Just by way of an update, here is the complementary Processing code that I came up with. To recap, the goal of this all was to be able to take a text file and have it print out to an lcd screen continuously, without overwhelming the buffer.
import processing.serial.;
Serial port; // Create object from Serial class
import processing.net.;
String data;
void setup() {
size(400,200);
background(50);
fill(200);
port = new Serial(this, Serial.list()[0], 9600);
port.buffer(128);
}
void draw() {
String lines[] = loadStrings("prufrock.txt");
for (int i=0; i < lines.length; i++) {
port.write(lines*);*
_ delay(5000); //it seems that you want this delay to equal the speed at which the lcd will print * the characters in the buffer + 10%_
}
}
void serialEvent(Serial port) {
String lines[] = loadStrings("prufrock.txt");
for (int i=0; i < lines.length; i++) {
port.write(lines*);*
* delay(5000);*
*} *
}