The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-08-05
copyright. 1871

as the new handwriting? The afore-
said new Handwriting is upright in
outline and curious in shading. and one
must be educated up TO reading it, i
have been told by people who admire
n. although they are not familiar with
VI. that the Egyptian hieroglyphics are
iegible compared TO II. AS a nation We
are not good writers. The English
write a clear, legible hand, the French
a sngularly neat. small hand. while
they invariably use good stationery.
Since I don't read German 1 can't crit
else the handwriting Of tho emperor on
of Bismarck, but / do know that as a
nation we are the most variable in our
handwriting OF any in existence, and
think I've found out the reason for II.
At the time when the present gener-
ation-that Is. our sweet selves-were
going to school we began 10 write our
notices in a round copy book hand, with
beautiful shadings, tall Is and short
t's, is properly dotted and Us that
didn't have curled tails like as.
Midway in the search for this we
were stopped. We began 10 write by
order OF the teacher in charge, IF at
first you don't succeed, try. try again,
In the angular English hand, for that
had become fashionable. Now, no hu-
man being, especially at the mature
age of 49, could, after several years OF
application at round os. suddenly
make them sharp o's. She could not
In a moment drag down from their
height all her Is, leave her rs uncross-
ed and forget shading altogether. The
result was a hybrid handwriting that
Is now general in this country. We be-
lieyed that there was some ndividuali-
ty In q scrawl, in queerly formed let
ters and in mixture OF roundness and
sharpness, but this new upright hand
writing is going TO drive more children
TO prefer Ignorance to knowledge and
more teachers TO matrimony than any
thing that has ever happened before.
III was Napoleon Bonaparte who said:
mo man dealing with a press of busi-
ness can be expected TO write legible
hand. All he can do is to set down dots
and leave IL 10 others to- decipher
them" / have always been an admirer
of Napoleon, but now i feel that he
was more human than he has ever
been credited with being. Personally
have a kindly feeling toward the peo-
ple who write indistinctlv, but there
is one thing that will not and cannot
forgive. and / think that did more 10
make me discover that Ellen Terry was
not my ideal Marguerite than anything
else. Miss Terry commits the awful
crime OF writing on both sides of the
thinnest OF paper with the blacklist OF
ink and the heaviest of quils. The re-
suit is mysterious beyond telling You
may count yourself as wonderfully
lucky IL among the black and white
lines and crosses you find her name
and your own. Mrs. Langtry writes n
big, clear hand. and she has a cheerful
way of meandering all over a heavy
page Of paper exactly as IL she were
putting out her firm. white. well shaped
hand 10 greet you. Lillian Russell
writes a rather round. large hand. using
the blacklist OF ink on pale blue paper,
which has her monogram on IL in
white. Henry Irving writes a curious
ly old fashioned hand. indlstinct and
recurring a little clew to start with.
but once you've discovered what he's
writing about all the mystery is solved.
A small. neat, distinct hand Is that OF
Wilson Barrett. his writing being not
unlike that of r. ri. Sothern. whose
letters always remind you OF the per-
lection with which his coat fits.
Jeanette Glider. the best woman
critic in this country expresses herself
in legible writing that is joy TO read
] possess a bit of a manuscript OF Bret
Harte. The writing is fine. distinct
feminine. and the ink Is violet. Yvette
Guilbert writes distinctly delicate
hand. and her own bright face looks
out from every one OF her correspond
nee cards.
Most OF the foreign actors and sing
ers write this same small. distinct
hand. the women inclininG 10 larger
letters than the men. Many OF the
women who write to get jam for their
bread and butter do II in an indistinct
and reckless way. II would seem as IL
they remembered that ink was cheap
and that, after all, what they wrote
Sas usually put in print before the
public saw IT, About my own hand
writing l am "A bit sensitive. Severe
rritics, who twit me because OF my age
and my many infirmities. have called
IL characteristic. My own family has
hinted positively but kindly and with
all love and reverence. that Il must
have been a very bad character Of
which IL was typical. n sort OF combl-
nation OF Lucrezia Borgia. Eve. Cath
crime de Medci. the woman who in
vented starch and the young woman
who devoted her life to swallowing pins
and in whose cold corpse several mil
lions OF them were found. This, how
ever, Is blasphemy. But I, like other
great people. as Mr.. George Moore so
auently says. find that / am not APP
sreciated as i should be in my own
family.
The cry for long time has been that
woman was taking the bread out OF
mans mouth by assuming his occupa-
lions. II was said that she could write
as well as or better than he did. that
es a politician she was far above him.
that as a financier she would have set
lied this tariff business long ago and
,hat IL ever she got hold Of the money
IN the treasury she would disseminate
In a way that would please all the
United states. But after n great deal
IL thinking (and when a woman thinks