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I took, and believe I passed, top clerk-stenographer tests today. This is a good thing to do now, since my shorthand skill drops rapidly in time and my record on the tests will hold for two years, during which time I may need that type of work.

A very interesting project now is learning a manual of style, (Chicago) which is the basis of work at University Press and which contains much interesting information on style, grammar, spelling, and general editorial work. It is probably the basis for the civil service exams in proofreader, copyreader, etc., to ascend the job scale. It is also a good basis for any writing work.

I don't think we can possibly get home for either of Jack's two long vacations -- at Christmas or between terms. On my job I will have only a few major holidays and no leave until a six-month period is passed; in the proofreading place there are only four workers and the absence of any one of them would hold up the printers, so it does not look as if I could take leave without pay. No University job observes University holidays, except teaching. This isn't so good, but it means that Jack will be able to spend the long vacations studying for his prelims (March), which will be very tough and which vacations would cut into, since he is carrying a heavy load of subjects. When he has passed this barrier, the department will try to keep him going through to the Ph.D.; this is the crucial time.

They are turning the heat on regularly now; cool weather has definitely set in. My suede jacket has become a necessity. It rains a good deal here in the fall, but we have both used the bicycle a lot, and could not be without it now. The football season is in full swing for the undergraduates. Love, Doris