Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-09-05
STORIES OF BAD WRITING.
Sometimes Brings About Funny Com.
pIieations.

Sheridan's writing was scandal to
his school and puzzled the town. He
once wrote pass to Drury Lane, and
the doorkeeper stopped Its bearer and
Immediately pronounced 1t to be for
gerry, because he could decipher 1t! To
make matters worse, Sheridan was also
uncertain in his spelling. A which
a where" and whether" In his
his hands, for instance, were as often
as not deprived Of their "aiches," and a
thing was to him always think"
and nothing more.
The atrocious writing Of celebrities
recalls the claim once made on behalf
of Baron Bramwell that he wrote three
hands: 'one which he alone could read,
another which his clerk could read and
he couldn't and third which nobody
could read" and the last named was
his usual style.
Lord Curzon, when young man at
college, once found his bad handwrit-
ing stand him in good stead. Writing
two letters, one to relative, the other
to q chum, he enclosed them In the
wrong envelopes. It chanced that In
the second letter he made some uncom-
plimentary reference to his relative,
and on discovering the mistake he had
made he awaited developments with
anxiety. There presently came a letter
from the uncle. Il have tried to deci-
pher your epistle," 1t ran, "but your
writing is so atrocious that l cannot
make head or tail Of 1t. However, l
guess the drift Of it to be that you need
some money, you rogue, so enclose a
cheque." ..- ....
Bad handwriting Is not always a
handicap in life. The late Lord Goschen
once said that his father attributed the
foundation of his fortune to the fact
that he was obliged to found firm be-
cause he wrote such bad hand that
no one would take him for clerk. OF
Goschen himself, Arthur Elliot records
that his handwriting got steadily
worse, and in his later years he might
have spelt as he chose. At length his
script became undecipherable even by
himself. He could not, when speaking
in parliament, make out what 1t was
that he had put on paper. and he thus
came in later days to abandon almost
entirely his old practice of making
notes."
Prof. Blackie had a peculiar fist
An elderly compositor on the Scots
man, however, knew nearly all about
the professor. One night there was
particularly difficult manuscript from
the professor 1t was put before the
expert, with an inquiry as to whether
or not he could set 1t. Il could not dc
that" said the veteran from Inverary
but If I'd ma pipes here could play
her."
Another instance Of the usefulness to
other people of illegible handwriting Is
included in the vast collection Of anec-
dote and fable that deals with the
writing of Horace Greeley. One COM
positor could never get used to his ap-
palling scrawl, and, in rage at the con-
tinued Typographical errors" Greeley
sent a note to the foreman to discharge
the man at once, as he was too inef'
ficient a workman to be any longer EN-
ployed on the Tribune. The foreman
did it, but the compositor got hold o.
the note and took 1t to another office
where the foreman, after much puz
zling, finally read it: Good and ef
ficient workman, and long employed OF
the Tribune" and promptly took hin
in.
! Joaquin Miller, the Poet Of the Sier
ras." who died a few months since, ha
, been put forward as the worst write
, that ever lived. The secretary or
literary society once invited him to at
tend a banquet, and received an an
? swer. of which no one could decipher
word. He wrote again to the poet, stat
| ing the difficulty, and suggested tha'
in replying, he should make cross
2 the foot Of his letter If he were coming
p and a circle II he could not be present
, Miller compiled with the request, bu
q nobody could decide whether the mar
q he made was intended for q circle
a cross!-Philadelphi Ledger.