But what are the characteristics of a system that will supply the demand? We answer, It must be scientific, simple, legible, and brief.

1. No contrivances of contraction, however ingenious, can ever unite large masses of men any farther than immutable principles underlie them. A true system cannot properly be considered arbitrary. There is a reason why certain alphabetic signs are more appropriate to certain sounds than others. Were it not so, we might speculate on alphabetic changes through all coming time, and still be no nearer a satisfactory result.

2. The whole drift of modern science and art is toward naturalness. To copy the simplicity of Nature is found the highest wisdom. All can follow the direction of a few plain principles. Redundancies and exceptions repel, and destroy uniformity.

As we have before said, the phonographic theory was simple and beautiful; but it was departed from so widely in practice that its value was nearly lost. We have given expression to that original design. We have wrought out a style as simple in fact as in theory. When the alphabet is mastered, the student has a key to the common style. Diphthongal signs are used for diphthongal sounds; but they do not interfere with the harmony of the theory, any more than the use of one sign for the diphthongal sound of I long in our common alphabet breaks up the unity of design. Our pupils read this style readily with three or four weeks' study; they cannot read the common chirography readily with three times this amount of practice.

3. Legibility is all important for a thousand uses of writing. We need only say that this system is in this respect far superior to any previous system of short-hand; we say more: it is far superior in this respect to long-hand. The grossest carelessness, on the part of the writer, can scarcely render it unintelligible; and as there are no contractions to remember, and nothing to forget, it can be read after the lapse of years with the certainty of common print.

4. Brevity. This is a cardinal point; for the prolixity, the cumber-someness, of our ordinary writing is what we seek to avoid. In making the letters of our long-hand alphabet, we make from three to seven movements of the pen for each, - on an average, four. About one letter in seven is silent in our common orthography. In Phonetic Short-hand we make one simple stroke for each simple sound; this saves three fourths the labor: we omit all silent letters; this gives us a farther advantage. Besides, the distance passed over by the pen is vastly less in short-hand. We write this simpler style three to four times as fast as long-band; but we save more than nine tenths of the labor of writing. We mean that a person can write more than three times as fast, with less than one third the fatigue. Though this speed is much less than that of our briefer styles, yet it is greater than can be attained by the simple style of phonography, and greater than has been attained by any large number of persons in the briefest styles of most systems of short-hand.

This is not mere theory. For several years we have tested its capabilities, and with uniform success. Pupils of all ages, from children to men of mature years, have mastered it, and have given us the most ample assurance that we have not overrated its simplicity, brevity, or scientific accuracy.

No impediments now hinder the acquisition of this much-coveted art of rapid writing. The editor can use it; for no intelligent compositor need spend more than a fortnight in acquiring the ability to set up type from his short-hand manuscript. The author can use it. The clergyman can use it; for he can read his notes with greater readiness than in the old way. The lawyer, the physician, the student, everybody, can use it; for it is so simple and practicable that everybody can learn and remember it.

The importance of having a style of writing level with the capacities of all can hardly be over-estimated. Although most can use it in a thousand ways independently of the knowledge of others, yet its value to all is heightened by every increase of the number who understand it. Hence, the greatest success must be gained through the most natural style.

As the leading idea of this style is Practicability, we have carefully excluded from it all contractions and ambiguous forms, so far as possible. If any ambiguities of outline exist, it is only another illustration of the absolute impossibility of conforming perfectly to any ideal standard of perfect-ness. It would be easy to avoid Scylla, if no Charybdis yawned on the other hand. The greatest brevity is easily attainable, if there be no regard to perspicuity, and no fear of complexity; the most perfect simplicity might be attained, if brevity were not desirable. Between the extremes of complexity on the one hand and prolixity on the other, we have, wo think, found the proper medium. For all the ordinary purposes of life, this style will be found neither too complicated nor too prolix. For the professional reporter, we have two more complicated styles, - a Reporting Style and an Easy Reporting Style; but they should be studied only by reporters.

This work is only a compendium; but we have omitted nothing essential to a clear knowledge of all the principles of this style; for their application, however, in detail throughout the vast extent of the English language, we must refer to our larger work, which will be published in due time.

January, 1864.

D. P. L.