perhaps, more than half the number of ordinary words in a sentence. From this you will see how essential it is that they should be thoroughly memorized and practiced until the writing of them becomes automatic. "Speed," writes Mr. J. E. Munson, "depends chiefly upon the ability of the writer to make the various outlines of words without hesitation." To this we would add: learn your word-signs so well that you can write them without the slightest hesitation, and you will then have more time to spare in writing the outlines of the new and uncommon words.
BRIEF OUTLINES OFTEN DECEPTIVE.
The briefest outlines are not always the best. An outline that can be written with freedom, and without perceptible effort, is at all times preferable to one written carefully and with an effort, though the former occupies twice as much space as the latter. Mr. David Wolfe Brown writes: "A long outline for a new or strange word is something that no stenographer should be afraid of. Frequently a long outline, which suggests itself readily, is more quickly written than a shorter one, which requires the writer to stop and think." The one slope, the one position, and the one thickness of Gregg Shorthand are great factors in securing uniformity and invariability of outline. The insertion of the vowels also materially assists in providing, without alternative characters,
