i54 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



In such an investigation, however, that peculiar perversion of 

 writing known as mirror-writing, because legible only when seen in a 

 mirror or in transparency, may be utilized experimentally. The fact, 

 on the one hand, that many left-handed children write in such a fashion 

 from the first; and, on the other hand, that right-side paralytics, 

 forced to the use of the left hand often resort spontaneously to such a 

 form in their written communications has brought it about that the 

 investigation of mirror-writing has been in the past largely turned over 

 to those whose interests were either pedagogical or pathological, and 

 has led to the conclusion that mirror-writing is either the normal 

 writing for the left hand of all individuals or the normal writing for 

 the left hand of the left-handed only. An examination of the evidence 

 cited in support of these propositions or a discussion of the explanations 

 that are used to ground them is not now in place. What is of interest 

 is the insistence upon the need of further experimental work on in- 

 duced mirror-writing with the hope of getting more light upon the 

 relation here involved between the written characters and their visual 

 significance. For the first question that arises is this : How can mirror- 

 writing prove visually satisfactory, however "motorly" comfortable? 

 And the answer to this question involves the whole problem of the 

 relation of visual and motor control. It is probable that artificially 

 induced mirror- writing is a simple device for determining to what 

 extent the divorce between motor and visual control has resulted in 

 the case of any one individual. 



But the relation of handwriting to emotional temperament, as well 

 as its relation to imagery types, merits consideration. Variation in 

 expression under emotional disturbance has long been a special sub- 

 ject of experiment. Little attempt, however, has been made to compare 

 the results so obtained with the appearance of writing under emotional 

 tension. To be sure, the graphologists cite a tendency to elevate 

 progressively the line of writing as an evidence of mental exaltation, of 

 joy or ambition, while a fall in the alignment is indicative of the de- 

 pressive emotions, self-distrust, sadness, melancholy. Again, a strongly 

 marked tendency toward centrifugal or centripetal movements is held 

 to indicate, on the one hand, ardor, simplicity, activity, uprightness, 

 and, on the other hand, slowness, lack of spontaneity, egoism. These 

 observations, if confirmed, need to be brought into definite correlation 

 with the results obtained in experimental work ; and in this connection 

 the graphologists do appeal to the experimental interpretation of 

 movements of expansion and of flexion. 



Again, the observation seems in point that variations from the 

 normal in the handwriting of any individual are, under defined condi- 

 tions, of more value for general interpretative purposes than is varia- 

 tion from one individual to another. Some attempts to induce arti- 



