Page 48 - the-idiot

‘Oh!’ cried the general, catching sight of the prince’s
specimen of caligraphy, which the latter had now handed
him for inspection. ‘Why, this is simply beautiful; look at
that, Gania, there’s real talent there!’
On a sheet of thick writing-paper the prince had written
in medieval characters the legend:
‘The gentle Abbot Pafnute signed this.’
‘There,’ explained the prince, with great delight and an-
imation, ‘there, that’s the abbot’s real signature—from a
manuscript of the fourteenth century. All these old abbots
and bishops used to write most beautifully, with such taste
and so much care and diligence. Have you no copy of Pogo-
din, general? If you had one I could show you another type.
Stop a bit—here you have the large round writing common
in France during the eighteenth century. Some of the letters
are shaped quite differently from those now in use. It was the
writing current then, and employed by public writers gen-
erally. I copied this from one of them, and you can see how
good it is. Look at the well-rounded a and d. I have tried to
translate the French character into the Russian lettersa dif-
ficult thing to do, but I think I have succeeded fairly. Here is
a fine sentence, written in a good, original hand—‘Zeal tri-
umphs over all.’ That is the script of the Russian War Office.
That is how official documents addressed to important per-
sonages should be written. The letters are round, the type
black, and the style somewhat remarkable. A stylist would
not allow these ornaments, or attempts at flourishes—just
look at these unfinished tails!—but it has distinction and
really depicts the soul of the writer. He would like to give