The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-02-01
HANDWRITING AND CHARACTER
Some Traits of Habit and Disposition
Shown in Handwriting.
From Mltrray's Magazine.

from MhffdyS Mdgdzlne
Almost all people do in a more or less
conscious way draw some conclusions as to
the education and position of the various
writers from the handwritings which come
before them. To do so is almost as instinct
i've as to form some kind of an pinion of a
man from his face and look. We all con
over his writing to judge what an unknown
correspondent is like
Soma points of character do, beyond
doubt, at once betray themselves IN a mans
or a woman's handwriting. The neat, &C
curate, methodical person stands, on the
one hand, confessed in his writing, and So
too, does the reckless, unmethodical, care
less. Yet even here there are exceptions.
Thirty years since woman's writing
could hardly ever be mistaken for a mans,
the two were absolutely distinct; now,
though there are always certain subtle
differences, it is often difficult to tell them
apart. This approximation is partly due
to the fact that what used to be called the
"Italian handwriting" with its angles in
stead o. curves, has gone out of fashion for
ladies' partly it has resulted from that gen.
eral movement towards approximation be-
tween the sexes in all matters of education
which has been SO marked feature of our
time.
TIE characteristic, however, which most
surely expresses itself in hand writing is
Individuality A remarkable man or
woman-one who has, as we say, a distinct
| perscnslity-hardly ever writes quito COM
monplace hand; and conversely a very dis
tinctive handwriting is generally an index
| to something distinctive in the character.
This quality in handwriting is that which
strikes us most forcibly at first sight. We
involuntarily say to ourselves, There must
| be something in a man or woman who can
write hand like that"
| In the second place, firmness and decision
| on the one hand, nervousness and self-dis-
| trust on the other, come pretty clearly in
| the character of PERSONS writing. A good
bold hand is not generally a meaningless
expression. Free, firm strokes do, as a
rule, represent firmness in character. There
are no doubt also eccentric handwritings,
| but they by no means necessarily impress
US with this sense of personality nor, again,
does eccentricity of character at all GER
| tainly betray itself in eccentricity of hand
writing If what has been here said be
true it throws further light on the reason
| ableness of the value we attach to the study
of the handwriting of great and distin.
| guished men. Their handwriting does form
| a part-and a striking part-of their in
| dividuality, aud we know them better by
the study of it.
We must remember, too, that there is
always one great safeguard against the
| forger's art. Though he may reproduce
ever SO exactly the letters themselves he
cannot reproduce equally exactly the man
ner Of writing them. A letter copied pal l.
fully and carefully has never quite the same
| look which letter has formed rapidly and
| carelessly, however exact the copy may be.
| The minute difference will, no doubt, escape
any but the trained eye; by the trained eye
it will hardly fail to be detected, and all the
more if only there is a considerable bulk OF
written matter on which the decision res S
In such cases forgery will very rarely escape
| detection by experts-and here, at any rate
| it will be safe to trust to their Judgment.