Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1882-01-05
A BACK-HANDED SPELLER.
The Curious Faculty ola Young New
Mexican Composition.

lStHfG r. .NFI" .N'Fi"'tR.
Santa Re has a young man with a
mind which has faculty that is rarely
To be found, il. indeed, il can ever BE-
discovered elsewhere. The gentleman
i'm question is Hugh McKeviTt, printer,
working over at Military Headquarters.
He is u rapid type setterand athorough-
IL good workman, 80 that he Is not de-
pendent on any side business for good
living, and a. consequence has never
said ANYTHING about his spelling capaci-
", which j. the subject of this item.
Nc Kevitt i y leit-handed Speller, and
defies any one To put at him Il word
which he cannot spell backward as
rapidly H. the best and quickest Speller
could give it i'm the usual way:
The other day the reporter fell III
with him when ne was in mOod more
communicative than usual, and had oc-
caSi0n To try him. .lncompTehcn%OllI-
~ WAS not marker for him. As soon
a. the word was pronounced, Me said
Fifteen letters and went ut it back
ward 80 fast that his hearers were una
bic To tell whether he was right or
wrong. "NOu see said fellOw-prin-
ter, che can tell the number Of letters IN
any wort without Il moments hesita-
ton, aswcll a. he can spell it backward,
and not only that, but you can give
him a whole sentence, and he will tell
YOU AZ once how many letters there are
i'm il. and 90 right on and spell through
the whole thing backward faster than
most people could spell it the other
way
This thing was tried time and again,
and no word or series of words could be
hit upon which were not rendered n in
dictated above. Or course, there are
words i'm the English language which
NckcVitt has never heard of Just a. l.
the case with almost every other man,
but ne is what would be called Il fine
spellcr, ''right-handed, - so he Sayf, and
j. familiar with the language, and any
word which he has heard and can spell
ut all he can spell backward with aston
ishinG rapidity. The StrangeSt part
about the whole thing Is that Nc HEWITT
has never practiCgd or studied spelling
backward DAY i'm his life. lie says he
does not know how he acquired the
ability 10 do it. but that as soon rs he
hears or sees word, even If he has
never thOnght of it before, which, OF
course, j. the case with 4 large majority
of words, he knows immediately how
many letters there are in II, and how TO
spell it backwards or in regular way.
Il is 80, too, with sentences. He knows
az once how many words and letters in
any sentence that may be suggested,
ANA states the numbers promptly a
soon - tie words are uttered. Me
Kcyi,t can also distribute type back
ward IL fast aS forward. In the left
handed spelling there is no theory OF
sound To aid him, as in very many in-
stances the letters spell nothing at aik
and cannot be pronounced, 80 that there
is no accounting for his ability To spell
i'm that way except. conclude that it is
the result of a gift-a peculiar faculty
of a remarkable quick mind,
There is no particular advantage in
all this as far aS can be discovered,
bu it is "a curiosity AMI Il rare one, and
ii anybody thinks il isn't har,l to do, let
him try To acquire it.