ADIRECTIONS The position of the body, hand, and arm, and the manner of holding the pen, are matters of the first im portance to the pupil, and his attention eannot be too earnestly eallel to it. In the first place the body must be in an upright position, and directly fronting the desk, without coming in contact with it. If an aiskward position of the hand is to be avaided, from avcceiy, let ns at least, for dorcnry’s sake, be equally careful to guard against fa clownish attitude of the body, To stand at the desk in a eareles, lounging postion, oF to sit with both elbows sprend apart, and the body bent forvand so as to bring the chit near the surface of the table, are postures so censurable and at the same time so diseournging to a teacher, that no excuse but ignorince or bad breeding should be accepted for indulging in them. ‘They are babits most unplensant t0 the observer, and in every respect injurious to he writer Neither should wwe sit with the right or left side to the table but have it directly before us, with both sides of the body equally distant from the edge. We would say to any one who, Uhrongh carelessness or mere speculative instruction, has fallen into any of (hese ungainly and useless habits, tliat every consideration, both of prudence and propriety, demands that he should at once abandon them.10 : We recommend the use of standing rather than sitting desks, for the reason that business siting is prin- cipally done at standing desks, and a sitting position habitually practised is move injurious to the health but the position of the body, hand, and arm must be the same in either case ae ‘We emphatically conden the use of fine pens for commercial w ‘The aversion to afinical effem- © hand among business men, ia of itself enough to make it unpop- ular, but aside fom that, tho labor of writing is greatly inereased if we use a pen s0 fine as to require any presto upon the poln to prodce afd ‘an upward strokes and legibility, the chief desideratum in chirography, is aes Poca fo a great extent, if not entirely, sacrificed by the use of a sharp-pointed pen. Besides, if a person decomes once accustomed to using a fine pen, itis almost impossible for him to write with any other; at least j in a manner satisfactory to himsell, Select and use such a pen as will give a elenr, welldefined upward mark, i thout any pressure of the fingers, unless very fine writing is required, when a fine pen is most suitable ‘The position of the hand is the next thing to be considered, and is of so wneh importance, that the student will make but little progress unless he gives proper attention to it. The object to be kept constantly in view is to have such « position as will give the greatest despateh with the Tenst fatigue, and to this end a natural one must be sought nnd strictly adhered to. se UUme EEu ‘The right-arm shout rest ow the esk at a point as near taidway between the wrist and the elbow as convenient, rit the elon below the cdge of the dk, A teacher alvays fds it necessary to reiterate this last pre- Gopt more Bequently than any other, because the hand has its share ofthe work to perform. and ifthe elbow is ora level with the desk, the wrist becomes depressed, and as soon as it touches the paper the motion of the hand ceases, the work ull devolves non the fingers, and a eramped, unstendy hand, is the certain result ‘The knuckles of” the hand should be held nearly in a horizontal p 0 that both points of the pen may rest with equal weight upon the surface of the paper (see Cut No. 1), anil thus pro- duce marks clear and smooth upon the edges. It is very important to observe that, when the pen is properly held, the “i == point is slanted a little in advance of the end of the thumb, by which means the © penis preted across the paper, instead of boing diayged along, as it is very often improperly done (ree Cuts Nos. 1 and 2}. The point of the pen should de about threefourthe of'an inch from the end of the second finger,and let the holder eross the first finger about midvsay between the second ancl thind joint (seo Cut No. 3), nd instead of holding the fingers and thumb at full Tength and straight against the holder of the peu, let them all he hent a little, the fingers sufficiently to show some space between them aud the holder, and the thumb enongh to bring the end opposite the first joint of the first finger (see Cut No. 3), ‘The third and fourth fingers should be drawn backwards far enough to bring alittle more than the tips of the nails upon the paper, without allowing them to support any of the weight of2B tte hand; but merely for the purpose of steadying it (seo Cut No. 4}, ‘The pen should only be held tight ‘enough to keep it from dropping fom the fingers, except in making very large letters, or heavy marks, when quite a firm grasp becomes necessary. IF the pupil is at any time at a loss to decide whether his hand is in the correct position, let him attempt to pick up any small avtiele from the desk (the arm being rested as above described), and in alnost every ease the band will be brought into the proper position, We have known this simple experiment to be completely successful, when all other illustrations have failed The fingers of the left hand should rest upon the paper to steady it, but wo weight of the body is to rest upon the arm, which should not be mised so far up as to bring the elbow upon the table The paper must be placed upon the desk so that the lower edge may be parallel with the edge of the desk, and so far to the right that the arm shall he at right angles with the lower edge. ‘This will enable ws to slope the writing uniformly, aud to write straight without ruling, which every oue should eam to do. After placing the band and paper in a proper postion, the student shoul commence by drawing the hovi- vontal lines from left to right. (See Plate 1, Exercise L) This must be done with a motion of the hind exche ely, sliding the pen easily aloug on the ends of the third and fourth singers, and without any more pressure ‘upon the paper than enough to feel that the pen touches it. As the hand moves along, be eareful to keep the pen pointing in the same direction, and not let the hand roll over, as it moves along towards the aight, It ix this light sliding motion that gives eurrency to the writing, and, next to the proper position, is of more impor- tance to the student than any one thing that ea he taught him in regard to penmanship. This exercise must be practised until the proper position of the hand can be maintained without much effort, and until the ability to move it easily across the paper is thoroughly acqutred, Always observe that the pen must not be raised in writing a word, The student may nest take Es. 2, Ph 1, which must be written hy moving the hand between each of the13 Jotters, and forming the 0 with a slight motion of the fingers, If he Suds it diicult to write as many letters as re given in the eopy without raising the pen, he should go back to Bx. 1, and practice that until he ean ‘he. 3 must be written in the same way, that is, the sliding motion of the hand and the movement of the fingers must be combined, the hand must form only the connecting lines, while the letters are made with the finger Care must be taken in practising this excreise, not to make a tum at the bottom of the downward stroke, as alinost every one is apt to do, but let the tums be made at the top ony, s0 as to make a clear distine- tion between the form of the m and u. If after writing few Tines, the strokes still carve at the bottom, tum Ex. 5 upside down, and practice from that as it appears when inverted, and in a little time the difficulty will be overcome. * ‘The time to be devoted to any exervise, or copy, must be regulated by the student's own judgment in the absence of teacher, always, however, adhering to the vule, to practice one thing wntil tolerable improvement is made before taking up another. In writing the exercises on Plates 1 and 2 for the fist time, perhaps one page of an ordinary letter sheet to each exercise, or three pages to each Tine, would be most advisable; although the pupil must not forget that te process saust be many times repeated before he ean become proficient. ‘After Ex. $ has been thoroughly practised, Ex’s 4 amd 5 may nest be written, and although care should be taken to lave the spacing uniform, the slope regular, and the height the same throughout as nearly ns con- venient, yet at first these matters are all less important than the proper position of the hand and pen. Tn writing Ex. 6, be careful to cary the connecting line well to the right, make a small dot, and bring the pen back to the left, and outside of the dot In Ex. 7, the r must be made without a very abrupt exook at the top, o” it will look like a badly formed 7. Ju Ex. § make the # without drawing the pen back any in the upward or connecting mark, ¢0 as to make tho top very sharp and connect with the next letter, by bringing the pen a litte below the Tine instead of mak- ing a loop aud joining to the next with a horizontal stroke.u ‘The w in Ex. 9 is easily made, and, after learning Bx. 4 thoroughly, will need but little additional attention Ex’s 10 and 11 will require a great deal of practice, from the dilffculty every one finds in connecting ‘them properly with the preceding letter when they occur in a word. Careless writers make a loop in the frst part of these letters, and leave the first and second parts a Title open, #0 as to make them look like ei or et, or ‘lee lift the pen, and thus disconnect the letter entirely from the preceding one, Both these errors ean be avoided by carrying the connecting mark well over fo the right (slightly curving it), and then drawing the pen directly back in the sme stroke, suliciently far to make a good conneetion. Another important thing to be noticed in these letters, as well as in the g and q, is that the first part must not be eireular throughout, like an o, but is made nearly straight on the righthagd side, ‘These four letters are among the most dffieult in the whole alphabet, and must be practised accordingly In Ex. 12, the pen should be mised after forming the first part, and then join the second part to it by a separate stroke. This isa more complete x than the cross in Ex. 17, but is not s0 readily made, ‘The looped letters, asisations of which are given in Ex’s 13, 14, 15,and 17, and in Plate 2 must be ‘made wholly with a motion of the Singers, the hand having nothing to do but to make comnecting lines. In regard to the relative proportion in height between the long and short letters, much has been said and written, but practically it all amounts to nothing, ‘There ave no arbitrary rules about it, and none ean be given. If one thinks that the looped letters should be six times the length of the short ones, and another decides that four times the length is a better proportion, let each make them according to his individual taste. Its more agreeable to the eye, as a general thing, if the loops are of « medium length, but they should be full and clear, and the same letters on the same page of an even height, as nearly as practicable, Tt may be useful to the leamer, however, to say, that the g, j, q.y> and , should be of a uniform length below the Tine, the p about half, and the f two-thirds of the same length, while of the long letters above the Tine, the b, f lyk, and 1 are of a.uniform height, the t about half, and the p and d two thirds of the suwme height. See Plate 3, last line. ee |1b ‘The pupil is advised to proveed with the remaining copies in PI's 1 and 9, taking them in regular order, and being particular to follow the general directions heretofore given. He shoul practice fom PL. 2 daily, ‘writing two or tice Tines of each of the exercises. Particular attention must be given to sloping all the let- fers in the same direction, Learners generally find more difficulty in this than in any other thing. A great diversity inthe slopes of a Indwsting, otherwise acepible wll impart to it Mesh whieh alt ober ‘good qnatiies cannot conceal. Its il eflets axe more apparent in a mass of writing than in a few lines or even ore the same words ate repeatedly written, and for this reason much attention should he given to ape, copying flom dictation, or from a book, Alter the stufent has practised from PL. 2 Tonge enough to get good control of his pen, and to combine the 1s readily, he may copy a page of each Tine in Pl. 3, which will give practice each letter to the next one following. movements of his hand and fin in all the small letters of the alphabet, and show the mauner of joining CAPITALS. We now proceed to the examination and practice of the Capitals, Capital letters, properly formed, add sreatly to the benuty of writing, but they need much earefil stuly and practice frst £0 got the correct idea Of the form of the letters, and next to got such complete command of the pen and fingers, as will enable the il 10 shape the letters according to his idea, ‘The first of these requisites may be acquired in a eompara- tively short time, the second will demand all the energy and persistent practice which the pupil is eapable of exercising, in order to attain the desired result, ‘To make a line or two, or even a page of eapitals, will amount little; instead of that, the pupil must not confine himself merely to writing over any given space, or \y given number of letters, but must keep ditigently at- work on one letter, or one part of a letter, tintil he enn make a fair imitation of the copy. A single letter may sometimes require hours of practice to get16 it even into a tolerable shape. And here the question naturally namely, “How long will it take to lear to write a good hand?” ‘To say how longa time would be roquired to bring any one person's handwriting to a definite dugree of perfection, ie quite impossible ; but in answer to the question this much may at least be said, that an eflicient tencher may instruct an intelligent and industrious pupil in from one week to one month, upon every essential point relating to plain penmanship, so thoroughly, that all which remains to be done, affer that time, the student must do for himself About six hour? stady daily would be needed, however, to accomplish so much. ‘Thereafter, sufficient attention must be devoted to it to give the writing » pretised and businesslike character, which varies with different individuals In practising the capitals* from Plates 4 ani 5, gonowil directions only ean be given, unless the pupil is under the immediate supervision of teacher, Let them be made with a motion of the fingers alone. Be sure that they are not too large in proportion to the small letters, This isa very common and disagreeable fault, The capitals in the copy are in the proportion of five spaces in height to one, compared with the small letters. ‘There should not be any greater difference than this between them, but there may be less, without anateriaily injuring the general appearance of the writing, All the enpitals have more or less curves, and these must be made regular in form without abrupt tums or angles Every capital requires that some part of it should be shaded, and let the principal mark also be the shaded mask, We can seo no propriety in making the same mark heavy in one letter and light in another, or in put- ting all the ink in that part of the letter which is of the leest consequence, It is an invariable rule that all upstrokes, or strokes fiom the body, are light or fine, while all downstrokes, or strokes towards the body, are heavier or shaded, in more or less degree as the size and style of letter requires. Tn the Ttalian style this rule is reversed. ests itself, and which is often asked of us, While the tude i wrth ll tas the won an PTs 4a 5, ho wit hsp constantly jo aia che iets which ae given om 1.Ww ‘The shaded lines must be made as smooth upon the edges as possible, which ean only be done hy an equal pressure on both points of the pen. "The line of heauty, as itis sometimes called (see the downward stroke of the F and 7), is the prineipal line in a majority of the capitals, and isso dificult to make correctly, that it must practised mach by itself Tt is « good plan for the student to take a dry pen and devote five or ten minutes at a time to drewing it over any Iter: or part of a letter, which he finds it particularly difficlt to make, ‘This course will give him a good idea of the form in tho shortest possible time. ‘Those who are obliged to write very rapidly, often find it necessary to adopt a style of capitals of the simplest form, rejecting all superfluous marks, and retaining only enough 10 show plainly what the letter is dened to he. The eecond form of the enpitals, A,B, C, D, B, H, K, MN, PR, Sand Ty Pls 4 and 6, are of this clars. ‘The errors which unpractised writers perpetra therefore cannot be anticipated and guarded against in a a printed these general faults have been noticed on p, but a few of those which are likely #0 oceur, pointed out below. Tet the pupil write set of eapitals (either with the eopy before him or not),and the fst attempt, in nine ‘eases ont of ten, will show the following mistakes ‘The eatve at the foot of the A is not full enough, the top is too pointed, and the last stroke does not in crease gradually in thickness till it reaches the line. ‘The ine of beauty in the B stops too short at the bottom. ‘The sume fault, will appear in every letter where this line is to be made. ‘The top of the B is too large on the right-land side of the line of beauty for the bottom. ‘The C is not full enough on the outside, and the shading is too near the Tine in forming the capitals are almost numberless, and reatise, beyond a certain extent, Some of in each letter, are18 ‘Tho upward stroke on the tight of the Dis too far from the main part, and the eitele on the left is too ‘small The top of the Eis too large for the bottom, the lower part is not full enough, and the shading is too near the line. ‘The main stroke of the F is shaded too high up, and the top line is placed too fir to the left Tho G is not fall enough, the shading is too low, and the last part is drawn back in the connecting line instend of separating the two parts, as in the copy. ‘The His tuo high for the width, and tho Tast part as the sume fuults as the C. ‘The top of the I is too pointed, and the foot is not earvied fir enough to the Teft ‘Tho top loop of the J is too near the line, and the thickest part of the shading in the lower part is near the centre of the letter, instead of heing in the centre of the loop. Tho shading in the first part of the K is too high, and the last part, instead of startin of the line of beauty, leaves it at a point too low down. ‘The first mark in the Land the loop are not full enough, and the lower part crosses the line of beauty too soon. ‘The Mis too pointed, the upwand and downward strokes being united for some distance, instead of being separated quite to the top. ‘The last part has the same faults as the C. ‘The first and second strokes of the N run together for some distance, ike the M, and the second part, instead ofbeing straight like the A, should be slightly hent as in the copy. ‘Dhe shading of the O, like the C and G, is too low down, and the Tine mist have a trae eurve throughout ‘The P will have the spme full as the B,s0 fir as the similarity in the two letters extends ‘The turn for the top of the P should be a full and true curve, ike the copy, instead of being formed in paxt of nearly straight lines, as is too often the ease hove the centrePENMANSHIP MADE EAS WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND EXPLANATIONS. ADDUCED PROM TWENTY-THREE YEARS’ EXPERIENCE IN SUCCESSFUL TEACHING. BY GEORGE N, COMER AND OLIVER E, LINTON, Comer’s Commercial College, Boston. ESPBOLALLY ADAPTED POR SOHGOLS AND SHLE-INSTRUCIION, BOSTON PRINTED BY, GEORGE ©. RAND & AVERY, No. 3 CORNUILE, 1so419 ‘The Q is too full on the principal stroke, which should curve but little after the tum at the top is made. ‘The lowor part has the same fault as the Te ‘The R will require the same correction as the Band P, and the shading of the lust part should be in the contre of the crook, instead of being either at the top or bottom, ‘The S is too straight, and the shaded part is too near the top, ‘The 'T has the same faults as the F. The turns ut the top and bottom of the U are too sharp, and the shading of the first part, instead of being in the centre, is in the curve, either at the top or bottom. The second part, instead of being shorter than the first, should he of the same height. ‘The second form of the V is the more common, and will have the same faults as the U. The W spreads apart too much at the top; the bottom part should be a little the widest, ‘The thickest part of the shnded stroke, instend of being in the centre, is too near the bottom. ‘The X is too wide at the top; it should be very narrow in proportion to the bottom, ‘There is also too much fulness on both of the downward strokes. the ¥ will have the same faults as the U and V, and the last stroke should be separated fkom the first the same as in the G. ‘The second form of the Z is the best, and is usually made too upright and without going up from the line guin after toxching it, and so producing a good full loop for the last parts and the loop is almost invariably shaded too high up, instead of in the centre. ‘As soon as the student ein avoid the errors enamernted above, and can make all the eurves true and the lines smooth and clear on the edges, he will have acquired all that is necessary, excepting what is gained by practice alone, to give him a good style of eapitals Shade it ouly after erossing. the hairline,20 PIGURES. It is highly essontial that more attention should be given to making good figures. ‘These, to a business ‘man, are quite as important as handsomely formed letters, and we would advise every one who stailes to im- prove his handwriting, to devote at Teast. one hour in six to making figures They should be of a uniform hheight above the line, excepting the 6, which, by being a litle higher chan the rests not so Tikel taken for a cipher. ‘Tho 7 ss batween the to be mis 7 and 9 should always be brought below the line, Let the spa figures be uniform, and the slopes precisely alike, and they always look much better if made pretty close together. Gréat care should also be taken, to place them directly under each other when they are written in columns. ELOURISHED CAPITALS (See Plate 6), When they are skilfully and tastefully made, are much more ornamental than those which are formed with movement of the fingers only. ‘These are made entively with a motion of the arm, the third and fourth fin- gers being allowed to touch lightly on the paper, and thas serve as a sliding support for the hand. ‘The joints of the thumb and fingers, as well as the joint of the wrist, have scareely any motion at all, as the necessary movements proceed entitely from the shoulder and elbow, and if the wrist and fingets are allowed to move independently of the arm, they serve to make the eurves irregular, and all the strokes uncertain. We have found, by netual experiment, that persons with an artificial hand and wrist may Iearn to make capitals very vell in this way, so long as the shoulder and elbow joints are uninjured. ‘The pen should be held a little m firmly than it would be for small writing, and it is of the first consequence that it should move with a uniform locity throughout all parts of the letter. Beginners alsrays commence to capitals of this kind with a slow and hesitating movement, and when they arrive at the turn or near the final part of the letter, give ita24 sudden jerk, and so destroy the regularity of the curve, or make it of a size quite diferent fom what, was jatended, and never bring it exaely to the Tine as it should be, exeept by acckdent, Another important thing, cape noticed, ns well by more practised writers ae by beginmers, is to avoid an excess of flourishes, True and tpaceftl curves harmonious proportions inthe various parts of each letter, with he shaded strokes perfectly soil, om the edges, and properly placed, are the requisites in handsome enpitals. A mass of unmeaning fourishes any schoolboy inay Team to make in an hocr, and the more of thei there are in the enpitals the sovvechaldich the lotters look. Tt is also a very common thing to make floured capitals much too large for The set of the writing, for the reason thnt the arm can swing so that the land shall deseribe a cirete an ineb ieee half in diameter anuch easier than one half an inch across. If the student will practice making the tals the ammo size as those in the plate, as nearly as he ean, he will be sure to got them lange enough rept for cone hand. He is nko eamestly advised not to introduce flourished expitals into writing Gat is to be seen by any one but himself and bis teacher, until he enn make them propery. | beginner is apt to think, that beeause bo has advanced far enough, to attempt to make capitals with an ¢ofFhand” motion, ha becuse it seems to bo something new and attractive to himself, that the letters will appear beautiful to Geerybody ele, and that all who chance fo sev his writing must he impressed with his wonderful profiieney snd kil: but ‘instead of that, he only betrays his inexperience and uncultivated taste, for to a practised eye, Capitals struck by an unrated hand, seem to be the most hideous of all easeatures’ Better adeve 40 @ sinte of Tetios which ean be made with some certainty, and are readily reengnized, than to attempt some thing very showy, but which will appear to others more ridioalous than elegant. ‘rhe line of beauty in these, as in the preceding alphabets, is the most important, as well as the most ditteult part of the capitals and will require ouch practice, ‘The student should devote at Teast half an hour @ ‘lay to making this stroke alone, until he ean make it well22 THE “ITALIAN” CAPITALS (See the Second Alphabet on Plate 6), Are also made with a motion of the whole arm, but the pen is held much as it would be for ruling, the frst and second fingers being under the holder of the pen, with the thumb on top and at tight angles with it. ‘This position of the pen is necessary, in order to make those strokes shaded, which in ordinaty eapitals are light, and tice versa. The transposition of the Tight and heavy stokes is the characteristic difference in the two alphabets, ‘The holder should point in a direction corresponding nearly to the slope of the writing, and as upright as may be without eatching the points in the paper. If the pen lies too fiat, there will not be suflicent contrast between the light and heavy strokes ‘This alphabet may be practised for amusement, or for ornamental pu poses, and the letters may be made passably well, with much less pruetice than is required for the common flourished capitals, but they are not popular with men of business, and always suggest an unnatural “straining after effee,” on the part of the writer, COARSE ITAND (Plate 7), Examples of which are given in Plate 7, in order to be well written, requites mach eare and practice, on the part of the Teamer, but the time devoted to this kind of sting is always well spent, as it is of much practical ‘we when once learned, and the training to which the fingers are subjected in inaking the letters, serves to give more complete control of the pen, ani impartseertain acter to the writer's earsive hand, capitals may be flourished like those on Plate 6, as they cannot be made very large, and at the sume time very well, with a motion of the Gngers alone. ; strength, and el Plato 6 may ako be referred to for such of the eapitals as are not found on Plate 7, a8 no variation in their shape is required for coarse hand, The small letters, however, must be made with much more fulness in the turns, and must eceupy much Tess space horizontally, when compaved with the height, than they do in rumping or current hand, All the small letters of the eoarse-hand alphabet, with the necessary spaces between23 them should bo written within « distanes of thirty-two aquares one side of each equare being the height of the valls while the eurrenthand alphabet looks erowrded if it occupies a space of Joss than sixty-four squares measured in the sume manner. Tr mung thesunal letters the gers must perfor all ehe stork, the pen must be eld with quite Sima grasp, and the strokes must be drawn with a slow, steady, and uniform motion the letters or parts of Fetters which commence with a square top, of which the i ise good ilastrtion, snust be made by pressing the pen hard enough upon the paper 0 open the points before any downsrard Mmevion is permitted; and the mark being once started, the sre width tnust be carefully preserved far os the heginwing of the eurve, when the thickness most gradually diminish wmtil the stroke hecomes & hhnirdine, Serer al lines which terminate in a square end at the bottom, the pen most come to complete sop pofore the fingers are allowed to relax their pressure in the Teast, The sates want be Kept precisely of the same height, which can be done by ruling pavallel lines the ovina disonee apart, the strokes mst be of uniform thickness without any variation jn the slope and wits seitne least roughnest on the edges, and all the connecting curves must be formed with the grouse Tost Tasty. And finally, the spacing, the thing fadispensable to good coarsehand. writing, and he last which the learner will acquire to perfeetion, ennnot be too earefully attended to. ie ammalieiter mest occupy the same sptee, and the distances betwoen the letters must be wiiform Wher nc anata bas writen a page of coarse hand be can deteriine, by a caefal examination of the lotto ai ti ahoce conditions have been compte wih, and if wo, his writing wil be epen to etiam, nt ae chould try agui, being earful to avoid inthe nest attempt any error whieh he has seovered jn the last, tinal the imperfections all disppear. The pen most suitable to be wand must not be so eoares 8 to make & Tunge lieing, bu it shouldbe quite lage in onder to bold good supply of inks very Sasi A the points, and tee etly stsong to admit of being presed with considerable force upon the paper without breakingom ITALIC OR SCRIPT HAND (Plate 8), Is expecially useful, when much matter is required to be written in a small space, and when it is desitable to hhave the writing executed with the greatest distinctness ‘The direetions for writing coarse hand are equally applicable to this, exeept that the capitals in seript hand are not to bo flourished, but must be made as fkee from all embellishment as possible. Any inasle, either in the large or small letters, which are not really essential to give them their proper forms, only detract from their beauty, and deprive the writing of its chiof merit, which is clearness, Unless the writing is to be quite small, lines should he ruled for the height, both of the small lotters and capitals the best proportion for the relative size of the letters being three spaces for the small, and five for the lange ones. ‘The letters must touch the ruling with the greatest exactness, both at the top and bottom, and if more tan one Tine of the same size is to be written, complete uniformity in the ruling must be observe, by carefully measuring the distance between the lines either with the dividers or otherwise. ‘The horizontal hairlives in the capitals must be made with a fine pen and a ruler. In no other way ean they be made to look so well, and but little extra time will be required to finish tho capitals in this manner, if all in the line or on the page are left to be ruled at one time. If the letters are faultless in form, but spread too far apart, or inregalarly spaced, the good effect is destroyed; hence it is important that they should be carefully and compactly arranged. Simplicity, compactness, and regulatity are the essential qualities in good script writing. OLD BNGLISH TEXT (Plate 9), As an ornamental hand, combines the two desirable qualities of beauty and simplicity, to a greater degree than any alphabet yet devised.25 twill however admit of omamentation to any desived extent, and thus may be made to gratify the te of such as are best pleased with letters ofa showy character, or it may be so severely plain as to entirely tatisy those who consider beauty to be the absence ofall superfuity:” Tecan be executed with so much care that hours may be devoted to a single Tine, or it may be written at a single stroke of the pen, and with a rapidity alimost equal to coarse hand. Another important considera- tion ie thot it may be writlen tolerably well with even moderate practice, by any one who has a fair ability toimitate, tis by no means necessary that a person should be able to write a finished current hand, in order to acquire proficieney im omamental penmanship. Any one who hns sufficient artistic skill to draw a good representation of a figerpost may, with an hout's practice, learn to make any single Old English lowercase Totter tolerably svel, while the same person imight find it necesmry to practice for weeks, and even months, in order to write the small currenthand letters with any degree of proficiency. Ornamental letters are generally made with the aid of a ruler, dividers and other drafting instruments, and often at the expense of much Tabored outlining and careful spacing, while the current-hand penman ean rely upon no other aid except what his own good taste aud a thoroughly trained nd way afford, ‘Phe learner should frst draw four horizontal parallel lines witha fine-pointed pencil, at about Xo he same relative distance apast, ax those in Cut No. 1, and across these, perpendicular lines {|e inst be ruled at any convenient distanee, the object of these last being to assist in making the Jettors upright. Begimers almost invariably slope the letters as they have been accustomed to do in their ordinary waiting, and will generally continue to do so for some time, even with the perpendicular Tines to guide them. ARer the raling has been properly prepared, the student should make the outlines of the eliameter given in Cut No. 1, and continue to practice on it until he ‘can make it well, as this, with a few modifications, ovens in nearly all the smal letters, and of itself forms the principal part of many of them, as may be seen by reference to the plate, After this eharacter can be drawn26 accurately, the rest of the small letters may be made, beginning with a, and practising on each one by itso until it ean be well formed before taking: another, and making them all in outline with « pencil. The alphabet, ‘must be reposted until the student becomes so thoroughly familiar with the form of all the letters that he is not obliged to refer to the copy, otherwise he will make no more progress with this than he would with tho ‘ordinary written alphabet, if he was obliged to have constant reference to the orignal written or printed copy Dofore he could form a letter, For the eapitals, two horizontal ruled Tines (with perpendicular lines as before referied (o) ate stiffcient. ‘The to charncters which form the principal part of | {__ most of the capitals, are given in Cut No. 2, and will require more prnetice than AUS | Gir | ait atpaet besitos “A he other parts of the capitals ae comparatively Go |__ spite he ate with cae atari tae the doughy ese T 1 ‘The universal error, with beginners, is to make the lines in the fist character too crooked, as any one may see by comparing his work with the eopy. By refer cence to the plato, it will be noticed that this stroke for the greater part of its length is straight, the ends only being slightly curved, a8 they are brought to a point. ‘The S is tho only ‘exception to this rule, and in this letter the main strokes are very much bent. ‘The second character in Cut ‘No. 2, and which forms the principal part of the C, G, and TT, is much more difficult to make, properly, than the fone just noticed. ‘The enrve gradually becomes more abrupt towards the lower part, and cannot therefore be made with tho dividers, and the student must rely almost wholly upon practice and bis *aitative ability to give it the proper shape. Some help may be obtained by placing over the copy a thin piece of paper, mufficfently transparent to show the lines through it,and tacing them until a good idea of their shape is acquired, Aer these two Principal parts of the alphabot have been thoroughly learned, the student may commence with the A and makear all the eapital letters, simply ing them and repenting the process, until they ean all be tolerably well formed without a copy, after which he will make more rapid. progress towards perfeetion, ‘After a set of both capitals aud small letters ean be clearly and neatly outlined with a pencil, smooth and te lines should be drawn over the pencilled letiers with pen and ink, eare being taken to avoid any inac- sketch, A ruler may be used to advantage in much of this part of the work. When the ink is thoro -, the pencibmarks must be erased with rubber, and a clear, hand- some outline will remain, and may be omamented or made into plain black letters, aceording to the taste of the penman. In filing up the letters, a smootl-pointed and not very fine pen should be used, and the work must bo done with as few touches of the pen as possible, so as not to break the surfiee of the paper. Wherever angles ocour, they must he made sharp anil clear, the edges of letters must be free from all roughness and inrogulavity, and where a letter or part of a letter ends in a point, the termination must have a sharp, decided finish. Aiter the student has leamed to outline the letters correctly, he ean practice making them with one stroke of the pen, and if the writing is small, it should always be done in this manner, which will give it a freer and moro practised appearance. It wil not be enay at first to draw all the downward strokes perpendicularly, and parallel to each other, to place them the proper distance apart, and to have them all exactly of the same thickness, but moderate perseverance will enable the student to overcome all serious imperfections. The pen rust be held a little more upright than for ordinary writing, and such a one must be selected, as will make the marks sufficiently broad and smooth on the edges, s0 as to avoid retouching. deli cearacies which may be noticed in the o GERMAN TEXD (Plate 10), May be written with but little diffienlty, after Old English has been properly learned. ‘There is much simi- larity in the form of the small letters in both alphabets, the distinction in the tivo being, that the German Test lotters are characterized by a curved outline and a tapering finish, while in Old English the outlines are princi.28 pally straight, and tho terminations as square as they ean be made, This diference will bo apparent upon come paring the two alphabets, leter by letter, yet the vesiation is 20 tilling, that, but « few hous’ practice will be required to write German Text small leticrs well, after mastering the Old Buglish ; and as the diteetions for the latter are equally applicable to both, they need not be repeated ‘The capitals of the two alphabets have hut few features common to both, yet practice on either is ce tainly a help towards the more ready excention of the other. German Tost eapitals, when properly formed, consist almost wholly of varions combinations of Hogarth's Line of Beauty, some of the letters being made up entirely of that charneter, se L, P, and Z, for example, while not one except the S is formed without it. ‘This character is thoroughly represented in the letters I, and M, and is of so much importance in the formation of the capitals, that tho student must practice upon it until he ean form it pexfeetly. Gracefel curves and slender finepointed terminations are the objects to be aimed at, and are of much more importance than to fallow precisely the same combinations of the line of beauty that are given in the copy,—for example: the A,B, M,N,P,R, U, V,W, and Y, may all commence, and often do, with the same character which forms the first part of the A in the plate, or the first part of the B may be used for the fist part of all the others just named, Tn this and other similar respects, German Text alphabets sometimes differ, and although all have the same general character, yet it may be left to the good taste of the penman to adopt the particular style which most pleasing to himself, ‘The graceful strokes which form the German Text letters seam to eal for tastful ‘and appropriate flourishes, and they impart so much additional beauty to the general appearance of the wrt ing, that to omit them deprives this hand of much of its pleasing effect. ‘The flourishes should be made with a single stroke, and with the pen held in the usual manner, or in that prescribed for Italian capitals (see p. 22), 0s the shape of the flourishes or their position may require. ‘The flourishing must bear some resemblance in the general direction of the strokes to the particular letter it is intended to ornament, s0 that it may serve to some extent as an elaboration of the letter itself, Lines slightly 4 | | | +— ot 20 eurvod are tp be avoided, as those only are ornamental which have a decided sweep throughout thelr entire Jonuth; and care most be taken not (0 give the flourishes too much prominenee, either by making then too large of putting on foo many of therm, ORNAMENVAL PENMANSHIP Does not depend entirely upon perfection, in the shape nnd exeeution of the lettors for its pleasing effict, but much upon the tastefol arrangement of the words, and Tines of which the work is composed. ‘The penman thst possess something of a natural faculty for this part of the business or bis productions will never be wholly tatisfuetory, even after having the benefit of the most earful instruction "Althowgh much depends upon the good judgment of the writer himself, « few goneral hints may be given for the guidance of those who have devoted but little attention to this branch of the subject. ‘The work to be truly ornamental, should not be made up principally of one kkind of letters, but it should be a composition of various hands, and varionsly ornamentod letters of the same hand; neither should all the it, or ail the heavy letters eome in ote part of the piese, but they anust be so distributed as to give a pleas ing efleet to the whole. Care should be taken to give prominence to the most important words, and to those lone. Little would be thought of the taste or good judgment of a printer who should set up the most unim- portant words on a page in nye eapitals, merely for the sake of variety, or forthe parpose of ling up spaces, Rich would otherwize be unocenpied; yet this same kind of inconsistency is too often apparent, even in the york of those who claim great profieiency in omamental penmanship. Carelessness in arranging the work, s0 as to give it a ono-ided appentance, is common error. ‘This may bo offzetually avoided by penelling out, on another piece of paper, letters of the same Kind and size as those hich are to be wsed, and ths finding out befbrchand exactly the space they will eceupy, after which they ean be readily placed in the desired postion, It is necessary that lines intended to he horizontal, or parallel, should30 be wnity so. ‘The importance of this is so apparent, that the suggestion may seem to be uncalled for, but important as it is, too Tittle attention is given to it, and the effect of many a piece of penmanship has heen spoiled though carelessness in ruling the lines. Parallel rulers are not to be depended upon, unless the lines are few in number and not far apart, and the only sure way to get the lines in every respect exact, is to measure carefully from some suitable point, A considerable part of the work should consist of curved lines, when they can be introduced to advantage, 4s too many straight lines always impart to ita stiff and lifeless appearance, A beginner will invatiably soil the sheet he is at work upon, either with perspiration from the hands, by blotting, ot by repeatedly pencilling the letters, and afterwards trying to erase thoi with rubber. here is not the least excuse fur this even from those who are habitually untidy, If a sheet of paper, sufficiently large, is placed over the one to be written upon, and a small opening eut in it, s0 as to show only ‘one line ata time, it will be a good protection against accident or care ani all experimental outlining should be done on another sheet Suggestions enc already becu given to show that mansstakine, aided hy some natoral talent, eom- prises the substance of all that ean be said upon this sulyject, and as soon as the student has fully Ramned what is implied by * taking pains" and has advanced so far that he hecomes interested to discover and correct faults Which may not be appatent fo hint at the first glanee, and whieh though trifling in thewselves, serve in the aggregate to make the writing imperfect and unsatisfactory, then he will be in a position to make real progress; and what has heretofore been a dull task will begin to be a pleasant recreation, his love for the subject will ugh hav increase with the improvement he makes, until with seareely more effort than is required for ordinary waiting, he finds himself able to execute his work with taste and skill,COMER’S COMMERCIAL COLLEGE, Granite Building, Corner of Washington and School Streets, Boston, Mass. FOUNDED BY GEORGE N. COMER, A.D. 1940. ‘Thi institution having boon for zeny. four years yas (1861) under tho same management, and attended by tedoe Chowan ude en poetlae flies for proctting ssid employment for its graduates, one’ of more of whom will be found in aoe remercatle houwo in Boston, wile othors avo occupying places of honor and proftin the army, nary, merebsnt, and serve allover the world. BOOKKEEPING, precio in the best mercantile houses of this and other conntriet. Persna, Partnership, Com- mission, Corporate, Railroad, Shipping, Manufietaving, and ANIING, A model Uaak ‘sin daily opettion in which deposits are, mae checks psi, notes and drafty discounted, oo aE etd sold, and the goueral boxnest of banking thoroughly eared xt MT VIGATION is taught Uy all the best modem methods. Sexzaxrs, Qvannawrs, Cuoxomerans, Azmwurs Cox asstey Caste provide and expand ‘ean AuunaL Davy, Chief of the Boreas of Navigation, Navy Deparment, Washington, in is etter eays:— cE Le rae inaition a the county where ascaman can revite corrector enlange bis Knowledge of navigation, etmetly oe oe erate haghomae an seguir she ft rodent of the een ond he maripelaon bf the iameit come Reehkne t apliation eo quickly, conan ad thoroughly, as In Couz’s Comsrenctar Connon, Bosro%” LELEGRAPHY. Gone sts of te most porte Arvanaros under the charge of experienced praca gprsons wha re EEEGRAPET: olan writing co ws to enable the grate to command immediate employment. ‘The inorased agra Snstruction both by fon gperatom Ge the army and theoughowt the country renders thi a dearable means of lvelibood Hany fot both aeaes) wie can ot atand to more laborious occupations, “Enginooring, Surveying, Languages, fc., oficieatly twght. TE CATALOGUES, with spies of Haspwarresa taught, Tunas, Rouse ee, sont postpi to any wares, or may be an CATALOGUES, wi Ys" yPaammnon Stants Bostory Mass Baan fo che Eada Departmen No Scoot ‘Bist GEORGE N. COMER, A.M, President. OLIVER E. LINTON, Secretary. iesIMPORTANT TO THE SAILOR. PRICE 75 CENTS. COMER’S MANUAL OF PRACTICAL NAVIGATION, BOWDITCH'S NAVIGATOR 4p are most needed in actual practice at ens with copious examples illustrating the use of the Avzntcay Honpaots and NavrieaL Ausrasac for the years 1464, 18955, and 18h. For six yenre past the provious edison of this wrk ve given pret sation, es extensively we in tho nas aul ecm mended by the Chief of the Bureat of Navigation at Washington oe 6 ae | A GOOD PEN JS A GOOD THING. | THE BOOK-KEEPER’S PEN. ‘These Pens have been before the public for ten years aad have given porfet eats faction to all who Have uel them, "Ove evslence of dhcir poplary yee they have en extensively counteritel andy ike all counterfelty uuing pect and cheap tiles, re misled my purchase.” ‘The genuine Denese thee ownreccommenistion Altot every hand may be sited ott of thefour mmberm, ‘he trade supped on Hera terms 2 Gu) won's Sees. Para — The heat mene wri wih i e's Seat DESH, The ih wns on Wont. Laplng sad Petl, ae all fit" Zins ae imi at fe sepa fr wih try ae designed and wil w highly pent mick wing to fo Cina ilar s - ne vo oe ‘ton we a now Weng Wil 3 Camere Ow, ge ove tho per ie cara.” Wallan nya eeBOOK-KEEPING RATIONALIZED AND BOOK-KEEPING WITHOUT THE JOURNAL COMBINED. FORTIETH THOUSAND. PRICE $4.25. ‘Adaptod to all kinds of business, Personal and Partnership, Commission and Corporate,— with entirely new and rapid methods ‘of computing Taterest, Exchange, Avoraging Accounts, ete; s copious Arrexorx, and Fuossiile of the ‘writton pages of the day, Cash, Ledger, Set of Exchange, Notes, Drafts te. By GEORGE N. COMER, A.M, ACCOUNTANT, “Author of «Double Entry Book-kooping without the Journ” &s-; founder, and for twenty-three years Senior Principal of snes ComsmercistCallege, Boston a+ he wery great euccess of his provious eforts has induced Mr. Comer to prapare a work wehich shall not only meet he wants of ahoobteachers and students, but aloo baa reliable book of vaference for Bookskespers wn clerks RULED BLANKS For the above Day, Cash and Ledger, with printed Tndex and Tvial Balanoce. 4G A tiers allowance to Teachers and the Trade, Copies sent for examination on roosipt of prise. ‘ | :TESTIMONIALS. As,a lange volun might be lle with cammendatry notes af tho pros «fo only ar slated to show the for wich which his wrk has bees eee ‘Ths edtor of he Monachusat Teacter sys, Wo have examina this bo vry early anf with rst sition. Ti cle, conpradose, sod concne as sat a tok a2 wlll te wai of aes tad sosotamees o Pe ef my il of oan ena a sty sna *Anexaination of pager show that ch auth x thoragly at inne oo he jac enya sh Al inoressrytecnfas in the phraenogy apd empleay a the sy of epg atoant have bet stuoulyavaded; a us ive Bs ‘Seponed wy and in th plc retont have bes sien fo every taneesons— Zvaee pt is Ca cmt ri econ ry anf ae ht nko kgs eae is enirely worthy ot eontdenes, A sbyont Sao yous san cold ace god koe pag fom ts bok wou acer Tes slaplesgd'ye embrnc the wile joo! Zin Hos issn * ‘itis crtainy tho best and oncom treatin on the eject we hav eer sen." — Pose ‘Th gexec an cto sly ft au offs Tie tat au ganna in hi comma fH exon. ‘To tl given in of fs conto lich ae tcboliallyarned atl we Uk ws work has bee suelo hs soln Ssh Sel es the quale f learns ond spt ih pretension” Cour, The volume before the elo th ath’ exptince te acon, os wal a practi, asnentat. The cages which have been made ia the ato wp books have born wo numerous an rade that x pow tet caaoot bea a plac al Me, Cass aone tor es ae es {it explanationy an ell ar very Al in te exanplaton ofthe usw ili keaping atoning ere od datonne, weraging acces od cer tops of ftoret to the meen eames." Conon {citi busskaeying made snl. In this volume wo no's fret in of the at of recrding, in 9 corect and lege mano, tho tanetions of banes“Bonkktoplng as been a mystery.” Not one merchant nto cn tad is igh giced esoutant agp hv eke; ead ha ae "ev fr Me, Comer tof tothe pablo a volun sh makes took Lepag stella toot aoe how rat ie attntea to the meee Bren Case ‘Thi ile volume eoutins more ints lomy-eutd page than many amore pretenins work. From tho long expience and cabo ep tation af the ant, we oad expec, jut what wefan a Uewough analy exjlanton ofthe vais opens i bodckecnge wc sees we ie a abu tr Ey hye Cr cat wget woh to np Sl a barry —° New Dagan Fea ‘Nothing nevey (0a pees ase seas oo ote al nau vaneoomry-andonsrnsatrdaeed. I bees ig marke ofa iatellgost ‘ed qezute ind tnd nell wry the enon al ws usm ron stencil Uta of ade’ ts ea {We lar sami bry, aoc: a op that se wr viet” Basaran his wor, the fui of Fare of otervaon and ekprnen does mut opty of rks and to fami the ede wide sedan seg Me Comer dove Motil fiery okey alin shat ny vac of rag ae teats the inode of Keoping acoownts inthe Day Hook, Cash Book, and Ledgay as wall the farm of keeping Invoice Cheek, and Sales Becks Journ 6. Appeaded ary vvisty of valane tess ables velatiag to come! catyation intro change de. Mel Comes ew nna ecaed i rionalizing” bckckoeping and ins prepared 2 work whic ie seacny lo ea te aotountant faa tote dot doom The bok Kr pia ta ous ach vlabla irate om isnot wie en devted evry iagiuable fh of tain rcumnts—all mead oa bre th reader ina plaiyprsta,bosncsre syle Daal Vig Non Sees sng bh tee Ue nd mit a tk a iy erage hat pase. Th die ‘ngishod epson fe athe, together within msi ly undone secre fori large ae” Ln Dy Ste 4 ainablo maou caching the wy of things as el ae the low. ie many bo enemeded ss an intalaals aid to the accountant." — SG jew b el prs kf nd teak le oh pain ery nc pc togrg moka es wily than jut Satnncg tan say of beakSe WHAey LBD heise | 5 SOE OC 4, 1B Massif DO. Zor ssca eee aeGENERAL REMARKS. Denisa twenty-three years past, the authors of this work have had under their instruction, with a view to preparation for merenntile pursuits, a yearly w number of five hundred students, a fact which all will admit must be productive of so mueh valuable experience in teaching, that indecision, guesswork, or doubtful theories in reward to the most practical method must, from the nature of the eireumstances, be forced to give way to that whieh is positige and reliable ‘This experience has been attended with the unusual advantage of giving to each person separate in- struction, thereby allowing an opportunity of observing the general state of proficiency in handwriting, of finding ont the obstacles each individual has to overcome, of watching his progress from day to day, and care- fully noting the effects which invariably follow any preseribed course of study ‘The result of ovr observations may he briefly sommed up as follows: — OF TNE AVERAGE PROFICIENCY IN WRITING. Tho prevalence of really poor penmanship is remarkable, No one thing’is moro constantly forced upon four attention than this, and of hundreds of samples now hefore us written previously to coming under our instruction, the writing of move than thieeoacths is ¢0 indidovent, that it would effectually debar the writers from any position of responsibil ment of importance copied, oF account rendered, in such a hand, ‘would be intolerable, while iendship or business, no better written, would be disereditable inPD 4 LASS CZEG 1” Z SI Co PY 2 G2 fe Vt: fe fr CA LE OL. UV, BEG EYE 2 Vo BCee Leger Healings Py YO ALLELE flr Cy Cash. Soorhandukx€ idee hick? pun Ua Ife MfdOH Bros Qi Niall Cale ae fila CHABCDERFCHITELMNOPOR STO VE &. V WX abcde gyhyhlan apg svn Bamington: Lr: Comarussiow CO Lachange Bank, Discount. Mervharidise Bills Kecuvable. Guarank. Jtessrs. Gunninghany & Co Lhutadeyphia Lagress. Comers Commeraal College, Boston 123450769 0.Ol Enalish, abredetabitktimopar A CDE £6 BI IUEMNOPORST UW WY F. Ke stumwxpz 1981567890, Comer Commercial alleys. 08We lefehee ABCDELFGHI SREMNOPEGR STOVWXYZ Op GTSCU VWAVE Rey . Cee.abedefghijkima ABCDER CHIE STUVWAYSZ opqrfstuvwxyv4 &e.4 the extreme, All who admit the importance of @ good handwriting will aso ait that this general state of seeeMness is deplorable; and the same ignorance in aay other fundamental brane of edveation would be aaa rere tle Jos than divgeaceftl, ‘The tine has certainly passe by when, as yone contend, it was eons fred plcbeian to wite handsomely, and now it ie thonght quite as important that one’s wilt eas should sree tesibte and pleasing appearance, upon presenting themselves to a ftient or correspondent, weit is thar the writer himself, under like eircumstances, should be decently and becomingly clothed. "This general and lamentable defcioney is ensily eounted for, and is mainly owing (o the Fue that 'p our schools bath public und private, writing, instead of being treated! as a branch of study of the ist impart, smoked upon as a secondary matter, ani undeserving of any very special attention. 15 instead of the tou x mon practice of introdcing studies comparatively useless, and so burdening the mind of youth by obliging hom to fear by rote what their immature minds eannot practically comprehend, a part of this wasted tne tied be devoted to improving the handvriting, giving it the same amount of energy and applieaton that is tgiven to reading, grwmmar, or arithmetic, dhe result, under equally judi 1g, would be vastly different, nd upon leaving school, the pupils progress would be found to have kept more even pace with is other important studies “Again, the present is emphatically an aye of Doolcs; everybody reads more oF ess, daily s hence i is i cent to find any one not tolerably adept in this branel, Seeing the same words repentedly, familinrzes their orthography, and he must be dill indved who, from eonstantly reading tequire comething of a practical-nowledge of ayntas, Thus, while one may be really attending ¢0 asin enulings and spelling for a wook’s time in the aggregate, he may mot hve weitten an our, and! most Hels nop weal Writhg needs much more practice (o wake one really profciont chan any of the primary studies, and sit almost universally receives loss, what other result could be expected than the unsatisfuetory one we wite ness in the autography of hundreds of different manuscripts? fous train ratmatical eentences, does not1d culpable neglect is only enhanced by the efforts of incompetent persons who attempt to instruct others in that of which they know comparatively nothing themselves. teacher should not only be able to form letters properly himself, but he should thoroughly understand all the principles upon which their mechanical execution depends ; anil ia addition to this he must have the experi- ressaty to enable him to see, at a g what are the hindrances to the student’s pr wnd to 4 the readiest way to overcome them. Without these qualifications in the teacher, the pupil's time is se than wasted, We consider the two eauses referred to, namely, general neglect on the part of the pupil and worthless instruction, to be the fruitful source of so much bad pem ‘The evil avising from this general OBJECTS TO BE ATTAINED AND DIFFICULLIES TO BE OVERCOME. ly applied to business, fcility in the execution must cer far as one’s handwritin ‘nly is to be pe take precedence of everything hut legibility. Te ean be of very little ailvantage to any one to be able to form single letter or a few words elegantly, if, a8 soon as he is forced to write with any rapidity, his penmanship bbecornes an illegible seruv but this is the inevitable rosult with those who stavt with the false impression that the form of the letters is of imore importance than the ready exceution of them, amd go on wasting time with out a thought of anything beyond making a yood imitation of the copy. All such persons are sure to meet with great disappointment the moment they are obliged to desert their Iabored and plodding course for the active necosities of business Te seeins singular, but itis very true, that in almost any other mechauieal operation where skilful manips Iation is required, the hand and ann, though they may ho rigid and unwieldy at frst, gradually accommodate: ‘themselves to the most convenient position for exeeuting the desired work with the greatest facility, while in6 writing, the awkward bes unless he is directed i un inner writes awkwardly for a lifetime, and his false positions are never ch oie one who ¢ ngod for true one: n give him the aid he requires. Hleganee in the form, sym metry in. the proporti ranity in the size, slope, and spacing of the letters are all essential to a fault- less lindviting, but no one ean be considered a thorough penman unless, in addition to all these requisites, he poseses complete command of the pen and the power to execute unbesitatingly and with the most perfect freedom, ‘To attain this end persistent energy, patient practice, and most earefil attention fo clementary principles,are all indispensable, Tis a mistake to suppose that one eat take a copy, without regard either to its adaptedness to his ease, or (© the position of his band or pen or manner of doing his work and by mere foree of practice, in some bap. hazard way, sooner ov later acquire a good hand, ‘The pupil must take it for granted that an acquisition so valuable cannot be had at a trilfing sserifice of labor. But practice, indispensable ns it is, is worse than nothing if it be of the wrong kind; andl fr this reason he should be exceedingly careful to get properly started, so that instead of having to go buck at a future time to correct and unlesin erroneous habits, every hour's prac. tige should tend to establish good ones, an to show such encouraging progress as will induce hima to follow up covery advantage ulrealy gained. Ie must endeavor to acquire suck a love for the study as will induce him to practice for the pleasure it affords lim, and the certainty he feels that he is acquiring information ren valuable, He mast uot be easily discouraged. It would he very strange if his advancement should keep pace with his desite to improve. He mey even wish to transform a bad handwriting into a goo! one in a dozen or twenty easy Iessons of an hour each, ff # ocawol be done. ‘Chere is no such short road to be taken, although every properly directed effort is suse to be amply rewanled, nd here it may be proper to notiee, that the personal superintendence of a competent instructor ean never be fully supplied by a written treatise. Practical suggestions, with earefully prepared copies, ani dia: ‘grams, though they afford most valuable assistance to an earnest intelligent student, are only the agencieswhich it isa teacher's duty to have actively and constantly at work. Inportant Itints may be printed for the student's benefit, yet he may not think of them after reading them onee, but a teacher who realizes their value will reiterate them day after day, until the pupil is made to perceive that there are many things tbe derned, and that he must pay attention to them, or ehe minke no progress. Some are #0 deficient it heir natural capacity for this particular study that they ean seo no ehoiee between a good letter and a poor one, ‘Their own handwriting seems ns goo as a better one, anil in some respeets may he even preferable. ‘The taste of such persons must be cultivated; and althongl this seems, in many cases, a hopeless task, yet those who are s0 unfortunate as to need such assistance eam got it much more readily from a teacher than from books Again, student may he ever so anxious and willing to Jearn, and may possess the essential qualities of perseverance and ability to a satisfactory degree, and yet be in doubt in regard to many things which a teacher should be able to decide for him at once. Still there are many who, either from want of time or means, cannot plave themselves under the direetion of an instructor, and for the benefit of such, this hook has been prepared. ‘The design has boon to make the exercises attretive and practical, and to give them as litile the charneter of n task as possible, so that the practice of them may serve to pass a Teisure hour or a winter's evening pleasantly as well as profitably. Useless details which tend only to perplex the learner, without effecting pructical re sults, have been carefully avoided, while nothing has been intentionally omitted which could be of any essential Venefit. If the leamer will bring to bear the same energy and common sense whieh he would exercise in the prosecution of any other undertaking, and will follow the direetions here given for his guidance with the same determination that he would bestow upon any other subject equally important, he may be assured that the time he devotes to it will be profitably expended, and although the aid of am instructor might be of incalculable ndvantaze torvurdls hastening the result, yet he will not fil in the end to become a tolerably expert and aeeou- plished penssan, From long experience, we recommend the use of ondinary-sized letterpaper, in sheets for writing the exer8 cies upon, in preforence to eopy-books, both for schools and selinstruction. Tt gets the student in the Mnbit ff writiug on tho sane material that be will be ealled upon to proctie feveafter, and does not discourage ‘in by having a bad, blotted, or imperfect page, hound up with his better samples, while the teacher may retain thet at any time at pleasure, showing the progress of the pupil A neat, cheap portfolio, might be provided for schools Conex’s Commer, Couns Boston, October, 1804.