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EXTRACTS FROM THE REVIEWS

OF THE FIRST EDITION OF THIS WORK.

"The result has been the production of a more practical work than has hitherto appeared on the subject, though published at less than one-sixth of the original price of Taylor's work, and no more than onethird the price of that of Mavor. Mr. Harding's publication cannot be too highly recommended."-LIT. CHRON. March 15, 1823.

"The first part of this Work is founded on the principles of the late Mr. Sam. Taylor, which, from their BEING SO WELL KNOWN, require neither analysis nor elucidation. The remaining portion includes such improvements in the system as have been made since his Treatise first. appeared. The simplicity of Mr. H's plan gives it conciseness, which, by excluding extraneous matter, brings the whole within a narrow compass, and adds its diminutive price, which is 3s. to its other recommendations."-IMPERIAL MAG. May, 1823.

"We have had recourse to this little publication for assistance in our professional avocations; and have found it so excellent a help, that we would recommend it in the strongest manner to all who are desirous of making themselves masters of the Stenographic Art. Mr. Harding's system is founded on that of the late Mr. Samuel Taylor, which was pronounced, by Dr. Beattie, to be incomparably the best he had ever seen; but it embraces many recent and valuable improvements.

"It forms altogether the most concise, luminous, and cheap manual of Stenography, which has yet made its appearance."-STAR, Sept. 29, 1823.

"As the Art of Short-Hand Writing is at present much cultivated, every attempt to simplify or improve it ought to be received by the public with gratitude, provided that ar author do not force upon their attention his speculative notions instead of practical results.

"Much has been accomplished since the production of Mr. Taylor's pen first made its appearance: and it is right to mention that Mr. H. has introduced some of these improvements in the second part of his book.

For intelligibility when written, it far surpasses all other systems. For this end we can safely recommend the present little work, which is neatly printed, and reflects great credit on the Engraver for his execution of the plates."-WESLEYAN METHODIST MAG. FINE ED. Dec. 1823,

Extract of a letter from the late Mr. Joseph Nightingale.

Southwark Square, May 1, 1823.

"Sir, I have read with the indignation of an honest critic, but I must confess not with much surprise, the piece of hyper-criticism on your little elegant publication on Stenography, which has recently appeared in a weekly paper.*

"Having some pretentions to a knowledge of Stenography, being in fact the author of the Article "Short Hand," in Rees's Encyclopedia, and also previously of that on the same subject in Nicholson's Encyclopedia, and some others, I may be allowed to make a remark or two, both on your work and on the ill-natured Review above alluded to.

"As to your own publication, I have generally to remark, that with the exception of Mr. Molineux's Introduction to Byrom, and that gentleman's Stenographical Copybook,† I have never yet met with a more pleas.. ing or more useful little book on Short-Hand than yours; to this I will add that yours is one of the cheapest, as well as the neatest book of the kind extant.

"Many years ago I learnt to write Taylor's Short Hand, having previously acquired a knowledge of Gurney's, and subsequently of Mavor's system. You appear to me to have preserved the spirit and character of your original to perfection, and in those cases wherein you have departed from your author, you have certainly greatly improved upon him.

(To Mr. Harding.

Ave Maria Lane.)

J. NIGHTINGALE."

The Paper alluded to has been discontinued some time since.

† A Work which has deservedly been held in high estimation for a number of years.-Price 3s.

PREFACE.

No system of Stenography that ever appeared has held, for a period, so high a place in general estimation as that of the late ingenious Mr. Samuel Taylor. On its first publication (about thirty-seven years since) it was adopted, or recommended at home, by many persons of eminence in the political and literary circles, particularly by the Right Hon. Lord North, (to whom it was dedicated), the Hon. Charles Fox, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Esq., the Hon. T. Erskine, Professor Blackstone, and Doctor Beattie.

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The learned individual last named was pleased to say of it Of all the systems of Short-Hand that I have seen, and I have looked into several, Mr. Taylor's appears to me to be incomparably the best. The art seems to be hardly susceptible of further improvement. His address, as a teacher of it, is very great indeed." In consequence of the celebrity which Mr. Taylor's system obtained here, it soon found its way into other countries. In France it found an able translator in Bertin, and has been ever since the favourite text book on Stenography in that country.

A new system has lately been brought forward by Mons. Prepean; but when the reader is informed that its chief novelty consists in supplying signs for all the intermediate vowels, while Mr. Taylor's requires only a few to be taken into the account-in multiplying, in fact, the number of abbreviations till they are.

nearly equal to the number of letters abbreviated, he will not be surprised to learn that Taylor's is still the system which, for the sake of expedition, is preferred by the most eminent French Stenographists. In most of the German Universities, also, Taylor's Stenography has long been familiar to the students.

The work here presented to the public, though not literally that of Mr. Taylor, is founded so entirely on the principles laid down by him, and has been compiled with so studious a desire to adhere to the spirit of the original, in various emendations introduced, that it may be regarded as but a new edition of the master work, simplified and improved. The Editor's object has been, not only to retain all that was essential in Mr. Taylor's system, but to engraft numerous improvements suggested by a long practice of it; while at the same time, the present work is produced at just a seventh of what the original cost.

The improvements by the present Editor consist chiefly of prefixes and terminations, a few useful arbitaries, and a more distinct method of expressing the vowels.

Any person already acquainted with Mr. Taylor's system may, with a few hours labour, make himself master of these improvements, the alphabetical characters being precisely the same; and to all others they will be found to facilitate greatly the acquisition of the art.

The favourable reception with which the first edition of this work was received, has been equally gratifying and encouraging to the Editor. It has rewarded him for his past endeavours to simplify and improve the valuable art of which it treats, and stimulated him to make still further exertions to advance it to a state of perfection.

In the Edition now presented to the public will be found several additional improvements, some suggested by a comparison of the first edition with other systems of Stenography, to which he had

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