22 On Short-hand Writing. 
very little superior to a mere operating mechanic, for ever at- 
tending to his fingers, but incapable of exercising his head, 
whether for the necessary rejection of tautology or the judicious 
condensation of the subject. 
In confirmation of the justness of this objection I may add, if 
‘necessary, my own experience. These five-and-twenty years I 
have been in the habit of using short-hand for my private pur- 
poses: and, although I had very early the good fortune to ob- 
tain for myself what practical short-hand writers would call a 
superior method, as embracing the principal conveniences and 
rejecting the principal inconveniences of the methods of Dr. 
Byron, Mr. Gurney, Mr. Taylor, and Dr. Mavor, while at the 
same time it was somewhat swifter than all; yet so opposite are 
the muscular motions, even on this plan, to those to which I am 
every day accustomed in common writing, that after a lapse of 
two or three weeks without using short-hand, I am compelled to 
repractise it for half an hour at least, in order to attain my pre- 
vious facility. As to the taking down a public discourse, verba- 
tim, I know not what extraordinary application may have ac- 
complished; but in candour I must acknowledge my incapacity. 
Although a tolerably quick writer, I have never at any time been 
able to take down in a desirably copious manner, even the sub- 
stance of a sermon: certain difficult combinations never failed 
to obtrude themselves—my attention was distracted—and | lost 
the speaker. 7 
After having thus stated one formidable argument against the 
study of short-writing by the gentleman who does not mean to 
use it as a profession—to which argument may be added, the un- 
deniable ‘difficulty of reading it; you will naturally be desirous 
to learn, what method I ean propose that shali operate, in any 
material degree, towards the removal of such rational objections. 
My intended answer is the result of experience, not of theory ; 
and therefore I shall not hesitate to make it. It is briefly this: 
First, That the simplest and most easily executed scheme 
of consonants be contrived—in which scheme, all characters de- 
scending in straight lines towards the right shall be rejected, un- 
less in the middle or ending of a word when preceded, and at all 
times, even in the beginning of a word, unless followed by an 
ascending stroke,as thus A/ or thus \/: and by which scheme 
no definite angle, nor even perpendicular line unless when alone, 
shall ever be required; while, for perspicuity, all the common 
stops may without confusion be introduced. 
Secondly, That with regard to vowels—the Masoretic me- 
thod of writing the Hebrew language be almost exactly adopted : 
by which I mean—that every word shall be expressed by its con- 
‘ sonants 
