minute." Whenever you hear anyone talk like that, just put your hand in your pocket, take out all the spare cash you have, lay it on the table and say: "All this and more shall be yours if you will kindly sit down and write in shorthand what I shall dictate, at the rate you state, 150 words per minute, and then give me an accurate transcript of what you have written." Then you will see the rapid one hide his diminished head and vanish within his shell, as he faintly replies, "Well, I am sorry, but I can't possibly stop just now to give you a test, as I have a previous engagement, but I used to write at that speed when I went to school."
Never boast of your speed! Aim for accuracy and legibility first and speed will follow. Speed as applied to shorthand is a comparative term. Everything depends on the matter dictated. Words of one syllable, it is true, may be written at great speed, or great speed may be attained by practicing the same matter over and over again, but such tests do not represent resent the actual, regular, normal rate at which the student can write.
The English language is so rich in words that it is possible to make the most skillful writer of shorthand in the world slacken when words are dictated that are not in his vocabulary. He has to think of the shorthand forms, and in doing so hesitates, and hence the speed is diminished.
To illustrate a case in point: Suppose a self-made
