took most of the characters in his alphabet from that, has nine angled characters, three curled ones, and one circular. Mr. Nicholas, alfo, was the firft who omitted inferting regular characters for all the five vowels, though he has used one for y. For Mr. Willis has diftinct characters for every one of the vowels; Mr. Mawd has characters for all but i and a; Mr. Skelton and Mr. Rich have characters for them all.

In the year 1715, Mr. Lane published a fyftem of short hand under his own name; but his alphabet, as well as that of Mr. Addy, published some time before, is taken literally from Mr. Rich; except that Mr. Lane has omitted the character for ", which Rich has used; and inferted a character for a, which is not in Mr. Rich's.

In 1727, Mr. Wefton published his fyftem, which was taken for the most part from Mr. Rich; but confifting of more complex characters than any of his predeceffors, having thirteen angled characters, four curied ones, and a compound circular one.

In the year 1732, Aulay Macaulay, Efq. published his treatife of fhort hand, which though more original in the conftruction of the characters than any preceding one, is, nevertheless, very complex, as in forming many of the letters the pen must be taken off the paper before the letter can be finished, as is the cafe in the u, where the pen must be taken off to mark a po'nt to diftinguith it from the e, to which letter it otherwife would bear an exact refemblance; the fame can be faid of the character for the k, which must also have its point. And the vowels in his fyftem are all expreffed by cha racters, which must render it still more tedious to the writer.

Mr. Annet foon after published a treatife on fhort hand, taken from the former, but rendered a deal more fimple, or rather too fimple. For many of the characters in his alphabet are formed fo much alike, that it is impoffible for a writer in hafte to mark the difference: the characters for a, e, i, and y, are all formed by a ftraight lateral stroke, and only distinguished from each other by their length, which muft neceflarily

create

create much confufion. The characters alfo for b and p are fimilar, differing only in length, as are alfo thofe for d and t.

In 1753, Mr. Gurney published his treatife of fhort hand, being an improvement on that of Mr. Mafon, published near fifty years before, and who was the first who made any confiderable improvements in the construction of the characters fince Mr. Rich. Mr. Gurney's alphabet, though an improvement on that of Mafon, has, nevertheless, eight characters which have angles in them; befides a curied character, a common round hand r, and a circular character with a ftraight froke before it, like the figure 10.

Mr. Angel, in 1758, publifhed a fyftem of fhort hand, being an improvement on that of Mr. Gurney, and in the year 1762, Meffrs. Swaine and Sims published their fyftem, which was also an improvement on the fame author. Each of these alphabets contain fix characters with angles in them, one circular or curled letter, and one like the figure 10.

Soon after this, Mr. Hodgfon published his treatise of short hand, taken chiefly from Mr. Gurney's alphabet, but being a great improvement thereon: his characters are more fimple, and, at the fame time, full as different from each other as thofe of any alphabet that had been made before his time: he has but two characters which have an angle in them, only one curled one, and one like the figure 10; the others are fimple curves, or straight lines.

The Rev. Mr. Byrom, A. M. published his univerfal fhort hand in 1771, which though confifting of no angular nor. circular characters, has no less than nine characters completely. curled at one end, which must render his fyftem very complex and tedious.

In 1774, Mr. Palmer published a treatife on fhort hand, in which he fomewhat improved on Mr. Byrom's plan, having only seven curled characters in his alphabet.

In 1776, Mr. Williamson published his system of short hand, in which alphabet there are alfo eight curled characters. Mr. Blanchard, in 1776, publifhed a complete fyftem of

fhort hand, in which the chara&ers are all fimple, straight, or curve lines, except one curled character, one circular one, and a cross one. His alphabet is, therefore, more fimple and fit for practice than that of any of his predeceffors, and the letters are fufficiently different from each other to prevent mistakes.

Since Mr. Blanchard published his system, several others have appeared, which I have not room to mention; fuffice it to fay, that from that period to the prefent, moft, if not all the writers on the art have run into the oppofite extreme to the writers before his time, which is, that of rendering their alphabetical characters too fimple. In many modern alphabets fome of the characters resemble each other fo nearly, that the writer, fome time after he has written his piece, is often at a lofs to discover the fenfe of the greater part of it. I have met with feveral writers who have learned from Mr. Taplin's fyftem, and have experienced this difficulty. Mr. Taplin's alphabet has not one angled or compound character, and only one finall circular one for the letters; but then he has one character for two or more letters: thus, b, f, p, and v are all reprefented by a ftraight ftroke in the fame pofition, and diftinguished from each other only by the length or boldness of the character: the fame may be observed of the characters for g, j, k, and x, which are alfo ftraight lines in the fame pofition: and though the fimilarity between thofe and other characters in that alphabet may not be fo apparent when viewed fingly, yet when fuch characters come in contact with others, it feldom fails to puzzle its writer, except he be very converfant in the system.

Mr. Taplin's method of marking the vowels is fometimes by dots, and fometimes by the fituation of one of the confonants. I have noticed the alphabetical characters only of the foregoing writers, without adverting to their other characters for double and treble letters, words, and phrafes, as those characters form the standard of each writer's fyftem.

Concerning the alphabet I have here the honour to propose, I must juft obferve, that I have avoided all angular, compound,

and circular characters, and used only one curled one, which is for the letter g; and I trust I have made them sufficiently distinct in their forms. There are fome angled and compound characters, ufed for the treble letters; but then it fhould be remembered that each of these characters with a vowel point, will very often ferve for a whole word, and I was afraid, by indulging too great a fimplicity in these characters, I might degenerate into the modern uniformity.

The method of marking the vowels by points, as I have here advised, will be found a very great faving of time. It will alfo afford thofe who can fo far depend upon their memory, an opportunity of entirely omitting them, till the writing be finifhed; when, by an attentive perufal, the piece may have all its vowels marked; which will render it intelligible to the writer at a future time, when he has, perhaps, forgotten the fubject matter.

A PRAXIS,

OF THREE LESSONS.

On Modefty.

Leffon I.-I know no two words, that have been more. abufed by the different and wrong interpretations which are put upon them, than thefe two, Modefty and Affurance. To fay, fuch a one is a modeft man, fometimes indeed paffes for a good character; but, at prefent, is very often used to fignify a fheepifli, awkward fellow, who has neither good breeding, politeness, nor any knowledge of the world.

Again, a man of affurance, though, at firft, it only denoted a perfon of a free and open carriage, is now, very ufually, applied to a profligate wretch, who can break through all the rules of decency and morality without a blush.

I shall endeavour, therefore, in this effay, to reftore these words to their true meaning; to prevent the idea of Modesty from being confounded with that of Sheepifhnefs, and to hinder Impudence from paffing for Affurance.

VOL. I.

P

Leffon

Leffon II.-If I were put to define Modefy, I would call it the reflection of an ingenuous mind, either when a man has committed an action for which he cenfures himself, or fancies that he is exposed to the censure of others.

← For this reafon a man truly modest is as much so when he is alone as in company, and as subject to a blush in his clofet, as when the eyes of mulutudes are upon him.

I do not remember to have met with any inftance of modefty with which I am fo well pleased, as that celebrated one lof the young prince, whofe father, being a tributary king to the Romans, had several complaints laid against him before the fenate, as a tyrant and oppreffor of his fubjects. The prince went to Rome to defend his father; but coming into the fenate, and hearing a multitude of crimes proved upon him, was fo oppreffed when it came to his turn to fpeak, that he was unable to utter a word. The story tells us, that the fathers were more moved at this inftance of modesty and ingenuity, than they could have been by the most pathetic oration; and, in short, pardoned the guilty father for this early promife of virtue in the fon.

I take affurance to be the faculty of poffeffing a man's felf, or of faying and doing indifferent things without any upeafi nefs or emotion in the mind. That which generally gives a man affurance is a moderate knowledge of the world, but above all a mind fixed and determined in itself to do nothing againft the rules of honour and decency. An open and af fured behaviour is the natural confequence of fuch a refolution. A man thus armed, if his words or actions are at any time mifinterpreted, retires within himself, and, from a confioufnefs of his own integrity, affumes force enough to deipife the little cenfures of ignorance and malice.

Leffon III.Every one ought to cherish and encourage in himfelf the modesty and affurance I have here mentioned.

A man without affurance is liable to be made uneafy by the folly or ill-nature of every one he converfes with. A man without modefty is loft to all fenfe of honour and virtue.