In Lesson I the student is requested, when writing phonography, to hold the pen or pencil between the first and second fingers, merely keeping it in place with the thumb. Most phonographers employ this method, though there are a few who profess to prefer the ordinary penmanship style, saying that a special method for shorthand writing is simply affectation. This is a mistake. The philosophy of the matter is, that in ordinary penmanship the letters all slant in one direction, and are written always either downward from the right or upward from the left, and hence the regular penmanship manner of holding the pen is decidedly preferable in ordinary writing; but in writing phonographically the shorthand characters are formed in such a variety of directions, downward from the right, perpendicularly, horizontally, etc., etc., that a special position of the hand, if one would make the characters easily and rapidly, is a requisite which is best secured by holding the pen or pencil between the first and second fingers, by which plan the hand is less liable to become cramped from excess of work.

Exercise III

Key III.

1, rye; 2, ray; 3, rue; 4, Wright; 5, Coyle; 6, Gale; 7, Coke; 8, Power 9, Bain; 10, Roote; 11, Rich; 12, Mack; 13, Dodd; 14, Wren; 15, Peel; 16 Kurr; 17, Cuba; 18, Foote; 19, Shah; 20, Pawn; 21, say; 22, ask; 23,sack 24, case; 25, race; 26, racy; 27, Gypsey; 28, gas; 29, city; 30, sire; 31, sage; 32, dies; 33, dizzy; 34, maze; 35, mazy; 36, lazy; 37, same; 38, save: 39, vice; 40, safe; 41, face; 42, faces; 43, paces; 44, races; 45, Miss C. Q X. Cook buys eight laces a day.