for it has been maintained that Mr. Hawthorne's handwriting was
singularly legible. The present writer possesses specimens of Mr.
Hawthorne's chirography at various ages, from boyhood until a day or
two before his death. Like the handwriting of most men, it was at its
best between the twenty-fifth and the fortieth years of life; and in
some instances it is a remarkably beautiful type of penmanship. But as
time went on it deteriorated, and, while of course retaining its
elementary characteristics, it became less and less easy to read,
especially in those writings which were intended solely for his own
perusal. As with other men of sensitive organization, the mood of the
hour, a good or a bad pen, a ready or an obstructed flow of thought,
would all be reflected in the formation of the written letters and
words. In the manuscript of the fragmentary sketch which has just been
published in a magazine, which is written in an ordinary commonplace-
book, with ruled pages, and in which the author had not yet become
possessed with the spirit of the story and characters, the handwriting
is deliberate and clear. In the manuscript of "Doctor Grimshawe's
Secret," on the other hand, which was written almost immediately after
the other, but on unruled paper, and when the writer's imagination was
warm and eager, the chirography is for the most part a compact mass of
minute cramped hieroglyphics, hardly to be deciphered save by flashes
of inspiration. The matter is not, in itself, of importance, and is
alluded to here only as having been brought forward in connection with
other insinuations, with the notice of which it seems unnecessary to
soil these pages. Indeed, were I otherwise disposed, Doctor Grimshawe
himself would take the words out of my mouth; his speech is far more
poignant and eloquent than mine. In dismissing this episode, I will
take the liberty to observe that it appears to indicate a spirit in our
age less sceptical than is commonly supposed,--belief in miracles being
still possible, provided only the miracle be a scandalous one.