gregation are troubled with coughs, which drown important passages—and the task assigned to the shorthand writer will put him on his mettle."
REPORTING LECTURES.
The expert stenographer is sometimes called upon to report lectures, and this class of work is generally attended with considerable difficulty. Lectures are delivered on such a variety of subjects, and sometimes when given to special bodies they may present such formidable difficulties that a good report cannot be well obtained. As far as possible, it is advisable to get hold of the notes or manuscript of the lecturer, and with the aid of these and the shorthand notes a fairly good report may be prepared. We remember once having to report a lecture on music. It was purely technical, and the lecturer, who had no notes, used numerous musical terms, which he glided over with an abandon that was distressing to the reporter. Luckily the lecturer was perfectly willing to read over the transcript and correct the errors made in the reporting of the musical terms. On another occasion the lecture was illustrated by stereopticon views, and the notes had consequently to be taken in the dark.
Scientific lectures should be prepared for, if possible, by the reporter studying some handbook on the subject, and practicing outlines for the technical terms and phrases. Lectures on philosophy, elec-
