The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 17, No. 478, February 26, 1831Various
General
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 17, No. 478, February 26, 1831
Various
Popular literature -- Great Britain -- Periodicals
JOHN WILSON (the reputed editor of _Blackwood's Magazine_); and
beneath, F. JEFFREY (late editor of the _Edinburgh Review_), who
took his seat in Parliament not many days since.--"These are two names
which stand at the head of the periodical literature of Scotland. The
periodical writer must have a ready command of his pen and a versatile
genius; he must be able to pass quickly from one subject to another; and
instead of devoting himself to one continuous train of thought, he must
have a mind whose quick perception and comprehensive grasp enable him
to grapple with a thousand. See how this applies to the handwriting of
Jeffrey and of Wilson. The style of both signatures implies a quick and
careless motion of the hand, as if the writer was working against time,
and was much more anxious to get his ideas sent to the printer, than to
cover his paper with elegant penmanship. There is an evident similarity
in the fashion of the two hands--only Mr. Jeffrey, being much inferior
to the Professor in point of physical size and strength, naturally
enough delights in a pen with a finer point, and writes therefore a
lighter and more scratchy hand than the author of 'Lights and Shadows.'
It will add to the interest of Mr. Jeffrey's autograph to know that,
as his hand is not at all altered, we have preferred, as a matter of
curiosity, to engrave a signature of his which is twenty-three years
old, being taken from a letter bearing date 1806."
W. WORDSWORTH: "a good hand, more worthy of the author of the best
parts of 'The Excursion,' than of the puerilities of many of the Lyrical
Ballads."
DUGALD STEWART: "a hand worthy of a moral philosopher--large, distinct,
and dignified."
W. JERDAN: Editor of the _Literary Gazette_; free and facile as
his vein of criticism, and one of the finest signatures in the page.
J. BAILLIE: "it will be perceived that it has less of the delicate
feebleness of a lady's writing than any of the others. It would have
been sadly against our theory had the most powerful dramatic authoress
which this country has produced, written like a boarding-school girl
recently in her teens. This is decidedly not the case. There is something
masculine and nervous in Miss Baillie's signature; it is quite a hand in
which 'De Montfort' might be written."
PERCY B. SHELLEY: Free as its author's wild and beautiful poetry; but
it is not the hand of a very clear or accurate thinker.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account