foot of the ordinary J. The character for projects forward like the lower part of the ordinary writinghand capital L, or like a leg in walking. The character for m resembles the outline of the ordinary m. The character for n is like the foot of the ordinary writing-hand capital N. The character for r rises, like the principal stroke in the ordinary r. The character for s, c soft, and z, cleaves to the ground like a serpent, which S resembles. S serpens, serpit humi. The character for a resembles the commencement of an ordinary writing-hand capital W. The character for au, aw and ou is the same as that for w. X is represented by a stroke across the beginning of the succeeding consonant, where x precedes; across the end of the preceding consonant, where x succeeds. See Fig. 2. Pl. I. The character for th is the character for t, with a curl added to it. The character for sh and ch is the character for s, with a curl added to it. The character for qu resembles an ordinary q turned upside down. The character for oy resembles the distinguishing member of the ordinary writing-hand Y. CHAPTER II. ON SHORTHAND SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION, AND ON THE EFFECT OF THE POSITION OF CHARACTERS ACCORDING TO THIS SYSTEM. SECT. I. IN writing shorthand words are always to be spelled as they are sounded, and without any regard to orthography. With respect to the omission of superfluous consonants, and the substitution of letters more convenient than those used orthographically, there can be no difficulty. Thus, weight may be spelled wait; weigh, wa; physick, fisic; ache, ak; stands, stans; tends, tens; rational, rashonal; perfect, perfec; awkward, okward; low, lo; ings (when it concludes a word of more than one syllable), ins; and so on. With respect to the omission or expression of vowels, the following rules may be observed: I. Vowels mute at the end of a word are always to be omitted; as the e in waste, taste, &c. See Fig. 8. Pl. I. II. Vowels short, or acute in the middle of a word, may always be omitted; as in fat, get, sit, mist, for, fir. See Fig. 8. Pl. I. III. So, vowels long or grave in the middle of a word may generally be omitted when succeeded by two consonants; as in most, sport. See Fig. 8. Pl. I. IV. Long or grave vowels and diphthongs in the middle of a word (other than as in Rule III.), may be represented in the mode pointed out at the beginning of Chapter I.-See Fig. 9. Pl. I. But a little practice in decyphering will enable the writer to dispense with them in most instances, and to ascertain the few words in which the absence of the vowels is likely to create confusion. The expression of them is chiefly necessary, when a word of unfrequent occurrence is spelled with the same initial and final shorthand consonant, as a word of frequent occurrence. V. A mode of expressing vowels when they occur as the first letters of words, is pointed out in the next chapter. Vowels sounded in pronunciation, as the last letters of words, may be expressed as follows: a, ay, e and y (sounded as e), by a staccato mark joined to the end of the preceding character; o and ow, by a curl (see Fig. 10. Pl. I.); i, y (sounded as i); ue and ew, according to the mode in Rule IV.-See Fig. 11. PÍ. I, Proper names should never be written in shorthand characters. Instead of punctuation, the shorthand writer should leave a short break or interval for every full stop. SECT. II. In the succeeding chapters the learner must accurately observe and retain the position of the characters, whether upon, above, or below the line; for in the representation of initial syllables, prepositions in composition, terminations, and abbreviations of single words, the same character is often employed to represent two or three different syllables, prepositions, ter minations, or words, accordingly as it is placed above, upon, or below the line of writing. In assigning these positions of characters to the syllables or words represented by them, nearly the same associations have been resorted to, where it was possible, as those by which the characters for the vowels have been distributed. 1. Thus, when the first, or prevailing vowel in a word to be represented by an abbreviation is i, the character for the abbreviation is placed on high, over the line; when u, or o grave, low, under; when a or e, at, or even with the line, instead of over, (as the character for a and e would be placed,) to distinguish it from a word containing i; (see Fig. 12. Pl. I.). 2. When two or more words containing the same vowels, are to be expressed by one character, the position of that character for each of the words is determined by the nature of the consonants of those words. For a word, the prevailing shorthand consonant of which ascends, the abbreviation is placed over the line; for one, the prevailing shorthand consonant of which is horizontal, on the line; for one, the prevailing shorthand consonant of which descends, under the line. See Fig. 13. Pl. I. The r in their, if expressed in shorthand, would have ascended from the preceding character; the s in these, if expressed, would have been horizontal; the t in that, if expressed, would have descended from the preceding character. 3. When, according to the foregoing principle, both the vowels and consonants of two or more words to be expressed by one abbreviation, would produce the same position for that abbreviation, some other association must be employed to assist the memory in retaining the position assigned to each of the words: thus, if, for, from; (see Fig. 14. Pl. I.). The vowel i may remind the reader that the character on high stands for if; f, the first letter of for (a horizontal character in shorthand), is placed on the line; the character under the line represents from, because from is the sign of the ablative, which is the lowest case. For and from, if placed according to their vowels, would both be under the line; if according to their first consonants, both on; if ac cording to their second consonants, both over. Variety of position, when applied only to abbreviations of entire words or syllables, is not, as some assert, productive of delay or confusion in writing shorthand. CHAPTER III. FIRST SYLLABLES COMMENCING WITH A VOWEL-PREPOSITIONS IN COMPOSITION-AND TERMINATIONS. SECT. I. THE characters in Fig. 1. Pl. II., which represent the first syllables of words beginning with a vowel, must be always written separately from the word; because, if read separately, they give the sound of such first syllables; as would be the case in ordinary writing: (thus m pire, empire; bows, elbows ;) whereas, if joined with the ensuing syllable, they would form the body of another word, and not the first syllable of the word required; as f, when joined to ect, makes fect; when separate, effect; thus f, ect.--See Fig. 15. Pl. I. So, the characters employed to represent prepositions in composition derive their whole effect from being written separately. So Terminations. The characters for ef, el, em, en, ar, es, and ex, give the sound required by the simple operation of reading them separately. To produce the same effect with the characters for ab, ac, ad, ag, adj, ap, and at, the reader may suppose himself answering the question, (as to I, for instance,) "What is the character before me?" The answer is, a B. by thus interposing the article a, he will mentally have gone through the operation of spelling the syllable required; a b, ab; a c, ac; at, at; and so on. By writing the character separately, when the first syllable of a word begins with a vowel, the expense of the vowel is saved; for though, by writing the character separately, the pen must be taken off the paper, yet if the vowel were expressed by a dot, the pen must also be taken off, and another character be added. The omission to express, in some manner, vowels |