And at this point I had a brilliant idea.
"I'm not sure that it can't be helped," said I.
She looked at me inquiringly, and I continued: "I am going to make a proposition, and I shall ask you to consider it with an open mind." "That sounds rather portentous," said she; "but I promise.

What is it ?" "It is this: When I was a student I acquired the useful art of writing shorthand.

I am not a lightning reporter, you understand, but I can take matter down from dictation at quite respectable speed." "Yes." "Well, I have several hours free every day--usually, the whole of the afternoon up to six or half-past--and it occurs to me that if you were to go to the Museum in the mornings you could get out your books, look up passages (you could do that without using your right hand), and put in book-marks.

Then I could come along in the afternoon and you could read out the selected passages to me, and I could take them down in shorthand.

We should get through as much in a couple of hours as you could in a day using longhand." "Oh, but how kind of you, Doctor Berkeley!" she exclaimed.