Sorrow gives every line of the writing a downward inclination. Temporary affliction will at once show in the writing: a preoccupied mind, full of trouble, cares little whether the letter then written is legible or neat; hence the writing is erratic, uncertain, and the confusion of mind is clearly exhibited in every line. Irritable and touchy persons slope the flourishes only, such as the cross of the letter ‘t’ and the upper parts of the capital letters. When the capital letters stand alone in front of the words, and the final letters also are isolated, it betokens great creative power and ideality, such as would form an author and clever writer. The most personal part of a letter or document is, of course, the signature, but alone it is not a safe guide to character. The lines placed below or after it tell a great deal more than the actual name. A curved bending line, ending in a hook, indicates coquetry, love of effect, and ideality. An exaggerated, comma-like form of line means caprice, tempered by gravity of thought, and versatility of ideas. An unyielding will--fiery, and at the same time determined--draws a firm hooked line after the name. A wavy line shows great variety in mental power, with originality. Resolution is shown by a plain line; and extreme caution, with full power to calculate effect and reason a subject from every point of view, is shown by two lines and dots, thus----:----. To sum up the matter briefly, it will be observed that a clever person cares very little about the form of his writing--it is the matter alone which concerns him; whereas, with a limited brain-power, great care as to appearance is taken. But human nature is never a simple combination of elements, it is dependable upon a complexity of changes and chances. It is said that with everyone a complete change takes place every seven years. Motives and circumstances all leave decided marks upon the character and mind of an individual. Not perhaps for years will innate virtues or vices become apparent, which have lain dormant, awaiting circumstances to develop them. A collection of any person’s old letters is very curious. Written from earliest childhood to extreme old age, a veritable life’s history lies in the faded ink; and to study character from handwriting fairly it can only be done from such authenticated examples. Old letters written two or three hundred years ago are of great value for the purpose, because, so far as they are concerned, all party spirit and prejudice is dead, buried, and forgotten. Their biographers no longer fear the consequence of a too candid and personal account, and are therefore more likely to give a just and calm criticism of character, weighing evenly in the balance both virtues and vices. With historical characters it is curious to contrast the contemporary biographies with the graphologist’s opinion of their handwriting, given without knowing whose the writing was.