It is necessary that the student be impressed with the fact that he is to write only by sound. It should be borne in mind that the phonographic signs given in the lessons are not substitutes for the letters of the Roman alphabet, but are simply signs used to represent the different elementary sounds of the human voice. Hence, the difference between the names of the phonographic Visible Alphabet and the usual A,B,C,or Roman Alphabet. For this reason, when the student desires to spell the words mew, sigh, etc.,phonographically,he must not expect to spell them in accordance with the English and American dictionaries. He must govern himself entirely by the elementary sounds contained in each word. He will then correctly spell them; m-u, mew, s-i, sigh.

In explaining this to an early student, the author was asked:

"If, in shorthand, we spell by sound entirely, then I suppose there are some words which may be spelled by the use of only one letter.like, for instance, spelling the word be by the use of the letter B alone."

To which the author replied: "Certainly, the shorthand letter B spells the word be quite as correctly as it represents the letter B. In fact it spells bee equally well.

Student - (in dismay.) Then, suppose, in the future, I desired, or was required, to read some other phonographer's writing, or even my own that had lain by for some time and perhaps become almost or quite forgotten, and that in those notes occurred the shorthand sign for B, how could I be certain as to whether it was written for the words be. bee, or was simply a letter?

Author - Yours is a very natural question. Allow me to answer it by asking one. The sounds of those two words and the letter being precisely the same, how would you know which was meant should you hear them spoken by some one addressing you?

Student. - The subject of conversation or the meaning of the sentence in which they occurred would inform me.

Author. - Exactly. Besides, neither of them can be employed in the same sense. But suppose, for illustration, either word (be or bee) or the letter, were spoken alone, without any attendant conversation, would you understand which was meant?

Student. - Possibly not.

Author. - Then you must not expect more of phonography than of spoken language, than which nothing is more universally useful. It is the province of the former simply to photograph the latter. One thought more: The subject of conversation was mentioned as being a guide to the meaning of spoken words; or,in other words,the context is the key. This is often, though not always, the case in phonography. Words preceding or following a doubtful word will invariably determine its meaning. To be sure, in this particular instance, the words may be isolated and have no connection with each other, as in regular sentences. But, let'us take a sentence. Just for sake of illustration, suppose, instead of declaring to your sister - "Katie, I envy you," - you merely repeat to her the six letters,' 'K-T, I N-V U," - is it not possible that Katie would comprehend your meaning quite as well? Undoubtedly she would, because the sound is the same in both instances, and therefore the meaning is the same. People do not spell words when they speak. Custom has determined that, in correct long-hand writing, the dictionaries must be regarded as containing the standard rules for spelling; but the student is reminded, that,in photographing the utterances of a speaker, the two phonographic signs V and U spell view quite as well as Webster's unabridged dictionary can, even with the help of four letters.

The foregoing illustration of spelling by sound, commencing on preceding page, was written by the author, Curtis Haven, and was printed by him in the first edition of this book, but it has since then been copied, without permission, by the publisher of a garbled shorthand book, and printed in his book as if original with him, together with other portions of this book, original only with the author, Curtis Haven. This notice is given here, so that persons who should see both books, will understand this one alone deserves the credit for originality. Every sentence in this book is strictly original with the author, Curtis Haven, and if any portion of same should be found in any other book, the reader will know that it is copied from this book.