[105] A small volume which I met with at Paris, entitled "L'Art de
juger du Caractere des Hommes sur leurs Ecritures," is curious for
its illustrations, consisting of _twenty-four plates, exhibiting
fac-similes of the writing of eminent and other persons_, correctly
taken from the original autographs. Since this period both France
and Germany have produced many books devoted to the use of the
curious in autographs. In our own country J.T. Smith published a
curious collection of fac-similes of letters, chiefly from literary
characters.
[106] It will be of interest to the reader to note the names of
these poets in the consecutive order they are alluded to. They are
Scott, Byron, Rogers, Moore, and Campbell.
[107] He was also the tutor of Lady Jane Grey, and the author of one
of our earliest and best works on education.
[108] Since this article was written, Nichols has published a
cleverly-executed series of autographs of royal, noble, and
illustrious persons of Great Britain, in which the reader may study
the accuracy of the criticism above given.