86 means of conferring pleasure. To write as you talk will be to carry your own presence to friends who should consider your letter as the next best substitute for your own company. Remember, that your friends do not want from you an essay or a sermon; what they do want is a glimpse of you. Business letters are the very opposite of friendly ones. Here one needs to study how to say the most in the fewest words. A business letter may well be written and rewritten till it can be no further condensed. Here every item of heading, address, and signature must be accurate and complete. Thus you see at once that the model writer of business letters a failure in the friendly epistle; while the friend whose we most enjoy may make a poor shift at business writing. practice, however, one may easily excel in both. may pen be chat By Midway between very familiar letters and those strictly upon business lies a large class of social communications which express all possible shades of respectful formality, as well as every form and degree of courtesy. Notes of invitation, of regret, of congratulation, of condolence and sympathy, of introIn brief social forms duction, are a few of the most common. one may follow any good model. In letters not to one's intimate friends, good taste and social usage alike demand that we state clearly and in correct form when, where, by whom, and to whom, the letter is written. There are reasons for this rule besides those of convenience; and to disregard good form in letters of courtesy is properly considered to show a lack of good breeding. The following hints will be found valuable : a legible hand is of first importance. To abbreviate common words shows 87 indolence and lack of respect for one's correspondent. All numbers except dates and the number of a house should be expressed in words, and the street number should be written in full. Black ink and unruled paper are most approved: lined paper hints that the writer lacks skill. A note may be written upon pages one and three; if longer than this, the order should be one, two, three, four. A mode now somewhat prevalent takes the order, four, one, two, three. This method has some advantages, but is not commonly employed. The close should harmonize with the salutation which has preceded. Thus, the close, "Very respectfully," should not follow "My dear Sister." In formal business letters, Miss or Mrs. in parentheses should precede the signatures of women. more respectful if written out in full, except Mr. and Mrs., which are All pre-titles are always abbreviated, and Dr., which usually is. The best authorities regard abbreviations Gen., Col., Capt., Pres., etc., as impolite. They are certainly not in the best taste and are not indorsed by our best publications. Write" The" Reverend before the names of clergymen. Mistress is still used in England and Scotland as pre-title, but in America we have shortened it to Miss and to Mrs. The plural of Miss Smith is the Miss Smiths, and the plural of Mrs. Smith is the Mrs. Smiths. should not herself use nor be addressed by her husband's pre-title; as, A woman Mrs. Senator Brown, Mrs. General Jones. salutation and complimentary close and all confidential communications. When using post-cards, omit It is a breach of good manners to read the superscriptions upon envelopes and post-cards of other people, or to read the post-cards entrusted to one's self for delivery. It is unwise to combine business and personal affairs in the same letter. I give you here examples of letters written by two of the greatest masters of English that the race has ever produced. One of these is part of a familiar letter written to his own little daughter by the man who composed our great Declaration of Independence. The second is by a man who used a wooden shovel for his scratchbook, yet who so trained himself that his letters are correct in every least detail. His penmanship was 88 careful to the point of elegance. His spelling, punctuation, as conscientious as his manner and capitalization were expression. of The first letter was long held dear by a great queen and empress. Here is its story : Queen Victoria was an assiduous collector of autographs, and it is an interesting and curious fact that one of the most precious treasures of her large collection is a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to his daughter Martha when she was eleven years old. Her Majesty frequently showed an uncompromising it to American visitors. Although Jefferson was enemy of England throughout his entire life, cherishing an unreasonable hostility to everything British, Queen Victoria admired him as much as The simplicity of his life and the tender interest he did any American. manifested toward his children seemed to touch her heart. She obtained this letter from Mrs. Randolph, the daughter of Mr. Jefferson, some time after his death. Her fad for collecting autographs was then at its height, and she requested the foreign office at London to secure for her a typical example of Mr. Jefferson's writing. Mr. Vail, the British charge at Washington, forwarded the request to Mrs. Randolph, who, appreciating Queen Victoria's character, and knowing her love for children, selected a letter which she had received from her father during her childhood. It is dated Annapolis, November 28, 1783, and is addressed to "My dear Patsy." After expressing the sorrow he felt in parting with her at the school in which she was placed, he says: “The acquirements which I hope you will make under the tutors I have provided for you will render you more worthy of my love, and if they cannot increase it, they will prevent its diminution. With respect to the distribution of your time, the following is what I should approve: "From eight to ten practice music. "From ten to one dance one day and draw another. "From one to two draw on the day you dance and write a letter next day. "From three to four read French. "From four to five exercise yourself in music. "From then till bedtime read English, write, etc. "Take care that you never spell a word wrong. Always before you write a word consider how it is spelled, and if you do not remember it, turn to a dictionary. It produces great praise to a lady to spell well. "If ever you are about to say anything amiss or to do anything wrong, consider beforehand and you will feel something within you which will tell you it is wrong and ought not to be said or done. This is your conscience, and be sure to obey it. Our Maker has given us this faithful internal monitor, and if you always obey it, you will always be prepared for the end of the world, or for a more certain event, which is death. “I have placed my happiness on seeing you good and accomplished, and no distress which this world can now bring on me would equal that of your own disappointing of my hopes. If you love me, then strive to be good under every situation, and to all living creatures, and to acquire those accomplishments which will go far toward assuring you the warmest love of your affectionate father, "THOMAS JEfferson." From the Chicago Record. The second letter has been engrossed and framed and hung in one of the Oxford (England) university halls as a specimen of the purest English and the most elegant diction. I hope you will read it many times until its nobility of thought, its beauty and simplicity of expression, have become a part of your own mental possessions. Dear Madam :- I have been shown in the files of the war department a statement of the adjutant-general of Massachusetts, that you were the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the battlefield. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from grief of a loss so overwhelming. 90 I pray But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the republic they died to save. that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. Very respectfully yours, ABRAHAM LINCOLN. I. Oral: EXERCISES Oral: Discover by discussion the consensus of class opinion upon the following topics: 1. Some uses suitable to the various standard sizes of paper, namely: foolscap letter paper packet note note (about eight by thirteen inches) (about eight by ten inches or a trifle larger) (about five and three-fourths by nine inches) 2. The desirability or otherwise of highly colored papers and inks. 3. The desirability of having paper and envelopes matched or nearly alike in color, size, weight, etc. 4. The advantage or otherwise of wax as compared with gummed surfaces. 5. The hygiene of using a sponge rather than the tongue for moistening gummed surfaces. 6. Some probable reasons for frequent changes in the style of fashionable note papers. 7. The sizes, tints, and weight of paper always in good taste, and, on the whole, most convenient. 8. 9. Some good reasons in favor of unruled paper. Some reasons why everyone should be able to write a goodlooking page without the aid of lines upon or underneath the sheet used. |