David Ramsay was one of the American Revolution’s first major historians. Although trained as a physician, during the Revolutionary War he was a member of the South Carolina legislature. Since he was personally involved in the events of the revolution (him serving as field surgeon in the South Carolina militia and his brother Nathaniel as a Captain of the First Maryland Regiment), his writing reflects his insight and knowledge of these events. Here are excerpts from his book History of the American Revolution, transcribed by yours truly in Anniversary Gregg.
Attachment: the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-the-revolution.pdf
I think I will give up on this one. At least for a while.
I always print out the shorthand (reading from a screen is hard for me), and with a difficult piece like this I write question marks in the margin for words I cannot get on first reading. I had 28 of these this time and only reduced them by 2 on the second reading. I also write in the margin words I encounter which caused me problems or which I need to attend. After reading there was nearly no room left in the margins!
I’ll send off for the book. I asked a bookshop, when I first saw I was in trouble, but they said it would not be quick for them to get it.
It is nice to have such complex texts to read — it shows up all my shortcomings. And the subject is very interesting too.
The book is available on archive.org: Volume I and Volume II. This selection contains collected excerpts from Volume II.
Also, I made a small change to the first line of the selection, so you may want to reprint that page.
This piece is like a final exam on the Anniversary series. It has everything: prefixes and suffixes (joined and disjoined), phrases, brief forms, lots of words using the Abbreviating Principle, derivatives, etc. The shorthand may be challenging because of all the principles involved. However, I find his style of writing relatively straightforward. So give it another try with the key next to you.
Thanks Carlos. I’d not noted the omission. As it was excerpts I assumed something had gone on before. Also his old style can be a bit meaningless till you have everything. So thanks for the link to the book.
You’re welcome!