Rule beginning with prepositions may be denoted by their respective prepositions, together with the next consonant and vowel, and sometimes with the next consonant only, adding, when necess ary, the substantive, adjective, or adverb point; as, deliberate, transmutation, recommendation, consanguin ity, &c.
The participles may be abbreviated after the same manner, by adding, instead of the points, the termi nations or to the latter consonant mark; as, considering, considered.
Words beginning with double or treble preposi tions, may be written after the same manner, joining the prepositions together; as, representation, misrepre sentation, incomprehensibility. If two consonants be gin the next syllable, the writing of them both will help to discover the remainder of the word; as, mis understanding, transubstantiation.
Rule 10.—Words ending in any of the terminations, which in the alphabet are denoted by consonant marks, may be expressed by their first consonant and vowel, together with the proper mark for its termina tion; as, arbitrary, opportunity, curiosity, laufulness.
Rule 11.—Such words as are easily discoverable by the particular prepositions which they require, may be denoted by their first consonant only; as, " this be longs to me;" " he made some good observations upon it;" " we must guard against such passions as we are most liable to." As few English words end with the syllable the preposition to may be joined to the preceding word, which is signified by its first consonant only; as, this belongs to me, liable to, satisfactory to.
Other prepositions which are denoted in the al phabet by a single consonant may, in like manner, be joined to the preceding word; as, " he made some good observations upon it." Rule 12.—Prepositions generally require after them either a noun or pronoun. The pronouns being few in number, and used as substitutes for nouns, must occur very frequently, and by that means soon become familiar to the learner; pronouns, therefore, may be joined to the prepositions, without danger of creating any difficulty to the reader; as to me, to my, to you.
Rule 13.—The preceding word, the preposition, and pronoun, may be joined all together; as belongs to me, extends to us, agreed with me, depend upon me, observations upon this.
The words some, any, none, which, each, both, fol lowed by a preposition and pronoun, may be denoted by their first consonants, and may be joined to the preposition and pronoun; as, some of them, any of us.
Rule adverbs preceding the verbs, and the substantives following the pronominal adjectives, may be joined to the verbs and adjectives respectively, denoting both the adverbs and substantives by their first consonants, or at most by their first consonants and vowels; as, " you may safely depend upon my word."
Rule I common phrases, formed by a sub stantive preceded by the prepositions with, without, in, &c., and followed by to, of, &c. may be very con veniently abbreviated; as, with regard, respect, or re ferenee to, in order to, in consequence, comparison, or eongideration of.
Rule adverbial phrases are, in like manner, often denoted by their initial consonants joined together; as, at the same time, at present, in this manner, in like manner, in a great measure, in the same manner, in the mean time, in general, in par ticular.
And when the proportion of equality is expressed, with some one word intervening, they may be all joined together; as, ro much as, as well as, as soon as.
Rule 17.—The contractions which may be made, when it is or it was, are followed by an adjective, and to or that, are very numerous; as it is impossible to, it was unnecessary to, it is contrary to, it is accord ing to.
I now proceed (says the American author) to give a few of the rules of abbreviation laid down by Dr. Mayor, and published in a former edition of the Edin burgh Encyclopedia; from which, with the other au thorities already quoted, and the examples that I shall hereafter furnish, the learner will be prepared to make such advances in the reduction of labour as he may deem expedient, without endangering the usefulness of the previously acquired system.
" The value of stenography, says the editor, is not unknown to the learned; and the ease and success with which it has been lately cultivated in these king doms will, in all probability, soon render it an object of general attention. No one, however, appears to us to have simplified and improved the art so much as Dr. Mayor, author of the Universal Stenography, who has liberally permitted us to present our readers with a complete view of his scheme; which, in many schools of the first reputation, now stands a deserved class-book." Having given an outline of his theory, Dr. Mayor proceeds :— " Though a more concise method of writing, or more numerous abbreviations, may not be indispen sably necessary, if the foregoing directions be prac tised for a considerable time, yet contractions will be found extremely useful and convenient to those who have attained a proper knowledge of the subject, and lead to a greater degree of expedition, at the same time that they diminish the labour of writing. It has been observed in the introduction, that abbreviations are only to be employed by prolicients in this art ; because expedition is not the first, though the ulti mate object in view : and that an easy legibility is of the utmost consequence to the learner, which, how ever, cannot be preserved, if he adopts too soon those very rules, which in time will afford him the greatest case when applied with judgment.