Show Bad Handwriting Annoying Then Again Very Again Very Funny IF I F YOU question a friends friend's pro pro- proA pronunciation A of a particular word and set him right he will wait as IS patiently as an angler to trip you up ip when you blunder Tell him however that his writing is il- il illegible illegible legible and he will accept your criticism with pleasure Its It's a popular idea that because good handwriting is no mark of a genius a poor fist is Such reasoning sounds convincing convincing ing ng when we remember that men of genius are the greatest offend offend- ers cis against the canons of good handwriting When they are taken to task for it they plead in defense that their thoughts flow faster than their pens Medical men attribute their scrawl to the fact that in their student days they had to take longhand notes at shorthand speed Napoleons Napoleon's handwriting was anything but copperplate It is said that a love letter written to Josephine during one of his cam cam- campaigns campaigns campaigns was on first examination thought to be a plan of a battle battle- battlefield field If this story be true one does not require a large pinch of ol salt to swallow the story about the doctor whose private note to a asking for the loan of a shotgun and shells was interpret interpret- interpreted ed as a prescription The handwriting of many lit lit- literary 1 literary t- t crary men is extremely difficult to read A famous author whose hand was execrable threatened to dismiss a compositor who in inthe inthe inthe the setting up of his script always had a 3 crop of typographical blun blun- ders When the compositor turned He promised him his daughter in marriage into He promised him his torture in March the author sent a note to the foreman order order- ordering ordering ordering ing him to dismiss the compositor The latter managed to obtain possession of the note and wen went to a rival firm with it Nobody could read the note so the com com- said he would and this is what he read out Highly ef ef- efficient efficient ef- ef efficient compositor I can recommend recommend recommend mend Mr X with every con con- He was put on the firms firm's payroll immediately A famous artist once wrote to the duke of Wellington for permission permission permission sion to examine and paint his beeches The handwriting in the letter was almost illegible to the duke He replied in a courteous letter saying that for the life of him he could not understand how anyone should desire to examine much less paint his breeches There is a Q story told of the pres pres- president president president ident of a railway company who once wrote to a man threatening to take legal proceedings against him unless he ceased trespassing ng ngon on his property He used the let let- letter letter letter ter as a free pass on the railway |