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Have you been disappointed by not receiving answers? If so, send stamp for list of thoroughly reliable correspor dents. caster rd., London, W.

Companion (male) wanted for shorthand speed practice. Craigallan, Newlands, Glasgow.

151] Somerville, [1])

State kinds

Pictorial cards of M.P.'s and famous personalities wanted. wanted in exchange. Prompt replies (longhand or shorthand). Harold L. Eccles, 36 Fleeman Grove, West Bridgford, Notts. [5] Correspondence desired on pictorial post cards; longhand and shorthand. Good views only. Prompt replies to all. W. Kay, 1 Eastbank st., Southport. [1] Pictorial post card correspondence desired from all parts of the world, either sex, in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Address letters Richard Frost, 36 Hatfield st., Paddington, Liverpool. [51]

Picture post cards exchanged, coloured views preferred; longhand. Address H. Tollit, 83 Cholmondeley st., Widnes.

Colonial readers interested in view cards, shorthand, stamps, or books, send name and address, enclosing two d stamps, for picture post card and reply. Arthur Gill, Shrubbery st., Kidderminster, England.

Pictorial post card correspondence desired (longhand); must be good coloured cards. Address William Gray, 10 Radnor st., Peckham, London, S.E.

Pictorial cards exchanged. Longhard; coloured local views only. Good North Devon views and prompt replies guaranteed. A. Clements, jun., Bideford.

Pictorial post cards exchanged. Arthur Taylor, 16 Balfour st, Gainsborough.

Pictorial post card correspondence desired. Views only. Prompt replies to all pretty cards. Edw. Bricknell, 22 Ellys rd., Coventry.

Picture post cards exchanged (longhand); views. Replies certain. J. E. Knott, Post Office, Miles Platting, Manchester. [51] Pictorial post cards exchanged (longband). Actors and actresses wanted from all countries. W. Wadman, 44 Hunsden rd., New Cross, London, S.E. [51] Pictorial post cards exchanged, all parts of the world (longhand). Views only. F. Orchard, 35 Melbourne rd., Carlisle.

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Pictorial post card correspondence desired, longhand; replies to all. L. Archer, 24 High st., Mortlake, Surrey.

Pictorial post cards. Exchange desired in good views with residents in all parts of the world. Correspondence in longhand or shorthand. Prompt replies to all. Address Ernest E. Empett, Chatham. Readers abroad please insert England in the address. [52

Pictorial post card correspondence desired with all countries, in any style Phonography. Samuel C. Dicksor, Lucea, Jamaica, British West Indies. [6]

Pictorial post cards exchanged with readers at home or abroad. George Robbins, Studley House, King's Bench st., Hull.

Pictorial post card correspondence desired with phonographers in a'l parts of the world. Coloured views or photos preferred. Replies to all. Beatrice Dodworth, 66 Hadfield st., Walkley, Sheffield (England).

Correspondence in Phonography desired on post cards. Actors and actresses preferred. Prompt replies. Robert Lowe, Catherwell ter., Hagley rd., Stourbridge.

Result of Competition:-60 Journals awarded to B. Gordt, Landau, nr. Landshut, Bavaria. Miss Oliver, 63 Denman st., Peckham, London, came second.

Another Competition :-(1) 50 Journals for best Instructor (3s 6d), good condition, for best comic. Competition, 222 Hainton st., Grimsby.

view; (2) Pitman's Last day, Jan. Ist.

Associations. id. per line of ten words. Phonetic Shorthand Writers' Association (London District I.P.S.), The Arcadian Restaurant, 8 Queen st., Cheapside.-The principal Shorthand Association in the kingdom. Meetings held every Thursday evening from 7 to 10. Regular speed practice conducted at various rates by experienced phonographeis. Lectures by well-known shorthand writers; discussions, etc. Speed examinations held periodically. Centre for Society of Arts shorthand examination and for Pitman's medal competitions. (Members sit at these examinations and at the I.P.S. Teachers' Exam. at reduced fees.) Shorthand library and other advantages. Fees, including speed practice, 10s 6d per annum, or 38 per quarter. All phonographers (ladies or gentlemen) are eligible for membership. Prospectus, with full particulars, on application to Secretary, H. J. Cork, 2 Reedholm road, Stoke Newington, London, N.

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Typists' Section, I.P.S. (the N.U. of Typists is incorporated with this Section). Examinations periodically in June and December, and at other times by arrangement, for teachers and typists. Lectures, demonstrations, discussions, employment bureau, advice on typewriting matters, etc. Annual subscrip ion, 5s; members of I.P.S., 3s 6d; employees and students, 2s 6d. Rules, revised examination syllabus, forms of application, etc., post-free from Hon. Sec., Geo. Colebourn, F.I.P.S., 151 Second ave., Manor park, London, E.

Evercirculators and Libraries. 1d. per line of ten words.

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An evercirculator is a manuscript phonographic magazine, consisting of articles written by the individual members, one member acting as conductor. The book passes round, and each round members contribute an article and remarks, or take part in the discussion. A leaflet containing further particulars forwarded from the Phonetic Institute, Bath, on receipt of id stamp. [x]

Evercirculator paper in three varieties, of superior quality, five quires Is 6d; headings and title-pages, 3d per doz. ; covers, cloth is, leather is 6d. Samples for id. Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd. [x]

The very best way to improve your style is to join an evercirculator. Wanted, to commence on 1st Jan., the 1904 Evercirculator; either sex; under 25 only. Easy, freely vocalized Reporting Style. Original selected stories, anecdotes, articles, essays, discussions, reviews, etc. Questions, correction, criticism. and suggestion pages. No fees. Rules, stamp. S. A. Wandesford,* 60 Alpha rd., Cambridge. [52]

Those wishing to improve their speed in shorthand should join the Kelvingrove Shorthand Circulating Library. Circulating all the best magazines, Australian, etc., only is 3d quarterly. All particulars, David Cook,* 157 Kent rd., Glasgow, W.

Rambler Library circulates all shorthand papers, subscription is 3d per quarter, or 4s 6d per year. Gripton's School, High st., West Bromwich. '4]

The Telegraph Shorthand Magazine Library, and 20th Century Commercial Library; all new members during the month of December will be presented with a new shorthand book, post-free; particulars for one penny stamp. J. H. Simmons, 2 Rokeby rd., Brockley, London. 152] Reading practice. The best library is the Telegraph, established eleven years, circulating all the magazines; quarterly subscription, is 3d; always vacancies. The 20th Century Commercial Library, over 200 books available for use of members. Shorthand, typewriting, French, German, Spanish, and commercial books, together with copies of all English and American shorthand magazines Subscription one penny per week. Splendid opportunity of studying large selection of works at small cost. Full particulars of either library for penny stamp. Lady and gentlemen members throughout the kingdom. J. H. Simmons, 2 Rokeby rd Brockley, London, S.E. [1]

Second-hand Books, Shorthand or Phonetic, for Sale, or Exchange, or Wanted, 1d. per line of ten words; Miscellaneous Books, 3d. per line. Announcements relating to private sales only can be admitted in this column; traders' advertisements must be inserted in our advertising pages. Lightning Business Phraseograms, by Oliver McEwan, published at 38 6d; few copies for sale, 1s 6d each post-free any part of the world. J. H. Simmons, 2 Rokeby rd., Brockley, London.

Shorthand magazines, all kinds and dates, at nominal prices. For full particulars apply R. E. Beard, Hon. Sec. Birmingham shorthand Writers' Association, 18 Charlotte st., Birmingham.

For sale, Æsop's Fables, 3d; Easy Readings, 3d; Progressive Studies in Phonography, 8d; Twentieth Century Edition Dictionary, 35 6d; Waterman's Ideal Fountain Pen, in perfect condition, 5s; Coronation Fountain Pen, Is. Apply P. Dixon, c/o W. W. Whiteman, Newdegate Eq.. Nuneaton.

Phonetic Journals, 1896, 1897, 1898, perfectly clean, unbound. Exchange for Cassell's or Pitman's German Dictionary, German Bible, poems or books, Pitman's German Weekly, or offers; anything useful. Frudd, Northgate, Sleaford,

Reporting Exercises, Key, and Sho.thand Primer, Book III., all for 18 3d. First two only (new), Is. Vo'. 20 Shorthand Weekly (unbound) for Is. M. Rowland, 19 Christchurch rd., Newport, Mon.

For sale, bound vol. Reporters' Journal for 1899, clean, cost 5s 6d, will take 28 9d post-'ree; 20th Century Shorthand Dictionary, quite new, 28 9d post-free. Apply W. Tydeman, 59 Hopton rd., Streatham, London, S.W.

For sale, vol. 23 (unbound) Reporters' Magazine, 1902-1903; 49 Phonetic Journals, July 1902 to July 1903; 49 Shorthand Weeklies, 1902-1903; 10 Phonographic Monthlies (1903). Carriage paid. Penton, 24 Norfolk square, Brighton.

Cheap Books.-Guide to Journalism, 2s; The Author's Guide, Is; Reporter's Guide, is Address Henry, journalist, 341 City rd., London. What offers? Phonetic Journal, vol. 61, complete, unbound; also, January to September, 1903, exce lent condition, unsoiled. Stanley Read, Whittlesea, Peterborough.

For sale, two Swan fountain pens; one fine, other medium point. Both fitted with pocket clips and in perfect condition: the fine point has on y once been filled. Price 5s 6d each. M. T. H, Elmfield ave., Leicester. Bargain -Reporter, Manual, Teacher, Key to Reporting Exercises, Shorthand Teacher's Handbook, Book of Psalins, and Esop's Fables; worth 9s, post-free for 3s. Albert Palliser, 36 Columbus ravine, Scarborough.

For sale, Reporters' Magazine for the years 1900-1901-1902 and 1903, unbound; also, Graphic for 1903. What offers? Hampson, Heath,

Chesterfield.

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Dr Edmund Gosse took occasion the other day to point out the importance to those who are ambitious to write well of reading the Bible aloud. "It is a book," he wrote, "the beauty of which appeals largely to the ear."

He finds in the New Testament "the tender and thrilling melody of stringed instruments," and in the Old Testament a wider orchestra, the "silver trumpet" predominating; and his counsel to any writers desirous to acquire a prose style is to read aloud a portion of each as often as they possibly can. This represents an employment of the art of reading for a definitely professional purpose. The majestic language of the English version is to be heard by the reader again and again until it sets for him a standard of taste that will make itself felt in whatever prose writing he may himself undertake. The practice recommended is excellent not only for intending authors but for all of us. The one essential thing to be borne in mind in reading aloud is that one must read primarily so as to bring out the sense, and at a pace not too fast to prevent reading for the sense from enabling the music of the language to be appreciated. The humdrum, monotonous method, or the lifeless mumbling which are sometimes characteristic of public reading, are equally to be avoided.

Reading aloud has many advantages over the prac tice of reading silently, and may be made to subserve many useful purposes. As a form of physiological exercise there is much to be said for it, but we do not propose to pursue that topic at the present time. There is a certain phonographic purpose to which this mode of reading may be readily applied. While reading

aloud, the habit may be cultivated of picturing in the mind's eye the phonographic form of every word. This will be found to present a little difficulty at first, but the difficulty will disappear after a time, and when it does. disappear a valuable power will have been gained, which should be conducive very materially to one's phonographic progress. There must be a deliberate and persistent attempt as every word is uttered to construct mentally the proper outlines by which it would be represented on paper if the reader were writing. The process in his case is complex, but it is favourable to the accomplishment of his purpose. He makes the sounds which fall on his ear; he sees with his eye the printed letters that suggest the sounds that he utters. He is thinking of their meaning as well as their sound, and having them before his eyes in one form he is to see them in his mind in quite another form. The mind is perfectly equal to the task, and with regular systematic training will come, in course of time, to accomplish it automatically and at great speed. The habit is one that is well worth the trouble of acquiring, and it ought to rank among the recognised helps to the attainment of high speed.

Even reading with this object in view may serve other uses. It is not necessary to read trash, it is not necessary to do as so many people do nowadays, read matter that is not trash in a half indolent way, and as a mere means of "passing the time." It is fatally easy to cultivate a habit of reading with scarcely any attention, a habit that will grow upon one until the power of concentrating the mind on the subject of a book is practically lcst. One may read for information, or for the pleasure of enjoying a well-told story; one may read for the sake of sharing the sentiment of a great poem and feeling the charm of the poet's language. Or one may read to gain knowledge and insight to be applied in business or for other purposes of life. And one may

promote all these objects in the act of reading aloud and thinking out simultaneously the phonographic forms of the spoken words. Dr Gosse's advice has a wider application than his sentences which we have quoted suggest; and phonographers will do well to apply them in that extended sense.

At the present season of great activity in starting fre h enterprises in connection with the newspaper and periodical press, the projected new illustrated weekly to be entitled The Bystander demands especial notice. This new journal will shortly be issued by the proprietors of the Graphic, and there appears every reason to anticipate that it will be fully worthy of the ability, enterprise, and unrivalled resources of the conductors of that famous pictorial new paper. It is proposed that The Bystander shall be of more compact and convenient size than most of the weekly journals. It will contain no less than eighty pages of literary matter and illustrations each week, and everything is to be of the best-illustrations, articles, critiques, and reviews. Sport interesting to both sexes will be a special feature, and the fiction is intended to be absolutely of the first water. Every number will contain a Coloured Art Supplement, and "Collectors' Pages" will, it is anticipated, attract numerous readers.

The curious fact is noted that the Japanese Diet is the only Parliament in the world which possesses a verbatim record of the whole of its proceedings since it first came into existence. This record has been preserved by means of Japanese adaptations of I aac Pitman's Shorthand.

Mr Tara Pada Mookerjee, superintendent St. Thomas's School, and vice principal Howrah Zilla School, Bengal, India, sends us a copy of his leaflet containing "Remarks on Shorthand." The essay contains some useful advice to those who think of taking up the study of Phonography.

At a band contest to be held at Edinburgh, at the end of next January, a shorthand writer is to take the judge's remarks. The British Bandsman, in commenting on the fact, says that the method is gradually finding favour with judges and others, from the fact that it was successfully employed at the Crystal Palace Band Festival in September last.

The London Chamber of Commerce has started classes in Chinese under Mr R. W. Hurst, B A., barrister-at-law, and late British Consul at Foochow. The classes have been specially arranged with the object of promoting a study of Chinese for those engaged in a commercial career. The lessons are given in the evenings, at moderate fees, and are held at the offices of the Chamber, Oxford court, Cannon street, London, E C.

A copy of the new prospectus of the Civil Service Academy and Commercial College, 5, 7 and 8 Victoria buildings, Manchester, of which Mr G Atkinson, F.R.G S., is the principal, has reached us. A useful section of the work consists of concise but complete information relative to the Civil Service appointments open to public competition. There is a commercial training department for students of both sexes, with a course which leaves nothing to be desired in point of thoroughness and completeness.

At the annual meeting of the Metropolitan Evening Continuation Teachers' Association, held recently, resolutions were adopted to the effect that the minimum rate of payment of assistants in evening commercial schools should not be less than ros. 6d per evening of about three hours, and that assistants in all other evening schools be paid pro rata; further, that the system of appointing teachers in evening schools for one session only should be abolished, and that, as a rule, the appointment of responsible teachers and staff should be permanent, subject to the usual conditions of efficiency and good conduct.

Under the heading "Shorthand 2,000 Years Ago" the following paragraph has gone the rounds of the press: "It is no doubt a surprise to most to learn that shorthand was known and practised two thousand years ago. Manilius, a contemporary of Cæsar and Cicero, Virgil and Horace, asserts that some system of reporting very similar to our shorthand was in vogue in his days. Writing these words under the influence of Virgo and Mercury, he says they

are:

In shorthand skilled, when little marks comprise
Whole words-a rentence in a single letter lies;
And while the willing hand its aid affords,
Prevents the tongue to fix the falling words.

It is certainly a novel conception that Cicero's grand orations were committed to paper (?) with as much skill as our modern stenographers boast."

Mr Moses Benjamin (managing proprietor of the India Typewriting Company), Bombay, forwards us a copy of the pamphlet he has issued dealing with "Up to-Date Shorthand," in which he throws an interesting light on the methods adopted in the teaching of the new "system." The booklet is being widely circulated in India, and cannot fail to provoke healthy discussion and inquiry as to the relative merits of Pitman's system and the new comer. We learn that the promoter of "Up-to-Date" has left Bɔmbay.

The Phonographic Record for November contains two contributions by Sir W. R. Gowers and one by Mr Norman Porritt, all of purely medical interest The veteran phonographer, Mr J. G. Alger, explains the constitution and sphere of work of the Paris Academy of Medicine. Interesting both to medical men and laymen is the account taken from "Central Africa" (the monthly record of the Universities Mission) of the work of the present Bishop of Zanzibar, Dr John Hine. Before entering on his missionary career, Dr. Hine had qualified himself most highly for the practice of medicine and surgery. The details of a single average day's work are given, in which, in the thick of his multifarious episcopal duties, he has to perform a couple of important surgical operations.

Some tears were shed over the growing demand for modern education at the expense of the classics at a meeting of the Edinburgh Secondary Teachers' Association (Eastern Branch) held on 28th November. Mr G. Smith, in delivering his retiring address as president, commented on the fact that "the unique claims of classics in secondary education had disappeared; in their heterogeneous curricula Shakspere was jostled by shorthand, and Plato was displaced by Sir Isaac Pitman." Dr Marshall spoke of the difficulty of dealing with the modern side of education: "Parents of pupils on the modern side sometimes suggested that this and that other subject should be dropped because they were going to be of no use to their sons. They dropped Latin, Greek, and mathematics, and they did not want French, German, or English History; but, of course, it was Sir Isaac Pitman they wanted; writing, shorthand, and arithmetic must be useful." It is significant, perhaps, that the teachers present applauded the last sentence.

"

The Sherlock Holmes contribution in the Christmas Strand Magazine has an e-pecial value for all who are interested in cipher writing and its decipherment, and also for those who from time to time find themselves confronted by shorthand characters belonging to some unknown method which it is important should be deciphered. Sir A Conan Doyle gives to his story the title of "The Adventure of the Dancing Men," and it is illustrated by a series of specimens of a curious cipher formed of a number of little dancing men, such as children delight to draw. Army and navy signalling probably suggested to Sir A. Conan Doyle the invention of this singular cipher, which is an important element of one of the most thrilling of the "Adventures" associated with the famous detective. The villain of the story is greatly staggered to find that an outsider can use the code, but Sherlock Holmes's observation that "What one man can invent another can discover" may be quoted as an encouragement to those who set about the task of cipher reading. And the great detective's methods furnish several useful hints for such.

TYPEWRITING NOTES.

The bright girl' controversy in the daily press is responsible for several incidental allusions to the twin arts. The Rev. Stuart D. Headlam took up the cudgels on beha f of the London School Board's evening continuation work, which Miss Clementina Black had alluded to. Mr Headlam says: "The shorthand and typewriting which are so necessary to the girl clerk are taught in our evening schools, and we can make arrangements to accommodate the thousand bright girls' any evening after half-past five."

That the question of the primary education of the future shorthand writer and typist is attracting attention cutside the circle of those immediately interested, is well evinced not only by the desultory discussion which has been continued more or less since the beginning of the year in the columns of the daily papers, but also by the replies to be found in the correspondence columns of many of our

journals. To quote one: the Examiner goes out of its way to assure an enquirer that the difficulty is not to " find women de irous of secretarial work, but to obtain those who are really proficient."

The Lady takes up this same question from the point of view of "Typewriting as a Profession for Women" in a generally well-considered article signed by D. MR. The writer emphasizes the necessity, so often insisted upon in these columns, of a good general education foundation upon which to build the superstructure of a knowledge of shorthand and typewriting.

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We regret to record the death of Sir John Richard Robinson, which occurred on 30th November at his hou e in Kensington. Sir John was the son of a Congregational minister, and was born on 2nd November, 1828, so that he had just completed his seventy-fifth year. He was educated at the Congregational School at Lewisham, and at a very early age became a journalist in the provinces. He came to London at the age of eighteen, and joined the staff of Douglas Jerrold's Newspaper as sub-editor. He was soon promoted to be editor of the Evening Express, which was the property of the Daily News, and he transferred his services to the morning paper in 1854. From that time up to 1901 he took an active part in the direction of the Daily News, either as editor or manager, and in fact discharged the double duties from 1887 to 1896. Sir John continued to act as manager until 1901, when he retired on a change in proprietorship. He received the well-deserved honour of a knighthocd, at the instance of Mr Gladstone, in 1893.

As readers of this Journal are aware, Sir John Robinson's introduction to journalism arose from his learning Pitman's Shorthand in 1846, under the circumstances described in our issue of 16th February, 1901. When communicated with recently in connection with an article which appeared in our issue of 23rd May this year, Sir John stated that he had written Paonography ever since he mastered it, as occasion required. His appreciation of the value of the art was indicated by the occasional references to it in the columns of the Daily News, with helpful criticism of books produced in the phonographic characters.

REVIEW.

The Royal A'phabet School. An interesting method of learning to read, recite, write and draw, and an easy introduction to Sr Isaac Pitman's Shorthand by S. Croft. Illustrations by Honor C. Appleton. Primer 3. The letters U and O. Crown 8vo, cloth, price 6d net. London: Thomas Murty, 3 Ludgate Circus buildings, E C.

The present is the concluding Primer of this useful series, in which Mrs Croft deals with the vowels and o, and provides a number of reading lessons in the ordinary pelling arranged expressly to illustrate their use. These will prove exceedingly useful to the youthful scholar in inculcating Sir Isaac Pitman's classification of the sounds which are represented in the common print by the two letters above mentioned, either in combination with other vowels or alone. The verses, readings, and vocabularies are really very meritorious, and wherever used cannot fail to be found a valuable introduction to English pronunciation.

I.P.S. TYPISTS' SECTION.

TEACHERS' EXAMINATION.

In view of the fact that the London School Board (who, it may be mentioned, recognises the typewriting teacher's diploma as a special qualification for candidates for teaching appointments), and similar authorities making their arrangements for the session about Midsummer, before the results of the June examination would be issued, the Examining Board will be willing to arrange for a diploma examination about March next, if teachers are prepared to support such a step. The results would in that case be available by successful candidates when applying for positions during the following session. Tre Secretary (Mr G. Colebourn, 151 Second avenue, Manor Park, London, E), invites correspondence on the subject from teachers.

The following have been elected members of the section: Misses E. M. Heath, M. E. Hume, C Blakeney, M. E. Hill, K. P. Brown, R. P. Maybury, K. B. Allison, H. Herr, A. E. L. Crane, Messrs J. W. Sharpe, G. C. Marcs, W. J. Griffin, J. Cottingham (all London), Misses M. A Yeates (Dublin), Helen Cameron (Glasgow), and May MacArthur (Kilkenny).

INC. SOCIETY OF SHORTHAND TEACHERS.

LIVERPOOL DISTRICT.

An ordinary meeting will be held at the Y.M C.A., Mount Pleasant, on Saturday evening, 19th Dec, at 6 30. A model lesson-The Lorg Vowe's - will be given by Mr G. Birtwhistle, and a paper on Phraseography by Mr J. A. D. Henderson (Belfast) will be read, charts being used for the purpose of illustration. All teachers, prospective teachers, and others interested, are cordially invited to be present. A syllabus, contairing list of officers, the whole of the meetings for the session, and the district rules, has been issued, and copies may be had from the members, the officers, or from the Hon. Sec., 29 Russell street. The 30th Jan. next is reserved for a visit by members of the executive, when it is expected that a very interesting agenda will be presented.

EMBOSSED POSTAL ENVELOPES.-The Postmaster-General notifies that, owing to the smallness of the demand, the is: ue of embossed envelopes bearing 21. stamps will be discontinued at the end of this year. Envelopes of foolscap size bearing an impressed stamp of id. have recently been placed on sale at the post-offices. These are banded in packets of twenty, and are sold at the rate cf Is. 101. per packet, but one or more envelopes can be purchased at proportionate rates according to the requirements of the buyer.

EMPLOYERS' QUESTIONS.-In applying for a position, what que tions are asked the applicant by the employer? Are they not something like these: Can you write a legible hand? Can you write a good business letter? Do you know how to word a telegram? Do you know the ordinary laws and usages governing business? Can you open and close a set of books? These are but a few of them.

PHONOGRAPHY AS A MEMORY AID.

BY ALEXANDER PATERSON, F.J.I.
(Continued from page 996.)

A recent writer in a popular weekly journal on the subject of memory training specifies its purposes as three, these being set out as under: (1) Acquiring and retaining facts in any branch of kno vledge; (2) remembering for a period more or less brief, and by a conscious effort, certain facts or impressions, or certain groups of facts or impressions as they happen; and (3) the possession of what is known as a good memory. Most mnemonical systems are conceived with the primary view of serving a temporary purpose, but the permanent strengthening of the whole of the mental faculties should ever be kept prominently in view. The human mind resembles a school-boy's slate. The process of inserting and obliterating is continually going on, but what is rubbed out is not all lost. Certain mental impressions remain, which, if not so clear and full as those originally traced, are yet calculated to exert an important influence upon the indivi. dual's future life and conduct. One fact or idea recalled in after days may bring back another and yet another, until nearly the whole has been reproduced. To quote the beautiful stanza from Samuel Rogers on his Pleasures of Memory" :

Lull'd in the countless chambers of the brain,
Our thoughts are linked by many a hidden chain.
Awake but one, and lo, what myriad ; rise,
Each stamps its image as the other flies.

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As we have said, nearly every one uses some sort of mnemonical aid, in most cases of his own devising. But what serves the purposes of one will very often be useless in the case of another. Most readers will be familiar with the story of the boy and the button as related by Sir Walter Scott. "There was," he says, a boy in my class at school who stood always at the top, nor could I, with all my efforts, supplant him. Day came after day, and still he kept his place, do what I would, till at length I observed that when a question was asked him, he always fumbled with his fingers at a particular button in the lower part of his waistcoat. To remove it, therefore, became expedient in my eyes, and in an evil moment it was removed with a knife. Great was my anxiety to know the success of my measure, and it succeeded too well. When the boy was again questioned, his fingers sought again for the button, but it was not to be found. In his distress he looked down for it; it was to be seen no more than to be felt. He stood confounded, and I took possession of his place, nor did he ever recover it, or ever, I believe, suspect who was the author of his wrong. Often in after life has the sight of him smote me as I passed by him, and often have. I resolved to make him some reparation, but it ended in good resolutions." What connection this particular button may have had with the lad's facility in answering questions it is impossible to say, but all will agree that a circumstance which influences one will often fail to act in the case of another. We are all acted upon in a greater or less degree by what is termed the law of association. We remember certain actions because of some special circumstances in a more or less remote way associated with them, and not because of anything directly connected with the actions themselves.

Every phonographer knows that the task of mastering his art constitutes in itself a valuable intellectual discipline, while, once it has been acquired, it often serves a useful purpose as a memory aid. The phonographer has the advantage of possessing what may be termed a duplicate memory. He remembers things by the ordinary power of retention, and also by the forms of the word outlines. He hears an unfamiliar name or word for the first time, and would run the risk of forgetting it but for the fact that in writing the shorthand outline the form is impressed upon his memory. Writing it in longhand would not produce a like result, because ordinary letter combinations have no special distinguishing characteristics. Phonographic outlines, where the words are unfamiliar ones, are characteristic and there

fore more readily remembered than those which one is accustomed to hear constantly. And names and other words of infrequent occurrence would be much more readily recalled were they, when one hears them, mentally shaped into their phonographic outlines. Of course, there might be risk of ambiguity at times through one form being misread for another, but that would be an exceptionally rare occurrence. Just, as by the aid of a single word one may recall a whole train of ideas, so a succession of words, if judiciously chosen, and so memorized as to follow each other in regular consecutive order, may be made to serve as key marks for the purpose of preserving a perfect summary outline of a tolerably long speech or sermon. Words and short phrases may be mentally memorized with this view by means of their phonographic outlines, without one being under the reces ity of taking down a single word, and the order may be preserved by mentally attaching each of the word or phrase outlines to one of the phonographic consonants, ignoring distinctions between thin and thick lines. The consonant forms which admit of being so used number seventeen in all, viz. :—

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It will be noted that each of the duplicate signs for s and r is charged with separate duty, while the upward form of h is omitted owing to its similarity to y, and the consequent risk of confusion Taese index, or key marks, as they may be termed, will be found sufficient for all ordinary memorizing purposes, and being already known, they are, to use a common saying, familiar as a b c As so u ed they have no power as letters, and simply serve as aids in recalling particular words and phrases in the order in which they were uttered. With this view they are mentally prefixed to the said words and phrases. Let me explain the modus operandi more definitely.

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You wish to carry away as much as you possibly can of a particular sermon, and with that object you compose yourself in your pew resolved to pay the closest attention to every word uttered by the preacher. He gives out his text, and you ought to have no difficulty here, although it is not unu ual for people to go home from a place of worship without being able to tell what the sermon was about, or to reproduce a single word that they have heard. However, it is otherw's with those who attend for the purpose of listening, and of profiting by what they hear. You watch every word uttered for an indication of the manner in which the preacher purposes handling his subject. Suppose he intimites that he intends speaking on Christian experience, what the hearer has to do is to mentally outline the phrase "Christian experience" with the letter prefixed as an initial thu3: This outline may be either mentally memorized or traced several times with the point of the finger on the palm of the left hand, but in no case need it distract the attention or interrupt the train of thought to any material extent.

Then will come the divisions and sub-divisions, and these may be dealt with in the same way, the first outline being attached to t, the second to /ch, the third to—k and so on. The chances are that the memorizer will not have occasion to use the whole of his index letters, but the entire seventeen are available, if required. He will have now and again tɔ retrace the ground that has been gone over for the purpose of impressing the outlines more deeply upon his memory. but that will prove an advantage rather than a drawback, because it will afford him an oppo tuaity for reviewing the ground traversed. When he gets home, he ought to go over the phrases or words which he has memorized, and by their aid recall as much as he can of the discourse. If he does this he will be surprised to find how much he is able to remember, and that, too, in an intelligible and connected form.

But it is not so much what he is able to carry away as the intellectual discipline that is valuable. We want not merely to learn to remember, but at the same time to cultivate the intellectual faculties, and in order to bring about this result

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