Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-07-18
An Ultra Questionable Craze.

" F.
enc, 1 can't go with you this after
noon," explained a fashionably dressed
.ady as she stood on the stoop of her
residence in Fifth avenue bidding fare
we'll to the lady about to leave her. 81
have my regular lesson in an hour. and
after that | shall be engaged"
"Your ~lesson?" queried the friend.
eyes, my writing lesson. I am
learning to write English"
s.Why who wrote your notes to me?"
81 did, but they were not English.
The writing was American" And
with a friendly good-by nod the lady
turned to 60. She was middle-aged,
richly dressed, spoke correctly, with an
affectation of English pronunciation,
and seemed hardly the person to begin
the study of penmanship so late in life.
Stopping on the second step she lowered
her parasol and, leaning forward, said:
.You see, there are six or eight ladies
in our.set who are heartily ashamed of
their round American style of writing,
SO We formed little club to learn the
angular English style. We meet once
. week in the Cemtuay Building, and
spend an hour like school-children over
our c~opy-books." And she smiled as
she recalled the pictures of half a dozen
society ladies in white bibs industriously
learning to write.
'.But this angular style is not nearly
so legiblc as the neat round hand you
used to write" commented her friend.
"Well, perhaps not. But it Is the
tn ng-thoroughly English, you know,
and one must learn it. It's like the OPP
era, sometimes; not always pleasant,
but always popular. But won't you
come with us-join our CLASP"
The friend declined, said she had
done with the three RS (readhg,
'riting and 'rithmetic) twenty years
ago, and movedto godown the street as
the other lady disappeared in the
house.
A visit to the Century building showed
a prettily furnished room occupied by a
score of desks. Over half the desks
were bent as many ladies each with a
little white apron or bib tucked under
their chin, as elderly gentlemen some
times tuck in their napkins at dinner.
Each pretty face was bent close to the
paper, and as each fair hand followed
the teachers the plumes on the lowered
bonnets waved in unison like a field Of
wheat swept by the wind. The bare
arms and hands laid across the note-pa-
per were whittier than the c~rea1a-colored
texture, and the black-mustached
teacher, as he turned from the black
board to smile %approvingly at his pu-
pills, seemed immensely proud of his
class. All were so eager to learn that
his task was an easy one.
Another professor of s'Engllsh" pen
manship teaches half the Fifth avenue
residents by mail.
Mr.. A was enthusiastic over the sue
cess he Is meeting with. Ladies at the
Victoria Hotel, two from the Windsor,
and manyof those ''in the SWIM were
only too glad to learn from him. The
lessons were given principally by mail.
In a circular he tells why every lady
every real lady-should write angular
''English." He says:
"A lady's attire, speech, manner
these are eloquently expressive of her.
self; ordinarily, they indicate her social
status. So should her handwriting ex-
press beauty and elegance. Above all
should it express a pervading charm of
"OAAttI4A4uOSS w CVIl1fiilC WHICH, is U4O
purpose of my undertaking.
The general plan is. based upon the
old Italian style, which to-day is recog-
inized and understood as prominently
an english" style for ladies. Com
mending itself always to a refined
popular taste, it's introduction is meet
ing with gratifying success at the pres
ent time, when, to be every English"
is to be wholly fashion able"
"But why" ventured the visitor,
i.'should this style be considered more
desirable?"
81 suppose, because it is English, as
it really is. Take one hundred English
ladies born in the same circles that
is, the upper circles-and ninety
nine of them will write alike, this
angular hand. Take one hundred
American ladies and no two of them
will write in the same way. Why I can
hardly say. 1t has always been thought
good form in Eng land to write
this way, and so all have been taught
alike, and the round, old-fashioned
handwriting has disappeared. At the
present rate Of progress it is only q
question of q short time when the curve
line-not the line of beauty in penman-
ship-will be relegated to the use of
clerks and shop-girls."
''Then you do not have many shop
girls as pupils?"
Hardly" with a quiet smile at the
innocent question. ''Ihat is hardly a
class of-of-er-persons we desire to
teach. Angular writing is essentially a
lady-like accomplishment, and fitted
only for the best classes. Who cares
whether a shop-girl writes an up-and-
down or a regular hand?" and the
teacher waved the despised classes into
obseurity with a magnificent flourish.
''What they want to learn is short
hand"
"And your gentlemen pupils?"
1--WE have none. Business men, as a
rule. must write plainly, and the few
that do attempt anything out OF the or
binary learn at their own convenience
and in the privacy of their clubs. Be-
sides, the chirography of men betravs
an individuality which is not often seen
in the handwriting Of ladies, and they
do not care to give this up. After ali,
the writing in an 'Englishy' way is one
of those little accomplishments that be-