experience is certain to be like David Copperfield's whose 'imbecile pen staggered about the paper as if in a fit!'"
The chief aim and ambition of the stenographer is to become a reporter—to be able to report verbatim the loftiest flights of the orator, sermons, lectures, and the rapid questions and answers of the courts. It would be well for the ambitious stenographer to realize from the very start that the art of verbatim reporting can be acquired only by constant and persistent practice for a long period of time. Those who have been most successful and have reached the highest positions in the stenographic field as congressional and court reporters have done so, not by good luck or influence, but by evolution and persistent, hard work.
Under another caption we will set out in detail the various periods of preparation and study that many of the best reporters have had to undergo before they reached the height of their ambition. To be a successful reporter the stenographer must possess good sight, excellent hearing, the keenest of observation and good expression, in addition to possessing a thorough command of his shorthand system, and the ability to write it swiftly and transcribe it accurately. He must also have a thorough command of the English language, history and current events. In fact, the reporter to be successful must be intelligent, well read, quick, and uniformly
