CHARACTER IN HANDWRITING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2057, 27 July 1893, Page 42

CHARACTER IN HANDWRITING.

By Cigabbttjs.

IV. By this time no doubt you have mastered the signification of the "terminals" or final' letters in handwriting, so now, for the sake of convenience, I shall arrange the principal human characteristics alphabetically and show you the, various qualities— vices and virtues— that are to be discerned in different styles of handwriting. This is the method adopted by Henry Frith, the graphologist, to whom I owe mist of my information on the subject. Under the bead of A oomes affection, ambition, anger, ardour, artistic taste, and avarice. Affection is easily discovered in handwriting. It ia shown by long loops to tbe letters and a rather sloping hand, the tails or the y's frequently turning back to the right instead of forming a loop to the left. Passionate affection and love of the opposite sex ia shown by thick sloping writing with rounded letters and long loops. — Ambition, you have already learnt, is Bhown by the ascending character of the writing and the final letters.— Argar is shown very plainly in the manner of crossing the it's. If the t is barred in a fly-away manner, high and thick, you may be surd the writer is a touchy, initablo person. Angular writing, and letters of varied heights, with thicklybarred " fly-away " t's, are certain signs of. quick temper and restless irritability.— Ardour is shown by.> large elongated capital letter. If the flourishes are abundant and the capitals immoderately larg >, it denotes exaggerated enthusiasm. There is a look of energy and " go " also about the whole of the writing of an enthusiastic perSoD ._Artiatic tasteTls noticeable principally by the graceful formation of the capitals. If imagination is seen.also in the handwriting, you may be almost sure the writer is an artist. Capitals of print-like accuracy'show a love of architecture and sculpture — Avarice is shown by a mean^ stingy hand, sparing of ink and paper, without any graceful carves cr flourishes, the letters close together, the words crammed up against each other, and the finals abrupt. If you compare the handwriting of any stiogy person you happen to know with that of another whose character you know to be generous, you will note the difference at once. ' Under the head of B oomes bashfalness, benevolence, and business. Bashfulnes3 is shown by the formation of tbe m, the n, and the a, and the Bize of the small letters in relation to the capitals. Shyness and modesty, . or rather bashfulness, is indicated by closefitting Btroke?, with the letters even and moderate, not showy, and the capitals scarcely any larger thari the small letters.— Benevolence is shown in a ojear, open, easily-

read handwriting, with wide loops to the y's, f 's, and g's, and an absence of flourishes. — Business habits are seen in a neat band with the stops carefully attended to, the i's dotted and the t's neatly crossed, abbreviations sometimes occurring, and a look of method and orderliness about the whole of tin writing. Under O comes candour, conscientiousness, coldness of heart, caution, cultivation, and criticism. Candour is shown by tho even size of letters and the evenness in the separation of the words. Take the writing of a known candid friend of your own and you will notice this characteristic about the writing at once.— Conscientiousness shows itself in the even distances between the lines. Conscientious people also write steady, clear, firm bands. — Coldness of heart, or one might say selfishness, is easily discerned in an upright haud without any graceful curves or capitals. If the writing is upright and thin, as though written with the point of a pin, there is no love wasted dn anyone. Tha writer of such a hand has no sympathy, no generosity, none of the milk of human kindness. Therefore, beware of all who write such bands as thia. If the writing be upright and thick there is a tendency to animalism; it upright, large, and thick the writer is fond of gossip and flirtation. Writers of the above hands need not deny tbe characteristics attributed to them, for tho denial would be useless, the handwriting cannot lie. — Caution ia shown generally in the business hand. There is a tendency to put in stops after numbers and names and a regularity in the dots and crosses of, the i's and t's. — Cultivation i 3 shown in" a rather small writing, the small d's looped and the other words united often to each other, showing a sequence of ideaß and a freelyflowing pen. — Criticism is shown by a separation of letters in words, as though the pen had left off and begun again. Theophile Gautier wrote a hand of this kind, and all critics will be found to separate their letters one from another occasionally. IE you can during the ensuing week discover among your correspondence specimens of all the d fferett handwriting herein described, yon will have sufficient occupation to last until the next paper, in which the characteristics commencing with D will be considered.