early life, says: "My father was a farm laborer and used a pick and shovel." This is easy language, readily taken down, but suppose for a moment that you had to report the speech of a highly educated Boston lady whose father was, by a strange coincidence, also self-made and formerly used a pick and shovel. She would not use the same language in conveying this information, but whatever she said. you, as the shorthand writer, would have to record verbatim. She might murmur something like this: "My estimable and venerable paternal antecedent was an indefatigable manipulator of agricultural implements." In taking words like these, one's boasted speed would dwindle considerably. Do not then boast of your speed, but aim for legibility and accuracy, and speed will come gradually. When you hear an uncommon or unfamiliar word, practice the outline over and over again, until it can be written fluently. Then find others and deal with them in the same way. Never write your shorthand characters in a way that will imperil their legibility.
HAVE FAITH IN YOUR TEACHER.
Some students are prone to lose faith in the teacher when they find they are not advancing as rapidly as they think they should. They consider it an injustice to be told to review a lesson, and they think the teacher is trying to retard their progress.
