Lechford, author of "Plaine Dealing or Newes from New England's Present Government," &c., London, 1642. (See edition by J. Ham- mond Trumbull, Boston, 1867, pp. xxxvin and XL.) During the two hundred years which followed the publi- cation of Willis's work, a gi-eat number of systems were published in England, many of them, however, differing only in some of the characters or in the directions for writing. The alphabets of nearly all of them are exhibited by Lewis in his book above referred to . As that book is now rare^ I have re- produced, in the two accompanying tables, forty-four of these alphabets, leaving out only those which are less important as being wholly or nearly like others that had preceded them (see after p. 45). A reference to these may be a con- venience as a partial guide to those who have occasion either to study the history of the art, or to decipher short-hand 3 The only copy I have met with is in the Boston Public Library. HISTORY OF STENOGRAPHT. 27 manuscripts of that period. It should be observed, how- ever, that the value of a system cannot always be measured by its alphabet alone. For a more particular description of the various systems I would refer the reader to the account given by Lewis, whose extended investigation and ingenious criticisms render his work an authorit}' on the subject. At the conclusion of his account, Lewis makes the following statement : " My library of Short-hand books, and manu- script curiosities in the art, are (I believe) unrivalled in this, or any other country. Many of the volumes described in the present publication are unique, and have only been col- lected at a great expense of time and labor .... My collection has cost me more than fifteen years labor, and an expense of more than five hundred pounds." I have also selected a few of Lewis' observatiohs on some of these systems, as pointing out the successive improve- ments in the art. In the system of Edmond Willis (1G18 and 1627) the vowels and diphthongs are expressed " by dots or letters placed about a character" in various positions. He also employed " a number of marks (drawn from the alphabet) to represent the double and treble consonants that begin and end words." He noticed the frequency of I and r as a second letter in initial double consonants ; and that h, ?, m, n and r when initial are followed by a vowel. He also sug- gested a sort of mental short-hand practice, advising the learner to imagine the short-hand for words casually heard. Theophilus Metcalfe (1645) denoted the vowel between 28 HISTORY OP STENOGRAPHY. two consonants by placing the second consonant in the vowel position (a method used some years before ; see below p. 32). The system of Jeremiah Rich (1669), which resembled that of Metcalfe, furnished a foundation for those of Nathan- iel Stringer, Samuel Botley, William Addy (1695), Henry Barmby (1700), Samuel Lane (1716), and Philip Doddridge (1805). "The most celebrated short-hand writer of the 17th cen- tury was William Mason" (1672, 1682 and 1707). His Bystem, as well as that of Rich, is said to have been chiefly remarkable for methods of contraction by the use of dots and other marks in various positions. The systems of John West (1690), Thomas Gurney (1753), John Angell (1758), James Swaine and Joseph Simms (1761), and Edward Hodgson (1766), were founded upon Mason's. Elisha Coles (1674) represented repetitions by the use of a hyphen, or underscoring ; also a difference in monosylla^ bles by a difference in position. Abraham Nicholas (1692) represented vowels and diph- thongs by the position of dots, or of the following consonant character. His characters for the consonants are derived partly from the ordinary letters. James Weston's alphabet (1727 and 1745) was the same as that of Metcalfe (1645). He employed the dot as a sign of temiination. A part of his book consisted of a "Dic- tionary, or an Alphabetical Table, containing almost all the words in the English tongue, with the Short-hand over against each word." A number of books were printed in hiSTORY or STENOGRAPHY. 29 his characters, among which were a gi-ammar, a dictionary, the psalms, the New Testament, and many books of the Church. In Jeake's system (1748), the vowels a, e, t, o, and the h are suppressed, and the remaining nineteen letters grouped as follows : £h^ -? — -^ -o- «^ C • / (us in yard), or w (as in wov(\), which he treats as vowels, either "preposed" or "subjoyned" to another vowel sound. The short-hand system of A. M. Bell, above alluded to, is founded upon a table of characters, each of which is sug- gested by the configuration of the organs of speech upon which the pronunciation of the sound represented by it depends. These characters, or symbols, present therefore to the eye, a certain degree of analogy to the sounds rep- resented, on »the same principle as that adopted in his "Visible Speech," which is itself an extremely ingenious and extended improvement of the plan proposed by Bishop Wil- kins. His analysis of the sounds of speech (including all possible forms of utterance), is very accurate and minute. By a skilful use of abbreviations and arbitrary characters he provides a system of short-hand apparently well suited for reporting. The foregoing sketch of the origin and progress of the art of stenography shows the importance that has been attached to it by many ingenious and learned men, and the unceasing effort that has been made to devise a system of short-hand which shall combine these three requisites, simplicilij, legi- hility and brevity. HISTORY OF STENOGRAPHY. 43 "Whether anything still remains to be clone to more fully accomplish this ohjoct, or Avhether one system may not be better snited for one kind of writing and another system for another kind, is a qnestion worthy of consideration. The " phonographic " systems founded on Pitman's alpha- bet are^ now the most generally used, and are thought by many to constitute the final perfection of the art. Probably no other systems have been so skilfully elaborated and im- proved upon from time to time, and none have had the benefit of so Avide a circulation and of such earnest and persistent eftbrts to secure their general adoption. Like the system of Taylor (described above p. 3-i) Pitman's "Phono- graphy" reduces as much as possible the number of sounds for which characters distinct in form are to be provided. Taylor reduces them to twenty alphabetic consonants, while Pitman reduces them to twenty-one phonetic consonant- sounds. In Taylor's system a single dot in one position answers for either one of all the vowels and diphthongs, and is only used at the beginning or end of words ; an expedient which contributes very much to the simplicity of the system and to the facility with w4iich it may bo acquired, although it detracts of course from the legibility of the writing. In Pitman's system on the other hand, the consonant signs only are written first and the other signs added afterwards, more or less fully according to the degree of accuracy re- quired ; the latter consisting of dots or marks in various positions about the consonant-characters. The simplicity of the consonant-characters in Pitman's 44 HISTORY OF STENOGRAPHY. alphabet, rendered possible by thus detaching the vowels and diphthongs, causes the phonographic systems to seem remarkably well adapted for the rapid writing of the skilled and practised reporter, who learns to rely on the representa- tion of the consonant-sounds only, and upon the frequent use of word-signs and phrase-signs. For the more ordinary purposes of the less rapid short-hand writing a greater degree of accuracy is, however, requiied, particularly where the writing is not intended to be made use of immediately. To insure such accuracy the initial and final vowel-sounds need to be represented, and it is often desirable to represent them in the middle of w^ords. If, then, vowel-sounds are to be represented at all, it is of course a disadvantage to the writer to be obliged to do so by taking off the pen and putting in its particular position the detached dot or mark ; especially if he has to write the consonant-characters of each word first, and then go back and insert the vowel-marks, or "vocalize the consonant outline," as it is called. One expedient adopted to partially obviate this objection is, to distinguish the accented vowel of a word by writing the con- sonant outline either above, on, or below the line of writing. However excellent, therefore, the "phonographic" alphabet may be as a basis for a reporting system, it may be doubted whether it is equally well adapted for the less rapid kind of short-hand writing so often desired in correspondence, com- position, taking notes, &c., by persons who cannot devote much time to its study and practice. For these purposes even some of the alphabetic systems might be found more HISTORY OF STENOGRAPHY. 45 convenient, as for instance that of Taylor, which is equally concise and much more simple in method ; or that of Town- drow, in which each word is written continuously, the vowels and diphthongs being represented by loop-forms easily joined and quickly written, like those employed for some of the con- sonants in the system of Byrom (1767). The plates on the two following pages exhibit the alpha- bets of forty-four systems published from 1602 to 1802, taken from Lewis's Historical Account of Short-hand already referred to; two alphabets of 1632 and 1636 not given by Lewis ; and the alphabet of Towndrow published in 1837. The one numbered 47, is a mere copy of that of Taylor (No. 39). On page 48 will be found a list of the names of the authors and the dates of publication of the alphabets exhibited. ?! r ^- \J / % r- >— J - ^ W ) /> 1 \ ( — 0- V O - J < < X L \ /■ \ \J — V N ) 1 " ) W c c c c \ VJ rv - D 4 1 /-> •^ *v. ? r; 1 r :> • / 1 >\ J b C^ „ _ \ X > n o c^ 5 N - V N VU c- c_ - • •^ v«/ :> A I L I ^ y \ ) c ( X >« N a- t - \J rN • J r o • r>» c D z' \ • <^ iK ^ b N. • > y> o< 3- M CO ;- < c V r c\ a 3- K H 1 < - v^ /% V r T Q- ^- ^ c ) / 1 \ I, o- >. - >«» • > J «: >. r4 V C -O / <»; J < • L w I r> \ -) Vw/ =< >o 1 M H o \ c V / % c- i_ J • ~> VJ ) /-\ 1 \ C VJ k o - J < < K \ S \ C u / Vj <- - J L —i v^ 'v y /^ I ( ^ fs. o - J J cfc. K >^ \ r-4 C 5 \ - o r < > • T- c ) 1 I K o- V (_ \ / / >o c > N cr w r u r\ cb J < ^ < u :> / 1 n r Cs ^ - >^ ■i J \ t <;- - 03 13 <3 - w r\ ^ r 3- -= - - c D / V O K •s- ^ 1 \ p N )i - N T-l (3 \J c o ^s >o r c b J J - ) w / '^ 1 1 :» \ > r X Os n ff> a- o •a \ - Vy' /-^ r 3- ^ • 3- c :) 1 I \ b cr Q. v_ \ / / J ( X N 03 In A- < V v-/ ^N ^4 J 3- -c o T- •<;- c :> / 1 o Q. r ^ cr \ > > K SI )o N ^• o 2 V C A / O J < o L < o 1 r\ \ :> Q- cr V- b - > > VJ oC y> N b or V a. N > > .^ X X N K) 19 < c r a) J 1 cr b L /^ D / \) s J 1 - vy , > /s c< X N •*• en < c L r \jj J 1 "^ t- v V u 5 / w b 3- 1 - \ • • rs R >o N c<1 O < - L. <^ r 3- M \ 3- c D / \ U v-i o»- >^ ^ s • > c~ /^ X N d 3 \ - \^ /~i VJU N 3- ^ r* r* c -) / \ Os >- '-J I— • > .»-> ^ >i M «-i o < c L r V J 1 O I A L 3 / \J \ o 1 - U >=< > /-> )^ >o N d A u « CH be r£| •H 1-J ^ r^ a ^ Pm &* f^ CO -y S > ^ h^ >: 1 d3 i or- w \ • i J 1 I ^ r\ C ") r- / r- \ — 1 ^ 1 «s A ^ h 3- tf> • • c ) / 1 c^ <. "^ \ > > ^> « 4- 55 2 1 - O r% ^ • c D ^' 1 « 0- r- \ > <^ X >» N 4- / N, ^ c\ ^ ^. . ♦ (y 1 < \ • y ^ c\ • r\ ( \) (> !) - Q. c •^ i - / C J ^ I (30 eO \J ^ / /• v^ >i r\ ^ — ) ( 1 C r^ c X s D ! 1 >/ ^ o oO < r V u r» R X> N «0 g ^ o \ VJ J 1 V— / J \ ^ \J D r\ C r' — N 1 - ^c + \ 1 to t- • ( U ) / ^ K. / 1 ^ \J ) r\ 1 - c 0- \ - ^ /^ K \ J- £; 1 / <^ - \ -^ A \ 1 r\ \J D ( c / \J r\ \ - • V. V. 5 1 ^ c<7 • d C rs • b o- \) • er c ) / 1 • Q. C ?- \ - • b y «\ ^ \ ^ ^ ' C ) ^ • "^ n / • n u - ( 1 » C u \ ) \ • 3 D 1 ) ^ CO \ v_ i —s V r- / I » >• / c r. D - >o \j 1 \ "^ -^ ^ X \- J O ♦ r !) U • / ;) o- • (TV CJ c ) • n b \ 1 - • / a (J* 1 or c< 4- • r w / • /-• v. • «— u :) n 1 • c 0- f> - • I J X J N (f V. VJ \. ^ r r / \- /— u r\ 1 \ u- ^ - / 1 n \ ^ >!• /~\ y c 1 - b 'J J D 1 \ \ ) 6 9 ^ CO o (9 / c n C> 1 - J • r \J D c 1 / U N \ - ^ -^ ^ X ^ I s o ^ »» 1 — ^ \ 1 ) r 1 1 w ( C • J V 1 A - / \ ) I r a A » Ti O i^ OO A •H •1-3 ri^ pH s ?i p^ ^ u 05 V li > t X ^ N 48 HISTORY OF STENOGRAPHY. LIST OF THE ALPHABETS EXHIBITED IN THE ACCOM- PANYING PLATES. No Author. 1. John Willis .... 2. EdmdiKl Willis . 3. Witt . 4. Heury Dix . . 5. Mawd 6. Thomas Shelton 7. Thomas Shelton 8. Theophilus Metcal fe 9. Jeremiah Rich . 10. John Farthing . 11. Job Everardt 12, Noah Bridges . 13. William Mason . 14. William Mason . 15. William Mason . 16. Elisha Coles 17. William Hopkins 18. Lawrence Steel 19. Abraham Nichols 20. Francis Tanner 21. Philip Gibbs 22. Aula}' Macaulay 23. Peter Annet 24. Thomas Gurney 25. Henry Taplin . 26. Thomas Stackhous e 27. David Lyle . . 28. Alphabet of Reason 29. Mark Anthony Meilau 80. John Byrom . . . 31. Wra. Holdsvvorth & Wra 32. R. Graves & S. Ashton 33. Wm. Williamson . . 34. Thomas Hervey 35. W. J. Blanchard . 36. W. J. Blanchard . 37. John Mitchell . . 38. Michael Nash . . 39. Samuel Taylor . . 40. William Graham . 41. William Mavor . 42. Thomas Hees . . 43. John Crome . . . 44. Richard Roe . . 45. Archisdcn 46. Ralph Fogg (Salem) . 47. (Printed af Boston) . 48. Thomas Towndrow . Aldridg' Date. 1G02 1618 1630 1633 1635 1641 1650 1645 1669 1 654 1658 1659 1672 1682 1707 1674 1674 1678 16!)2 1712 1736 1747 1750 17o3 1760 1760 1762 1763 1764 1767 1768 1775 1775 1779 1779 1786 1782 1783 1786 1787 1789 1795 1801 1802 1632 1636 1809 1837 PAET 11. A NEW SYSTEM OF PHO]YETIC SHORT-HAND. INTRODUCTION. § I. Definition of Phonetic Short-hand. A sj'stem of short-hand, in which the writing represents the component sounds of words without regard to the usual method of spelling, is called phonetic, to distinguish it from that kind of short-hand in which the characters are used simply as substitutes for the letters of the alphabet. The latter kind, which may be called alphabetic short-hand, was formerly the most in use, and is still practised to some ex- tent ; but the j)honetic method is now generally considered the most advantageous. § n. Advantages of the Phonetic method. Among the many reasons that may be given in favor of the phonetic method for short-hand writing the following are perhaps the most important. First. In following a speaker, if one has to write according to the rules of orthography, his memory is constantly taxed by the irregularity and frequent uncertainty of the usual mode of spelling. His progress, therefore, will always be impeded in proportion as he endeavors to be con-ect in his spelling. On the other hand, if he uses the phonetic method, 4 (51) 52 A NEW SYSTEM OP after he has once acquired the habit of writing down the words according to the sound, a habit which a little practice will render familiar and easy, there will no longer be any uncertainty or hesitation. The writing will then be almost mechanical and the memory can be more freely employed in keeping up with the speaker. The importance of this ad- vantage may be shown by referring to some of the more obvious defects of the usual mode of spelling. Many of the letters are often silent, and many of them have diiferent powers in different words. Of the twenty- six letters of the common alphabet three are duplicates of others, v/z., c, which is the same as either k or s in sound ; q^ which is in sound kw; and x, which is ks. The sounds of th in ether and in other y and of ng in singer y have no single letter to represent them. The following table exemplifies the va- rious powers which some of the consonants have in different words. c in call, cell, ocean, sacrifice. d in (Zay, mixecZ. / iu/ine, of. g in p'ive, coura<7e. n in man, banquet. s in sand, please, pleasure, sure. X in taic, eccert, anxious, -STeuophon. In Worcester's Dictionary there are distinguished seven sounds of the letter a, five of e, five of i, six of o, six of u and four of y. Beside the uncertainty of sound of many of PHONETIC SnORT-IIAND. 53 the vowel-letters, the same vowel-souud is often represented in various ways, as for instance the long sound of o as in shoiv, i/tough, hoe, moat, noie, beau, etc. /Second. Ky using the phonetic method the writer can take down more readily and accurately names of persons or places, or unusual words of which the proper spelling may be unknown to him or uncertain. The sounds he hears being written down furnish the material from which he can afterwards write out the words according to the proper spelling. In like manner when some words are indistinctly heard, the few sounds that the ear may detect will often servo by the aid of the context to restore the lost words. § III. Phonetic Short-hand not an enemy to Orthography. The objection sometimes made that the use of the phonetic method in short-hand may create a tendency to misspell in ordinary long-hand writing could with more reason be urged against alphabetic short-hand. In all the alphabetic systems the rules of orthograpliy are more or less departed from ; silent letters and many of the vowels are omitted; and rules arc laid down for dropping one of two similar letters coming together in a word, or representing c by the character for k or by that for s, etc. Hence in alphabetic short-hand the writer, although obliged to have the common spelling con- stantly in mind, always varies from it in his writing; a prac- tice which might well be supposed to cause confusion. In phonetic short-hand, on the contrary, the common spelling 54 A NEW SYSTEM OF is not ill the mind at all, no regard whatever being paid to orthography, so that the two kinds of writing, short-hand and long-hand, are kept entirely distinct. § IV. Plan of the Phonetic System here proposed. This system of phonetic short-hand is constructed upon such principles as to afford an easy method of rapid writing for composition, writing that which another dictates, taking notes of lectures, addresses or testimony, etc. For verba- tim reporting, that is, following a rapid speaker word for word, it would be necessary to largely increase the use of word-signs and abbreviations ; expedients which, for such a purpose, must be very much relied upon in any system of short-hand. Although some susrgestious are given as to the manner in which such abbreviations can be made, the practical application of the principles stated is left, for the most part, to experience as the best teacher. Another object, kept in view, has been that the writing may be sufficiently exact to bo read with ease and accuracy after any interval of time. The system being adapted to the English language, sounds not properly belonging to it, but which occur in foreign words occasionally introduced, must be represented by the characters for those English sounds which most nearly resemble them. As the writing is phonetic, this can be done without any difficulty, and with sufficient accuracy for all practical purposes. PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. 55 The following is a brief description of the plan proposed : First. The forms of the characters. In the series of char- acters which form the basis of this system, as the sounds to be represented have a relation to each other dependent upon the organs of speech with which they are pronounced, so the characters which represent those sounds have a relation to each other in their form or direction. The articulate sounds of speech are grouped together according to a natural order or scale derived from a careful study of their true nature. Certain groups in which the difference of sound is so slight that a mistake of one for the other would not lead to error in the reading, are represented either by the same character, or by characters resembling each other. Those groups, on the other hand, which differ most in sound, are represented by the characters which differ most in form or direction. Second. Description of the characters. Such characters have been chosen as to give to the writing, as far as practi- cable, some of the advantageous qualities of long-hand writ- ing, viz., that of being somewhat ideographic or pictorial^ which enables us to read words and even sentences at a glance ; that of being continuous, forming a cursive or run- ning hand ; and that of maintaining the honzontal line. The characters have distinct forms, and easily join to- gether in such a manner that all the words, except word- signs and abbreviations, may be written continuously, that is, without taking off the pen till the word is finished. It is generally taken for granted as a rule for the selection 56 A NEW SYSTEM OF of characters that those for the more frequent sounds ought to consist of the shortest geometric lines and curves. Such a rule is, however, liable to this objection, viz., that the shortest line or curve, Avheu used as a character, if it di- verges from the line of writing, not only prevents the writing from being horizontal, but requires in reality two movements of the pen (unless it happens to be followed in the same word by another character in the opposite direction) ; the first movement being that which describes the character, and the second that which returns the pen to the horizontal line of writing. This may be shown by writing a succession of parallel slanting lines, when it will be noticed that allow- ing the pen to describe, on the paper, connecting strokes between the parallel lines, adds to, rather than diminishes, the speed with which tlic parallel lines may be written. In the following example, for instance, the connected double strokes can be made more quickly and easily than the same number of simple parallel strokes. Am/mvm^ ///////////^ A simple line or curve which diverges from the horizontal line is not, however, so objectionable, if it occurs at the end of a word ; and when it occurs at the heginning of a word it may be so written as to end on the line of writing. The above objections, therefore, against all the simple lines and curves, except those which are horizontal, are most important in connection with the representation of sounds in the middle of a u'ord. PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. 57 For these reasons I have used most of the simple lines and curves which diverge from the line of writing to repre- sent the less frequent sounds, viz., the vowels^ which may be very often omitted especially in the middle of a word. The variation of the simple lines and curves in direction also renders them well adapted for vowel-characters, as this va- riation may be made to correspond to that of the vowel- sounds in the natural scale. For the frequent consonants p^ b, t and d the horizontal curves are used ; for k and g the upright curve ; and for s and z the circle ; all of which are simple forms. The characters for I and r consist of a horizontal line pre- ceded by a short stroke upward to the left for Z, and down- ward to the left for r. These forms combine readily with the other consonant-characters, and they are, therefore, well adapted to represent consonants which combine so frequently with other consonant-sounds. The characters for m and n are straight strokes downward to the left, the first to the line of writing, and the second fvom the line of writing, with connecting strokes, which may often be dispensed with. For f, V, ih (as thm) and dh (as in thcw) an upward or downward loop stroke is used. This form of character, though it does not have the simplicity of the straight line or. single curve, is made with equal facility, and has the ad- vantage of maintaining the horizontal line of writing. The distinctness in appearance of this character from those used for the other sounds renders it convenient for the few very 58 PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. frequent words in which it occurs, such as if^ for^ of^ the^ this, that, those, then, there, therefore, other, etc. Third. Use of difference in length or size of the characters. The diiference between the short vowel-sounds and the corres- ponding long vowel-sounds, and also the difference between the two kinds of consonants commonly designated by the words " hard and soft," or " surd and sonant," is denoted in the corresponding characters by a difference in their length or size. This method is more convenient for the writer than that of using light and heavy strokes ; and may be safely used, since an occasional failure to make the proper distinc- tion will not lead to error in reading, as the context will sufficiently show which of two sounds so closely resembling each other is intended. Fourth. Compound sounds. The compound sounds, which are so numerous and so constantly in use, are represented by distinctive signs combining in a more or less abbreviated form the characters for the component sounds. Fifth. Use of word-signs. "Word-signs are added for :a few of the most common words. To render such signs more easily remembered different classes of words are rei> resented by different sets of signs. The use, to a certain extent, of word-signs which present a different appearance to the eye from that of the rest of the short-hand writing will be found to add to the legibility as well as to the rapidity of the writinjr. CHAPTER I. ANALYSIS OF THE ARTICULATE SOUNDS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. § I. Ifecessity of a preliminary analysis.^ 1. In phonetic short-hand writing the spelling must be according to the sound and without regard to the ordinary rules of orthography ; the words being represented by a combination of characters which represent to the eye the component sounds as distinguished by the ear. It is neces- sary, therefore, to learn how to properly distinguish these component sounds or elements of words before one can make use of any phonetic system of short-hand. The ordinary method of spelling is so very far from truly representing the component sounds of words, that the phonetic method seems, to one not accustomed to it, somewhat difficult and even unnatural. This difficulty, however, is soon overcome by a « little stud\' and practice ; and when once the phonetic method becomes familiar, the spelling will be much less troublesome than in the ordinary writing. > In preparing this analj-isis I have been particularly indebted to the following trea- tises on the subject of phonetics; and to tliem I would refer the reader for more ex- tended information as to the nature of all articulate sounds, and their relation-? to each other; tlie Alphabet of Nature, by Alexander. J. Ellis, Ap|>. to Phonotypic Journal, Bath, England. 1844. Science of Language, by Max Miiller, New Yorlv, 18(j5. pp. 10;)-1(^. Ori- ental and Linguistic Studies, Second Series, by Prof. Wm. D. Whitntty, New York, 1874, pp. •20-2.-.300. Also the works of Bishop WUkins and Alexander M. Bell referred to above, Part I., Chap. VI. (59) 60 A NEW SYSTEM OF 2. The following analysis of the vowel-sounds and con- sonant-sounds will serve to show the student the manner in which these elements of words are to be distinguished. The arrangement of them in a natural classification, showing their relation to one another, will aid him also in committing to memory the short-hand characters, which have a correspond- ing order and relation to each other in their forms. 3. The first ol)ject of this analysis is to group the sounds in such a manner that they may be easily committed to mem- ory in a natural order, bringing together those which most nearly resemble each other, and indicating with suflicient exactness the particular sound which each character will bo used to represent. For this purpose an explanation of the nature of the sounds being necessary, I have made use of the definitions given l)y the bc.>t writers on the subject of phonetics, employing, however, on some points an independ- ent method of analysis and arrangement. The more am- biguous or uncertain terms generally used, such as "mnte," "semi-vowel," " whispered, "^ "hard," etc., have been avoided, and an attempt is made to explain the sounds of language by the use of a more clear and definite nomenclature. Though I may not have escaped crlf)rs in the treatment of 60 difficult a subject, 1 feel confident that none will be found of sufiit.-icnt importance to iin[)air the viscfulncss of this analysis for the purposes intended. § II. The voice and llie hreallnng. 1. The sound of the voice is produced by the breath PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. 61 passing from the lungs through the liuynx and causing a vibration of the " vocal chords.*^ This vibration is communi- cated to the column of air enclosed in the " vocal tube,^* that is, the throat and mouth, or throat and nasal passages. In a similar way the sound of the organ-pipe is produced by the vibration of the reed act i nor on the column of air in the organ-pipe ; and so the sound of the flute is produced by the vibration caused fiy the breath and acting on the column of air Avithiu the flute. The various articulate sounds of ■speech are formed by the voice being variously modified dur- ing its uttei'ance, or obstructed or intercepted at the begin- ning or end of its utterance, by changes in the form of the vocal tube; the principal organs of speech which, by their varying relative positions, produce these changes being the palate^ the tongue and the lips. 2. The sound of the voice may also be modified by being preceded or followed by an unvoealized breathing ; that is, a more or less forcible expulsion of the breath while the vocal chords are not in a condition to vibrate ; the breath, when not otherwise checked, striking against the sides of the throat or the palate. This sound of the unvoealized breathing and the sound of the voice are not heard together, since the one must necessaril}' cease when the other begins. The breathing when heard as a distinct sound becomes the aspirate, and is represented in the ordinary alphabet by the letter h. 3. Beside its use as an aspirate, however, this breath- 62 A NEW SYSTEM OF ing has an important influence on many of the consonant- sounds, causing, by its presence in the pronunciation of the consonant and the accompanying vowel, the difference va- riously designated by the words "hard and soft," "surd and sonant," "whispered and spoken," "voiceless and vocal." For instance the difference between the sound of s in seal, and that of z in 2eal, is, that in the former an unvocalized breathing precedes the vowel-sound, {he breathing being in this case obstructed in such a manner as to produce the sibi- lant or hissing sound. In the sound of the 2, on the other hand, the vibration of the voice is immediately heard, al- though the breath which produces the voice is obstructed in such a manner as to produce a sibilant sound, but softer and more vocal than that of the s. In the same manner the sound of s in Mxss differs from the z sound in his, because in the former the accompanying vowel-sound ( i ) is followed by a mere breathing which produces the sharp sibilant sound, while in the latter the voice continues to vibrate, although checked in such a manner as to produce a sibilant which is softer and more vocal than that of the 5 sound. The same difference exists between the sounds of ^ and 6, and also between those of t and cZ, h and g (as in go)tf and r, til (as in iKm) and dh (as in und according to the principles above stated. PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. 69 LINGUAL VOWELS. Back part of the tongue raised, the sides of the tongue being pressed against the teeth, so that the voice has only a narrow passage between the tongue and the roof of the mouth ; termiual sound e : Abrupt, i as in til, pin. Grave, e as in man^, enough. Long, e as in eel, see, he, feat, chief, people. Tongue partly raised ; terminal sound e : Abrupt, 6 as in end, ell, ever. Grave, h, as in Monday, about, essay, extend. Long, a as in day, aid, ale, break, obey. Tongue partly raised ; terminal sound u : Abrupt, a as in at, mat, fan. Grave, a as in arrange, assail. Long, ail as in there, fair, prayer, aiv. OPEN VOWELS. Tongue flat or at rest and the lips open ; terminal sound h : guttural as in wp, swn, son, wnder. more open as in guy, eye, sound, how. guttural as in other, fat'r, fear, asc€rtain. (_ more open as in idea, comma, algebra, upon, ur^ guttural, as in err, urge, certain, a more open, as in calm, far, father, alms, arms. »In this sound, sometimes called the urvocal sound, the tongue is somewhat re- tracted, as if about to pronounce the consonant r (as in fui'ring), producing a deeper or more guttural pronunciation or the vowel. Abrupt, n Grave, u Long, 70 A NEW SYSTEM OF LABIAL VOWELS. Lips partjy closed ; terminal sound u : Abrupt, 6 as in on, hot, pond. Grave, 6 as in oxalic, forever, awturanal. Long, k{6vk) as in for, saw, war, fall, autumn. Lips partly closed and somewhat rounded ; terminal sound 66 : Abrupt, 6 as in home, whole, hope, stone. * Grave, 6 as in obey, meadow. Long, 6 as in go, owe, road, show, note. Lips nearly closed and somewhat protruded; terminal sound 66 : Abrupt, 66 as in foot, put, p«ll. Grave, 66 as in how, unto, show. Long, 55 as in food, who, ooze. § V. Compound Vowels. There are certain combinations of the vowels described in the preceding section, which are pronounced as if forming but one syllable, and may be called Compound Vowels. COMPOUND VOWELS. Final 6 Final 66 Final 56 i (ue) oh u66 u (y65, hod") eye oil owl few fly boy how cube ftne toil found assume * See above, § IV, note 2. PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. 71 Final u eii au iu oil 66u ear player ire more poor fear weigher fire door your mere slayer wire oar boor § VI. Obscure Vowel Sounds, In unaccented syllables the vowel-sound is often slight and obscure, as iu legacy, political, philosophy, volatile, colony. These obscure vowels may generally be omitted in short-hand writing. In any case where it is desirable to represent such a sound the short-hand character for the open vowel u may be used. In the last syllable of such words as evil, able, reckon, wooden, often, oven, etc., the voice passes directly from one consonant modification to another without any distinct intermediate vowel ; the final consonant modification being of such A nature, however, as to admit vocal sound suflicient to form a separate syllable without the aid of any final vowel- sound. In such words as robbed, realm, helve, adze, the voice passes in like manner from one consonant modifica- tion to another, and the final consonant modification admits a slight sound of the voice, but not suflicient to form a separate syllable. In all such words the slight vocal sound referred to, even if it seems to be a vowel-sound, does not need to be represented in writing, as the representation of the two successive consonants will suflficiently indicate the sound. 72 A NEW SYSTEM OP § VII. Consonant Sounds. The consonants are those modifications of the voice by which it is obstimcted or intercepted at the beginning or end' of its utterance, and are produced by the organs of speech being more or less closed together. They are divided here into three classes, viz. : labial^ when the obstruction is caused by one or both of the lips ; lingual, when it is caused by the tongue ; palatal, when it is caused by the back part of the tongue and the palate. Some of the consonants resemble each other in the position which the organs of speech assume for their pro- nunciation, but have a certain difference of sound dependent upon the presence or absence of a slight unvocalized breath- ing between the consonant and its accompanying vowel. Where this breathing is present the consonant forms an obstruction to the breath; where it is not present the ob- struction acts directly upon the voice. This difference I shall indicate by using the words breath-check and voice-check. (See above Ch. 1, § II.) Another difference is produced by causing the voice to sound or vibrate through the nasal passages, rather than through the mouth. This may be denoted by the word nasal. LABIAL CONSOXANTS. Both lips closed together : Breath-check, p as in purr, pin, up, apt, upper, park. Voice-check, b as in 6urr, bin, rob, rofc&ed, ro?>6er, 6ark. Nasal, m as in ?nurmur, so»ne, natiied, hflntmer, mark. PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. 73 Both lips nearly closed together and slightly more com- pressed than when about to pronounce the vowel oo : w as in were, went, witch, away, war, woo. Lower lip closed against the edge of the upper teeth, but allowing a slight passage of the breath or voice : Breath-check, f as in far, \f, for, fine, ph&se. Voice-check, v as in vernal, of, ouer, cane, past. LINGUAL CONSONANTS. Tongue closed against the mside of the upper teeth, or against the gums of the upper teeth : Breath-check, t as in turu, it, to, utter, waif. Voice-check, d as in dirlc, add, do, adder, wade. Nasal, n as in nerve, &n, no, inwer, wane. Tongue raised towards the roof of the mouth somewhat more than when about to pronounce the vowel e : y as in yearn, you, yard, ye, beyond. Tongue closed against the edge of the upper teeth, but allowing a slight passage of the breath or voice : Breath-check, tli as in {Aird, thin, earth, brea^A. Voice-check, dh* as in other, then, thine, breathe. Tongue closed as in the pronunciation of t^ but allowing the breath or the voice to be forced through between the tip * This digraph is adopted as being the method generally used to distinguish this sound trom that of th in thin. 74 A NEW SYSTEM OF or upper front part of the tongue and the hard palate (or the gums of the upper teeth) producing a hissing or sibilant sound : Breath-check, s as in racer, certain, soon, ice, hiss, bits. Voice-check, z as in ra^or, 2;eal, ooze, eyes, his, adze. Tip of the tongue closed against the upper teeth, or upper part of the mouth, the sides of the tongue being left free : 1 as in {earn, coZor, ill, lose, pZay, bZue. Tip of the tongue reversed, or retracted, and raised to- wards the roof of the mouth, the passage by it of the breath or voice producing more or less of a vibrating or trilling sound : r as in error, ray, ring, rustle, tray, d?'ay, fray. PALATAL CONSONANTS. Back part of the tongue closed against the roof of the mouth or soft palate : Breath-check, k as in kernel, oak, cup, see^, acre. Voice-check, g as in gird, ague, gun, league, auger. Nasal, ng' as in sing^er, haw^r, rin^f, longr. Breath striking upon, or vibrating against, the soft palate, sides of the throat, or back part of the mouth : h as in her, hand, who, /taste, hard. [The above arrangement of the consonants corresponds substantially with that of Bishop Wilkins (See Part I, p. 40). I prefer, however, to consider w (as in we, woo, away), y (as in ye, you, bej/ond) and h as consonants; and sli (as in sAeer) and zh (as in a«ure) as compound sounds.] • The ng is italicized to distinguish this sound from that of ng in anfirer, hngcr. etc. The sound has really no connection with that of n, except that it is the nasal palatal as n is the nasal lingual. PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. 75 § VIII. Compound Consonants. There are certain combinations of consonant modifications which may be pronounced with one utterance of the voice, so as to seem like single consonant-sounds. These may be called compound consonants. w AND Y COMPOUNDS. wh yh^ cb(«(/A) Kdy) s toAen Aew cAew Jew i awAile Auman wafcA edge < kw gw sw queen gu@LW& sweet sh{syh) zy shoe asure ocean pleasure baoguet lanpruage assuage NASAL COMPOUNDS. mp mb nt nd ng\ ngg empire amfter enter nndev anchor anger stamp Thomb s.nt and ink linger pl play FINAL L COMPOUNDS. bl fl kl gl blow flow clay glow FINAL K COMPOUNDS. pr br fr tr dr kr gr pi-ay bray fray tray dray crow grow ' The wh and yh sounds are here considered as combinations in the same utterance of the consonant sounds of w and y with the aspirate h, rather than breath-clieck con- sonants corresponding to to and y as p corresponds to b, for the following reason : In the pronunciation of these sounds, wh and yh. the breath is not so much checked as to prevent a distinct aspirate or h sound; while in those consonants, like p, t, etc., which I have denoted by the name breath-check, the complete or almost complete, closure of the organs of speech prevents any distinct pronunciation of the aspirate h, the breath being heard only in an explosive or forced utterance. The difference between the sound of w in kw and gw corresponds perhaps moi'e nearly with that between the breath-check and voice-check consonants. 76 A NEW SYSTEM OF § IX. Explanation of the compound consonants ch, j, sh, zy^ ng)s. and ngg. ch (tyh) . The sound of ch (tt/h) (as in chew, cheer, watch, etc.,) is considered here as being a combination of t and yli, the tongue being first placed in position to pronounce t, and then the tip lowered sufficiently to pronounce yh (as in hew) ; the breath, which had been checked by the t, causing a slightly explosive sound. j (dy). The sound j (dy) (as in Jew, Jeer, edge, etc.,) is in a similar manner a combination of d and y, the voice being checked instead of the breath. sh (syh). The sound of sh (syh) (as in shoe, ash, sure) is a combination of s and yh, the tongue being in position to pronounce s, but with the tip or front part lowered suffi- ciently to pronounce yh (as in 7iew) ; the pronunciation of both together modifying to a certain extent the sibilant sound and rendering it more aspirate. zy. The sound zy (as in a^rure) is a combination of z and y, the voice being checked instead of the breath. ngk, ngg. The sounds, ngk (as in hik) and ngg (as in anger) are combinations of ng (as in singer) with k and with g. The nasal palatal ng is followed by a closing of the nasal passages, thus checking the nasal sound, and producing the final k, or g, according as the ng is followed by the breathing or by a continued vocal sound. PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. 77 § X. Example of Phonetic Spelling, To illustrate the phonetic method of writing I have taken a few sentences from the very valuable and interesting treatise of Prof. Whitney (Oriental and Linguistic Studies, Second Series, p. 202), and have represented them according to the spelling of the foregoing analysis. The passage selected answers a double purpose, furnishing the subject for the ex- ample, and also stating in a clear and concise manner a truth of great importance in the study of phonetics. The unaccented sounds of short a, as in attempt, utter- ance, and short o, as in forever, occur, are distinguished from the corresponding accented sounds b}' using the unmarked letters a and o. The unaccented sound of short e, as in ex- istence, engage, is represented by a. The two unaccented open vowels, which are both represented by ii in the analy- sis, are here distinguished by using d for the more open sound (as a in idea, artistic), and u for the guttural sound (as e in other, a in fear, or i in fair). The vowels in the words a, an^ to^ (hSf 6e, and o/", are considered as unaccented sounds. " It. iz a fakt w61 non too dhh stootlants ov lawf/ffwaj dhat no Uvhig tun// iz spokti in an ilntmii& akktM'daiit inriniiur hi illie hoi hMb ov dlioz too hooni it iz natev. DitturAiisez ov uttiirans (Aloju/ widh diflu^all^ez ov frazeoloje and s&j;nefeka>liun) .sfinitiinz riz too siich u dejri'e az too pro- diis str6n.^/le dctind dialakts, dlie spCkurz ov which k'ui hiirdle, if at al, undurstsmd wun iinudhur. Dhe airzi>taii.s ov .such '-dialakts," ah')»27sid dlie apprdovd .«pich ov dhe kidlevatad, iz az ji-iieral az dhJi a;;zistfliis ov i kultovatid spech. But evn in „ f m rS « a, g I g-i ? g * '^ fc. „ be « R 2 B 2 ^ .5 H V « J5 5 J> ■a I ^ :e8 £ I <♦* CO h e y I * ^ ^^ / « -3 c ^ 5 ^ ?i - ^ o ^ u ^ Z 2 S 2 • ♦» .^ ■^ 2 I != S s i £• o « 2 ** ^ ^ _j, '' ii a > c; p o "S. 5 5 ~ ^-1 S 2 t o a s " a — - e .2 '^ s «> a* e §S " « I I « S S PHONETIC SHORT- HAND. 79 l! ^ "^ o »-| a ». I - W O < 1— I o !?; o CO O Q n s \ ^ J \ o i s g " s ^ C -o o. r a, ^i=^| \ \ to d su »> « s 13 ~j ^s •5 =s 8 .S KJ a, „ 2 b •=1 IS — 2 '53 o 5| ''i a a. 3 ^ S i: o -1^ en u 4) 5-. 3 S3 in .-a s ^ .45 » S^ •^ i t4 o . ^ =3 3l V :P — ^ 5 Ai 80 PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. TABLE III. COMPOUND VOWEL CHARACTERS. T y\ -/ V i(ue) ok u66 \i (yo6 or So6) jce oil ow\ Mse fly toy sound cube high boa plow few V eu au lU ou oou ear player ire oar poor mere weigher fire door moor tier gayer higher more boor TABLE IV. COMPOUND CONSONANT CHAE ACTERS /7 10 and y Compounds. A V ■^ ^^r wh yh ch(tyh) i(dy) why ^ew cheer jeer -JT -If ^ ,^^ -8- Bh(syh) zy kw gw sw sheer aaure queen language sweet Nasal Compounds. /? (/ 1/ r r mp mb nt nd n^k ngg stamp awifter ant and \nk anger pl play Final I Compounds. bl fl kl blow ty clay gl gloMV Final r Compounds. n— rx- U. ^ "^L. U- J-. pr br fr tr dr kr gr ^y 6row free try dry cry firrow CHAPTEE II. DIEECTIONS FOR THE USE OF THE CHARACTERS. § I. The characters differ in direction or form, hut not in thickness. In constructing this system of short-hand I have wholly avoided the use of a difference in thickness or heaviness of stroke as a means of denoting a difference in sound, believing such an expedient objectionable for two reasons, viz. ; first, the uncertainty which it is apt to impart to the reading of the short-hand manuscript ; and second, the interruption it necessarily occasions in writing, thereby preventing the ac- quirement of an easy running hand. All the characters are to be written with a light and flowing stroke, so as to give the greatest facility to the movement of the hand. § II. Joining the characters to form words. In this system all the characters of any short-hand word are to be joined together so as to form one continuous stroke or movement of the pen, — the second character beginning where the first ends, the third where the second ends, and so on without lifting the pen till the word is finished ; somewhat as the word vowel is written in long-hand manu- script. No detached marks are used either for vowels or consonants ; and the only exception to the continuity of the 6 82 A NEW SYSTEM OF writing for all words (other than those for which word-signs or abbreviation-marks are used) is, that when two vowel- characters come together having the same direction they should be written parallel to each other rather than joined. The student, before attempting to write words, should practise writing the characters separately in order to become familiar with their forms and to accustom the hand to the movements which they require. § III. Vowel Characters. 1. The vowel charactei-s are straight or curved strokes fol- lowing in the order of their direction the natural scale of the vowel-sounds ; viz., downward for the most Ungual; slanting downward for the partly lingual; horizontal from left to right for the open vowels; slanting upward for the partly labial; and upward for the most labial. 2. No distinction need be made in short-hand writing be- tween the vowels which have an unaccented pronunciation and the corresponding vowels which have an abrupt pronun- ciation. Both kinds are therefore arranged together in the Table of Vowel Characters under the name of short Towels, and are represented by tlie same series of characters. 3. The characters for the long vowels differ" only in length from those for the corresponding short vowels. 4. In rapid writing the downward stroke \ may be used for a, instead of the downward curve v , and the upward stroke y for o instead of the upward curve ^ PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. 83 5. The upward stroke /' may be used for & except for such final sounds as or in for, ar in war, aw in saWy which should be represented by the curved form r 6. The vowel-sound u in fear, fair, there, other, is very nearly the same as the final sound in idea, and these sounds do not need to be distino;uished from each other in writiusf. The corresponding long vowels ur, as in M?'gent, earnest, and a, as in alms, harm, father, also resemble each other, being both open vowels, and may generally be represented by the same character. If greater accuracy is desired, the ur vowel may be represented by adding the character for r, thus -x- in the same manner as is done in ordinary writing in such words as urgent, lurk, fur. 7. The characters for the compound vowds are formed by joining the characters for the vowels which compose them ; the angle in some cases being rounded into a curve form for convenience of writing. Any other combinations of vowels may be represented in a similar manner by combining the vowei-^characters as in the following examples : u \y U^ eu eo So or 10 ar ure ore or ()r& iure aure or ar6 ubourh hurry story fiery fairy SiOioery curry glory vriry airy showoy ■worry qwarry miry carry bowery When these or similar combinations of sounds occur in the middle of a word, as in stereotype, interest, hwrr/ed, flon'd, fairylike, prevaricate, etc., the same forms may be used ; or the character for r may be used, the vowels being omitted. PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. 85 § IV. Consonant Oharacters. 1. The student should learn to repeat readily the con- sonant-sounds in their natural order as arranged in Table II. In doing this he should not use the alphabetical " names " of the letters, as some of them have the accompanying vowel before, and some after, the consonant ; and those for w^ y, r, g^ and h are entirely different in sound from the conso- nants themselves. Just enough vowel-sound should be used to give each consonant its distinct pronunciation, and to enable them all to be easily uttered in succession. For this purpose the open vowel ur as in iur is the most convenient, and may be used after each consonant, thus, for Ifxbials: — ^ur, 6ur, mur, wur, /ur, vur; for Unguals: — r- '^^V" It 1(1 1th Ich Ij hilt held health Glch bulge 'T-O ^v Is Iz Jsh Ik Itr Idr else hells compulsion silk Initial m. ultra, children /6 /v /^ A A- ^ /^ ^ /2. mt md mn mz ml mpl mbl mpr mbr empty aimed chimney alms hamlet ample amble empress embrace Initial n. / i V- /- •6 -O um ns or nz nl nr BSt nzd enmity pence pens enZarge enrage against bronzed 4- 5. sC Jl. 0" rapidity is the chief object of short-hand, many sounds, particularly vowel-souuds, may be omitted in the writing where such omission does not prevent the written word from being easily read ; the other sounds in the same word or the other words with which it is connected making it sufficiently evident what word is intended to be represented. To what PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. 95 extent this omission may be carried will depend upon prac- tice and also upon the particular object of the writing. As the short-hand writing becomes familiar a word will be read, not by spelling out each character, but by its general form or outline ; so that a whole sentence may often be read at a glance even though considerably abbreviated by the omission of many of the sounds. If the writing is intended to be laid aside and not to be read till after an interval of time, the writing should be more full and accurate than when it is intended for immediate use. Although practice is the best teacher in regard to this sort of abbreviation it will be found convenient to observe the following rules : 1. Unaccented vowels between consonants (in the same word) may generally be omitted. Even accented vowels between consonants may often be omitted, especially in words of more than two syllables. 2. The r before a oonsonant, as in art, heart, court, etc., or when finals as in war, fear, fair, etc., need not be repre- sented. 3. The sound of r between two vowel-sounds, as in se?nous, arrange, etc., may generally be omitted if the vowel- sounds are represented. 4. When the same consonant is repeated without any intervening sound as in be^^er, da^/^er, mn^Y, etc., only 9ne need be written. 96 PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. 5. The aspirate h may be omitted if the vowel which fol- lows it is represented ; except iu a few words (particularly those of one syllable) where the aspirate constitutes the only means of distinction from another word, as in Aarm, arm; /ieart, art ; A old, old. 6. When m, n, Z, r, begin a word, the vowel following may often be omitted even when accented, as these con- sonants, when initial i imply a following vowel. 7. An initial vowel need not be represented when it is followed by a double consonant-sound which necessarily im- plies a preceding vowel-sound, as in employ, empire, express, intend, altitude, etc. CHAPTEK lY. WORD-SIGNS AND ABBREVIATIONS. § I. Definition of word-signs. Word-signs are special signs representing certain words, and may consist either of contractions; words m which some of the characters are omitted or written in a contracted form ; or symbols suggesting by their forms the idea of the word ; or, finally, arbitrary marks. Those of the first kind are nat- urally suggested by experience, and their use may be indef- initely extended by the writer to suit his own convenience, provided only that the forms be such as will not interfere with the legibility of the writing. (See pages 114, 115.) Symbols may be used for a few common words denoting position or direction. Examples of this kind will be found on page 104. Arbitrary marks can be more easily com- mitted to memory if the words and their signs are arranged in a certain corresponding order. Some of the pronouns and auxiliary verbs are represented by such marks. § II. Use of ivord-sig7is. For those who wish to acquire a knowledge of short-hand, not for the most rapid kind of verbatim reporting, but for the ordinary purposes of correspondence, composition, taking notes of lectures, etc., it is best not to burden the memory 98 A NEW SYSTEM OF with too many rules or arbitrary signs. Tiie advantage to be gained, however, by the use of a few word-signs for the most common words, and certain methods of abbrevia- tion for prefixes and terminations, will amply repay one for the little exertion necessary to commit them to memory ; and these can be learned more easily at first than after acquiring a habit of writing out, in full, words which might as well be represented by brief forms. § III. Difference of position. Many words and phrases may be represented by the use of word-signs, the meanings of which vary according as they are written above, on, or belov) the line of writing. For example, the characters for p, t, k, and a curve having a direction opposite to that for k furnish convenient word- sisrns as indicated in the following table : each character having a diflerent meaning according to its position ; that for t, for instance, meaning at least when written above the line, at any rate when written on the line, and at all events when written beloiu the line. ( at least ( possibly v-f < at any rate "^ < perhaps ( at all events I probably I according to C on the contrary C \ on account of D < nevertheless >l in consequence of I notwithstanding ^ IV. Word-signs for Pronouns. 1 . The personal pronouns are represented by the use of the dot written either above, on, or below the line of writing, UWYER OAILAS, TEXA.S PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. 99. according as the pronoun is of the Jirsi, second, or third person ; two dots being used for the plural number. I or me you he, him, or it we or iis ye they or them 2. Other pronouns may be represented by small angles written above, on, or below the line of writing. A V A V A V who or whom which what each each other every or everybody > < either any or anyone such neither none another 3. The possessive case may be indicated by a curved line under the word-sign, and the reciprocals self, selves, the termination ever, and the adjective own may, either of them, be indicated by a curved line over the word-sign. These curves may be used together forming a circle about the word-sign for mi/ own, their own, etc. EXAMPLES. viy or mine your or yours themselves whatever 100 A NEW SYSTEM OF 4. Other pronominal words may be represented as fol- lows : \ /^ cT t/^ c^ cT^ <^ <^ a an the this these those there then O- ^ ^ ^ / ^ ^ hoth feio many some the same part ichole 5. Time, place or manner may be denoted by the marks «j o or / {t, p, 7n,) written under either of the above word-signs or abbreviations. EXAMPLES. >y at at in at at at part at the which what any every this some of the same time place manner place time time time place 6. Other similar abbreviations will be suggested by ex- perience. For instance, the expression on my behalf^ on Ms behalf, etc., may be represented by placing the character for h above the word-sign ; for this reason, for another reason, etc., by placing the character for r above the Avord-sign; and for this purpose, for what puipose, etc., by placing the character for p above the word-sign. The addition of the word thing, as in everything, something, may be denoted by making a straight stroke through the word-sign. PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. 101 § V. Word-si(/ns for the auxiliary verbs. 1. For the words may, can, ivill, shall, must, ought to, have, had, might, could, would, should, a short stroke may be used, written in one of four directions, and above the line for the first four, on the line for the second four, and below the line for the last four. - I \ ^ - I \ X -IS/ may can will shall must ought to have had might could would should 2. The addition of not may be indicated by an additional stroke making an acute angle with the first ; and be or been by a parallel stroke, as in the following examples : may not must not might not have not had not can not ought not to could sot = II \\ yy^ II = may be could be must be ought to be might be have been had been may not be must not be might not be have not been had not been n can not be ought not to be could not be 102 A NEW SYSTEM OF 3. Other auxiliary verbs. is, am are was were there is there are there was there were ^ O ^ -^^ be being been to be \^ \^' --^ N^-^ do doing done to do does did § VI. Abbreviations for prefixes and terminations. 1. Tiie best method of abbreviating prefixes, such as ex, in, un, per, pro, pre, con, com, etc., is to use one or more of the characters which represent the sounds contained in the prefix, rather than to use detached marks. The characters may, in many cases, be combined together or written in a briefer form to show that they are intended for prefixes. For instance ex may be represented by the characters for Jc and s written together ; in or icn by the character for n made smaller than usual ; per by the character for p; pro or pre by the character for pr ; con by the character for k with a PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. 103 short stroke downward to the left for the n; and com by the downward stroke of the m character written in a curved form to represent both the m and the k sound. A table of abbre- viations of this sort will be found at the end of this chapter. 2. Some of the terminations of nouns ^ such as ment, ness^ tion, sion, ion, ance, ence, may be denoted by a straight stroke through the preceding part of the word, adding the s char- acter for a plural termination, or the d character for final etZ, at the end of the stroke. 3. Adjective terminations, such as ing, ful, ous, ious, eous, hie, able, ible, may be represented by a dot at the end of the preceding character. 4. The adverbial terminations ly and ward may be rep- resented by a dot at the side of the preceding character. 5. The signs for terminations can be used together. The termination fulness Qoy fulness), for instance, may be rep- resented by a dot at the end of, and a stroke through, the preceding character. 104 A NEW SYSTEM OF § VII. Word-signs /or words denoting jposition or direction. above below over under upon beneath upward downward 'I -I I- H h before behind in front (of) in the rear (of) towards from backward forward •) )• )i -) )- 3 > within without inside (of) outside (of) into out of inward outward through against along beyond between beside or besides T 1 at the beginning in the middle at the end at the top at the bottom across r— —■ I — II — = =r- the former the latter the preceding the following equal (to) unequal (to) § VIII. Long-hand abbreviations, punctuation marks, etc. 1. The same abbreviations that are used in ordinary long- hand writing may also be used here, for example : > < + X ^ greater than less than in addition to multiplied by divided by PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. 105 2. The ordinary punctuation marks, quotation marks, numerals, etc., may also be used, except that a small cross should be substituted for the period, 3. The ordinal words first, second, third, fourth, etc., may be represented by a dot at the side of the numeral figure, and firstly, secondly, etc., by an additional dot. The words once, twice, thrice, may be represented by a small circle at the side of the figure. 4. A pause may be denoted, as in long-hand writing, by a dash; and emjihasis by a line drawn under the words emphasized. 5. Words which in long-hand begin with a capital letter may be denoted in short-hand by a small mark ^ written above them. KEY TO THE SHOBT-HAND EXAMPLES ON PAGES 117-120. EXAMPLE I. The Grandeur of Peace. — Sumner. Whatever may be the jutlgment of poets, of moralists, of satirists, or even of soldiers, it is certain that the glory of arms still exercises no mean influence over the minds of men. The art of war, which has been happily termed by a French divine, the baleful art by which men learn to exterminate one another, is yet held, even among Christians, to be an honorable pursuit ; and the animal courage, which it stimu- lates and develops, is prized as a transcendent virtue. It will be for another age, and a higher civilization, to appreci- ate the more exalted character of the art of benevolence — the art of extending happiness and all good influences, by word or deed, to the largest number of mankind — which, in blessed contrast with the misery, the degradation, the wicked- ness of war, shall shine resplendent, the true grandeur of peace. All then will be willing to join with the early poet in saying, at least, "Though louder fame attend the martial rage, 'Tis greater glory to reform the age." Ddes any one ask for the signs of this approaching era? The increasing beneficence and intelligence of our own day, (106) PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. 107 the broail-spread sympathy with human suffering, the widen- ing thoughts of men, the longings of the heart for a higher condition on earth, the unfulfilled promises of Christian progress, are the auspicious auguries of this happy future. As early voyagers over untried realms of waste, we have already observed the signs of land. The green twig and fresh red berry have floated by our bark ; the odors of the shore fan our faces ; nay, we may seem to descry the distant gleam of light, and hear from the more earnest observers, as Columbus heard, after midnight, from the mast-head of the Pinta, the joyful cry of Land ! Land ! and lo ! a new world broke upon his early morning gaze. EXAMPLE II. The Character of True Eloquence. — Webster. When public bodies are to be addressed on momentous occasions, when great interests are at stake, and strong pas- sions excited, nothing is valuable in speech farther than as it is connected with high intellectual and moral endowments. Clearness, force, and earnestness, are the qualities which produce conviction. True eloquence, indeed, does not con- sist in speech. It cannot be brought from far. Labor and learning may toil for it, but they will toil in vain. Words and phrases may be marshalled in every way^ but they cannot compass it. It must exist in the man, in the subject, and in the occasion. Affected passion, intense expression, the pomp of declamation, all may aspire to it ; they cannot reach it. 108 A NEW SYSTEM OF It comes, if it come at all, like the outbreaking of a fountain from the earth, or the bursting forth of volcanic fires, with spontaneous, original, native force. The graces taught in the schools, the costly ornaments and studied contrivances of speech, shock and disgust men, when their own lives, and the fate of their wives, their children, and their country, hang on the decision of the hour. Then words have lost their power, rhetoric is vain, and all elaborate oratory con- temptible. Even genius itself then feels rebuked and sub- dued, as in the presence of higher qualities. Then patriot- ism is eloquent ; then self-devotion is eloquent. The clear conception, outrunning the deductions of logic, the high pur- pose, the firm resolve, the dauntless spirit, speaking on the tongue, beaming from the eye, informing every feature, and urging the whole man onward, right onward, to his object — this, this is eloquence ; or rather it is something greater and higher than all eloquence, it is action, noble, sublime, god- like action. EXAMPLE III. THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER. O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, "What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming ; Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through tlie perilous fight. O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming ! And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air. Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there ; O say, does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ! PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. 109 On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep. Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses ! Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, In full glory reflected now shines on the stream ; 'Tis the Star-Spangled Banner! O, long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ! And where are the foes who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion, A home and a country should leave us no more? Their blood hath washed out their foul footsteps' pollution ! No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave ; And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ! 0~, thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved homes and the war's desolation ! Blessed with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a Nation. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just. And this be our motto, "In God is our trust;" And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ! 110 A NEW SYSTEM OF EXAMPLE IV. CROSS-EXAMINATION OF A "WITNESS.* Q. You have produced a uote-book of original steno- graphic report of a speech of the President? A. Yes, sir. Q. Is it of the whole speech ? A. Of the whole speech. Q. Was it wholly made by you ? A. By me ; yes sir. Q. How long did the speech occupy in the delivery? A. Well, I suppose some twenty or twenty-five minutes. Q. By what method of stenographic reporting did you proceed on that occasion ? A. Pitman's system of phonography. Q. Which is, as I understand, reporting by sound, and not by sense ? A. We report the sense by the sound. Q. I understand you report by sound wholly ? A. Signs. Q. And not by memory of or attention to sense ? A. ^No good reporter can report imless he always pays attention and understands the sense of what he is reporting. * See Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, Vol. I, p. 28-2. In the example the ques- tions in cross-examination are distinguished from the answers of the witness by two strokes crossing each other before the questions, and a veitical stroke before the answers. Questions in direct examination may be marked by writing before them a stroke slanting downward from riglit to left. The questions may be numbered by placing the number over the crossed lines or the slanting line. Any interruptions, such as objections by counsel, questions or remarks by the court, arguments on objections, etc., should be separated by parenthesis-marks. PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. Ill Q. That is the very point I wish to arrive at, whether you are attending to the sound and setting it down in your notation, or whether you are attending to the sense and setting it down from your memory or attention to the sense? A. Both. Q. Both at the same time? A. Yes, sir. Q. Your characters are ai-bitrary, are they not ; that is, they are peculiar to your art ? A. Yes, sir. Q. They are not letters? A. No, sir. Q. Nor words ? A. We have word signs. Q. But generally sound signs? A. We have signs for sounds, just as the letters of the alphabet represent sounds. Q. But not the same ? A. No, sir. Q. You do not make a sign for every Avord? A. Almost every word. "Of the" we generally drop, and indicate that by putting the two words closer together. Of course, we have rules jjoverninor us in writinsr. 112 PHONETIC SHORT-HAND. Q. That is, you have signs which belong to every word, excepting when you drop the particles? A. Yes, sir. Q. But not, as a matter of course, a sign that is the rep- resentative of a whole word? A. Yes, sir ; we have signs representing words. Q. Some signs? A. Yes, sir. • Q. For instance, for the word "jurisprudence," you have no one sign that represents it? A. No, sir ; I should write that "j-r-s-p." TABLE VI. 113. r~ Prefixes i jcrv i ( /^ S^i^yijUf/uiMJw (^ -V Term i nation 8 A ^ / /^ Vo V /? •2. 41 Mam/ fitcc Awint/:^ c/^ £yi/^UA£/ /^ Wutw/ Lrt/pU' /"V. AlVU^ir c/h //i^M/utJUi ^ je^jt^iU ^'->^ /fhyoctiokv ^ AM^lAM^ ^ /VVWV^tft^ TABLE Vn . (ContinuecL) W5 v> T y 1 (t^toMV j Z' 4-OHiJlr -^ MA^ SA' t" ' 1 X ^i<«*tew«4*<7 V* JUUUX oA 7° j^i^Ucw ^i^^ /^ CVMC^, C«t»N4' S^ iu^/Lh 9f jM/x4v 7 lrfcc«T**e' J^- ai leMcVTi — jvOA.^ ,_X' j ^aaama^ ^ >? ol^ Jon' 416 -. UoaMaa L yiM^a^^ -fS civeA^ifiatantu oo aiz/fdiol ^• iWZaajUH'*oae' 6 4cccJiM^ ^ (U^dooptr ad ^- itA^4i4-i/K /^ ./t4*^ jtUiicyiaAA - /^-uauUlu \ K -**<***KrXiy 6 fr/UM^MJl/' JL \^ -^ , ^nJia!i^^AJi' r^ yM/KrvMiWP c J^ aoxnvU 'T' /vi/m«*tt«/ /H/Kj^f/y c/ ftW*' (J[ alctmv ,'>-- ^Ah/C^nSlh^ 2 oiWo^-i^ s^ cuv;e4* \ /t^uu^xryi- ^>K. {])^\^^WtMloit z /a^ti*-*^^ T J^oae/MW A? ^tVKTtfX' \j 1 4 ^J-V-Ut-C-OW IP coK/Ca*v«- ; j6jO'(ruyf VO 'JU^ Z^ ': QA ^U/t/tyt«^V i. Couiwi/u J A/Ot^/0 V3- jcM ^ Aci'A^^.'**^ ^• CV**H*+l3 116. TABLE Vm. Long-TiandL Departed Days — Holmes. Shorb-lz&ndy (Sjixtm CBwveo f^uMA uA/n. pmce. nuvte, ^ k.Vp. W/mxc/MiC' /fiwA- /Kmx/rtttrrn; /u>*«/ . 4-^-e-r^ ^ u ^j^ ^ P ' '(T (y°.^- c/ EXAMPLE 1'. • 117. Tke Grandeur of Peace — Sumner. ^ H^ ^^ ^\^ 1 " ^ ^*^ ^'^(^ % '^'^2/ ^y -^ ^ ^ ' U-^^^'l'r^C^ M. v^->'--^^^<^--^ /" '^^/^^^/^Z'"^' ^ y ^ ^ ^ - 'V <^ o^ ^^r 120. EXAMPLE IV. Cross-examination of a witness. ^/"lo-X"^^ Ivo'^X^^'^ — ^""•- ^'^° .. - -2^. Jv^ . |^a.^__ ^^K^ \/'^ X-'^ ""^ I ^ "^ X^^ ^ -.^-^ 2. ,_^^ ^^ "C X -^ (T' ■■ N ^-ro (y< -^ ^_^. \ i^° • N •«miiii Selow. ^^^UAS, TFT ' 1 f JNIVERSITY ot CALIFORWlA AT LOS ANGELES LIBRARY