THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH
TUESDAY
"WRITING
SHAW'S BOOK
STENOGRAPHER'S EXPERIENCE
MASTERLY SHORTHAND
By DOROTHY SMITH
The Black Girl In Search of God but that wasn't very helpful towards transcribing the rest of those sheets of blus: notopaper, on which appeared, thousands and tigu sands of mysterlous characters, so I went to bed very frightened and very unhappy haunted in my dreams by grammalogues and con- tractions which had assumed grote aque proportions, and by the plere ing blas eyes of Bernard Shaw!
Next morning, however, with cicarer brain and vision, and the echo of Mr. Shaw's "I'd like this soon, please", predominating; I set to work with zest, and found that what at first sight last night had seemed a formidablo task, in the morning proved infinitely ensler.
The work was beautifully nent, with neither blot nor erasure to mar it, each stroke well proper-
WHEN. Mr. George Bernard toned, correctly placed, filly, vod Shaw strode down the Main ilsed, very few contractions, and street of our small town, his only the more frequently occurring big stone-coloured aun umbrella grammalogues, a shorthand of al swinging from the crook of his most a century ago certainly, since arm, idlers at bank corners nudged when there have been many altern- their neighbours and said, "Therd's tions, but a shorthand with such Bernard Shaw!" And school boys textbook detall and precision that with literary aspirations basked) I gazed at it in wonder and admira- in the warmth of his eloquence tion. when, in the kindly manner he adopted with the children during his sojourn here, he stopped to
ATTENTION TO DETAIL
The average shorthand writer is
These winter sporta enthusiasts are "jumping over the Alps,” de the saying gown.
UPROAR IN THEATRE
speak to them, and fed their avid apt to become very slack in regard little minds with tit-bits from his to making sufficient distinction be vast experience. But when the tween the light and heavy strokes, tolephone bell rang one afternoon, thereby forming too much similar. ity between strokes and thus caus- and Mr. Shaw's message come through me requesting that Iing confusion in transcription. do some typing for him, some-Not so Mr. Shaw. It was his strict thing like a sensation was caused attention to detall in every respect in intimate circles, although it which minimised considerably the was with very mixed feelings that difficulty of deciphering another's I arranged to interview him after shorthand, there being not more dinner that evening in the lounge than a dozen words which really of the Royal Hotel, where he spent puzzled mo, and for which I had to
revert to the writer. a few weeks owing to the pro-
These when deciphered proved to tracted illness of his wife,
ba อ Latin phrase or so, or an un- Naturally, I thought I would be familiar proper name, which names WITHOUT ANY ACTORS
The
Black Girl in called upon to type from his own
occur in handwriting, but when he laid Search of God." One in particular namely "Micah the
BEAUTIFULLY NEAT WORK
do
"FIRST NIGHT" OF COMEDY
Paris, Jan. 11. There was one of the most re-
upon the table. several sheets of puzzled me: ntil I was inspired to shorthand, and said there would ornathite," be more to follow, something akin turn to the Bible-the phrase relat-markable "first nights" that Paris- to paule seized me; for once I was Ing thereto being somewhat Bibliian playgoers can ever have known spacchices, a fact I have not lived cal-and there discovered a whole at the Theatre. Albert Premier to regret, as the work which en- chapter on this gentleman, but I sued was of the most interesting queried it nevertheless, much to recently, when the representation of the actual play, Haya, gava way I have ever undertaken.
Mr. Shaw's amusement, he appar-
to a comedy in which the director, ently being conversant with the
fact Bible from chapter to chapter.
author, und audience, in What never ceased to be of in-
overyone but the actors them- My first Instinct was to say,
the euse and "Oh, but I couldn't possibly tran- terest to me was scribe shorthandi"-to transcribe rapidity with which Mr. Shaw selven, took part. one's own shorthand is not always wrote his book. With neither dic- a simple task, but somebody tlonary, book of reference, nor note- else's.
Words falling me, book, with just a simple writing howover,
er, I found myself listening pad oposed upon his knees and a to his instructions and Baying well-filed fountain pen, he would meekly, "Yes, Mr. Shaw," To my spend an hour or two each morning horror I heard him say, "Just read seated on a bench on the steps of the first Hine or two and see if the hotel, and not rumble of wag-tors of the theatre, charged with
of native gon pasaing nor chatter you can decipher my shorthand servant about the premises appear It's Pitman's you know."
ed to distract his attention, his assistance I mumbled some deeply engrossed was he in the unintelligible words, and heard myself saying nonchalantly, "Oh, matter of the moment, living with yes, thank you, I'll be able to his characters, oblivious of his
surroundings. manage nicely," and collecting He never spoke of his work, i.c.,
With
those precious pieces of paper, his last words ringing in my cars, "This is very confidential, remem- ber. I-proccoded home, expect ing at every corner to have some villain snatch the documents from under my arm.
The evening began quite normal- 15 with a delay of rather less than one hour. Then the curtain rose and the audience settled back in their seats only to find that they had before them one of the diree-
the mission of explaining that the actora refused to come on. The An uproar, theatre was soon in confused at first but gradually clarifying to shouts of "Author!
converse,
never trying to speak
THE MORNING SWIM
the book upon which he was busy, or, for that matter, any of his works, but, if time permitted, he above your head, and to me, always would regale me with delightful in- very courteous. cidents from his varied experience. It was only urgent and pressing business in London that hastened Arriving home to a family his departuro from Knysna, after breathless with expectation, his wife's recovery. He enjoyed gasped out, "It's in shorthand!" the peacefulness of the place and But families are strangely unsym-appreciated the respect paid to his pathetic in that respect, I find, loudly spoken wishes that he ba and seem to think a business col- left to himself. He paid seant lege training fits you out for all courtesy to callers. A peculiar very, very true, unfortunately. contingencies, even to transcribing man, admittedly, a man with a mas- He showed the greatest delight the M.SS. of such an illustrious personage na G. B. S.
I managed to decipher the title
He deplored the conditions and mentality of the "poor whites" (mostly woodcutters) in this dia- trict. What he aald of them (though I forhear to write it), is
a kindly man in the Knysna Lagoon, but seldom ter mind, but an interesting man, and a man with whom it was indeed a pleasure to went to the Heads where we all go to bathe, as it is too far for the dup before breakfast, which is part of his routine. Every morning, in spite of weather conditions, he would go off the old fetty, and with breast stroke strike out to a stake some fifty yards across the river, nover altering, his course or struke, returning on his back, propelling himself to land.
This Swadish training ahip will participate in. the grain ships„zace
Australia to England,
His bathing costume, of Ark-like qualities, he left with the keeper of the bathing boxes, a gift not sufficiently appreciated, until a Free State visitor happening there and desiring to bathe was proffered this costume, to be told on his return from bathing that it had belonged to Bernard Shaw. "I'll give you ten shillings for it," said the Free Stater, but the bathing box-keepȧr, suddenly alive to possiblities, de manded a much higher price.. Tho costume still hangs on a pog in the! keeper's shack!
I was very anxious to obtain a letter of some sort written in Mr. Shaw's own hand, and no doubt bad I been sufficiently courageous to hak I should have obtained one, but, knowing his abhorrence of auto- graph hunters, I refrained, and hit on a scheme to obtain a specimen of his handwriting. I despatched a parcel with some of the typed MSS. by messenger boy, covered by a letter to Mr. Shaw asking for acknowledgment, and with strict Instructions to the messenger to deliver it to none other than to him of the silver hair.
Having hoped that ho would ap preciate my business acumen, and respond accordingly, I was dismay-
ed and chagrined when the messon-
lecture upon the Author The unfortunate author, to listen a who had come in the hope of theatrical proprieties. The aud appearing in very different cir-fence, now thoroughly catching the cumstances, duly walked on, but spirit of the evening, shouted it lastead of trying to appease the golf hoarse, jeers, throats, chal- audience 10 began a heated lenges to duels and other de
monstrations continuing until wrangle with the director.
Meanwhile even the doyen of the someone had the presence of mind dramatic critics present had been to ring down the curtain. The stung out of his professional calm, whole dramatis personec then de and he gave to anyone who cared parted, exhausted, but happy.
Her Majesty Queen Mary pictured, as she was greeted by the Marchioness of Reading, chairman of the Parional Service Langua of Grosvenor Place, London. The Queen is deeply interested in the work of the league, which sunda out 100,000 garments yearly to
ald needy families; (*
professor, Miss Winnifred Callie, had "starred
gor.came back with the verbal mes depicting medical experiments, the first of a férias to be
Bago, Bans Bays thank you, Miss.
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Any pict
thay
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Moore
ONE NIGHT OF LOVE
FLULLJO CARMINAPI --LYLE TALBO
MONA BARRIE
GOLEMAIN RETING
QUEEN'S THURSDAY
Be wall advised and buy your Tickets:"NOWDENMIN
WEDNESDAY 13th
George
ARLISS in THE HOUSE OF ROTHSCHILD
JESTIC
CANTON AGENTS
Hongkong Telegraph
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