Chapter XIV: Letter XXVII

_Dear Sir_,—I have to inform you that “the pretty little poem” to which you allude in your letter is not, as you suppose, of my composition. The author is unknown to me. The poem _is_ very pretty.

Yours, &c.

JOSEPH C. MILLER.

The writing of Miss Gould resembles that of Miss Leslie very nearly. It is rather more _petite_—but has the same neatness, picturesqueness and finish without over-effeminacy. The literary style of one who writes thus is sure to be forcibly epigrammatic—either in detached sentences—or in the _tout ensemble_ of the composition. Paper very fine—wafered.

{602} LETTER XXVIII.

_Dear Sir_,—Herewith I have the honor of sending you what you desire. If the Essay shall be found to give you any new information, I shall not regret the trouble of having written it.

Respectfully,

JOSEPH D. MILLER, Esq.

The MS. of Professor Dew is large, bold, very heavy, abrupt, and illegible. It is possible that he never thinks of mending a pen. There can be no doubt that his chirography has been modified, like that of Paulding, by strong adventitious circumstances—for it appears to retain but few of his literary peculiarities. Among the few retained, are _boldness_ and _weight_. The abruptness we do not find in his composition—which is indeed somewhat diffuse. Neither is the illegibility of the MS. to be paralleled by any confusion of thought or expression. He is remarkably lucid. We must look for the two last mentioned qualities of his MS. in the supposition that he has been in the habit of writing a great deal, in a desperate hurry, and with a stump of a pen. Paper good—but only a half sheet of it—wafered.