The semi-weekly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1879-1882, 1882-01-02
A BAcK-HANDED sPELLER.
THE CURIOUS FACULTY OF 4 YOUNG
new MEXICAN coMPosiToR.

49, $1,000 =
THE CURIOUS FACULTY OF 4 YOUNG
new MEXICAN coMPoslToR.
Santa Fe has young man with
. mind which has faculty that is
rarely to be fouLd, if indeed it can be
discovered elsewhere. The gentleman
in question is Hugh McKevitt, q
printer, working over at Military
Headquarters He is rapid type
setter and q thoroughly good work
MN, so that he is not dependent Oh
any side business for good living,
and Is consequence has never said
anything about bis spelling capacity,
which is the subject Of this item. Nc
HEWITT is a left-handed speller, and de-
6es any one to put at him word
which be cannot epell backward as
rapidly IS the best and quickest spell
Ter could give il in the usual way.
The other day the reporter tell 10
with BIN when he was IN mood
more communicative than usual, and
had occasion to try him, Ineompre-
hensibility was not . marker to him.
As soon IS the word was pronounced
Mo said 'sfiseen letters and went at
1t backward so fast that his hearers
we're unable to tell whether he was
right or wrong sfYou see said a fel-
low printer, che can tell the number
Of letters in word without moment's
hesitation, as well as he can spell il
backward, and not only that, but you
can give . whole sentence, and be
will tell you at once how many letters
there are in it. and 20 right on and
spell through the whole thing back
ward faster than most people could
spell it the other way"
This thing was tried time aud time
again, and NJ words or series ofwords
could be hit upon which we're DOT
rendered a. indicated above. OF
course, there are words in the English
language which McKevitt has never
heard of, just as in the case with
almost every other man, but be is what
would be called ine speIler "rieh,-
handed rs he says, and is familiar
with the language, and any word
which he has heard and can spell at
eli he can spell backward with aston
ishing rspidity. The ssrangest par
about the whole thing is that Mckee
witt has never practiced or studied
spelling backward in his life. he
says be does not know bow he ever
acquired the abb ity to do it, but that
% soon as he hears or sees word,
even if he has never thought Of il be.
fore, which, Of course, Il the case with
large majority Of words, he knows
Immediately how many letters there
are in 1t and how to spell it back ward
or in the regular wsy. 1t is so, too,
with sentences. He knows at once
how many words and letters in any
sentence that may be suggested, and
states the numbers promptly as soon
as the words are uttered. McKsvut
can also distribute type backward as
fast Ms forward. In the left-hauded
spelling there is no theory Of sound to
aid him, as in very many instances
the letters spell nothing at all and
cannot be pronounced, so that there
is no accounting for his ability to spell
in that way except to conclude that II
is the result of q gift--a peculiar fac
ulty of remarkable quick mind.
There is no particular advantage IN
all this as far as can be discovered,
but it is curiosity aud one, and il
any body thinks it isn't hard to dc
let him try to acquire it.--Santa FL
Nep Merican