hand-writing, the eye may be satisfied, but the mind is not so, if the rules of perspicuity be not followed. A trifler will carry his observation of these rules to a ridiculous excess. He will omit neither dot, stop, nor comma: and this remark is so generally true, that it has given rise to a proverbial expression to mark a man of this cha racter. We may admire what is beautiful without being able to imitate it, and those who have the power so to do, do not always profit by it. The painter endeavours to copy nature, because the beauty of the outline, of the colouring, and of the composition, constitute the excellence of the art. In writing, we seek to represent our thoughts, but they are entirely independent of the beauty of the characters by which they are represented. It is this reason which so often induces neglect: besides, even though we wished to acquire elegance in the style of our hand-writing, it is not always attainable. A certain talent for imitation, or a taste and skill with which all are not endowed, are requisite for this purpose, united to an application and practice which too many consider beneath their genius. To excel in this respect, supposes either that we have frivolously lost time in the acquisition of it, or that necessity has compelled us to cultivate a talent, from which we hope to profit as a profession. Literary men, and men of genius, are often reproached for the contrary defect: we may suspect that it sometimes proceeds from affectation, but it is in reality more natural than we are at first led to believe; the latter suffer themselves to be carried away by the power of their imaginations, the former cultivate it too little. One party attaches too much importance to outward forms, the other to mental ornament. There is, however, a style of writing, which without being beautiful is pleasing; it is not cramped by rules of art, but it possesses a grace, an elegance, a je ne scai quoi in its formation, which completely exonerates it from the charge of neglect, and prove that the taste is not confined to any single object, since it is extended to things which may be considered of minor importance; it affords also the evidence that the mind has been cultivated by a liberal education. When we write for ourselves alone, we commonly display more negligence; but the man of taste will never forget what is due to himself, though he be his own judge. Whatever he does ought not to sink below a certain standard, whether it be intended for the inspection of others, or merely for himself alone. We put on full dress only on particular occasions, but when we are by ourselves we ought not to be totally devoid of grace and neatness. We write with more care when writing to others, and this care exerted on all occasions is a reasonable evidence of a constant desire to please. The hand-writing may be more or less ornamented, but however trivial its embellishments may be, vanity, affectation, and frivolity, will readily be discerned by the eye of the minute observer. Beauty is not always compatible with the prevalence of the more violent passions; grief and anger disfigure the countenance, whilst love and joy irradiate it with charms unknown to it before. It was on this account that the ancient statuaries seldom represented any attitude which over-stepped the bounds of moderation. A lover, in writing to his mistress, if he is agitated by violent passion, will undoubtedly display it by irregularity in the formation of his letters. If he loves, and wishes his fair one to believe so, he will artfully write in a disordered manner(a little deception is allowable when we really love); but the most passionate letter written in a stiff formal hand, would be sufficient to awaken the suspicions of the most infatuated being, if indeed any thing had the power to produce such an effect. Art is easy of detection to one who has been accustomed to make minute observations on human nature. Fear, it is well known, renders the actions unsteady. Should any one therefore endeavour to express this emotion in writing, it would soon be discovered that his hand had been shaken with too much regularity; and if he sought to represent himself as hurried along by the impulse of strong emotion, it would easily be perceived that there was something forced and stiff in his attempt, very different from that impetuosity he sought to counterfeit. In short, if we only consider how dif ficult it is to imitate the hand-writing of another, we need not be surprised at the many obstacles which present themselves when we endeavour to pourtray in our own, sentiments by which, in point of fact, we are not at the moment moved. In this forgery of feeling, the individual is always to be discovered; but not the passion by which he would fain appear to have been actuated. It has been said that motion is life: it is therefore susceptible of the same infinite variety of distinctions. Vivacity supposes rapidity of action, but rapidity pidity of action is not always a proof of vivacity of character. He who constantly writes with haste is desirous of finishing; he proceeds on with expedition for the purpose of sooner arriving at the completion of his performance, as a person may be laborious from idleness, and persevere with industry, in order that he may the more speedily obtain the enjoyment of repose. This desire is visible in the imperfection of the work; and the letters by being, if we may so term it, rough hewn, plainly evince that no great trouble was taken in tracing them. There is another sort of impatience, different from that on which we have just commented, a certain petulance, distinguishable in almost every movement of the pen. When it is moderate it has not much influence on the formation of the letters, nevertheless it may be seen that the hand has traced them, as it were, by fits and starts. When we write under the impression of anger, is it reasonable to suppose that the agitation of the soul will not also communicate itself to the hand? can it be for a moment imagined that the writing will be merely hasty, and that the pen will trace lightly what is felt so forcibly? Certainly not! it will rather partake of that energy which convulses the bodily frame, ame, and will be remarkable for surpassing the limits of moderation, and impressing on the characters an unusual coarseness of form and dimension. When the mind is, on the contrary, devoted to gaiety, in a person naturally so inclined, the hand seems to sport lightly over the paper. The deviations it makes are characteristic of carelessness, but they are not the impulses of passion. Certain extraneous embellishments may be used, they may be elegant, but they are unaffected; and if the hand is not in possession of sufficient skill to flourish agreeably, it is at least exempt from stiffness, or unpleasant awkwardness. Lavater has given, in his great work on Physiognomy, a specimen of the hand-writing of a melancholy and phlegmatic man, which exhibits the most decided marks of such a character. The letters appear to have been traced slowly, and apparently with regret: little attention seems to have been paid to their formation, yet there is not one superfluous stroke, the writing is void of energy, but not wholly destitute of delicacy. The tardiness of the hand when not governed by that of the comprehension, can only proceed from the want of practice, apparent in the stiff manner in which the letters are formed. This distinction, without due care, will sometimes lead us into error. Vivacity is almost invariably the temper of our youth, yet at that age we writeslowly, and with difficulty, owing to our want of experience and practice. The man who unites much consideration to firmness of mind, appears actually to be tracing furrows upon his paper. It is impossible not to allow that the writing indicates the strength of the mind; we have described in what manner it is influenced under the head of the energetic passions, and we have shewn the firmness of character (we should perhaps say boldness or decisiveness, for constancy is, in our opinion, the peculiar attribute of WOMAN *), which distinguishes the hand-writing of the male * We are aware that there is, now and then, an exception to this "golden rule." To such of our readers, therefore, as may be inclined to receive the above declaration of our faith, in the stability of the fair sex, with an uplifted brow, and sceptical expansion of the forehead, we beg leave to state, that on this, as well as on many other matters, our opinions are generally founded on experience, which, albeit, but little, as yet, is sufficient to warrant this testification. Whilst, however, we chuckle over our own good luck, we entertain a due proportion of pity for the "pauvres miserables" who are unfortunate enough (upon equally reasonable grounds) to differ with us in the sentiment. We can only refer them for consolation to the trite but sagacious proverb, Experimenta, &c. from 1 from that of the female sex. We may, then, very reasonably conceive, that a steady and rapid hand is strongly indicative of mental energy, since energy is, in point of fact, an union of vivacity and firmness; it would, nevertheless, be ridiculous to presume to calculate the degree in which it is possessed; it is sufficient if we can discover some traces of it. There is another mental power which consists, if we may so express it, in its duration, we mean perseverance, for constancy rather applies to the prolongation of the sentiment than the sentiment itself. In the first instance the hand-writing is well supported to the last; second always similar. A person of a wavering disposition may not grow tired of writing, but he will be incapable of writing long in an uniform manner. There is another trait which it is very possible to recognize in the hand-writing, and which is but seldom allied to uncommon vivacity-it is mildness, or rather what the French would call douceur. Examples of this sort are often to be met with in the hand-writing of WOMEN, and in them it is scarcely possible for an acute observer to be deceived. The distinguishing points on which to form a judgment of this style are, first the absence of strong and irregular marks from the hand-writing, such as we have already proved to denote contrary qualities, and next, a certain softness and harmony in the form of the letters, with which (as has been foolishly said of the dull poetry of Denham) strength, to a certain degree is also combined. We know of no autographs which would more completely illustrate our remark than those of the "mild and inoffensive" Fenelon, the gentle Kirk White, and the Irish poetess, Mrs. Henry Tighe, who were, in truth, "Flowers of meekness upon stems of grace." errors, proves his power of fixing his thoughts, and this proof is of greater importance than it at first appears to be. Many persons have been unable, after years of practice, to copy without erasures, for want of the power of confining their attention to the subject on which they were engaged. Regnard, in his character of the "absent man," has taken care to represent him under this point of view, but with the addition of many humorous circumstances, suited to the genius of the comic Muse. If, on the contrary, a man is supposed to be occupied with a subject which exercises his imagination, or his judgment, the ease rapidity with which he traces his thoughts on paper, prove the facility with which he composes; and it was not without reason that Voltaire, speaking of the Telemachus of Fenelon, admired the neatness of the manuscripts and the rare occurrence of erasures. R. S. NUGE ANTIQUE. (Continued from p. 232.) IN the former part of the reign of King Hen.VIII. there did not grow in England a cabbage, carrot, turnip, or other edible root-and even Queen Catherine could not command a sallad for dinner, till the King brought over a gardener from the Netherlands.The artichoke, apricot, and damask rose then made their first appearance in England. Pocket watches were first brought from Germany 1577. Coaches were introduced in 1580, before which time Queen Elizabeth rode on public occasions behind her Lord Chamberlain. A saw-mill was erected near London, 1633, but was afterwards demolished that it might not deprive the labouring poor of employment. Coffee-houses in London were opened in 1652. The virtues of the loadstone were known in France before 1180. The mariner's compass was exhibited at Venice, A.D. 1260, by Paulus Venetus as his own invention. John Goya of Amalphi was the first who used it in navigation. Windmills were known in Greece and Arabia as early as the seventh century, and yet no mention is made of them in Italy till the 14th century, nor in England till Henry VIII. The |