adds grace to
this happy occasion. We, in return, express our cordial obligations
for your favors and philanthropy.

We welcome Mr. Mason, our faithful teacher, and give him heartfelt
thanks for his kindness to us as pupils, and the earnest attention he
has shown in conducting the school work. We can truthfully say that
the success of the class in their studies is due solely to the skill
of his instruction.

When we entered upon the inception of our task about eight months
ago, contemplation of such a tedious study as stenography had made
us somewhat apprehensive of successful consequences, and when,
subsequently, we beheld so many curious marks, hooks, loops, spirals
and disjointed straights, then, indeed, did alarm seize upon and
almost terrorize us. How could we accomplish such an arduous
undertaking? We pondered the subject long and well, and, as in all
such matters, a solution was arrived at. You will doubtless not be
surprised when I say it was application--yes, application, with hard,
earnest study as a relative concomitant, which solved the problem.
This was the beginning, an auspicious one, you must admit, because,
having unraveled the chief skein of difficulty, it seemed to imbue
us with increased confidence, and study we did, with intense fervor
and earnestness. Thus it continued. Not a careless and desultory
endeavor, but one of energetic determination and indefatigable zeal.
"_Festina Lente_," as the old Romans were wont to say,--"Make haste
slowly,"--was our motto, as little by little we gained in acquisition.
The curious little dots and dashes which at first seemed so strange
and mysterious, soon lost their mystery and ere long a simple
acquaintance with them had ripened into a desirable familiarity. The
same success attended our efforts at the typewriter. The irregular and
heavy sounds which first greeted the ear of the learner, have lost
their harshness, and in their turn, as nimble fingers lightly touch
the enameled keys, the regularity of the merry ticks, broken only by
the gentle ring of the silvery bell, as the cross-bar passes from side
to side, partakes almost of melody.

Such has been the past, and to-night the conferring of many diplomas
will convince you that our labor has not been in vain. Stenography as
a study is not really difficult. The cardinal requisite is practice.
Leave the rest to time and the result will not be disappointing. Since
those who have studied here this Winter expect t