GREGG SHORTHAND RULES
Gregg circles nestle inside curves
Or hang outside of angles;
They make a right turn on straight lines
To keep from traffic tangles.
If one should come ’twixt curves reverse,
Like “lake” or “gale” or “pave,”
Just write it on the first one’s back,
The word’s identity to save.
To place it on the writing line,
The shorthand word, I mean,
Be sure the first real consonant
Right on the line is seen;
Unless an s should come before
A down stroke as in “spine,”
In such a case, s is above,
While p rests on the line.
Before n, m, and r and l,
The o-hook’s on its side,
Unless a down stroke comes before,
Then it’s not modified.
The oo-hook’s always on its side
When after n or m;
And also after k(ay) or g(ay)
When r, l, follow them.
In front of p, b, r, and l,
And after them also,
The left s goes—it follows, too,
T, d, n, m and o.
The other s, the right-hand s,
Is used in other cases;
It’s quite a game to see how well
Those s’s know their places.
At first of words, or after strokes
Made down, or k(ay) or g(ay),
The is no angle in oo-s,
It seems it doesn’t pay.
When s between two consonants
And circle both are needed,
We have two strokes controlling s,
And one must go unheeded.
Now, listen carefully to this,
The way that we decide it,
S goes with one it’s farthest from
To agree with that one write it.
Use backward (i)th with o, r, l,
Also in thumb, thump, thunder;
If you will keep this rule in mind
You’ll never need to blunder.
In every other case, of course,
We’ll use the clockwise letter;
(I)th stands for ther and also thir,
Whichever (i)th is better.
You’ll play the game with ease and poise,
More steadily and faster,
When of these few short, simple rules
You’ve proved yourself the master.
From Correlated Studies in Stenography, 1932.
Reminiscent of Mr. Rutherford’s “A Song of Light-Line.” :-) Labels: general