Chapter XXI: Letter XIII: Baltimore,

_Dear Sir_,--I have received your note of the -- ult. and its contents puzzle me no little. I fear it will be impossible to give a definitive reply to an epistle so enigmatically worded. Please write again.

Yours truly,

JOSEPH N. MILLER, ESQ.

{210} This is our _beau ideal_ of penmanship. Its prevailing character is _picturesque_. This appearance is given by terminating every letter abruptly, without _tapering_, and by using no perfect angles, and none at all which are not spherical. Great uniformity is preserved in the whole air of the MS.--with great variety in the constituent parts. Every character has the clearness and blackness of a bold wood-cut, and appears to be _placed upon the paper_ with singular precision. The long letters do not rise or fall in an undue degree above the line. From this specimen of his hand writing, we should suppose Mr. Kennedy to have the eye of a painter, more especially in regard to the picturesque--to have refined tastes generally--to be exquisitely alive to the proprieties of life--to possess energy, decision, and great talent--to have a penchant also for the _bizarre_. The paper is very fine, clear and white, with gilt edges--the seal neat and much in keeping with the MS. Just sufficient wax, and no more than sufficient, is used for the impression, which is nearly square, with a lion's head in full _alto relievo_, surrounded by the motto "_il parle par tout_."