"But apart from its importance as a source of occupation, the art of shorthand is highly favorable to the improvement of the mind, it invigorates all its faculties, draws forth all its resources, and tends to impart to it quickness of apprehension and distinctness of perception. The close attention also requisite in following a speaker, and the absolute necessity of obtaining a correct conception of the meaning of what is uttered, induce habits of perseverance and watchfulness, whilst the act of transcribing into tolerable English (frequently a difficult, and always a responsible, task), strengthens and improves the inventive powers. But, above all, the beneficial effects it has on the memory is rightly claimed as one of its most distinguishing characteristics. "In short, to quote the words of an enthusiastic writer on the subject, 'This science draws out all the powers of the mind-it excites invention, improves the ingenuity, matures the judgment, and endows the retentive faculty with the superior advantages of precision, vigilance, and perseverance.' It is shrewdly suspected that some employers in engaging, say a junior clerk, with a knowledge of shorthand,' do so, not because the clerk would be expected to write shorthand to any useful purpose, but on account of the superior mental training which it is conceded the acquisition of a knowledge of shorthand has ensured. "As instancing its usefulness in other directions I may mention that nearly the whole of this book was first 'drafted' in shorthand. "It must be confessed there is not much scope for the exercise of the 'inventive faculties' in a solicitor's office, lawyers, as a body, being averse to all kinds of 'fads,' but there is ample scope for the exercise of ingenuity, for 'the calling upon which you are now entering does not demand fools for its acolytes: Chancery lane can hardly be regarded as a refuge for the imbecile.' indeed, a very fair writer. Having heard a great deal about a system called Alethography, which was loudly and triumphantly proclaimed to be not only easier to learn, but superior to every other system, particularly Phonogra phy (on which it was apparently founded), I studied it, and with my previous knowledge of shorthand characters I soon mastered its mysteries, obtaining a certificate of proficiency in, I think, about six weeks. For two years I practised it, I worked hard, I strained every nerve, I utilized all my phonographic knowledge, I embraced every opportunity for practice, and seized on every improvement. With what result? The result attained and attainable was truly a grand achievement. I succeeded in accomplishing the astonishing speed of 100 words a minute! After that I gave it up in disgust, and with sorrow hunted up my phonographic instruction books again with a firm determination to be never more led astray. As a burn child shuns the fire, so have I ever since shunned 'new and improved' systems of shorthand." THE INFLUENZA. The wife of Mr Henry Bussey, of the parliamentary staff of the Standard, who was at one time in a critical position, is convalescent, but, while she was still very ill, her eldest son, Mr George H. Bussey, was attacked and died after three days' illness, leaving a widow and three children. He had been in the Gallery, and also in an office, and he was just about to take charge of one of the Law Courts for a daily. The children have been taken charge of by the Bussey family, and the Gallery, sympathizing with the father, Mr Henry Bussey, has opened a subscription for the widow. Mr Denison, of the Times staff, had a house full of invalids, and was at length himself attacked. After an absence of about three weeks he was able to return to his Gallery work. Mr Storr also It is premature to say returned after a similar absence. Admitting, as everyone does, the usefulness of shorthand, there are yet many who think that provided they learn some system, it does not matter very much what one. This is a great mistake. Of the 200 or so systems that have seen the light, most are bad, some indifferent, few are good. Notwithstanding what laudatory advertisements of rival systems, or interested teachers either, may say to the contrary, there is no system in existence which for sterling worth approaches Pitman's Phonography, and I cannot do better than recommend its study. It is not only the best, but it is the most popular system, uniquely combining the three essential requisites of simplicity, legibility, and brevity. The importance also of selecting a system that is known and recognized should not be underrated. In a solicitor's office especially it is an unmitigated evil if one stenographer cannot read the notes of another. As an illustration I may say that I was once called upon to decipher the shorthand notes of some letters taken down by my predecessor in the office, the press copies of which, by some means or other, had become illegible. The letters were important ones, and upon the construction to be placed upon them rested the chances of a law suit. By the help of my predecessor's note-book I was enabled to complete the copies, which, of course, I could not have done had we not both written the same that they are strong again. The malady leaves its victims low and enfeebled for a long time, and reporters have a special disadvantage in working at night and returning to their homes at midnight or after. Mr Todd, a member of the Bar, who attends the Gallery for the St James's Gazette and for a Glasgow paper, was attacked towards the end of May, and was absent during the first week of June; but the slight improvement in the weather with the opening of June seems to have checked the epidemic as regard the occurrence of new cases. system of shorthand. Finally, the projected law suit did not take place. "I lay more stress, perhaps, than most writers upon the advisability of all clerks learning Pitman's system, for I was myself 'bitten' once in my young days by one of the so-called 'new and improved' systems. I had learned Phonography, and had used it for some years, and was, PARLIAMENTARY REPORTING IN JAPAN. In the Phonetic Journal of the 6th September of last year will be found a letter addressed by Mr George Walpole, the editor and manager of Hansard's Parlia mentary Debates, to Mr Kentaro Kaneko, giving elabo rate particulars of Hansard work here and various suggestions as to the reporting arrangements to be adopted by the new Japanese Parliament. Mr Walpole informs us that he has just received a very flattering letter from Mr (now Count) Kentaro Kaneko, from which he makes the following extract :-"Your long opinion on the question of reporting the debates of both Houses by shorthand convinced our Government, which adopted your opinion in full. The result was remarkable-a great success beyond description. . . . All success we owe to you entirely, and now let me thank you." From a conversation Mr Walpole had with Mr Mizuno, the secretary of the Japanese Lower House, who is now visiting Europe to study the working of the different Parliaments, it appears that the "Japanese Hansard" is published daily, on the morning following each debate. The reports are verbatim, being taken in shorthand by reporters who write a native system, said to have been in use for many centuries. The "House of Commons," as we may call it, sits about six hours daily, and the reporting corps numbers twenty men. In the House of Peers the sittings are much shorter, and the corps consists of fifteen men. The reports are taken in ten minute "turns." Count Kaneko has kindly sent to Mr Walpole a set of the "Hansard" for the session just concluded. We hope at an early date to publish what cannot fail to be an interesting account of this work, supplemented by such particulars as Mr Walpole can obtain from Mr Mizuno. "Here! hi! yu tú !" their Lordships said (wun ov them went tu Dobbin's hed, with air imperiüs, almost regal), in aul our leivz we never saw such bold defeians ov the law!this mode ov reiding'z kweit illegal. "Twil be a gros kontempt ov Kourt if yu, ser, dare maintain the sort ov atitiud in which we feind yu; yu kan't, huever ownz the hors, aléj the sleitest reit, ov kourse, tu make the ladi sit beheind yu. "This iz undouted law, we nó, and hold that it woz alwayz so, from erliest teimz ov Kelt and Sakson; but, be that mater az it may, at eni rate 'tiz law tu-day- [son."" konsult Ex parte Emily Jack Poor Darby stared; hiz law woz weak; the man woz natiurali meek; and when they kreid, "Aleit, dear madam !" twoz vain, he kud not but perseev, tu seit the jujment in "Re Eve,' and trei them with "Ex parte Adam." Hiz weif woz struk bei the adveis: Dame Joan dismounted in a treis ; wheil sheepish Darby, fain tu folow, stud gazing pensiv on the ground, and turnd the jujment round and round, leik sumthing which he kudn't swolow. FOR JUJEZ. At last he stamerd out the wurdz, "Iz she tu reid in frunt, mei Lordz?" (Hou that wud hav amazed Justinian!) But strait kame bak the anser, pat: We gard ourselvz from saying that, on that we offer no opinion. "Our jujment, onli gist and brunt, iz that yu may not reid in frunt on eni plea; and if yu du, ser, yur weif akweirz the reit, we say, tu heir anuther hors, straitway, and hav the bil sent in tu yu, ser." On this their Lordships left the plase with that sedate and solem pase afekted bei the lerned klasez; Joan lukt at Darby, he at her, but neither seemd inkleind tu ster, and Dobbin brouzd the roadseid grasez. Sum minits after, Darby spoke, prepared, unhapi man, tu joke on whot meit proov a leif's estranjement. "I mustn't reid in frunt, tiz true," sed he; "but neither, dear, may yu. So whot's tu be the niu aranjement?" Nou, planz'may in a flash arciz, which yuzhuali tu deveiz, wud take the most inventiv man yearz; and thus imprést, the huzband kreid, "If seid bei seid we need must reid, let me sujest a pair ov panierz ?" Joan anserd not; she wud not talk; she neither kared tu reid nor walk; she miuzd, she sulkt, she wonted rouzing. Darby, gud soul, rezolvd tu wait; he lit a peip, and kleimd a gate, wheil Dobbin stil kontiniud brouzing. But if I'm askt, mei marid frendz, tu tel yu hou this stori endz, and whot ar nou that pair'z pozi- I frankli own I du not nó; I entertain mei own suspishonz. Jujez ar infliuenshal men, they awe the simpel sitizen, and their pronounsments aut tu beind him; but yet-but yet-when wuns thoze twain remount, I think yu'l feind agen Darby in frunt, and Joan beheind him. -Daily Telegraph. DR. MAGEE.-Dr Magee was the terror of all the reporters who came near him. The impetuous rush of his rhetoric pouring from his lips in a perfect torrent almost bade defiance to shorthand, and his style was so crisp and finished, so abounding in literary and historical allusion and illustration, and so concentrated and compressed until every sentence shone with something of the polish of an epigram, that it was a matter of the extremest difficulty for even the ablest of reporters to follow him in his latter years. He gradually dropped this extreme rapidity of utterance, and I remember noticing while listening to his last speech, only the other day in the House of Lords, how greatly his delivery had changed, and how difficult it was to realize the fact that he had once been a positive terror to every reporter who heard him speak. That he will be greatly missed by the House of Lords, anybody who remembers the magnificent bursts of oratory of the highest class which he has there delivered, will readily understand. It is true that he did not often take part in debate, but when he did he made the debate memorable, and it will be many a long day before the Church or the Legislature is adorned by the presence of another so great in exposition and argument. In appearance he was a remarkable man, for his keen eyes were overhung by the thickest and most bushy eyebrows, which gave him a singular appearance of strength and determination, and he enjoyed to the full these two chiefest and choicest of rhetorical gifts-a splendid voice, of great flexibility, compass, and purity, and a magnificent diction of such English pure and undefiled as one seldom meets with either in the pulpit or in the senate. For biting sarcasm and brilliant invective he was hard to match, and his wit had the polish and brightness of a diamond.-From London Correspondence "Glasgow Herald." NEW MEMBERS OF THE PHONETIC SOCIETY. Adams Miss B., Alma cottage, Garmouth, Scotland Anderson 8., 1 Victoria place, Whitby Archer C. A., Church street, Speightstown, Barbados, West Indies Bennett L., 132 Weaver street, Winsford, Cheshire Bleakley J., Fielding, New Zealand Boyd G., 77 Raploch street, Larkhall, Lanarkshire, Scotland Bowden J., 54 Astley street, Dukinfield Bridgland H., 14 Third Avenue, Queen's park, London, W. Brunner W., Copper Works, Greenfield, Holywell Canham F. P., 21 Keythorpe street, Leicester Chandler J. 8., Queen street, Speightstown, Barbados, West Indies Clifford W. J., 25 Overstone road, Hammersmith, London, W. Coxell J. W., Malton, Yorks. Cramp Miss M., Holyhead road, Coventry Crimes F. J., 7 Whitehaugh terrace, Paisley, Scotland Didier L. R., 52 Portsdown road, Maida vale, London, W. Dixon W. C., Dunowen, Belfast, Ireland Dolphin J. T.. High street, Astwood Bank, near Redditch Ekins H. A., Clarkson road, Wisbech, Cambs. Fiulay J., 1 Railway cottage, Backworth, near Newcastle-on-Tyne Gateley E. A., The Green, King's Norton, Birmingham Greaves J., 45 Addison Colliery, Blaydon-on Tyne Gregory J. D., Commercial School, Astwood Bank, near Redditch Hart O., 21 St Paul's road, Middlesborough Hayes E., 71 and 73 Water-side, Chesham, Bucks. Hoare W. H., 57 Gloucester street, Warwick square, London, S.W. Howard Miss L., 82 Cranmer road, Forest gate, London, E. Jones T. J., 48 Billhay street, West Bromwich Newton H., 7 Red Lion street, Chesham, Bucks. Parkin H. J., 68 Victoria street, Sheffield Parker C., 38 Westfield road, Surbiton, Surrey Shepherd L., 11 Morella road, Wandsworth, London, S.W. Stagg 8. H., Long street, Sherborne, Dorset Stagg 8. H., Cheap street, Sherborne, Dorset Stronach Miss E. D., Prudhoe cottage, Garmonth, Scotland Thomas J. S., 23 Queen street, Plymouth Thompson W. H., 57 Carlton street, Shieldfield, Newcastle-on-Tyne Whitby T., 83 Fore street, Devonport Wilbourne E. W., New Hucknall Colliery, near Mansfield, Notts. Wilson C., 81 Brunell terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyne Wilson F., 58 Gla istone road, Chesham, Bucks. Winchester Miss M. E., Kingston-on-Spey, Garmouth, Scotland Alterations of Address. Australia Dow James, from Milnathort to care of Mrs Moffat, 19 Jamaica street, D'Souza Frank, from Auditor's office, G.I.P. Railway, Bombay, to Messrs Machin F., from Alley bank, Alpraham, Tarporley, to 32 Egerton street, Scott T., jun., from Braefoot, Corstorphine, to 11 Picardy pl., Edinburgh Underwood F. W., from 54 Warren street, Fitzroy square, to 57 Bridge Avenue, Hammersmith, London, W. Each Notice should be written on one sid only of a separate piece of paper. Every Notice under the head of Correspondence must give full name and address. Correspondents are requested to write the address clearly, and, if in shorthand, to vocalize it. If they wish to receive replies in Phonography, a star should be attached to the name; thus, John Smith." Advertisements and Notices must reach Bath at least eleven days before the date of the Journal for which they are intended. Every communication addressed to the Editor of this Journal must he authenticated by the name and address of the writer. Correspondence, etc. id. per line of ten words. Correspondence wanted with stamp collectors. Phono., 229 Arkwright st., Nottingham. [30] A phonographer, about 17, who could sometimes take an elementary evening class is offered comfortable apartments, with use of typewriter and piano, for nomina terms. W., 2 Wingate rd., Hammersmith, London. Phonographer desires to meet with another in the same neighborhood for speed practice. Apply, H. Isaacs, 162 Lozells rd., Birmingham. Youth (15) desires to correspond with anyone about the same age in corresponding style. Apply S. A. Holloway, care of Frank Everill, 59 Foregate st., Worcester. Wanted to correspond in the reporting style with one or two phonographers interested in the cloth trade. Tom Moorhouse, Brockholes, near Huddersfield. [26] To those studying the "Manual" or "Reporter."--I am desirous of gaining some experience on the points which present any difficulty to advanced students, and shall be pleased to correct exercises, etc., and render any assistance necessary, gratuitously. Old Phonographer, 19 Peveril st., Battersea, London, S. W. [26] Stamp Collectors are invited to correspond (either in longhand or Phonography) with A. R., Red Range, Glen Innes, N. S. Wales. [28] Evercirculators and Libraries. id. per line of ten words. The Yorkshire Circulating Library.-All the best magazines. Quarterly subscriptions, Is 3d; month's trial, 6d. Members wanted. A. Armitage, 17 Greenside, Clayton, near Bradford, Yorks. [26] Second-hand Books, Shorthand or Phonetic, for Sale, or Exchange, or Wanted, id. per line of ten words; Miscellaneous Books, 3d. per line. Notices of the Nature of Trade Advertisements are not inserted. Phonographers who make use of this column should exercise caution in dealing. Reading practice.-Phonetic Journal, 1890, one number slightly torn, carriage free, 2s 3d. W. J. G., 117 Hurst street, Oxford. For sale or exchange, Phonetic Journals from 25th Aug., 1888, to 9th May, 1891, one wanting. Address 12 Cameron park, Edinburgh. What offers?-Reporters' Journal, 1890 (Jan. no. missing); Phone Punch, 1890 complete; Phonetic Journal, 1890, complete, unbound. Firs reasonable offer accepted. J. E. Scott, 18 Heathland terrace, Shaw Heath, Stockport. For sale, vol. 1 of Comic Cuts, unbound, in good condition, price 115 68 post-free. A bargain. H. N. Lancaster, 1 Hasting's terrace, St Helier's, Jersey. Wanted. Reporters' Journals, nos. 12, 19, 22, 23, 24 for 1884 (weekly nos), Feb., July and Aug. for 1885, and Jan. for 1886; Ford's Shorthand Bible, parts 10 and 11; Lecturer, vol. 12, and part 12 of vol. 1; WestbyGibson's Bibliography. State price and condition. Liberal exchange if preferred. C. Barker, 24 Park avenue, Wood green, London. For sale, Phonetic Journals, 1889-50, 3 nos. missing, or would give in exchange for Lamp and Bell for Safety Bicycle. Apply Gazette office, Linlithgow. For sale or exchange, what offers ?-Reporters' Magazine, Shorthand Magazine, 1890, 12 Reporters' Magazine, 12 Reporters' Journal, 12 Lec turers, and 12 Shorthand Magazines; also in ordinary spelling, Good Words, May, June, and July, articles by Mr Gladstone, 1889, complete, contains Hardy Norseman by Edna Lyall; 33 7d parts of Cassel's Royal Shakspere; Ward and Lock's Universal Instructor, complete in 43 sixpenny parts; D'Israeli's Miscellanies of Literature, in 10 sixpenny parts. Wanted to exchange a sixpenny Tory weekly for the Speaker. Address Moorhouse, Brockholes, near Huddersfield. Phonographic Dictionary, latest library edition, 25 6d; Phonetic Journal, vol. 44, well bound, 2s; Manual, latest edition, cloth, is; Book of Psalms in the corresponding style, cloth, 9d; Gulliver's Travels, ditto, 6d; Pil. grim's Progress, ditto, od; Progressive Studies, 6d; all in new condition. G.. 8 Cross st., Abergavenny. Ward and Lock's Universal Instructor, 3 vols., bound, 15s, or, what offers? Flett, 18 East rd., Kirkwall, Scotland. Teacher and Key, 6d; 12 Reporters' Magazines, is 61; Manual and Key, od; Reporting Exercises and Key, 8d. Exchange above for Phonographic Testament or latest Reporter. Taaffe, 10 Needham place, Newry. For sale, Phonetic Journals for 1886 (14 nos. short), 1887 (3 nos. short, 1888 (10 nos. short), 1889 (5 nos. short), 1890 (2 nos. short), Reporters Magazine for 1882 (1 no. short), Shorthand Star, vol. 1 (unbound). What offers ? Alfred H. Fowler, 192 Witton rd., Aston, Birmingham. Phonetic Journals for 1889 and 90, splendidly bound, unsoiled. What offers? Alfred H. Fowler, 192 Witton rd., Aston, Birmingham. Foreign Stamps, all kinds, some old Colonials for sale, or will exchange for shorthand books. Ernest Gian, Somerford grove, Tottenham, Middlesex. [26] Lot of phonographic books and stationery for sale. List for stamp, returned to purchasers. D. Webster, Oddfellow st., Morley, Yorks. Wanted, Phonetic or Reporters' Journal, 1890, or offers for quantity of old German News and Illustrated Humorous Papers. Specimen, id post-free. Hebron, Box 23, Stockton-on-Tees. For sale, Selections 1, 2, 3, bound together, Is; Thankful Blossom, rod; Reed's Leaves, 2 vols., 2s 8d post-free; Ivanhoe, 3 separate vols., half calf, new, 10s. J., 95 Fairfoot road, Bow, London. Pitman's Phonetic Dictionary, 1889; vol. 44 Phonetic Journal; Thankful Blossom; all bound in cloth, in splendid condition, offered, carriage unpaid, for latest edition (new) Pitman's Phonetic Dictionary. P. H. Abbot, 23 Woodbine terrace, Leith, Scotland. Ford's Shorthand Bible, illustrated, cost 135 6d, 4s; Phonographic Prayer Book, engraved edition, 2s; Manual, 9d; Progressive Studies, 6d; all new. Teacher, Key, Exercises, 6d; Reporter's Assistant, ód British Orations, Is; Esop's Fables, 10 shorthand periodicals, 6d; capital condition, all post-free. J. H. Wintle, 11 King st., Stroud. TO STUDENTS OF SHORTHAND. THE Books recommended to the Student commencing 1 Amen Corner, London, E.C. Bath: Phonetic Institute. The Members of the Phonetic Society correct the lessons of learners gratuitously. See the last page of the Teacher." The PHONETIC JOURNAL (Price id.) is published in London at the Phonetic Depôt, 1 Amen Corner, E.C., at 9 o'clock every Thursday morning. and should be obtainable at all Newsagents, Booksellers, and at the Railway Bookstalls throughout the United Kingdom, on Friday, or Saturday at the latest. Copies are on sale at 3 East Fourteenth street, New York. Should any difficulty be experienced in obtaining the PHONETIC JOURNAL, the public are requested to communicate with the Publishers, giving the name and address of their local agent, together with the London agent of the same. The PHONETIC JOURNAL can also be had by post DIRECT from the Pub lishers. The terms are- 38. 3d. 6s, 6d. Bound volumes from 1843 to 1875 are out of print. Volumes from 1876 to present date, 6s. each, post-free. Handsome covers for binding the present or past yearly volumes of the Journal, is. each, post-free is. 3d. BUSINESS Communications should be addressed to Isaac Pitman & Sons, 1 Amen Corner, London, E.C. ADVERTISEMENTS and EDITORIAL Communications to Isaac Pitman & Sons, Bath. A history of the various writing materials that have been used would be a work of great interest; and to the shorthand writer the subject could not fail to be peculiarly attractive. The phonographer of to day owes a great deal to the ingenuity and inventiveness of two or three generations of pen-makers. From the stylus of the old Roman stenographers to the splendid fountain pens which various makers turn out now, has been a long journey. Magnificent work has been done with every variety of scriptorial implement; and to a considerable extent the implement has exerted an influence upon the work. The quill pen has played a very important part in the long history of penmanship, and marvelous work has been done with it. Quills with points of varied breadth and of varied degrees of hardness, wielded by skilled hands, produced the beautiful "black-letter" books of the Middle Ages. Writing at their ease, with no "printer's devil" clamoring for copy, those scribes of the past became artists in handwriting. The beauty of their workmanship surprises many a modern penman to whom the quill seems to be incapable of fine distinctions of thickness of stroke, of delicate shadings, and of beautiful work. But the old scribes had abundant time at their disposal, and could put down one pen and take up another as often as they chose. The steel pen marked a great advance. Less flexible than the quill, it was yet sufficiently pliable to yield, on slight pressure, for the production of the thick strokes of Phonography. Shorthand owes a debt of gratitude to the inventor of the steel pen. The continuous development of steel pens has been remarkable. Every variety of hand and of taste has been catered for. For those who prefer neatness and elegance to speed there are fine pens; for the everyday writer the medium pen; and for the very busy man the broad pointed J. The steel pen has the merit of lasting longer than the quill; but if not wiped every time it is laid down its life is short. It is 26 somewhat hard at first; it becomes more flexible with use, and the hand gets familiar with it; then it quickly becomes unsuitable and has to be abandoned for another. There have been historical quills.: but they have become historic by the fact that great men have used them on special occasions. No one has been known to develop an affection for a quill, or even for a steel pen. Far different, however, has it been with the most satisfactory of all writing instruments in metal, the gold pen. Gold pens can do all that the quill and the steel variety have accomplished, and they have the merit of lasting. They are friends who continue faithful year after year. All sorts of associations cluster around them; they awaken memories that one likes to recall. They meet the requirements of shorthand admirably. Phonographers hardly need to be reminded of Mr Reed's celebrated gold pen, which will deserve a place in one of our national collections. Gold pens have the advantage that they preserve the style of writing, whether it be shorthand or longhand. Writing rapidly and frequently with a succession of quills and. steel pens in various stages of "degradation,” has an inevitable tendency to demoralize a man's penmanship. Writing year after year with the same pen prevents that deterioration. Oliver Wendell Holmes has something to say in his latest book, "Over the Teacups," about the latest variety of writing implement, the Fountain Pen. He approaches the subject from the author's point of view, but his remarks are as applicable to the shorthand writer as to the author. He says, "In setting down my thoughts, I am impatient of every hindrance of a pen that will not write, of ink that will not flow, and of paper that will not receive the ink." It has been said that it pays the shorthand writer to get the best things procurable in the way of pens, ink and paper: the fact is equally true of everybody who has much writing to do, and who wishes to get through it with the least amount of discomfort and the least expenditure of time and energy. Dr Holmes seems to have taken to a stylographic pen, which is hardly the best type of "Fountain." He admits that it "deprives the handwriting of its beauty, and to some extent of its individual character." But he declares that there is nothing like it for the poet and for the imaginative writer. "Many a fine flow of thought has been checked, perhaps arrested, by the illbehavior of a goose-quill. Many an idea has escaped while the author was dipping his pen in the inkstand. But with the stylographic pen"-he might have said, with any good fountain pen-"unbroken rhythms and harmonious cadences are the natural products of the unimpeded flow of the fluid which is the vehicle of the author's thoughts and fancies." Finally he remarks that its movement over the paper is "like the flight of a swallow, while the quill pen, and the steel pen, and the gold pen are all taking short, laborious journeys, and stopping to drink every few minutes." It is this capacity for rivaling the flight of the swallow, without pausing to drink, that makes the Fountain so valuable as an aid to the shorthand writer. It is by little savings of time that additional speed is gained; and thus the Fountain facilitates the work which Phonography has to perform to-day. The story of the evolution of the pen is a large one. The influence of that development upon the development of shorthand, would afford matter for a chapter of great interest. In acknowledging the receipt of eighteen Speed Certificates, Mr W. Reid, of the Dublin School of Shorthand, writes :-"I am well pleased with the result of our first speed examination. Of course many of the candidates would have done better but for the nervousness incident to all first examinations. I think that on the whole we may congratulate ourselves on having secured the greatest number of Speed Certificates ever granted as the result of one examination." The Typewriter Company, of 12 Queen Victoria street, London, offer two prizes, one to be given to the writer of the best two-page quarto circular setting forth the advantages of typewriting over pen writing; and the other for the best pictorial or plain advertisement showing the merits of the Bar-Lock Typewriter. It is generally admitted that the growth of the Press in this country is intimately associated with the spread of education. In view of the recent census, however, it would be of no small interest if some statistician would tell us what is the relative increase of newspapers to population. There are two noticeable facts concerning recent newspaper enterprise, which seem to indicate a healthy condition of growth. The first and most important is the successful establishment of new daily journals in large centres of population, and the other the continued appearance of new periodicals dealing with special interests; a dozen such have appeared of late, and it would be difficult to say what class or interest is now unrepresented in the English press. With so much vitality in English journalism, and on the whole so much of sterling worth, it is somewhat curious to note, by way of contrast, the aspiration of an American review for some Christian philanthropists willing to invest the capital necessary to supply the United States with a system of "good, clean, vigorous dailies." The writer suggests a board of trustees and an establishment similar to a college, in order to give permanency of plan to the endowed newspapers. There is much that is fascinating about the elevation of the Press to an ideal standard of excellence, but, alas, the project has hitherto been found impracticable. Still if an endowed Press is not practicable, there can be no doubt the times demand accomplished journalists. "There never was a time "observes the Effective Advertiser, "in the history of newspapers when correct thinkers with sound impulses were needed more than now.. If the Press of the country is to play an important part in settling vexed questions, it should become well grounded in the axioms and underlying principles of social, economical, and moral science. It must learn to know what the right is, and be brave enough to assert it. When it once gets abroad that an editor's heart is right, his patrons will stand by him through many vicissitudes. When they see that his head is right, and that he is informed on the questions of the day, his opinions will carry weight, and very often conviction." Who will have the boldness to condemn "newspaper English," after the following dictum of the Professor of English Literature at Columbia College, U.S.A.? It is his frank opinion that, "there is not in our American literature of to-day, in books, or in magazines, or in published sermons or lectures or speeches, any body of written English so strong and effective, or even so correct, and, in the true sense, classical in point of style, as we find, day after day, in the best editorial writing of our American newspapers." Mr George Redford, who for more than fifteen years has furnished the Times with reports of the art sales at Christie's, has lately ceased to do so. Speaking of his work, the Athenæum says that these reports were really learned and curious records of the movements and prices of pictures and sculptures, the compilation of which was not only creditable to Mr Redford, who introduced the plan on which they were treated, but a task of considerable importance commercially. The July number of the Reporters Journal will contain a page of facsimile notes of the evidence of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, in the baccarat case, from the pen of Mr Frank Ernest Chapman. NATIONAL PHONOGRAPHIC SOCIETY. A meeting of the Council of the National Phonographic Society was held at the office of Mr Thomas Allen Reed, 37 Cursitor street, London, E.C., on the evening of 2nd June. There were present, Mr Thomas Allen Reed, in the chair, Messrs Cope, Cornish, Murray, Nankivell, Pirie, Wakeford, and Mr Mair, the general secretary. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. On the motion of the chairman, seconded by the secretary, the election of the following members by the London District was approved by the Council : Crossland Albert, esq., Ministry of Finance, Cairo, Egypt A member elected by the Chesterfield District was approved : Dentith John J., 32 Albert street, Newbold Moor, near Chesterfield, Dyer Wm., The Cottage, Milford hill, Salisbury The secretary was instructed to write to Mr Clarence Ellis, of Bombay, and send him leaflets and instructions how to proceed with the formation of a District at Bombay. The secretary read letters from Mr Tossell, of Dalston lane, London; Mr H. T. Bailey, secretary of the London Phonetic S.W.A., Mr Lee, secretary of the Chesterfield District; Miss J. B. Woodward, of Lower Baggot street, Dublin; A. Crossland, esq., Ministry of Finance, Cairo; Mr Seth Whiteley, secretary of the Sheffield District (now being formed); Miss E. Reynolds, 3 Wilton street, Oxford road, Manchester; and Mr Blackburn, of Clitheroe. Mr Reed read a letter he had received from Dr Gray, |