imaginary parallel lines, whose distance is supposed to be adjusted by the length of the short-hand t,It is sometimes necessary, in order to preserve a perfect lineality in the writing, to make these letters only half their usual size; as in the words foot, form, gold, &c. In a very few instances, where lineality cannot be preserved, even by thus curtailing the size of the letters, it is always best to lift the pen, and write the word at twice, taking care to place the detached parts very near to each other, to denote their connection. Instances of this kind occur so very seldom in practice, that no perceptible difference will be experienced in the brevity of writing, while a very material advantage will be gained on the score of beauty and legibility; considerations never to be lost sight of by the lovers of useful and rational stenography. -- 8; 2. The diameter of the horizontal semicircular letters is the short hand and their height is rather more than one third part of the letter | t. 3. As both the beauty and the brevity of short-hand writing depend very much on avoiding, as much as possible, the making of angles, and on the general uniformity of the writing, it is proper, in joining such letters as m and n, mand f, m and p, &c. together, to deviate a little from the correct form of each letter: so that they may readily and naturally run into each other. The learner will easily discern where it is necessary to preserve the precise point of concurrence, as in the case of md, hb. 4. The letter is occasionally used for th, writing the adjoining letter only half its usual size; as in thr, thm, &c. in writing the words idler, butler, miller, &c. 6. No letters are to be doubled in short-hand unless some vowel comes between them. 7. When there are various ways of joining the same letters together, which, in the present highly improved system of short-hand, is not unfrequently the case, the learner should accustom himself to that which is the best, or most lineal, preserving as much as possible the full proportion and compact form of every letter. It is to be observed, as another advantage peculiar to this system, that here the strictest adherence to the common rules of punctuation may be observed. The period, or full stop, which is supplied by a very small circle, 。 being the only exception. O The characters denoting the preposi tions and terminations being derived from the alphabet, are easily retained in the memory, and are of very extensive use to the brevity and legibility of shorthand. Their respective powers and uses are distinctly delineated in the plate. It is sufficient to remark, that, in writing them, they ought always to be formed rather smaller than the rest of the letters, and should be placed sufficiently near the radical part of the word of which they constitute a part, that they may not be mistaken for separate and distinct words. Double prepositional characters joined together, as compre-, misunder-, &c. The plural of nouns, ending in s, ought to have their terminative letter written rather smaller than the other letters. A very little practice will accustom the writer to this method of denoting such plural nouns. 5. Except in the foregoing case, a letter of half size, when it is made optionally, always indicates that the adjoining character is to be resolved into two letters. When it is requisite to double the letters ror f, and no consonant is required to be joined with them, they are generally lengthened by a greater inclination of the stroke than usual. Double t, and doubles, when necessary, may be made by a little break in the middle, which may be done, without taking off the pen, by only a very slight movement of it from the line it was describing. There are one or two cases, where it is better entirely to lift the pen, and make a small stroke through the letter, nearly, will be, y, have not been. in the manner we usually cross the tin long hand. This expedient is requisite When the learner has acquired a perfect knowledge of so much of the art as we have already laid down, he may proceed to make himself acquainted with the following RULES OF ABBREVIATION; by which he will be enabled to follow the most rapid speaker, and will soon become an expert stenographer. 1. The auxiliary verbs, the participle not, and the pronouns, being severally denoted by their first consonant, may be joined to one another; as can be, 2. Join the marks or letters in an unusual manner, in order to show that each particular mark denotes a word, and not a single letter; as by joining the letter n to the middle instead of the top of the letter t, the whole charater, will represent the words in the; so, also, the letter s, joined to the letter t, and drawn from the middle of the preceding consonant, thus, will denote the two words it is, or, it was. This rule is very comprehensive. The writer will apply it as he finds it necessary or convenient so to do. 3. Derivative nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, may be very conveniently expressed by points, differently placed, at the end of their last consonant. The substantive point being placed immediately following the consonant, and in a direct line with it; the adjective to have its point placed also a little lower down to the left of the substantive point; and the proverb point to be placed, in the same manner, to the right of the substantive point; as, , forgetfulness; V, forgetful; ,, forgetfully. 4. Very common words, or such as have an immediate relation to the subject, and are therefore easily discoverable, may be denoted by their first consonant, or first vowel and consonant, with the substantive, adjective, or adverb point annexed. The adjectives, which usually accompany such substantives, may also be denoted by their first consonant, joined to the substantive; as L., humble ser vant; q;, human nature; 07› christian religion, &c. 5. Place a dot at the point of concur rence of two consonant marks, to denote two substantives connected together by some preposition, which is omitted; as , love of God, or light of the gospel; , cause of gravity, &c. Also, when an adjective precedes either of the substantives, they may all three be represented by their first consonants joined together, with the dot placed at the end of the first substantive; as the lei, great goodness of God. 6. The substantive point, placed before a single consonant mark, denotes that the substantive is to be repeated, with someintervening preposition; as,, day after day; İ, from time to time, &c. 7. Place the substantive, adjective, or adverb point before two or more consonant marks, to denote two or more substantives, adjectives, or adverbs, connected by a conjunction; as,, King, Lords, and Commons; soberly, righteously, and godly, &c. 8. Express long words by their first syllables, with as many points annexed as there are syllables wanting. In very common words the points may be occasionally omitted. 9. Express long words by their prepositions, together with their next vowel or consonant only. 10. Words may be denoted by their first vowel and consonant, with their terminutions added; as,/, arbitrary; ), opportunity, &c. connection may be expressed by their 11. Words easily discovered by their first vowel and consonant, or by their prepositions only; and as few English words end with the syllable to, the preposition to may be joined to the preceding word; as,., belongs to; &, satisfactory to, &c. 12. Join the pronouns to prepositions; as, h, to me; L, to us; l., to you, &c. always adding the vowel point, when the words would otherwise be liable to be mistaken. 13. Join the preceding word, the preposition, and pronoun, all together; as, 16 In like manner, denote common adverbial phrases by the initial consonants joined together; as,, in like manner;, in particular; e, in great measure, &c. a 17. Numerous contractions may be made, when it is, or it was, are followed by an adjective, and to, or that; as, H. it is impossible to;, it is not to be supposed that, &c. The above abbreviating rules, though few in number, are very extensive in their application. An assiduous attention to the nature and idiom of our language, may suggest others as useful and extensive as these. Proper care being taken to lay a right foundation, the legitimate ways of contracting will increase in proportion to the writer's want of them. It must be obvious to every one, how much a systematic plan of abbreviation, like this, is superior to that which consists of a multitude of arbitrary marks to signify particular words and phrases; a plan which not only disfigures the writing, but renders it nearly, if not entirely, illegible even to the writer himself, unless it is transcribed into long hand while the subject is fresh in his memory. The experience of the late ingenious Dr Darwin will serve to illustrate the futility of these systems. "The book I learned shorthand from," says this elegant writer, "was published by Gurney, and said to be an improvement on Mason; other treatises of short-hand I have also examined, and found them all of nearly equal excellence. I can only add, that many volumes I wrote from medical tectures I now find difficult to decipher." Had Dr. Darwin practised the system of Mr. Byrom, we can assert, both from our own experience, and the experience of many others, that he would have found no serious difficulty in deciphering his medical lectures at any period of time after they were written. For, as the present indefatigable Dr. Mavor observes, in the introduction to his own treatise on stenography, "it must be owned that it is above the reach of human ingenuity to exceed his (Mr. Byrom's) general plan, which must for ever be the basis of every future rational system." The first Part of the Specimens without Contractions, spelt according to the Method used in writing Short-hand. (See Plates Short-hand.) THE BEAR. A FABLE. A bear, wo ws bred in the savg desrts of Sibria, had an ink!nation to see the wrld. He travld frm forst to forst, and frm on kngdm to anthr, making mni prfnd obsrvations in hs wa. Among the rst of hs exkrsns, he km bi aksdnt into a farmr's yard, wr he saw a nmbr of pltri standing to drnk bi the sid of a pool. Obsrving that at everi sip they turnd up thr heds tords the ski, he could nt frber enkring the resn of so pekulr a srmni. They told hm that it ws bi wy of rtrning thanks to hvn fr the bnfts they rsvd, and ws indd an ansnt and rigs kstm, which they could nt, with a saf knsns, or wthot impiity, omit. Her the bear brst into a ft of laftr, at ons mimking thr gestrs, and rdkling thr superstition, in the mst kntmtos mnr. On this the kok, with a sprt sutable to the bldness of hs krktr, adrsd hm in the foloing wrds: "As you ar a strngr, sr, you prps ma be exksd the indsnsi of this behvr; yet gv me leav to tl you, that non but a bear would rdkl ani rlgs srmni whatsoever, in the prsns of thos wo bliev thm of imprtns." An Exemplification of the Specimen with Contractions; containing numerical References to all the Rules of Abbreviation, the fourteenth, fifteenth, and seventeenth excepted. A bear, who was bred IN THE' savage A ber, wo ws bred nt svg deserts of Siberia, had an INCLINATION+ to dsrts of Sbria, had an in. to the Plate, that the rules of abbreviation are not only constructed on the most simple and scientific principles, but that they possess an almost unlimited power of contraction, and have a peculiar adaptation to the genius and phraseology of our language. With these rules, perfectly learnt, and brought into use by experience, the present system of shorthand may be applied to all the purposes for which this invaluable art is intended, with as little labour in the acquisition, and with less ambiguity in decyphering, than attends the learning of any other system of stenography hitherto made public. Having availed ourselves of the improvements make by Mr. Molineux on this mode of short-writing, first invented by Mr. Byrom, and recommending the learner for further instructions to Mr. Molineux's treatise, we think it only necessary, in order to give the learner a still more adequate knowledge of this system of short-hand, to lay before him the following GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR A YOUNG STE NOGRAPHER. 1. Short-hand is one of the perpendicular hands; and that your writing may have a vertical appearance, always place To the yourself exactly parallel with your paper. 2. Make all your strokes of an equal thickness; and endeavour to be as correct as possible in the formation of the short-hand characters; because any material deviation, either in their shape, or in the position of the stroke, may express a different letter, or produce iliegibility. BOLDNESS OF HIS13 character, addressed him IN THE FOLLOWING1o Words. adrsd As you • As you are a stranger, sir, you PERHAPS MAY BE ar a strngr, sr, you p. mb THIS12 excused the INDECENCY4 tl 3. Let the looped or twirled letters have their loops made as circular as is consistent with beauty and ease of joining. 4. Make the horizontal characters, which denote the letters m and n, with their derivatives, ch and g, nearly semicircular; but the rest of the curvilineal letters, which are either vertical or oblique, are always less curved, except when they are made only half size. 5. Spell in the shortest but neatest and most compact manner possible. 6. Use no more vowels than are necessary; yet never leave out any that are distinctly sounded. 7. Observe lineality and beauty at all times, and occasionally lift your pen, rather than fall below or rise above the space allotted for the short-hand charac ters. 8. Use no arbitrary marks at all: but let every abbreviation be formed upon rational and scientific principles. 9 Never use the common stops or points for any but their own proper and legitimate purpose. 10. Never affect too much brevity: common short-hand is short enough for all common purposes. 11. Make no fanciful innovations in the art: but let all your improvements be founded on the rational principles laid down by the ingenious inventor. 12. If you write Byrom's Short-hand, your writing will be easily read by all who practise the same system. Let all ra. tional stenographers observe uniformity, and the art will soon become generally useful. 15. Write not too close; and never suffer your characters to have a weak, diminutive appearance. Let your whole practice be bold and dignified; agreeably to the genius of the system you have adopted. 14. Do not make a secret of the art: it is worthy of being universally known and practised. SHORT sightedness, in medicine. See ΜΥΟΡΙΑ. SHOT, a denomination given to all sorts of balls for fire-arms; those for cannon being of iron, and those for guns, pistols, &c. of lead. "To find the weight of an iron shot," whose diameter is given; and the contrary. Rule. Double the cube of the diameter in inches, and multiply it by 7; so will the product (rejecting the two last or right hand figures) be the weight in pounds. Ex. What is the weight of an iron shot of 7 inches diameter? The cube of 7 is 343, which doubled is 686, and this multiplied by 7 produces 4802, which, with the right hand figures rejected, gives 48 pounds, the weight required. "To find the diameter of the shot," when the weight is given. Rule. Multiply the cube root of the weight in pounds by 1.923, and the product is the diameter in inches. Ex. What is the diameter of an iron shot of 52 pounds? The cube root of 52 is 3.732, which multiplied by 1.923 gives 7.177 inches, the diameter required. Rule by Logarithms. To one-third of the logarithm of 52 Add the constant logarithm And the sum is the logarithm of the diameter is 7.177 "To find the diameter of a shot," from the impression or cavity it makes by striking a brass gun, or other object. Rule. Divide the square of the radius of the cavity by the depth of it, and add the quotient to the depth, the sum will be the diameter of the shot required. SHOT, common, small, or that used for fowling, should be well sized: for, should it be too great, then it flies thin and scatters too much: or if too small, then it has not weight and strength to penetrate far, and the bird is apt to fly away with it. In order, therefore, to have it suitable to the occasion, it not being always to be had in every place fit for the purpose, we shall set down the true method of making all sorts and sizes under the name of mould-shot, formerly made after the fol lowing process: Take any quantity of lead you think fit, and melt it down in an iron vessel; and as it melts keep it stirring with an iron ladle, skimming off all impurities whatsoever that may arise at top: when it begins to look of a greenish colour, strew on it as much auripigmentum, or yellow orpiment, finely powdered, as will lie on a shilling, to every twelve or fourteen pounds of lead; then stirring them together, the orp:ment will flame. The ladle should have a notch on one side of the brim, for more easily pouring out the lead: the ladle must remain in the melted lead, that its heat may be the same with that of the lead, to prevent inconveniencies, which otherwise might happen, by its being either too hot or too cold; then, to try your lead, drop a little of it into water, and if the drops prove round, then the lead is of a proper heat; if otherwise, and the shot have tails, then add more orpiment, to increase the heat, till it is found sufficient. Then take a plate of copper, about the size of a trencher, which must be made with a hollowness in the middle, about three inches compass, within which must be bored about 40 holes, according to the size of the shot which you intend to cast: the hollow bottom should be thin; but the thicker the brim, the better it will retain the heat. Place this plate on a frame of iron, over a tube or vessel of water, about four inches from the water, and spread burning coals on the plate, to keep the lead melted upon it; then take some lead, and pour it gently on the coals on 0.855980 the plate, and it will make its way 0.582001 |