that of the Morisco Spaniards'. Where are they'? Ask the shores of Barbary and its desert places'. The exiled remnant of their once powerful empire', disappeared among the barbarians of Africa', and ceased to be a nation'. They have not even left a distinct name'.. behind them', though for nearly eight centuries they were a distinct people'. The home of their adoption and of their occupation for ages', refuses to acknowledge them but as invaders and usurpers'. A few broken monuments'.. are all that remain to bear witness to their power and dominion', as solitary rocks left far in the interiour', bear testimony to the extent of some vast inundation'. Such is the Alhambra':-a Moslem pile in the midst of a Christian land';an oriental palace'. . amidst the Gothick edifices of the west';an elegant memento of a brave', intelligent', and graceful people', who conquered', ruled', and passed away'.

SECTION III.

Thoughts on Hand-Writing.-VERPLANCK.

Extract from Bliss' Talisman, of 1828.

WHEN one has nothing which is actually new or interesting to say upon a subject', it is a question which very naturally suggests itself to the reader', why he writes about it at all? I', therefore', suppose this question directed to myself'; and reply', with perfect honesty', that', in making such remarks as occur to me on the subject of chirography', I am fulfilling a promise', and also writing a prefaced to a story which I have to tell'.

I have had reasons for meditating much on the mystery of hand-writings', though my reflections have resulted in no new discoveries'; and I have neither solved any of the paradoxes', nor come to a definite conclusion on any of the doubtful points with which the subject is pregnant'. The first difficulty which was suggested to my mind about it', occurred in early childhood'. I could not discover how the rapping of me over the knuckles with a long', round', lignum-vitæ ruler', until those articulations were discoloured and lame', was to assist me in using my fingers with ease and grace', in copying the pithy scraps of morality which wered set before me'. My master', however', seemed to think it was good for me'. The poor man

a

Ov-not, uv, nor, of. För-not, fur, nor, fr. Såg-jèst'. "Pref'fás.

eWêr.

took a world of pains', and gave me a great many', to very little purpose'.

I certainly never became a proficient in caligraphy'. I have', however', in the course of my life', been consoled for my own imperfections on this score', by observing scholars', statesmen', and gentlemen at large', who passed very well in the world', and obtained professorships', outfits', and salaries', and the entréé into polite society', whose signs manual were hieroglyphicks', which Champollion himself would give up in despair'. Their whole manipulation', (as the learned would say',) with pen', ink', and paper', produced a result so utterly undecipherable', that', instead of its painting thought', and speaking to the eyes',' if their secretaries or correspondents had not known what they wanted to say', or to have said for them', the person's interested in their despatches', might as well have been in the innocent situation of John Lump and Looney Mactwalter', when they had mixed the billy-duxes'.'

6

I have known lawyers and doctors whose autographick outpourings the solicitor and apothecary alone understood by professional instinct': and yet', the bills in chancery of the former', fairly engrossed', produced suits that are not yet decided'; and the prescriptions of the latter', found their way into the patient's system', and caused a great effect'.

d

There is one thing', however', on which I have made up my mind decidedly'; which is', that one who writes so detestable a hand that he cannot read it himself', acts in an improper manner', and abuses the gift which Cadmus was good enough to introduce into Europe'.

The character of my own writing seems somewhat amended since time has laid his frosty hand upon my head', and cramped the joints of my fingers'. It is less capricious in the variety of directions in which the letters run', and less luxuriant in gratuitous additions to their tops and bottoms', and natural terminations'. They look more like a platoon of regular troops', and less like a militia training'; more like an arrangement produced by the agency of human intellect', and less like the irregular scratches made by the brute creation in the surface of the soil': so that I get along without any material difficulty', and have', indeed', been sometimes complimented on the elegance of my writing'.

That the intellectual and moral character of a person may be ascertained from his hand-writing', is a theory which many bWêr. Lèrn'êd. Sis'têm-not, sis'tum.

aStates'men-not, mun.

• The'd-re-not, the'er-è.

are fond of believing in'; and', to a certain extent', it may be made to appear plausible'.

The sex of the writer may be conjectured with more infallibility than any other attribute'.

"The bridegroom's letters stand in row above',

Tapering, yet straight', like pine trees in his grove';
While free and fine the bride's appear below',

As light and slender as her jessamines grow.""

Still', one cannot always tell from the appearance of a manuscript', whether a lady or a gentleman has held the pen'. I had a female relative', who was a strong', stout-built woman', to be sure', but who wrote a hand so formidably masculine', that the only suiter that ever made her an offer', was terrified out of his negotiation by the first billet-doux he had the honour of receiving from her. He was a slender and delicately made man', and wrote a fine Italian hand'.

Next to the sex', the age of the writer may be guessed at from the chirography', with most certainty': but some people write a puerile hand all their lives'. The gravest maxims', the profoundest thoughts', the most abstruse reasonings', have sometimes been originally imbodied in signs as fantastical as the scrawls made in sport by a child'. On the other hand', men of regular temperament', and methodical habits of business', acquire a formed and deliberate character in their hand-writing', which is often not impaired until extreme age'.

will

The nation', profession', and other accidental properties of a person', may also', perhaps', in a majority of instances', be discovered from his chirograph'. It is obvious', however', that there is no mystery in this which philosophy needs be invoked to elucidate'. Mr. Owen's doctrine of circumstances will explain it very satisfactorily'.

Some conceited people try to write as badly as they can', because they have heard', and believe', that it is a proof of genius'. While all admit', that this notion is altogether absurd', it is generally conceded that men of genius do write in a very obscure', infirm', or eccentrick character'; in illustration of which fact', a thousand instances might be adduced', such as Byron', and Chalmers', and Jeffrey', and Bonaparte', and so forth': a goodly assortment in the same lot'! One thing is very certain', that they who write a great deal for the press', will soon write very badly': and it is by no means necessary to ascribe this circumstance to intellectual organization'. Bonaparte had no time', when dictating to six clerks at once', or "Ap-pèèr' ânse.

when signing treaties on horseback', to cultivate a clear running hand'. Distinguished as he was above other men in his fame and in his fortunes', I believe we may also concede to him the honour of having written the worst', possible hand', deciphera ble by human ingenuity'. And when we find', from the facsimiles of some of his early despatches', how abominably he spelled', as well as wrote', we are led to infer', that a defective education', and an eagle-eyed ambition which soon began to gaze too steadily at the sun', to regard the motes in the atmosphere', will sufficiently account for a matter of so small import ance to so great a man', without resorting to metaphysical âid' to account for his bad writing'.

But to leave this droughty and prosing disquisition', I am minded to illustrate both the evils and the advantages of bad or illegible writing', by incidents which have occurred', or are easily supposable', in real life'. My poor old master', against whose memory I cherish no malice', notwithstanding his fre quent fustigation of my youthful knuckles', when he despaired of my profiting', either by the unction of his precepts', or the sore application of his ruler', endeavoured to frighten me into amendment by examples'. He composed for my use', a digested chronicle of casualties which had befallen those who perpetrated unseemly scrawls'; and after the manner of Swift', entitled his tract', "God's Revenge against Cacography'." I have long since lost the precious gift'; but I have not forgotten all the legends it contained'.

The tale is old of the English gentleman who had procured for his friend a situation in the service of the East India Company', and who was put to unprofitable expense by misreading an epistle', in which the latter endeavoured to express his gratitude'. "Having'," said the absentee', "been thus placed in a post where I am sure of a regular salary', and where I have it in my power', while I enjoy health', to lay up something every year to provide for the future', I am not unmindful of my benefactor', and mean soon to send you an equivalent'." Such a villanous hand did this grateful Indian write', that the gentleman' thought he meant soon to send him an elephant'. Accordingly', he erected a large outhouse for the unwieldy pet'; but never got any thing to put into it', except a little pot of sweetmeats', and an additional bundle of compliments'.

Few who have read the newspapers', have not seen an anecdote of an amateur of queer animals', who sent an order to Africa for two monkeys'. The word two', as he wrote it', so

•In'se-dents-not, dunts. Jên'tl-mân—not, mun.

resembled the figures 100', that his literal and single-minded agent was somewhat perplexed in executing this commission', as it compelled him to make war on the whole nation'. And great was the naturalist's surprise and perplexity, when he received a letter', informing him', in mercantile phraseology', that 80 monkeys had been shipped', as per copy of the bill of lading enclosed', and that his correspondent hoped to be able to execute the rest of the order in time for the next vessel'.

Many', too', must have read a story which appeared in the English newspapers', a few months since', of the distressful predicament into which a poor fisherman's wife was thrown by the receipt of a letter from her husband', who had been absent from home', with several of his brethren', beyond the ordinary time'. The honest man stated', in piscatorial phrase', the causes of his detention', and what luck he had met with in his fishing'. But the conclusion of his bulletin', as spelled by his loving', amphibious helpmate', was as follows': 'I AM NO MORE'!' The poor woman gazed awhile on this fatal', official intelligence of her husband's demise', and then on her eleven now fatherless infants'; and then she burst into a paroxysm of clamorous sorrow', which drew around her the consorts of seventeen other fishermen who had departed in company with the deceased man'. None of them could read'; but they caught from the widow's broken lamentations', the contents of the supernatural postscript'; and taking it for granted', that they had all been served in the same manner by the treacherous element', they all lifted up their voices', and the corners of their aprons', and made an ululation worthy of so many forsaken mermaids'. In the words of the poet', they made "'igh water in the sea'," on whose margin they stood'; when one of the overseers of the poor', who came to the spot', alarmed by the rumour that the parish was like to be burdened with eighteen new widows', and a hundred and odd parcel of orphans', snatched the letter from the weeping Thetis', and silenced the grief of the company', by making out its conclusion correctly', which was', 'I add no more'."

There is a memorable passage in our annals', which must be familiar to those who have read the old chronicles and records of our early', colonial history'. I allude to the consternation into which the General Court of the Massachusetts', and their associated settlements', were thrown', when their clerk read to them a letter from a worthy divine', purporting', that he address. ed them', not as magistrates', but as a set of Indian Devils'.

"A'jênt.