tended to be very courageous. But when it came to any chance of exposure there was always some hitch before he could be brought to the scratch. We told him if he caught anything it would be varioloid. Though, to be sure, if he had that, his pleasure trip would be very alloyed. E. said he always liked to ride horseback in the early fall. He rode Jerry, and had a very early fall. First Jerry walked on his hind legs: E. clasped him around the neck; it was neck or nothing. Then the horse started off on a gallop-E. too. Then Jerry stopped suddenly and put his head down-E. also stopped suddenly about two rods further on- and put his head down. Then he found the only bridge unsafe for travel was the bridge of his nose. There he parted with Jerry, and also with his three serviceable teeth. was much annoyed; and said impatiently, that "he wished people could be born without teeth." The Governor said, blandly, that they usually were. Then he had a new set made very white and even; E's. nice large mouth now looks like a cellar-way Ened with candles. Speaking of teeth reminds me of how fussy E. is about what he eats. He won't touch tomatoes, olives and several other things-says it is wholly an acquired taste-like that for Coney Island, or amatuer theatricals, I suppose. He is very found of hunting. He was sure he should find deer shooting in the woods around us. Went out one foggy morning and shot an Alderny cow belonging to old A Cost nim $150 to settle. I had no idea he would find such dear shooting as that. Another strong point with E. is the way of repeating a funny story. We went fishing in "La Tirnova;" she is a centre-board boat. John told him that it was pleasant to ride in that boat because there was such a good scent aboard, and because you would not be penniless, as you would be sent aboard with at least one cent aboard. E. laughed until his teeth dropped out. Then he told the story to the Governor at the dinner table; that "it was a nice boat to ride in, because there was such a good smell on board, and you always went on with at least one penny." E. can get more fun out of a story in telling it, than any man I ever saw. He gets it all out. They sailed up the lake and His pantaloons were full of greatly disgusted, and said He had his best time on a picnic with R. landed; here E. got caught in a briar thicket. tears-idle tears-before he escaped. He was he would never wear pantaloons to a picnic again. On starting again E. stood on the bows, so he could see the prospects. After a habit, he fell into a brown study; John suddenly ran the boat aground. Then he fell into about eighteen inches of mud; when he was fished out he was a browner study than before. E. had bad luck fishing and caught nothing. Wind died down, and they had to row back. Then he caught about fifty crabs and a bad cold. He said, he would never ride again unless some one else rowed. His closing performance, was to sit down on a stump upholstered with a hornet's nest. He rose suddenly with the remark that, "that stump beat all for slivers, and that who ever shut up all those darned yellow flies in that brown paper bag, must have wanted something to do. If he lived long in certain localities I could mention, he would consider a nest of hornets rather ar. inoffensive community than otherwise. He is a very accomplished man. He can accomplish more blunders in a given time than any other many of his age and size I ever met. He undertook to insure Deacon R., a rigid Presbyterian. The Deacon turned on him, and asked him gloomily, if he could insure him against the fire that is never quenched. E. didn't quite catch his meaning, and said he could not, but that he could recommend him to a good fire company that took extra hazardous risks. On the whole E's. visit must have been a success. He said, when he went back, that he had not had such a lively time since he had St. Vitus' dance. I never understood 'till then, E's.objection to dancing. E. sleeps very soundly on the sofa after dinner. R. got John's oil paints and painted a green donkey with yellow ears, on his bald head; he said he was going to paint a cart, but hadn't room. E. only had head enough for a donkey. E. awoke without knowing that he had been decorated. John called his attention to it sarcastically, by saying it was a queer place to have one's portrait painted. E. was rather angry at it; said it was about the same as calling him a green donkey. We thought it was about the same too. R. was instructed to refrain from decorating the antique thereafter. After being soaked with benzine, the donkey disappeared, and hasn't been seen Neither has E. After this long letter, I resignedly re-sign myself with the name synonymous with abuse. since. D-N. $1.00 PER YEAR. Oakland, Cal. Chicago. London, Eng. COL. E. B. DICKINSON...New York City. R. W. MITCHELL. Portland, Oregon. W. W. PERRY. Toronto, Canada. F. G. MORRIS. -Springfield, Mass. WILLARD F. PARKER ..Chicago. MISS ELIZABETH C. MERRILL...Chicago. CHARLES F. JONES...Sydney, Australia. PUBLISHED MONTHLY. SAMPLE COPY, 10 CENTS. THE NATIONAL STENOGRAPHER, 108 Prospect Place, Chicago. 5% 10% 15% On three months contract (changes in advertisements to be extra). ufacturers of new typewriters would do well to bear this fact in mind when planning their keyboards, and not be led astray by some theory. It will be as much of a task to introduce a machine which presents a new keyboard as it has been to get the English-speaking world to adopt phonetic spelling. Such a thing may be possible, but it will be a long time before its fruition. JUST as we go to press we learn of the appointment of Fred Irland, of Detroit, to the temporary position in the House of Representatives occasioned by the absence of chief McElhone. We do not know who made the selection of Mr. Irland to fill this vacancy, but great wisdom. is shown in the appointment, for no better man could be found in the ranks of the profession. EXCHANGES. SANDER'S SHORTHAND GAZETTE for May shows the genius of its editor in gathering exceedingly interesting matter for its readers. It is newsy, bright and witty. THE SHORTHAND REVIEW for April presents a very neat appearance, and has much good matter in its columns, notable among which is Stenographers and their Qualifications, by Ed. F. Underhill, and the prize essays. THE PHILADELPHIA STENOGRAPHER comes before the public with its first number, dated May, 1890. It is published under the auspices of the Philadelphia Stenographers' Association, is well printed, excellently edited, newsy, and should be well supported. THE OFFICE (London), for May, contains much valuable matter to office men, of which the stenographer has quite a share. Our associate, Dr. Westby-Gibson, explains a number of interesting problems and paradoxes in mathematics. MELTON'S SLOAN-DUPLOYAN SHORTHAND JOURNAL. for April has a great deal of matter useful to writers of that system, and to stenographers generally. It contains portraits of Emile Duploye, the originator of the system, and J. M. Sloan, the adapter of it to the English language. PERNIN'S MONTHLY STENOGRAPHER for April is up to its usual style, and writers of that system will be fully repaid by a perusal of it. SHORTHAND (London), for April, is exceedingly interesting. It is the organ of the Shorthand Society, which society is composed of writers and authors of various systems. The following subjects are dealt with in a masterly, instructive and entertaining manner: Alphabetic Symbology, by E. T. Harwood; Steno-Tachygraphy, by J. Sandow; Simon Bordley, author of the first Script System of Shorthand, by our associate, Dr. Westby-Gibson. The discussion upon these various papers is highly interesting. THE PHONOGRAPHIC WORLD for May is full of good things. The editor's effort in behalf of sustaining the reputation of American reporting is most commendable, and the work done by Fred Inland and Edmund Daniel is a fair sample of what can be done on this side of the water. The notes of these gentlemen show a much higher grade of penmanship than those of Mr. B. de Bear, and we all know they were written at a much less speed than these gentlemen are capable of. Mr. Miner takes occasion (which, perhaps, had been better accepted under separate cover), to puff himself and darken the gloom surrounding his contemporaries, while satisfying the curiosity of the Spencerian Business College. He seems to consider it a frightful breach of etiquette for a shorthand periodical to advertise its wares," or anything else belonging to it, except its inflated subscription list, yet a count of the advertisements in the May issue of the World, reveals the trifling fact that one-third of them extol Mr. Miner's 66 wares, etc." John B. Carey presents a very interesting article on The Coroner's Notes, and Miss Ida E. Turner gives some good advice as to How to Conduct a Stenographic Association. We are happy to see that Mr. Miner is about to put his splendid paper in proper form the magazine form-which we adopted. REVIEWS. "CADMUS BRITANNICUS," by Simon Bordley, 1787: with an account of the author and the succeeding Script systems, by John Westby-Gibson, LL.D.-McCaskie's Shorthand Reprints. No. 2; $2.50; R. McCaskie, 110 Iverson Road, West Hampstead, London; 1890. This is the second of Mr. McCaskie's reprints of old shorthand systems, and is the first Script system of shorthand. The elements of the system have been thoroughly reviewed by our associate in his most admirable memoir of the author, and account of the succeeding Script systems, which is a part of the book. The comprehensive title which Bordley bestowed upon his work is as follows: Cadmus Britannicus; or The Art of Writing Improved, containing I. A SHORTHAND, where very great Hafte is not required, though shorter by one Half than our common Way of Writing. II. A SWIFTER SHORT-HAND, for taking down Speeches and Sermons after a Speaker or Preacher. III. A SHORT-HAND FOR MUSIC, whereby much more may be written in the fame Space of Time than in the ufual Way. IV. AN UNIVERSAL CHARACTER, i. e. a complete GRAMMAR of it, with fome General Rules for ecmpiling a Dictionary. All which four Schemes or Systems are warranted to be ORIGINALS, and not one fingle Character borrowed, or taken out of any former Author, and are now published for the Use of WritingMafters and all other Ingenious Pen-Men in the British Empire. By S. G. Bordley. Printed for the author and fold by J. P. Coghlan, Bookfeller, in Duke-street, near Grofvenor-fquare. London, either by Wholesale in Sheets, or bound, with good Allowance to Bookfellers and fuch as fell them again; or by Retail, at 4s per Book, bound." BAKER'S PRACTICAL STENOGRAPHY, a textbook of Practical Stenography, designed for Amanuensis Work and Verbatim Reporting, by C. E. Baker, B.S.; 69 pp.; Pantagraph Printing and Stationery Co., Bloomington, Ill.; 1889. This is a somewhat peculiar system. The alphabet is composed of light lines, and presents the feature of giving but one sign to represent each pair of cognate sounds. Thus a perpendicular straight line is given for either p or b; a left oblique straight line for g and k; a horizontal straight line for d and t; a perpendicular left-opening curve for v and ƒ; a horizontal downward-opening curve for s and z; a perpendicular right-opening curve for sh and zh; a horizontal straight stroke with an initial hook for j and ch. The following are represented by single curved straight or hooked characters: m, n, ng, 1. r, wh, u, h, y, th, q. The vowels are indicated by straight, curved and angular ticks, and are connectible. The peculiarity of this system is further shown by the shading of consonants to indicate vowels. A consonant written above the line takes e immediately after it. A consonant thus written and shaded implies a as the next letter. When written on the line and shaded, i is understood to follow. When e, a or i does not follow the initial consonant, the outline is written on the line. The vowels o and u are evidently always written, as the author does not treat them otherwise. The usual 1, r, n, and shn hooks, lengthening for tr and dr, halving to add t or d; loops for st and str, and circles for 8 and ss, are made use of. Con is indicated by a prefixed tick; ed by a disjoined dot. Ꭺ back hook on m adds p or b. A final tick shows ing. The book is attractively bound, and contains many writing and reading exercises for the student. |