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not have hurt his Alphabet; and becaufe the Read- 
ing of his Short-Hand without any Vowels at all, is 
fo extremely difficult. 
For, as one of his ftrait Strokes ( V ) muft hand 
for the Words am, an, in , on, no, me, him, home , 
&c. and one of his crooked ones (c) for as, is, us, 
fo, has, his, eafe, ice , ufe, ax, ox, &c. and fo of 
the reft; he would himfelf, in all Probability, be 
often at a Lofs to diftinguifh what he had written, 
upon his own Plan *. 
The Confonants j and *v he has taken no notice 
of ; as if the common Way of repeating 24 Letters 
did really give a juft Idea of an Alphabet; which it 
does not ; nor can a perfect Short-Hand for our Lan- 
guage (or any other refpedively) well be plann'd, 
without confidering the real Alphabet, or Table of 
every particular Sound, or Modification of Sound ; 
that is to fay, Vowel or Confonant which occurs 
in it ; and then adjufting the proper Characters to 
them, and taking all the Advantages that either 
Nature or Cuftom may afford. 
I do not recoiled, that any Author has ever en- 
ter'd into fuch a Difquifition with a View to Short- 
Hand ; but, with a View to other Advantages, many 
different Accounts have been given of a real or uni- 
verfal Alphabet; feveral of them by eminent Mem- 
bers of the Royal Society : That propos'd by Mr. 
Lodwick, in particular, is publifh'd in the Tranf. 
N°. 182. but might, I think, be reduc'd into lefs 
Compafs, 
* Vowels may be known to be antecedent or confeque nr, by the 
Mark being wrote above or below the Line of Level : e.g. c as, q fa± 
s. am, N via : The Ambiguities in many of thefe Words are not im- 
portant, viz. as, has, is, his, ufe, us. S J. 
Fff 2 
