Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-06-04
PRINCES OF BAD WRITING.
People Whose Chirogrnphy Has Csused
and Saved Them Trouble.
(From Tit-Ritsl

Tell the gentleman who copied this
dispatch to write larger rounder hand
to Join on the letters in the words and to
use blacker ink" Thus wrote Lord Pal
merston who was himself the most
careful and beautiful writer and a great
stickler for care and legibiity in this re-
spect. to the Duke of Argyll in 1851
But his ambitions were evidently not
taken to heart by parllamentarians for
in 1867, when the House of Lords was in
committe on the reform bill. the clerk of
the House received an amendment, the
writing of which was so bad that he
could neither read it nor learn who had
sent it. 1t afterward transpired that
Lord Lytteton was the writer, and that
the amendment proposed the disfranchis-
ing of all persons unable to write
Lord Curzon whatever he may be to-
day, was in his college days an extremely
illegibe writer, and he Is perhaps the
only man who has made money out OF an
absolutely unreliable "fist"
One day, when a young man. he wrote
two letters-one. in studied phrases to
relative, and the other, containing some
very sarcastic comments on the relative,
to an intimate friend Young Curzon
unfortunately put the letters into the
wrong envelopes and too late discovered
that ne had sent his candid criticisms,
meant only for his friends eyes. to the
relative whom they concerned He was
perfectly Mortified and awaited his rela-
tives reply in fear and trembling 1t
came:--
II have not been able to read a line
Of your scrawl," he said, "but I suppose
it's money you're after so enclose a
check"
The illegibility Of Horace Greeley's
handwriting was notorious, but he had
formidable rival in Joseph Choate, a for
mer ambassador to the court of ST James
Choate wished to obtain designs for a
chimney-piece for a new house he was
having built from a certain artist, but
being unable to get what he wanted,
wrote to the builder telling him to can
Gel the order Instead the workman
Immediately began the chimney piece
The builder had taken Choate's letter to
be a rough sketch Of It!
Among living authors the palm for bad
handwriting has been awarded to Cum
ninghame Graham. who some years ago
wrote letter for publication in one of
the newspapers. The letter duly appear
ed but in so mutilatcd a condition that
the author wrote again demonstrating
Indignantly with the editor. The editor
retaliated by publishing the letter of
remonstrance with the comment: IF In
future Mr.. Graham will sit in chair
when writing and not on horseback and
use a pen instead OF the candle-snuffers,
We think We may be able to do him JUS
tice"
The late Joaquin Miller. 'the poet Of
the Sierras," can claim to be one of the
worst writer's among the authors that
ever lived. The secretary OF literary
society received an invitation to attend
banquet, but could not decipher a
word He wrote TO the poet explaining
his difficulty and asking II the poet. In
reply, would merely place cross at the
bottom OF his note II he was coming, or
a circle If he was not. Miller gracious
~ complied with the request. but his in
tentions had to remain a mystery until
the night Of the banquet. for 1t was i'm
possible to tell whether the mark at the
bottom Of mis- note was a cross or circle
From Germany comes the browning In
stance OF ELIGIBILITY In writing. Johann
Bacher musician of the last century
spent Is years in compiling n history of
tho Viennese opera. When the work
was finished he submitted It to the In
perial academy. In three months it wa 8
with an intimatlon that no mem
Der of the academy could read IT, Bacher
tried to have II copied, but no copyist
would undertake the task after seeing the |
manuscript
In despair Bachsr decided to dictate the !
work only to fird that even to himself the
handwriting was indecipherable. The |
thought OF the wasted years of unceasing |
research work unhinged his brain and In !
a fit OF depression he committed suicide