27 JANUARY 1923, Page 24

Mr. French is very thorough. Everybody's handwriting seems to be

here, with some comment upon it by the author. " Each chapter contains some of the underlying principles of handwriting psychology as applied to some phase of human endeavour, commercial advancement, or protection and such information as is relative to characteristic traits, aptitudes and talents which are revealed." That is Mr. French's plan for this book, and a very excellent plan it is. That he should write in the manner of the above quotation is, of course, his misfortune, but those readers who are convinced of the significance of handwriting will do well to overlook Mr. French's unfortunate manner and to study. his book. That high loops in one's h's show one to possess a vivid imagination, that a's and o's open at the top indicate a good raconteur, that a large capital D shows a love of approbation, that a long capital Y is a mark of great egotism and conceit, these are curious facts that leave the world more wonderful than ever. If we shrink from a very close examination of the author's psychology of handwriting, it is simply because our own handwriting, long abused, would probably prove that our " characteristic traits, aptitudes and talents prove

are not what they ought to be, so we keep the formidable Mr. French at a distance.