But, about this time, the chief wife of Wang Ho having been greeted with amiable condescension by the chief wife of a high official of the Province, and therefrom in an almost equal manner by the wives of even higher officials, the one in question began to abandon herself to a more rapidly outlined manner of existence than formerly, and to involve Wang Ho in a like attitude, so that presently this ill-considering merchant, who but a short time before would have unhesitatingly cast himself bodily to earth on the approach of a city magistrate, now acquired the habit of alluding to mandarins in casual conversation by names of affectionate abbreviation.
"Kai Lung's Golden Hours"
Ernest Bramah Commentator: Hilaire Belloc
But it is worthy of remark, that if the person be able to think,-to exercise his mind,-and to continue to write without stopping while he does so, the amount of what he writes is a mere accident, and depends, not upon the state of the mind, but upon the mechanical part of the operation, which is aided by the arts of stenography and abbreviation.
"A Practical Enquiry into the Philosophy of Education"
James Gall
Forsooth, great is thy goodness: I cannot perceive, but that thy mercy is endless To such as fear thee in every generation, For it endureth without abbreviation.
"A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume I."
R. Dodsley