The Penn's Grove record., 1882-01-21
A Back Handed Speller.
The Curious Faculty Of a Young New
Mexican Compositor.

The Curious Faculty Of a Young New
Mexican Compositor.
Santa Fe has a young man, with a
mind which has faculty that IL rarely
to be found, II, indeed, IL san ever be
discovered else where. The gentleman
In question is Hugh McKevitt, a
printer, working over at Military
Headquarters. He is a rapid type
setter and thoroughly good workman,
SO hat he Is not dependent on any
outside business for a good living, and
as a consequence has never said any
thing about his spelling capacity,
which Is the subject of this item.
McKevitt is a left handed speller, and
defies any one to put at him a word
which he cannot spell backward as
rapidly as the best and quickest speller
| could give it in the usual way.
The other day the reporter fell in
with him, when he was in a more
communicative mood than usual, and
had occasion to try him. Incompre-
feasibility was not a marker for him.
AS loon rs the word was pronounced,
Nc said " nineteen letters, land went
at it backward so fast, that his hearers
were unable TO tell whether he was
right or wrong.
"You see," said a fellow printer,
she can tell the number of letters in
any word, without a moments hest
tation, as well as he can spell it back
ward and not only that, but you can
give him a whole sentence, and he will
tell you, at once, how many letters
there ATE in it, and go right on and
spell through the whole thing, back,
ward, faster than most people could
spell it the OF { way"
This thi e Was tried, time and time
again, L 40 word or series of words
cou = nit upon, which were not
rendered as indicated above. OF
courAe, Their are words in the English
language which McKevitt has never
heard of, just as is the case with almost
every other man, but he is what would
be called a fine speller, right
handed" as he says, and is familiar
with the language, and any word
which he has heard, and can spell at
all, he can spell backward with
astonishing rapidity.
The strangest part of the whole
thing, is that McKevitt has never
practiced or studied spelling back ward,
a day, in his life. He says he does not
know how he ever acquired the ability
to do it, but that, as o as he hears
or sees a word, even if he has never
thought of it before, which of course is
the case with a large majority of words,
he knows immediately how many
letters there are in it, and how to spell
it backward or in the regular way. 1t
is so, too, with sentences. He knows,
at once, how many words and letters
are in any sentence that may be sug-
gested, and states the numbers
promptly, as soon as the words are
uttered. McKevitt can also distribute
| type backward as fast as forward.
In the left-handed spelling, there is
no theory of sound to aid him, as in
very many instances the letters spell
nothing at all, and cannot be pro
nounced, so that there is no accounting
for his ability to spell in that way, ex-
ept to conclude that it is the result of
gift--a peculiar faculty of q remark
ably quick mind.
There is no particular advantage in
all this, so far as can be discovered, but
it is a curiosity, and a rare one, and If
anybody thinks it isn't hard work to
do, let him try to acquire it.