The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-10-16
ANoNYMoUs LETTERS.
a. Woman Says Her Sex rs Responsible
Tor Most OF Them.
Especial CORES ondence.l

the information that 90 per cent of the
forgers are found among men.
The motives which prompt the con-
struction and sending of an anony
letter are various Prime among them is
the love of making mischief, which is
often a feminine trait much to be de-
plored, while jealousy and anger form
no inconsiderable part of the poor judg-
ment which women display when de-
scending to this low device of revenge
upon some enemy or rival
In the first place, it is the easiest thing
in the worz1 e. trace the writer Of an
anonymous letter, particularly If that
writer be a woman. as it Is almost an
impOssi billty for women to disguise
their handwri ting. They are creatures
of impulse, full of whimsicalities and
erraticlsms, and their handwriting nat
urally partalxes of these peculiarities.
To one who understands the science of
writing there is marked difference be
tween the letters formed by the hands
Of men and women Whether due to
sewing, playing the piano and other
womanly accomplishments which exer-
else the fingers to a great extent, wom-
ems handwriting Possesses the distinct
mark of what is known as the finger
nlovement-that is, the pen is held by
the index. second finger and thumb,
while the hand moves along the paper
with the pen, producing a formal kind
of writing very hard to disguise
The muscular movement, on the con
trary, which characterizes the writing
Of men is made by pointing the pen
holder toward the right shoulder, the
fingers scarcely moving and the free,
full motion of the hand coming from
the lower part of the arm near the ell
bow, giving a more machinelike appear
ance to the letters, and Notwithstanding
that many women s notes look as if they
might have been penned by a man it is
said that not 10 per cent of the women
living write with that muscular move
ment
The type Of handwriting most in
vogue today among women of the high
er classes is the English or angular
hand, and this style has prevailed for
the past 10 or Is years Among the
lower and less refined class of women
you Will notice the round, petite Ital-
ian writing used almost entirely, and
this distinction forms one Of the ex-
pert clews ia first determining in what
direction to look for a suspected anony-
nous writer
a woman is born copyist. BY OBJ
this conclusion has been arrived at and
is partly due to her gift of close appli-
cation as well as unparalleled patience
in accomplishing whatever she under
takes. She viii labor over the imitation
of a piece Of embroidery for weeks, /
while the average man, on the con
trary, gives up any task in disgust If
not successful within five minutes
Thus it is that when women do turn
their dishonesty to forgeries of different /
kinds they make much more correct /
forgers than men. A strange anomaly, T
though, regarding their aptitude in this
direction is that. though their imita- I
tons will be more exact from an OBJ I
server standpoint, they Invariably +
leave much uncomfortable trace Of their 1
own characteristics than their brothers
in crime.
Experts will tell you that in the gen /
crafty Of anonymous letters they find /
the offenders very nearly related to their 1
would be victims, and these discoveries 4
often lead to sad and embarrassing re- +
suits
a prominent dry goods merchant Of +
New York entered the office of David n T
Carvalho, the noted expert, with a most /
scurrilous letter in hand This epistle I
was addressed to his sisters betrothed +
and informed the young man that he 4
had better inquire into the moral char
acter of the woman he was about to
marry.
What to do about it and how to
find the author were the questions be I
at once put to the expert. who advised /
him to 60 home and gather up the con-
tents Of his wife's, his own and his sis
ter 5 writing desk, which he proceeded +
to do, and arrived at the Office with a
bundle, the size Of which nearly stag I
gered the expert, who anticipated fort
nj ght ) work over the matter. The third +
letter he tested, however, proved to be +
the one to correspond to the anonymous
one. SO he wrote out the report, marked +
letters exhibits A and b and placed them
aside
well, how are you getting along2''
inquired Mr.. Merchant the next day as
be called for the result of the investiga-
ton.
TITS found, sir. n answered the ex-
pert, handing over his report, and after
check in payment proceeded
with some other work ON hand
You havono objections to my reading i
the report heres'' said the man, to which i
Mr.. Carvalho returned a pleasant mega
tive All at once. with a muttered /
curse, the man made q desperate spring +
for his throat, at the same time shout L
ing, You scoundrel, that's my wife,
Together the two men rolled to the 4
floor, and it was several minutes before +
the expert was enabled to free himself +
from the enraged man s grasp. When he I
succeeded, he forced the man out of the +
door and threw the bundle Of letters
after him, saying, II admire your 10y
atty to your wife, but you shan't kill 1