The systems that are not Pitmanic differ from each other as much as they do from the Pitmanic. The letters of the Cross Eclectic alphabet are constructed upon what the author calls the form of the Thirographic Ellipse.' or any ellipse in five different directions lacking the perpendicu lar. (See Table IV. for the form of the ters.) His vowel scale is but partially phonetic, and he uses five positions with respect to the line of writing, both for vowels and for consonants: the vowels, being strokes, are, of course. joined to the consonants. The Pernin consonants are geo metrical and the paired letters being single and double length instead of being light and heavy, and the vowels are mostly connected and phonetically arranged, but the diphthongs are scantily represented. The special character istics of the Gregg system are thus presented: "(1) No compulsory thickening. (2) Written on the slope of longhand. (3) Position writing abolished. (4) Vowels and consonants conjoined. (5) Angles are rare." Like the Pernin, and other lightline systems, the heavy sounds of related letters are double length. The vowels are phonetic, and four of them fully connected with the consonants; but the remaining eight, when distinguished from the others, have dots and dashes disconnected. The alphabet shows but four diphthongs; ingenious but somewhat com plicated expedients provide, however, for one or two more. The system is new' comparatively, originating in in 1889. whence it was transferred to America about two years later, where it has made considerable headway since, especially in the West. The New Standard, as will be observed by the tables, is shaded like the Pitman; its vowel system is mostly phonetic, and composed of three circles of different sizes and two ellipses, which are also shaded and some of them accompanied by distinguishing dots. The words are all written on the line. This system is also comparatively new in the field.
This is necessarily but a meagre description of what may be called the 'living' systems of America at the present 'late (1903). New ones are constantly coining and going. In 1890 Julius Ensign Rockwell, with remarkable care and labor, collected shorthand statistics for the Bureau of Education at Washington: and he found 44 dif ferent systems taught in 13I1) institutions of learning. Some extend the of systems in actual use in America to 200: but those repre sented in Table 1V. are almost the only ones to be found doing the work at the present time of our press, our courts, and our legislatures.
As to the adaptation of shorthand to different languages, while all admit the truth of Gabds berger's remark that "the honor of reducing shorthand to a system belongs especially to the Emdish nation," yet we find a French inventor as early as 1651—Jacques Gossard—and others a little later in other parts of Europe: but in mod ern times the mimes of Duploy'e in France and of Gabelsberger in Germany are watchwords in the shorthand circles of these countries. The Isaac
Pitman firm has. however. adapted its system to the Spanish. French, German. Italian, Dutch, Welsh, Japanese, Ch Mese. H i nd ust a nee, and eleven other languages.
The speed with which shorthand can be written is a much discussed subject. It has been made abundantly clear that shorthand can be written so as to keep pace with ordinary public speakers at a rate of from 130 to ISO words per minute. At higher rates, or in lengthened reports, it is customary for reporters to work by relays, thus relieving each other every ten or fifteen minutes; this is not only for the sake of greater accuracy, but that the press may be supplied with copy the sooner. In England, by very strict official tests of ten minutes' dictation, and requiring perfect transcripts of the 'take,' many records of from 200 to 250 words a minute have been made; and it is claimed both in England and in America that these rates have been considerably surpassed, but the tests have not been equally reliable and are generally for only one minute's writing: and ex perience hiss shown that statements on this sub ject need to he taken CUM, grano salis.
The writer of this article acknowledges indebt edness to Dr. J. Westby-Gilison's Bibliography of Shorthand (London, 15s7 ), Julius Ensign well's Teaching, Prartirr. and Literature (4 Short hand ( Wa shing,t on, I SO3 ) Isaac History of Shorthand (London, 1SS4) , and to the several treatises of authors referred to in the article.
SHORT'HOUSE„TosEprt HENRY ( 3 4 - 1 9 0 3). An English novelist, born at Birmingham. He was educated at private schools. He passed his life as a chemical manufacturer in his native city. In 18S1 he became widely known for his romance, John /nob-sant (previously issued for private circulation, new ed.. New York, 1903), which at once took a high rank among English historical novels for the beauty of its style and the vivid fidelity of its historical portraiture. It is a sort of Anglo-Catholic tract written in a beautiful style. It• was succeeded by The Little Schoolmaster Jim*, a Spiritual Romance- (1883 84) ; Sir Pi rciral. a Story of the Past and the Present (1886); .1 Teacher of the Violin and Other Tales (ISSS) : The Countess Ere (1888) ; and Blanche, Lady Falaise (1S91).