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and z by one m:lrk . And, for a like reafon, 'Ve '!
one mMk reprcfentative bOlh of fand v. Thl! ~c.nrl of (he
p!.lce \ViII e¡{ily difcO\'cr, w a m;to tol\!r:tlJly acqu.tintcd
with En~hfh. wlllch oC lhe two il mufl th..:re repn':( 'nt ;
;tOO lhe rcad:. r \Vdl be taught. when lhe! chara~crs are "p_
propri.ucn tO lhe con('lo,HllS, how, in mofi cafes. ('ntirely
tO remo,.e any lude a1Hl>ig\\~ly (hat pofliul y nllgh t arife
froin ¡t. OUT alphabc( will lhen confiil of lhe foJlo\VlOg
confonants. tliz . h, d, rfu] g. h, j, k, J. m, n, P, q, r,
[1 z.] 1, 'tU, x.)', eh,fb, Ih.
The number 01 OU T con(onants bcing thus (etded. and lhe
rcafnns (or fi xing u:,oo th:u nunlberbeiog gtvcn ; Ihe Ol'Xt bu ·
liners mua be. l O .invent as many fimple marks, ca(y t O be
made and ddlipgu;fhed (rom t:ach other. .lS are ncedTarily
required lO repreCcnl ,hem. They m"fI he Gmple, if bre–
vily be conful,ed; .nd ,hey mull be ..Gly diliin&uiO'uble
from eaeh to avoid the eonfulion arifing (rom 01lf–
ukiog one le[ter for another.
Nal ure _!fords us (our fI"igh , lines, Cufficien:ly d flin ·
guiChable from eleh other, by their honzom:. I, perpendicu –
lar, and inclines pofition, tO exceute our delÍgo by ¡(Cee
Plate eL. N° t . ) but it .!fords only Ihefe (our. In this
fcarcity of Oraight J. nes. recoutfe mun be had tO curvtd
ones for a fu"her fupply. The fou r flrdight lines ben,
in the following m.tOoer, thae is lO fay, lhe horizoñlal up–
wards and dowowards, the perpendicular Aod inc1ioed ooes
to the right . nd lefl, wI II ea"h o f ,hem furnilh twO more
very good Ihort-hand marks; ibid N °, .
The nl1mber of marks thus incre.Ced llill Calls Ihor! of
fuppl ying our wants. · Tlle befl expedient to remeay thi;
de(eél, is ,he addition of a linle twirl to the beginniog of
as many of the foregoing marks as there wi ll be oeca!ion
for o !t is eaGly aod quickly , when the marks are
formed feparately ; and Ih. llVirled marks are joined tO
pre.~eding ones in as lude time as the plato ODes. N° 3· 4.
. A fufficient number of proper m.rks belng lhus obtained,
it remaios th:n eaeh of them be ~ppropriated tO lhe pani–
cular eon(onant which it is ro repreCent. Eary as lhis may
feem, it is, however. a point of lhe grealcH Dlcety : and
demands, not only the mofi t~aflful confideration, but alfo
the mofl alhduous apphc::ttion to contlnual lríals and altera·
tions. A Ihon' oand alpoabe! m.y havc all irs charaélers
lim pIe, eafy, aod diflingu,lha',le, woen Cep.rately (ormed;
and yet not be a perfeél. one: To merít thal tide, it is
furtoer requiG,e, ,hat Ihey be Co rontrived and adjuflcd,
that all the conCooants occu rring in iiny u:ord mdy be earil y,
beauli (uH y, and in,erlineally joined together, belwix, IIVO
given p:.trallel lines, withoul tdklOg off the peno Experience
has t.tught C'Juick wrilers e'feo ot long-ha od . that the join–
ing aJl the letters of a word tog;>ther cont ributes mu\::h to
d iCpatch, though Ihey are obligad tO make Ioule .doiuonal
llrokes for Ihar purpoC••
L et us then confidt r. tO what particular conCon;mt each
o( our m.rks i, 'o be appropriated; and begin \Vito ,he
four flra ight liDes.
The Grfl o( thefe lines, viz . the horizontal, as it goe.
nr~i~hl forwards, can nc:ver exceed lhe limits of tht Given
parallrls, whatevcr put it be&ins frum; and therefore, in
a (ormed Cor I,neal ueauty . it mun be approrri.
ated to th:u confunant, which, of all others. occurs lhe of·
teneft, and chal!engt:!, of right, lhe moO commodioU'l cha
raél." for be,ulY ,nd diCpa,ch. N uw Ihe conCon, nl toat
oceuro Ihe mofl (rr qucntly in our I.nguage o(aa. perhaps in
V<>L . Ur. N °. 93. 2
W R I T I N G.
mrn others) is lhe I; which h:lS a pro[lerty, peculi~r to it–
fr:lr, (lf mi'(ing wid, odRr cuurooams belore or arler it.
Wl1ho~t the illl~rventlon of a \'ow~1. The plnral nUOlber
of moH of onr fuhndn~i"es, aod ' he third p~l r)ll IÍngul:a
of ollr "crus, He formed by it ; which Olufl occafion lhe
moH frcc¡ucnt repetition of it i Co th,n, bcing uncJoubted! y
the commoneH of all ou r conronants, tt muft of necenity be
denotcd by the Ilrdlcht line.
The fecond Oraight I¡oe, or perpendicular, is alfo a very
mark, ando Ctparatcly made. cven prc(erablc lO lhe o~
ther ~ bU( as, in uni(jn with ot!lers, jt may eoda ' gcr our
defcending helow lhe line, il mun thcrcrore be alloued tO
a commOn CORrOnant, and one alCo th<tt will thc It:a(l oc–
cdlÍon us to ellO that h.tza rd. Now the t has, in faa,
lhefe and other propcrtics lhat eOlitle it to this perpendi.
cular nra'lght ·Iinc.
T he third nraight line, by its peculiar inclin.Hioo, is ad–
ap:cd to a ver)' and cor,venlcnt joining with olhf!r -::ha–
ralh:rs: becaufe our cuflomary method of inclining tia: let–
ters, in eom~on writing, tcaches us tO form tt wuh eq ull
readinefs upwards or downwards. as the kceping {he pre–
vious or fvllowing marks wilhin lhe prcCcnbed parallds
fil.lll require. The , th'!rerore, that c1aims this
charaBer. is Ihe r , which makes fo Olany of our doublc
conConAnrs (as we caH them.) and admus .ny olher GngJe
one 10 follo," it immediatel)'. The ([raigot line then whicl\
Oopes downwards lO the Jefl, is r . .i'
The l.!!, lioe o( the four flraight ones. by its direélion
or fl ope to toe right, is aukward tO (.nd loere(ore
never is milde) upwards, Jike the foregoing. to which te u–
nites the IDOft readily. Its propertie~, upon Irial, ruit befl:
with the occurreocy of the confonaOls f or v,
The , \Virl being (ormed lO Ihe le(, hand in \heCe (our
marks, '(N° 5.) difqualifi es Ihem from an eaCy junélioo \Viln
any preeening confonant. They muO: ,Iheo, for that reafon,
be atligned 'o fuch conConan" as occor Ihe Celdomen in
the middle or at the end of word!, or to Cuch as may
I¡e otherwiCe Ggnified when they do occur in Cuch Gtua–
tions. Now the h, or j, are rarely to be met with in the
middle o( words, immedi.tely preceded by Come pre–
po(jtion, as illhahit, r:,jeO, &c. io which cafe, the reader
will be taught hereafter how lO write them : and when x
and J are not at the beginning of words, they may be ex–
pre/f.d by kl, and the dot (or ,he vowc\ i reCpeélil·ely.
Toe prlOper,ies 01 ,oeCe (Qu r len ers agreei ng well wi,o thore
of ,he Cour m"ks, luckily point ou, a ule (or (our eary
eharA.t\ers, whieh could nOl however have been conveoiend y
allotted lO any ofhcr coofonants: and Ihe:: foJlowing appro–
priation of lhem, upon triaJ. i! found tObe the moH commo ·
dious. viz. the (¡ffl (or h, the fecoDd (or j, the tbird for " ,
and the fourth (or J .
K is a vcry common conConant; and lhe frcqurncy of ¡es
occurrcnce will he much increafcd by its being Olade fo of.
teo reprefentative of lhe rej ...éted e, and JI 01 ),: : a ch:lTa~
ur, therefore. which is not onl)' edfy w br made, bU l which
will alto j readily with all lhe relt. withoUl runoiog ci.
ther ilbllve or below the line. muO: be appropriated te it.
The horizontal flraight line. with lhe addilional lwid. \\'i ll,
ror lheCe reaCon9, ~e the! mofl C'ommodious. .But ..s lh(
diflin~uifhing the k and 1, at the bcgi" n;ng o( <Cpc_
ciaJ1y. wllI, 10 {omedegree, facilitatc the reading: ,he ho–
rizont:\1 nr<ti~ht line with lhe twirl abo\'e is marte ror k,
\VitO the t\Virl below (or 9, when they are ¡aluallcuer-.
7 1 t ro