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 adopted the phonetic principle, though mainly in regard to the consonants ; but he supplied a greatly improved and extended vowel scale which is undoubtedly the most original feature of his scheme. It is a curious fact that he altogether discarded the looped letters of the Taylor alphabet, and assigned the small circle, with an alternative character, to the representation of the letter s, as had been done in the system of William Mason (fl. 1672-1709) [q. v.], published in 1682. He also introduced the principle of 'pairing' the consonants and of 'shading,' or the use of thin and thick strokes for indicating cognate consonants. In this rare booklet, immature and incomplete though it be, the stenographic expert will at once recognise the main features of the present highly developed system of phonography.

The manuscript of the second edition was ready in the autumn of 1839, but its publication was deferred till the penny post came into operation on 10 Jan. 1840. It then appeared in the form of a penny plate with this title : 'Phonography, or Writing by Sound, being also a New and Natural System of Short Hand.' Some copies, mounted on canvas and bound in cloth, with two chapters from the New Testament as additional exercises, were sold at one shilling each. Several important improvements were introduced into this second edition. The steel plate was beautifully engraved, but in almost microscopic characters, so that it was not well adapted to become a medium for learning the system. Copies were, however, widely distributed to schoolmasters all over the country, and, when these had been well circulated, Pitman began his phonographic propaganda by devoting his school holidays to lecturing tours. The third edition of 'Phonography' was brought out at the close of 1840 in an octavo volume, with fuller explanations of the system, and altogether better adapted for the purpose of instruction in the art. The fourth edition appeared in 1841, the fifth in 1842, the sixth in 1844, the seventh in 1845, the eighth in 1847, the ninth in 1852, the tenth (with a new vowel scale) in 1857, the eleventh in 1862, and the twelfth in 1867. There were many later issues, but these were not designated as separate editions. In addition to the manuals, a very large number of books were published in illustration of the system, such as 'Copy Books,' the 'Class Book,' the 'Exercises,' the 'Teacher,' the 'Reporter's Companion,' and a 'Phonetic Shorthand and Pronouncing Dictionary of the English Language.' Many standard works were also printed in the phonographic shorthand characters, including the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, Bacon's 'Essays,' Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Progress,' Cowper's 'Poetical Works,' Craik's 'John Halifax,' Dickens's ' Pickwick Papers ' and 'Oliver Twist,' Goldsmith's ' Vicar of Wakefield,' Hughes's 'Tom Brown's Schooldays,' Washington Irving's * Tales and Sketches,' Johnson's 'Rasselas,' Macaulay's 'Essays' and 'Biographies,' Milton's 'Paradise Lost,' More's 'Utopia,' Scott's ' Waverley,' and Swift's 'Gulliver's Travels.'

Meanwhile the phonographic crusade had met with extraordinary success. Pitman found it necessary, in 1843, to give up his school, and to abandon travelling and lecturing, in order to devote himself to the production of instruction books and other literature. By this time other labourers had come into the field, to whose co-operation the progress of the new movement was greatly indebted. His brothers Joseph and Benjamin (afterwards known in America as Benn Pitman) lectured throughout the country, sometimes together and sometimes separately. Thomas Allen Reed joined Joseph Pitman in 1843, and, having acquired great facility as a phonographic writer, was able to demonstrate by practical experiments the capabilities of the new system in the hands of an expert penman. Among the other lecturers and teachers were Pitman's brothers, Henry and Frederick in England, and Jacob in Australia. From time to time phonographic 'Festivals' were held, at which the progress already made was reviewed, and workers in the cause were stimulated to fresh exertions. A 'Phonetic Society' was also established. This enthusiastic propaganda extended to America and Australia, and wherever the English tongue was spoken the number of phonographers daily increased. At the present time phonography is doing nine-tenths of the shorthand writing and reporting of the English-speaking communities, and there is no other stenographic system that can approach it in the extent to which it is taught and used. Among short-hand clerks and amanuenses Pitman's is almost the only method employed. Several variations of the system have been published in the United States, but they are based on the original alphabet. The framework of phonography has been subjected to severe criticism, especially by Edward Pocknell, Thomas Anderson, and Hugh L. Callendar, who have, however, failed in their attempts to devise superior systems of their own. Pitman's system has been adapted to French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Welsh,