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BY WHICH THE LANGUAGE OF A PUBLIC SPEAKER MAY BE RECORDED
IN A STYLE BOTH BEAUTIFUL AND LEGIBLE, AS FAST AS DELIVERED

COMPILED FROM THE LATEST EUROPEAN PUBLICATIONS

WITH SUNDRY IMPROVEMENTS,

Adapted to the present state of Literature in the United States.

BY M. T. C. GOULD,

STENOGRAPHER.

REVISED STEREOTYPE EDITION, WITH NEW ENGRAVINGS.

PHILADELPHIA:
URIAH HUNT & SON,

No. 44 NORTH FOURTH STREET.

AND FOR SALE BY BOOKSELLERS GENERALLY THROUGHOUT

THE UNITED STATES.

1845.

THE NEW TUNA

PUBLIC LIBRARY

567313

ASTOR, LENOX AND

TILDEN FOURŠKA I KONG,
1913

EXPLANATION OF THE STENOGRAPHIC TREE.

1. Elementary Key, or figure from which all the characters of this system are derived.

2. Diagram, representing the roots of the tree, and showing at one view twenty alphabetic characters, evidently springing from the figure below,

3. The four prominent branches, exhibiting the same characters, upon a reduced scale, and in classified order, with their respective names-viz. the 1st limb, all right lines, s, t, d, r, for v; 2d limb, semicircles, k or q, n, ch, g or j; 3d limb, a small circle with a line added, m, p, h, b, 1, w; 4th limb, a quarter of the same small circle, with a line added, x, sh, th, y, ious.

4. The body or trunk of the tree, exhibiting the same characters, which have four uses, viz. 1st, that of alphabetic letters; 2d, that of representing, when used alone, a few of the most frequent words; 3d, a few prefixes; and, 4th, a few terminations. 5. The words at the right and left of the trunk, which are, in short writing, represented by individual letters.

6. The prefixes which are represented by individual stenographic characters, placed near a word, just before it, but not joined to it in writing.

7. The terminations which are represented by stenographic characters without lifting the pen.

8. A few arbitrary signs at the top of the tree-all derived from the same source, but made on a much smaller scale, and used for certain words, phrases, prefixes, terminations, &c. chiefly determined by their relative position, as it respects the line of writing, or the particular word of which they form part or parts.

ENTERED according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1831, by M. T. C. GOULD, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court, of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

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INTRODUCTION.

SHORT-HAND Writing, under different names and forms, may be traced to the most remote civilized nations of the earth. The Egyptians, who were at a very early period distinguished for their learning, represented objects, words, and ideas, by a species of hieroglyphics. The Jews also used this species of writing, adding a number of arbitrary characters, for important, solemn, and awful terms, such as God, Jehovah, &c. A similar method was practised by the Greeks-it is said to have been introduced at Nicolai by Xenophon. The Romans adopted the same method-and Ennius, the poet, invented a new system, by which the Notari recorded the language of celebrated orators. He commenced with about 1100 marks of his own invention, to which he afterwards added many more. His plan, improved by Tyro, was held in high estimation by the Romans. Titus Vespasian was remarkably fond of short-hand— he considered it not only convenient and useful, but ranked its practice among his most interesting amusements.

Plutarch tells us, that the celebrated speech of Cato, relative to the Catalinian conspiracy, was taken and preserved in short-hand. We are likewise informed, that Seneca made use of a system of short writing, which consisted in the use of about 5000 characters.

The first publication upon the subject of which we have any correct information, was about the year 1500 from a Latin manuscript, dated 1412. Various other publications followed in succession, without materially advancing or changing its character, till about the commencement of the 18th century; nor were the principles, till many years afterwards settled, upon a basis which could insure stability to the art.

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Byrom was the first who treated the subject scientifically, and to him we are indebted for the promulgation of those fundamental principles, which will ever constitute the true foundation of every rational system of stenography. His first edition appeared in the year 1767, previous to which, many systems had been published under the name of short or swift-hand, which were so involved in philological refinements, or superfluous arbitrary signs, as to be absolutely more tedious in the acquirement and practice, than the usual long hand, and scarcely intelligible, except to the inventors, or those who devoted their lives to practice it. Nor did Byrom rest till he had much obscured the merits of his original plan, by the introduction of numerous grammar rules, plausible in theory, but useless in practice. Much difficulty was experienced by him and later writers, in selecting appropriate characters, and assigning their respective functions; but a still greater difficulty by learners, from the too frequent introduction of arbitrary signs, and subtile theories, which have rendered useless to the world much that was otherwise valuable, in the elementary principles of Byrom and his successors.

Books upon short-hand have been rendered voluminous, intricate, and expensive, by theoretical niceties, which served only to discourage the learner, to keep the art from schools and colleges, and thus prevent its general extension and usefulness.

Under these circumstances, few individuals have been successful in acquiring a knowledge of the subject, and while they have generally found an interest in suppressing its dissemination, the multitude have ignorantly rejected it, as a mystic and useless art. This neglect, while confined to some of the ponderous volumes of crude and unintelligible hieroglyphics, which appeared

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