LITERATURE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19737, 13 March 1926, Page 4

LITERATURE.

HANDWRITING AND CHARACTER.*

% PSYCHOLOGICAL .v- EXPOSITION, By Const ant Reader. ''For a century it was a hobby for some people to scrutinise handwriting for the purpose of discovering; what traces of the writers character they might reveal. Such classifications were, of _ course, entirely arbitrary when made without knowledge of the mechanical and physiological conditions under which the writing had been produced, or merely general when based on the impression produced by a written page, or, indeed, frequently, a single signature.” This, says Mr Robert Saudek in his book on “The 1 sychology of Handwriting,” was not graphology; "it was more a matter of characterising the writing than of supplying an interpretation, an analysis.” This generalisation quickly led to errors which were explained away on the ground that the judgment of handwriting was art, and that it was dependent upon the sensitive instinct of the critic. At the same time the reading of handwriting became a hobby fashionable in intellectual circles. Amongst those who practised the art may be mentioned Edgar Allan Poe, Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Goethe and Leibnitz, Madame de Steele, and Baudelaire, Disraeli and St. Beuve. In addition, there were individuals who possessed an inspired gift for the psychological interpretation of handwriting. Sir Walter Scott, writing in 1829, said in the “Chronicles of the Canongate”;— Ray, my first impression was to thrust it into the fire. ... A little reflection made me ashamed of this feeling of impatience, and as I looked at the even, concise, yet tremulous baud in which the manuscript was written, I could not help thinking, according to an opinion I have heard seriously maintained that something of a man’s character may be conjectured from his handwriting. That neat, but crowded and constrained, small hand argued a man of a good conscience, well-regu-lated passions, and, to use his own phrase, an upright walk in life, but it also indicated narrowness of spirit, inveterate prejudice, and hinted at some degree of intolerance, which, though not natural to the disposition, had arisen out of a limited education. The passages from Scripture and the classics, rather profanely than happily introduced, and written in a half-text character to mark their importance, illustrated that peculiar sort of pedantry which always considers the arguments as gained if secured by a quotation. Then the flourished capital letters, which ornamented the commencement of each paragraph and the name of his familv and of his ancestors whenever these occurred on the page, do they not express forcibly the pride and sense of importance with wnich the author undertook and accomplished his task? I'persuaded myself the whole was so complete a portrait of the man that it would not have been a mere undutiful act to have defaced his picture, or even to have disturbed his bones in his coffin, than to destroy his manuscript. Mr Saudek, who declares that in this passage Sir Walter Scott gets near to the heart of the matter, enters into an elaborate history of graphology from the beginnings of the art right up to the present time. He makes a point of the fact that slanting writing was quite unknown up to the middle of the sixteenth century, being first introduced to England at the time of Queen Elizabeth. “ From a graphological point of view,” says Air Saudek, “ the reason which caused the complete introduction of the fashion of slanting writing and the neglect of all former forms is not very flattering for those who were responsible for the change.” The reason is thus stated. - ’ — To-day a dozen tailors in Paris dictate the female fashions, a hundred dancing masters decide -what step is to rule the coming season; so the guild of the teachers of caligraphy used to dictate how a nation was to write. Writing was, in any case, a privilege of the best educated classes. In order to acquire some new fox-trot one lesson is required; whereas probably twelve would be necessary to become proficient in all the variations of the tango. In the same way upright writing was much more quickly learnt than slanting, as it was in this latter style, and not in the former, that the pernicious habit of flourishing and striking assumed such enormous proportions that it was necessary to spend term after term at the school bench before proficiency could be claimed. This fashion of slanting writing lasted for a couple of centuries, and it was not until 1567 that there was a demand for a return to the upright style now generally adopted by the younger generation of Englishmen. All this leads up to a point defined in the following paragraph:— It is impossible to study the psychology of writing so long as we are not acquainted with the physiology of writing and have not made clear to ourselves the mechanical and physical premises upon which writing is produced. We must first have asked ourselves the question why anyone should have unconsciously been prompted to have recourse to such mechanical means from among the innumerable possibilities of graphic forms—to assume exactly such a position of the arms and fingers, the collaboration oj which produces exactly this, his individual handwriting. The answers to such a question are both extensive and complicated, and Air Saudek seeks them in the experiences gained by experts during the last seventy years in the study of the connection between character and handwriting, as exhibited in hundreds of thousands of cases. Passing from a dissertation on the physiology of handwriting. Air Saudek proceeds to what for the majority of readers will prove the most attractive feature of this work, the actual examination of the handwriting of a number of famous people. This examination is facilitated by a detachable supplement containing specimens of the handwriting of. among others. Casanova, Lady Hamilton, and Lord Byron; Stanley Baldwin and Robert Smillia; Daniel Defoe and George Washington: Carlyle and Emerson; Benjamin Franklin and Auatole France; Charles Dickens and Bernard Shaw; Queen Victoria and Lord Alacaulay; Oscar Wilde and Beethoven. The comments which accompany the chart are illuminating to a degree. A couple of examples must serve here:— Oscar Wilde (Chart xxi, Ro. 79). Very harmonious spacing, with rapid execution, and with very careful curved forms of pronounced softness. We should decide for a very high class if the forms of the characters, in spite of their graceful charm, were not, on the one hand, far too soft, and, on the other hand, did not reveal more attention to external appearance than to internal originality. In addition to this a pronounced pastiness of the writing, which testifies to a sensuality which must necessarily tend to reduce the otherwise high mental qualities in the determination of standard. Beethoven (Chart xxxi, Ro. 80). Pronounced disharmony in spacing, together with the highest degree of individual and original forms. We are here confronted with one of these very rare border cases in -which a classifiilition is impossible at first sight, and we are obliged to content Ourselves with the first impression of a personality evidently transcending the average scope, and then from the careful* ex- . animation of Turther details to glean enlightenment »n such an extraordinarily exceptional character. * We knew already that the manuscripts of creative musicians often show very bad disposal of the writing space, and that.we have not yet found the reason for this, so it is impossible to deduce psychological conclusions from it. Mr Saudek states that his examination of English and American handwritings in the light of the empirical theories of the French, and the scientific inquiries oi the German investigators, together with his own experiences extending over a period of 255 years, have revolutionised

graphology, and have placed it on the basis of a new and .true science. And he expresses the hope that tne publication of his book may bring together divergent national tendencies and create a common grouVui for international investigations.

BRIEF MENTION.

I—BROADCAST TALKS. Under the title, “One Alinute a Day” (Herbert Jenkins, 5s net), Air A. Bonnet Laird, author of “Aly Part of the Coun try,” has collected in permanent form the anniversary talks broadcasted by the Lritish Broadcasting Company during 1920. There is a talk for every day of the yeai, and each talk gives some informative details concerning the anniversary of some notable man or woman, or event or place or circumstance. Open the book where you will, the eye is certain to light upon some hitherto unknown fact or bring back some half-forgotten circumstance. Among the men of whom mention is made, Bacu figures as born on Alarch 21, 1685. Benjamin Franklin, who died on April 17, 1790, has honourable mention. The Jazz Band’s birthday is set down as on June 22, 1846, since on that day Antoine Joseph Sax patented the saxophone in Paris. Or. July 31, 1803, was bom John Ericsson, the Swedish engineer, “an infant prodigy who just missed becoming one of the world’s most famous men.” The famous Diamond Necklace, made immortal by Dumas, has its anniversary on August 15, 1785. The death of Wolfe on September 13, 1759, and of Canova on October 13, 1822, are events lending themselves readily to Air Laird’s genius for condensation, and the baptism of John Harvard in Saint Saviour’s Cathedral, Southwark, on Rovember 29, 1607, is cited as “one of the most potent links that binds us to our cousins across the Atlantic.” A complete index makes this hook of service for reference purposes: and it is just the thing to keep handy and pick up at any odd minute. Used in this way it will add pleasurably to the average man’s’ store of useful knowledge. lI.—AN UNUSUAL ANTHOLOGY. The commemoration of the seventh centenary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi has served to reveal the wealth of Franciscan prose and poetry. From this wealth Mr Louis Vincent has gathered together the most sparkling gems and made them available to the general reader in an anthology bearing the apt title, “The Little Brown Company” (Martin Hopkinson, 5s net). Father Cuthbert, who writes a brief introduction to the book, says: “As was Francis, so was ‘the little brown company’ of which he was the leader and inspiration—not all, it is true, in the same degree or purity of tone; and because they were what they were—though cynics and the disbelieving thought them fools—they helped a weary world to regain both joy and faith.” The point of view of the compiler may be gathered from the statement; “I have been less concerned with literary and poetic grace than finding the true expression of the Franciscan spirit. Nevertheless, I hope, the reader will agree that the quality is up to the level of the great theme, or harmony of themes, that makes Franciscanism the most alluring of all the Catholic Church’s fragrant avenues of holiness.” The most surprising feature of this unusual anthology is the illustration it affords of the large number of poets and essayists who have found inspiration in the life and work of St. Francis and the Franciscans. Among the authors quoted are Alatthew Arnold, G. K. Ch'esterton, Katharine Tynan, Alice Meynell, Aubrey de Vere, John Ruskin, J. B. Tabb, H. D. Longfellow, Rosa Alulholland, Coventry Patmore, and Francis Thompson. The selection is well done and the arrangement is admirable with the result of an anthology which will appeal strongly to lovers of literature and to the devotionally minded. 111.-A NEW BRONTE BOOK. Whether Mr J. C. Wright, author of “1 he Story of the Brontes” (Leonard Parsons, 6s net) is related to Ur Thomas VI right, author of that discredited book “The Brontes in Ireland” is not stated. Whereas Air Clement Shater, the acknowledged English authority on the sisters Bronte, treats Dr Wright’s book as unreliable and alleged facts cited therein as merely lumours. Air J. C. Wright accepts as correct Dr Thomas Wright’s account of the early history of a remarkable family. Apart from this, however. Mr Wright bniaks no now ground : but he discusses in detail the two theories, first that BiNimvell wrote the earlier portion of “Wuthenng Heights”; and second that the story was an early novel from the pen of Charlotte. Air Wright has contented himself with a study of the various ciiticisms and biographies of the Brontes which followed Mrs GasheH’s “Life.” He has not attempted any original research. At the same time he discusses intelligently the theories advanced by the several critics. The recent death of Sir Sidney Leo lends additional interest to the following comment in the author’s foreword: “In an address delivered before the Bronte Society, Hir Sidney Lee remarked that the problem of genius is insoluble, and speculation has, as yet, failed to account for the miracle of its birth. It comes into being in most m»expected places, more often in the cottage than In the palace, more often in the house of the poor parson than in the mansion of the rich merchant. Its manifestations are rare and mysterious.” Air Wright goes on to sav: “No more striking example of this fact can be found than that of the Brontes Undoubtedly, heredity is a considerable factor in the lives of these three sisters If they inherited their intellectual vigour from their father, Penzance supplied much of the physical and religions conditions, and vet the details of the plots of the novels. Emily’s included, strike a personal nolo, quite original. Mr Wright, in conclusion quotes Mr J. Horsfall Turner as saving in “Bronteana”: “The tlready moor, the domestic suppressed sadness, (he struggle to reach womanly independence and share in the burdens of life. nay. even the Brussels episode, with an illegal (I do not say un-Christian) love, if such existed, these with the early experiences of mentally strong, nervously weak, constitutionally feeble women, are the factors that must be considered in accounting for tbe Bronte phenomenon. It may he generally stated that Anne Bronte represented (lie Cornish element. Emily the 'lrish aiid Charlotte, a combination.” Mr Wright’s, biography may usefully bn studied in connection with the chanter on Charlotte and Emily Bronte in “Between the Old World and the Row,” by Aliss M. P. Willcocks. IV.—THE MAKING OF POETRY. Air F. W. Felkin describes his work on “The Craft of the Poet” (George Allen and Unwin) as “an outline of English Verse Composition.” It is an enlargement of a previous work cailed “The Poet’s Craft,” and it has been published for the use of schools and for private students who desire to acquaint themselves with the principal metres and form of verse used by English poets from Chaucer to Swinburne. The general reader will turn with interest from the purely technical portions of this textbook to the author’s comments on “Alodern Poetry,” a much controverted topic. Air Felkin starts with the statement that “modern poets have been possessed by tho notion, a very true one, that the spirit of poetry is more important than its form.” Wb en. however, this leads on to tho notion that poets can do without metres ho steps in with tho reminder that “none but the greatest -mets are superior to metro, and they have souls so musical that they obey the laws instinctively, or lend them to their genius.” Ho then declares that nowadays we have no great poets, because “religion is rare among literary men. ' He denounces ns an error the “catch word” which is current as “Art for art’s sake,” and he has a fling at the “so-called artists” who “in their striving for originality and self-ad-vertisement have fallen into sheer vulgarity.” He champions Wagner, Browning, and Swinburne, but he holds that three-quarters of Whitman’s work is not, poetry at all. And he concludes: — On the whole. a revolt against these conventions is a good and whole some sign, eapecialiy if it throws the poet back on the _ very basis of language, he words that give expression to his thought! What we have to fear, chiefly is that sp'r't of perverseness and exaggeration which rebels against all conventions, and by conventions wo mean the written and unwritten r’des that the common sense of the world and the practice of its greatest writers have agree.) to observe. Although Air Felkin calls the world’s greatest writers to witness to the truth of his contention, he omits all reference to the basis of the argument of the upholding of free verse. Mr Felkin bases his entire argument on the English tradition

and ho begins with Chaucer. The modern poets claim that they go behind Chaucer back to ti... poetry of the East as_ exemplify Id in the writings of _ Rabindranath Tagore, and in the translations from the Chinese of Air Arthur Waley. mid find in them the world source of trn< poetry. V.—DEEP SEA CUBATUUES. “The mediae! a I mariners had much to daunt them besides the perils of navigation in their small and awkward ships. There was something mysterious and sinister about the ocean, and the traditions of those days were fuii of stories of the strange an i hideous creatures that lived in the deep. Then, as now, seamen came home with strange tales of their voyagings, or when (hey were old men (hey talked about what (hey had seen in their adventurous youth. Minstrels and story-tellers heard about these tilings and recounted them, adorning the original narratives with quaint touches. X,ater the poets took up the tales, giving them literary forms, and so wo have in tradition fable and classical literature, very stiange accounts of the sea and its inhabitants,” It was with the ilea of replacing fable by fact that Mr It. ,T. Daniel, lecturer in oceanography in Liverpool University, wrote and published a manual called "Animal Life in the Sea” (Hodder and Stoughton), in which an accurate account is given, not only of the marine monsters who inhabit the deep, but also of the finny dwellers in shallow waters. A feature of the book is the plates and illustrations which add considerably to the interest of the letterpress. There is an informative chapter on “Some Whales,” and another on “Some Extinct Marine Monsters,” but (lie chapter to which the curious will most eagerly turn deals with the great sea serpent. After summarising the various accounts given by eye-witnesses of this phenomenon, Air Daniel concludes; “Many things at sea might be mistaken for the mysterious creature, and this may be one reason why it seems to belong to a large and varied family. A sea captain describes how he was once deceived by a line of soot floating on the water, so that it seems easy to make a mistake with regard to the sea serpent. This does not prove, however, that such a creature does not exist, or that some day it may not be laid ‘by the heels’ and its true nature revealed to us.”

ANCIENT SUPERSTITIONS.

MODERN FAIRIES.

By Constant Rsadsr.

To explain superstitions ami to bring fairies up-to-date is the object of a couple of entertaining volumes recently issued from the press. In “Popular Superstitions” (Herbert Jenkins; 2s 6d net) Mr Charles Platt gives the reasons which have led people to walk around a ladder rather than under it to throw a pinch of salt they have spilled over their shoulder; to decline to sit down thirteen at table or to start on a journey on the thirteenth of the month. By way of contrast in “The Fairies Up-to-Date” (Thornton, Butterworth; 6s net), Messrs Edward and Joseph Anthony, with the skilled assistance ae illustrator • of Chevalier Jean de set ut to retell in rhyme seven or eight of the most familiar nursery stories, with the modern equipment of telephones, scooters, germs, motor oars, aeroplanes, bicycles, in short all the accompaniments of twentieth century civilisation, save that the fairies wear their hair, they draw the line at being shingled. Mr Platt gives a popular exposition of the so-called superstitious which still survive and flourish; he reminds his readers (hat the word “superstition” comes from the Latin, “super” above and “stare” to stand, thus making an appropriate term for “those primitive beliefs that still stand in the great battle that is being waged by reason,” He also states ns a curious fact that many of the most widespread superstitions still current have only survived because of the new ideas that have gradually been grafted upon them. Of this he cites the following illustration Probably the most universal of all superstitions is that concerning the horseshoe, in spite of the fact that the metal shoe is comparatively modern. Yet the original belief goes back for millions of years and is based upon the most primitive of nl] religious beliefs, the veneration of the natural generative principle. . To tho primitive worship of Sex was added the element of Fire, and;, (he's TartTft" the discovery of metals which niade tremendous changes in the life and habits of man. There followed the capture and use of horses, and with the domestication of that useful aninial it became necessary to protect the hoof, and after a number of clumsy and makeshift devices the metal shoe fastened by nails came into use, and presently was evolved the, modern Shoe with four nails on one edge and three on the other, tho luckyjseven. Mr Pl< t writes:— The shoo is supposed to possess a double power—that of averting evil and of bringing good fortune. This variance has been (he cause of some argument, but (he (ruth of the mntfer is obvious. The luck is myt inherent in the shoe as a. shoe —it is entirely Giving to the cur’ous shape, in addition to its ultimate relationship wijh Fire, Iron, and the_ Horse., It is, in fact, the most complicated bit of popular superstition ever known, because so many ancient belle's have been piled upon it. Fire was sacred, so the Shoe became seared; Iron was fe-tun-'to. so the Shoe also secured this. The Horse was s,acred —at anv rate in meet countries—so (his again was added, hut the real secret lies in the peculiar shape. The arch is used iu all buildings, ami is universally respected for its simple strength. It is the shape of the heavens, and also of the rainbow, both of extreme importance in early religions beliefs. Horizon to horizon was looked upon ns equivalent to eternity, hut early man's notions of distance—and of arithmetic —were extremely crude. Mr Platt also points o'd, that (he Horseshoe reminded man of the Crescent Moon, an additional form of luck. The Shoe also suggests the halo seen around the head of (he saints, another favourable omen. All this added to the phnliic symbolism of (he Horseshoe explains its supposed patency for good and evil. There is much move ancient lore woven in and around ihe popular superstition attaching to the horseshoe, into which the author enters iu detail. He employs the same painstaking method in regard to numbers and dates, to animals, to flowers, fruits, bees, and colours, to women, children. nTl d clothes, and especially to marriage. The superstitions accompanying B'rth and Death are dulv dealt with, lint Salt and Sneezing each have an exclusive chapter. Moreover, It was out of the ancient superstition that the Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes which have survived the shocks of time gradually evolved. The hook is full of curious information, which, white it will please the people who like to have everything explained away, will surprise and annoy many who (ding fondly to some old superstition, and who nbst'natelv believe in hick, good and bad By contrast the Brothers Anthony. with their brilliant confrere the Chevalier de Bosschcrc, have apparently no dread of tbe fate whi'di may await them for laying sacrilegious hands unon the old-fashioned fairy talcs “Little lied Riding Hood/' “Puss in Boots,” “Tbe Sleeping Beauty.” “Hon-o'-Mv-Tbumb.” “.Tack and the Beanstalk,” “Cinderella,” “Bluebeard.” and the rest, and giving the time-honoured fa vour :f °s a twentieth oenturv setting. Since "Hamlet” has been played in modern dr°ss this onslaught where Fairy Tales arc concerned is not to be wondered at. Too much cannot tie said of the delicacy and charm of M. do Pessehere’s illustrations and decorations, whilst the rhyming version of the fairv tales is clever and quite in keeping. “The dairies Fp-to-rtato” is manifestly designed as a gift hook for a Christmas'now long past; but it is difficult to decide to whom it will most appeal. It is likely to puzzle the little ones, and it will hardly give satisfaction to older readers. Nevertheless, it is a prrttv book which will satisfy the artistic sense.