A PRESIDENTIAL FRIEND AND A BOSTON PILGRIMAGE Edward Bok had not been office boy long before he realized that if he learned shorthand he would stand a better chance for advancement.

So he joined the Young Men's Christian Association in Brooklyn, and entered the class in stenography.

But as this class met only twice a week, Edward, impatient to learn the art of "pothooks" as quickly as possible, supplemented this instruction by a course given on two other evenings at moderate cost by a Brooklyn business college.

As the system taught in both classes was the same, more rapid progress was possible, and the two teachers were constantly surprised that he acquired the art so much more quickly than the other students.
Before many weeks Edward could "stenograph" fairly well, and as the typewriter had not then come into its own, he was ready to put his knowledge to practical use.
An opportunity offered itself when the city editor of the _Brooklyn Eagle_ asked him to report two speeches at a New England Society dinner.

The speakers were to be President Hayes, General Grant, General Sherman, Mr.Evarts, and General Sheridan.