The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-09
STORIES OF SHORTHAND WRITER'S
Comieal and Painful Experiences OF
Beginners and Experts.

'N'' - cans AAAltS-lftulo
suppose every shorthand writer looks
back at some painful first experience
said an expert New Orleans stenographer.
chatting last evening with a party of
friends. Mine was peculiarly harrow
ing. had learned the system alone and
praeticed steadily for three months. drop
ping IN at court rooms, attending public
lectures and ali that sort of thing, so I
Ielt. perfectly confident 1 could keep
abreast of any speaker when I got my
first job. 1t was from a church commit
zee VINO wanted a report of the sermon
OF new minister preaching on trial. and
was greatly pleased, because, as a rule.
ministers talk slow and are easy TO fol-
low.
Wen I was on hand with my little
notebook and for about three minutes
everything Went beautifully. Then the
parson made some reference to Nebuchad-
nezzar and jumped as if l had been
prodded with a sword bayonet Written
out IN shorthand, Nebuchadnezzar is a
perfect nightmare of curves and angles.
1t resembles a boa, constructor with the
collie, ana l was humping over it like
picycllst trying TO scorch on the Canal
street. pavement, the minister was am
Inns S'tohS ItuiOuSl an SnlnGtS uHIer6nL
train of thought. 1t seemed to me that
1t was an hour before / got a chance to
Slip in again and catch the drift of his
discourse. l had iotted down perhaps for
" words and was sbeginning to breathe
easy, when he said: This teaches us, dear
friends. as it taught Nebuchadnezzar,
that l groaned. When l got the con-
founded name down the. second time
was completely at sea l had no idea
MI fHna."
dashed blindly into the middle of a SEN
tence just in time to get a third Nebu-
chadnezzar straight between the eyes.
After that l was like a groggy pugilist
in prize fight, trying desperately 10 stay
for so many rounds and getting knocked
down every, six seconds 1 know the ST
mile is inelegant, but it fits the case like
a glove. l have an indisereet recollection
of a series of wild scrambles in which /
would founder through four or five lines,
when biff! would come a Nebuchadnezzar
and over 1 would go. When 1 recovered
my reason they were singing the doxolo-
gy.
My report was hoIy terror-literally.
My notes were an incoherent tumble with
out the faintest approach to sanity. 10 say
nothing Of connection, and all through the
wreck of sentences those hideous Nebu-
chadnezzars stuck up like telegraph poes
Oh LIie EcetS OIL a EdllfQdA COLLISION. /
managed 10 patch up something that bore
about the same weird resemblance to the
discourse that a blue-nosed baboon bears
to an educated gentleman, and handed it
in. The committee promptly disahowed
my bill. They said they had hired me TO
report sermon, not to write an original
essay on ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS"
I'VE all have odd experiences at the
start off, said lady stenographer in
the group, 'and one of my first adven-
lures was. very curious. 1t occurred here
in New Orleans III The winter of 1892. I had
learned the principles of shorthand thor
oughly at a commercial college, but need
ed practice to get up speed, and l worried
my folks holt to death making them read
to me-like David Copperfeld, you remem-
Der. Stir, reading wasn't exactly the tllng
what l wanted was dialogue, everyday
speech, such as people use naturally and
ordinarily.
Finally, it occurred to me that the the.
alter would be the very place for such
practice, and that very night l slipped off
to the opera house, where a new English
society drama happened to be on the bills
My idea was to hold my note book in my
lap so as to attract no disagreeable at
tenton, but 1 go so interested, l suppose
l forgot to take care. In the middle of
the second act a big, dark man tapped me
on the shoulder. He said gruffiy he wanted
TO see me outside, and in my bewilderment
l followed him to the foyer Then l saw he
was boiling over with anger.
"'Who hired your" he said abruptly.
g. Nobody replied, ready to cry.
""Oh, here now he said, none of that
I'm not after you; l m after the folks that
sent you here. and if you want TO avoid Sc
rious trouble YOU give me their names at
ONCE
But there was nobody? I walled.
was just practicfng.' and with that
blurted out the Whole story. He must
have known ins6incnvely that 1 was tell
ing the truth for he looked relieved and
then foolish. Then he explained to rhe
very politely that new plays are often
pirufed by people who send stenogra-
piers to steal the text. which is after
ward used without paying royalty to the
author He had supposed. of course, that
l was there for that purpose. and offered
me many apologies, At the same time he
begged me to take no more notes during
the performance, and l assured him
wouldn't. l have never put pencil to pa
per in a theater since"
Another shorthand reporter who drop
red in while the talk was going on told
a queer story about the destruction of
court record. II used to do a good deal
of legal work" he said, "as assistant to
the regular corps and a couple of years
ago [ was engaged 10 take the testimony
in a case involving some bib lumber in
terests. The evidence was very important,
and fun of minute technical details There
was not great deal of it, however, and
the notes occupied only one book
when the hearing was over" contin-
ned The reporter. " a proposition to COM
promise was made. and 1 was notified
not to translate my work until further
orders. So l laid the note book on the ia
HE in nv room and thought no more about
i, until one day it fell on the floor and the
stupid negro servant threw it in the CRATE
on some burning trash. l CHANGED along
-. j.. time 10 500 IL blazipo and vuhap