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2017L I B R. A FLY
OF THE
U NIVER.S ITY
Of I LLI N O I S

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T39eTHE ETIQUETTE OF
LETTER WRITINGThe Etiquette of
Letter Writing

BY

LAURA THORNBOROUGH

author or "etiquette for everybody"

PUBLISHERS

BARSE & HOPKINS

NEW YORK, N. Y.	NEWARK, N. J.Copyright, 1924
£Y BARSE & HOPKINS

VXXMTXD IK THI UNITED STATE8 OF AMERICAPREFACE

"I must write a letter to Mary Blake to-day/' How
often do we hear some such expression as this in the
home, in the office, in the hotel, or on our travels; and
so we sit down with pen in hand to send a written
message to this distant friend.

Letter writing has become so common that few
people take the time to study its significance. We do
not realize that this letter which we send out so hastily
and carelessly is our own ambassador. It goes and
meets our friend, greeting her in our stead. By its
appearance and its message, we ourselves are tacitly
judged. If it is "sloppy," or in bad taste, or written on
a paper of loud tint or poor quality—the mental picture
conjured up of the sender is not flattering.

So much attention is being paid in this latter day
to etiquette as applied to behavior, that another book
on the etiquette of letter writing seems both timely and
worth while. Such a book does not need to follow the
old lines of the "Model Letter Writer," but should
point out the canons of good taste. The present volume
has tried as succinctly as possible to give some of these
general rules. Instead of offering a number of model
forms to be slavishly copied, it quotes wherever pos-
sible from actual letters, both from well-known and
unknown persons. Instead of saying, "This is how you
should write," it says, "This is what others have writ-
ten. Do you think they are good examples of their
type?"

The present book, which is a companion volume toPREFACE

the same author's "Etiquette for Everybody," sounds
the same practical, friendly note of that book. It is
addressed not merely to the social "highbrow'' but to
the rank and file of well-bred persons. It takes up, one
by one, the first principles of letter writing, with sug-
gestive examples usually chosen from famous writers.
Every type of letter is considered, both social and busi-
ness. A special chapter is devoted to children's letters;
another to letter-heads; another to grammar and punc-
tuation, and so on.

There is no short cut to correct letter writing. Like
any other form of literary composition, it comes only
from study—from the capacity of taking infinite pains.
If you would write a successful literary letter, study the
models left you by some of the great masters of litera-
ture, from Addison down to Stevenson. If you would
aspire to be a successful writer of business letters, study
each example of such communications as sent out by
the masters of big business.

There is real joy to be had in the writing of a letter.
Every letter, no matter how trivial it may seem at the
time of the writing, should be the very best of which
we are capable, a pleasure to behold and a greater
pleasure to read.

Letters are such an everyday occurrence with most of
us, that we have lost sight of the important part they
play in our lives. Perhaps no better summing-up of
the vital influence they exert can be found than these
words carved in marble over the entrance to the stately
Post Office building in Washington:

Carrier of News and Knowledge,

Instrument of Trade and Industry,

Promoter of Mutual Acquaintance, of Peace
and Good Will.PREFACE

vii

Messenger of Sympathy and of Love,
Servant of Parted Friends,

Consoler of the Lonely,

Bond of the Scattered Family,
Enlarger of the Common Life.CONTENTS

ch4ptbb	page

Preface • • « • •	• «•. v

I. Letter Writing Yesterday and Today . 13
The First Writings. The New Picture
Language. The Romance of Writing. The
Decline To-day. A Safe Rule. The Timely
Letter.

II. Different Kinds of Letters .... 21
Common Errors. Stationery. The Head-
ing of the Letter. The Salutation. Open-
ing and Closing Paragraphs. The Body of
the Letter. The Complimentary Close. The
Signature. Addressing the Envelope.

III.	The Personal Letter......35

Qualities Essential to Good Letters. Three
Essentials. The Typewritten Letter. Be-
ginnings of Correspondence. Need of Let-
ters. Writing the First Letter. Letters
Are Self-Revealing. Specimen Letters.
Love-Letters.

IV.	Social Correspondence ....... 63

Crests, Monograms and Markings. For
Informal Correspondence. The Formal
Invitation. Informal Invitations. "Just a
Note." House Parties. The "Bread-and-
Butter" Letter. Letters of Thanks. Greet-
ing Cards. "Duty" Letters. Letters of
Condolence. Letters of Congratulation.

ixX

CONTENTS

CXAPTBB	PAOB

Birthday Letters. The Letter to a Con-
valescent. The Letter of Introduction. The
Letter in Behalf of Charity.

fcV. Personal Business Letters .... 86
General Rules. Stationery. Heading. The
Salutation. Different Kinds of Business
Letters. Letters of Application. Inclo-
sures. The Business Introduction. Sum-
mary. Some Good Rules.

VI. Business Correspondence ..... 105
Letter-heads. Business Forms. Typewrit-
ten Signatures. Foreign Correspondence.
Stamping Signatures. Physical Form of
Letters. The Sales Letter. Form and
Circular Letters. Inclosing Printed Matter.
Follow-up Letters. The Form Letter. Re-
plies. Letters of Apology. Letters of
Refusal. Answering Letters of Complaint.
Collection Letters. Letters Refusing
Credit.

VII. What to Say and What Not to Say . . 124
Style in Letters. Some Don'ts. Some
Things to Do. Points for the Social Letter.

VIII. Points in Good English.....142

Choice of Words. Verbs. Adjectives.
Adverbs. Pronouns. Prepositions. Use of
Hyphens. Use of Capitals. Paragraphs.
Proper Punctuation. Figures and Numbers.
In Conclusion.

IX. Correct Forms of Address .. ^	. 143

X. Postal Information.......156

Foreign and Domestic Postage. First ClassCONTENTS

Mail. Third Class Matter. Second Class
Matter. Fourth Class Matter. Care in
Wrapping Mail. Inclosures in Packages.
Inclosures in Letters. Registered Mail.
Unmailable Matter. Forwarding Mail.
Special Delivery. Telegrams.

XI. Children's Letters.......

First Principles. Letters Written by Chil-
dren. Thank-you Letters. Replies to
Children's Letters. Children's Invitations.
Birthday Parties, In General,Etiquette of Letter Writing

I

LETTER WRITING YESTERDAY
AND TO-DAY

IETTER writing is such a universal habit among
civilized people that it is hard to imagine a time
when it was not known. Yet staid scientists tell
us that thousands of years elapsed after man appeared
on earth before he began to express his thoughts in
writing or to leave a written record of himself. And
even to-day in many lands writing is unknown.

A recent explorer in the wilds of Africa tells of send-
ing a message he had scrawled on a piece of bark, by
one of his native carriers to the nearest town. When
the message obtained for the native the articles listed,
the fellow in terror burned up the bit of bark. He
thought it was bewitched—"bad medicine"!

The First Writings.—In all likelihood, the first
attempts at writing were merely crude pictures. One
savage drew for another a likeness of a bear or elk
to indicate good hunting grounds.

Writing, like speech, is merely a medium for
expressing ideas. Just as the child of to-day, given
paper and pencil, draws crude pictures before he learns
to write, so the earliest writing of which we know
was picture writing. The purpose of the crude draw-i4 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

ings of paleolithic times found in ancient caves of
France, Spain, and America, was, it is now believed,
to issue warnings and to impart facts. It was not
merely a form of interior decoration, as was once held.

As writing progressed, pictured ideas became charac-
ter signs, then syllable signs, then speech signs, until
the alphabet, or separate letter signs, was evolved.
Until recently the invention of the alphabet was credited
to the Phoenicians, but now it is believed they obtained
it from an earlier nation.

The earliest writings of which we know are the
picture writings of the early Babylonians, who, as far
back as 4500 b. c., lived in cities and wrote on burnt
clay tablets and on stone. Their writings resemble the
picture writings of the American Indians who lived
centuries before the discovery of America, and whose
civilization is held by some scientists to-day to be even
older than the civilization of the East.

The Egyptian hieroglyphics clearly show the evolu-
tion of picture writing into symbolic form, and the
beginnings of an alphabet. But we must remember
that the Egyptians attained a high degree of civilization.

It is interesting to note that even as the Babylonians
and Egyptians of old used thousands of signs, each
fepresenting a syllable, so the Chinese of to-day use
idea signs. Their alphabet with its numerous charac-
ters is an evolution of picture writing, and the ideas
the characters represent are translated into different
words in different parts of China. Thus it will be
seen that picture writing, though less accurate, has a
more universal appeal.

The New Picture Language.—In the modern mo-
tion picture, which has been called "the universal lan-
guage" and "the Esperanto of the eye," we have onlyLETTER WRITING YESTERDAY 15

gone back to expressing ideas in pictures. Truly there
seems to be nothing new under the sun!

It is generally conceded that differences in speech
and in written language is a great barrier to amity
among nations. Misunderstandings arise, delays ensue,
commerce is impeded all for want of a common lan-
guage among the nations of the world. Will the
motion picture prove to be the medium through which
we shall communicate with the bolsheviks in Russia,
the scientists in France and the natives in darkest
Africa? When the titleless motion picture becomes
general, will we at last have found the universal
language which can be understood wherever there are
eyes to see and brains to understand the impressions
being taken in by the eye?

But just as the film will never replace the teacher
or the textbook, wild predictions to the contrary not-
withstanding, so the art of writing as it is now prac-
tised will not be done away with by any other medium
no matter how universal.

The Romance of Writing.—Writing is perhaps the
most generally used of all mediums for expressing ideas
and conveying thought. We write forty letters to-day
where we wrote one yesterday, and as the quality of
our letters seems to be decreasing as the quantity
increases, there is need to pause and consider the science
and art of letter writing.

"The business and social and diplomatic possibilities
of writing letters are infinite," says one writer on the
subject. "It is a process by which we make and keep
our friends, or increase our business, or widen our
influence. We can make them happy or drive them
to despair."

Critics generally agree that the art of letter writing16 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

no longer flourishes as it did in the eighteenth century,
the heyday of letters when a letter was more than a
brief social chat, an acknowledgment of an invitation
to dine, or an effort to get more business or secure
payment for services rendered.

A century and more ago, a letter was frequently more
than a letter—it was literature. The letters of Madame
de Sevigne, Madame de Stael, Charles Lamb, Horace
Walpole, Lord Chesterfield, Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
John Keats, Thomas Carlyle, and other personages, are
ranked among the best literature of their day. In our
own day we find the published letters of Robert Louis
Stevenson among the most delightful of his writings.

The letter form of writing has proved popular among
novelists from the time of Richardson, the first Eng-
lish novelist, up to "Daddy Long Legs" and "Molly
Make Believe," and "Letters from a Senator's Wife."

It is true that we have fewer published letters to-day
than a century ago, probably because so many of the
letters written are not worthy of publication. In those
days people took time to write. Letter writing was not
a mere pastime; it was an art.

In the days before the telephone, the telegraph, the
wireless, the radio, the newspaper, and the motion
picture, the receipt of a letter with its news and descrip-
tions of people and places was a significant event. Such
letters were read again and again, passed around among
friends, and long treasured. The penning of such a
letter was also an event—something to be planned
thoughtfully and executed with care.

The Decline To-day.—How different from to-day
when we rush to our desks, dash off rapidly or dictate
hurriedly the letters that must be written, and can be
put off no longer, sign them rapidly, frequently with-LETTER WRITING YESTERDAY *7

out reading them over, and then heave a sigh of relief
because that disagreeable task is done! How often we
hear people say: "I hate to write letters! I never
write letters if I can possibly avoid it."

Why this deep-seated dislike? Why do we neglect
to answer all letters except those that imperatively
demand an answer? Ask any young person, and the
answer you will receive nine times out of the proverbial
ten will be: "I haven't the time, and I don't know what
to say." But the real answer is laziness, indifference,
thoughtlessness. We can always find the time to do the
things we want to do most. The first difficulty is
making a start. This difficulty may be overcome in
part by having a supply of writing material conveniently
at hand,—pen, ink, typewriter if possible, and business
and social stationery.

"But I don't know how to begin or what to say,"
is the cry; and judging from some of the letters we
have seen, we are forced to admit there is much truth
in that statement. And that is why another book is
being written on the subject of Letter Writing. This
is no attempt to teach the art of letter writing. It is,
instead, a re-telling of correct forms to use and a re-
minder to the thoughtless to be less thoughtless and to
the careless to be less careless.

It is surprising how many people of apparent educa-
tion do not know how to write correctly the simplest
of business letters, and whose personal letters, often
few and far between, are wholly devoid of paragraphs,
margins, punctuation, style, or individuality. Many
members of the younger generation have become so
careless that they fail to acknowledge even formal
invitations but have recourse to the telephone, because
"writing is so much trouble" 118 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

The lack of good manners and the failure to do the
many little things of life, of which the bigger things
are made, has become so appalling, that we feel more
than justified in adding our voice to those already
raised in protest. Hence this little volume which
endeavors to tell things we want to know and to remind
us of the things we know but forget or neglect.

A letter is merely a chat on paper, with one person
doing the chatting without fear of interruption.
Viewed from this standpoint what a pleasure letter
writing might become! Good letter writers may be
born, but they can also be made. Any one can learn
to write a letter correctly, and can acquire the habit
of writing naturally.

A Safe Rule.—A safe rule for all except the formal
social letter is to write as you talk. But writing has
the advantage that it gives you a chance to weigh your
words and think before you write.

If you had ten or twenty minutes to spend with a
friend whom you had not seen for weeks or months,
you would not spend the time discussing the weather
or other trivialities, but would discuss the things of
greatest mutual interest, omitting the less interesting.

If you hear that a great misfortune or sorrow has
befallen a neighbor, you hurry over to express your
sympathy and to offer your services. To write a letter
of condolence takes no more time than a neighborly
visit, and can be made even more worth while as it is
a more lasting record—perhaps treasured for years.
Write what you would say in person. The same rule
holds for the letter of congratulation, of thanks for
favors received. When some honor has befallen a
friend, the natural impulse is to call in person or tele-
phone congratulations. Why not, instead, sit down.DIFFERENT KINDS OF LETTERS 19

the moment you hear the news, and write the sincere
words that come naturally at the time? After a little
practice you will be surprised at their ease, and the
sense of satisfaction you yourself feel. It is only when
one delays that such letters become difficult.

The Timely Letter.—The prospective bride who
writes her notes of thanks, notes that must be written
without fail, as soon as she opens her weddings gifts
has little difficulty in finding something to say. The
notes almost write themselves. She finds it easy to
express the pleasure she feels, but it is less easy when
the first elation has passed and there are fifty notes
to write instead of five. Letters of condolence, of con-
gratulation, and of thanks are much more appreciated
when timely than when delayed. Letters that are put
off become burdensome to the writer and often flavor-
less to the receiver.

The efficient, business-like, and very busy person
is the most meticulous about his correspondence,
because he realizes the importance and necessity of
promptness and dispatch. It is the same with large
corporations. They cannot afford to get behind in their
daily correspondence. Their motto is, "To-day's mail
to-day."

The much loved President Harding was a striking
example in this respect. The kindliest and most con-
siderate of men, he made it a point to answer punc-
tiliously the thousands of letters addressed to him.
Many who wrote to him on personal matters, thus add-
ing to his heavy burdens, remember having received
prompt and personal replies each time. If he, with all
of his duties as president, could find the time to attend
to his vast correspondence, is there any excuse for
any of us?20 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

How many of us fail to acknowledge letters promptly
and neglect entirely many kindly letters that do not
actually demand an answer ! Each one of these rep-
resents an opportunity neglected, a friendship suffered
to languish because "jve haven't time" !II

DIFFERENT KINDS OF LETTERS

THE correspondence of the average person may
be divided into three general classes: formal
and informal social correspondence; personal
and friendly letters; and business letters.

In addition, we have the letter intended for publica-
tion. This may be in the form of personal letters
written by men in public affairs to relatives or intimate
friends but intended for future publication, or public
letters written to a newspaper or magazine and ad-
dressed "To the Editor." Almost every newspaper
to-day and many magazines have a department entitled
"The Editors Drawer," "The People's Forum,"
"Here's Where We Let Our Readers Speak," "Letters
From Our Readers," etc., etc., where, if one has an
opinion to express and feels the urge to write, he
may speak his mind to the public. Such letters are
usually written, not for the love of letter writing, but
from the very human desire to have one's say on
the problems of the day and to see oneself in print.
Of course, the editors publish only what they consider
the best of such letters.

But it is not to the writer of public letters that this
book is addressed, but rather to the person who finds
all letter writing a burden, who is not certain how to
begin, how or when to end, or what to say.

2122 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

Common Errors.—Errors common to many letters
are: the letters are not dated; they contain insufficient
address; they are written without margins or para-
graphs ; they contain insufficient punctuation; the
sentences are without verbs or subjects; they are
written on paper of no particular size or style and
which does not fit the envelope; and the real purpose
of the letter is difficult to determine because of irrele-
vant detail.

Before we take up the art of letter writing, let us
consider: (i) the kind of stationery to use; (2) the
proper heading; (3) the salutation; (4) the opening
paragraph; (5) the body of the letter; (6) the com-
plimentary close; (7) the signature; (8) addressing
the envelope.

Stationery.—The kind of stationery to be used
depends upon the kind of letter to be written. Buy the
best quality of paper your pocketbook affords. A good
quality of white paper is always in good taste. A
standard size social stationery and regulation size busi-
ness stationery should be in every desk both in the
home and at the office. Occasions arise where a
business letter has to be written at home and a social
note at the office and appropriate stationery is not
available. It should be, for it is not in good taste
to write letters of condolence on business stationery,
nor to write a business letter on monogrammed letter
paper.

In addition to the regulation typewriter bond paper,
which usually measures eight and one-half by eleven
inches, and the standard size folio paper, about six and
three-quarter by five and one-quarter inches, a paper
which is half-way between is most desirable and is
coming more and more into favor for everyday use.DIFFERENT KINDS OF LETTERS 23

Single sheets measuring six by seven inches or five and
three-quarter by six and three-quarter inches, with the
name and address or address alone printed or engraved
in the center of the page, are popular and equally appro-
priate for the informal friendly letter or the personal
business letter.

The correspondence card is passing and is used to-day
only very informally between friends to convey the
briefest of messages. It is being replaced by the small
size note paper. The postal (issued by the United
States Government) is used only for business purposes.
The use of the picture post card (note the difference
between "postal" and "post card") is confined to trav-
elers wishing to send a word of greeting to friends
back home.

Envelopes and cards should be of standard sizes.
The Post Office Department has this to say on the
subject: "Envelopes less than two and three-quarter
by four inches or larger than four by nine inches can-
not be conveniently handled and are therefore highly
objectionable. Post cards manufactured by private
persons when not exceeding in size three and three-
sixteenths by five and nine-sixteenths inches, nor less
than two and three-quarter by four inches are transmit-
ted without cover to all places where the domestic rates
apply at the postage rate of one cent each. Cards which
do not conform to the foregoing conditions are charge-
able with postage at the letter rate if wholly or partly
in writing." From which it is seen that a penalty is
attached for post cards above or below standard size.
Mail sent in envelopes above or below standard size
is frequently delayed in transmission, a natural result
of the extra trouble caused postal clerks in the handling.24 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

Therefore do not go to extremes. It is poor taste and
poor business.

A complete equipment needed by the average person
to make correspondence easier would consist of the
following items:

A typewriter.

Standard size bond paper, eight and one-half by
eleven inches for typewriter use.

Second sheets of same size but thinner for carbon
copies.

Carbon paper.

Three sizes of social stationery, medium, large
and small, preferably with address engraved.

Post cards and greeting cards for special occasions.

A good grade of black or blue-black ink.

Pens, pencils, eraser, ink eradicator, paper clips,
blotters, pencil sharpener, scratch pad for taking
notes, a desk calendar, and desk dictionary.

The list of accessories could be enlarged to include
desk scales, file cabinets, a card index and numerous
other items found in a well-appointed office. Here,
however, we have mentioned the more obvious needs.

Paper and envelopes should be of the same color
and material. White, cream, or ivory are always in
good taste for both business and social correspondence.
Select the type most suited to your needs. The right
kind of stationery for the right occasion speaks
volumes, and the wrong kind fairly shrieks.

The Heading of the Letter.—Both business and
social letters should begin with the address, followed
by the date. If a business letter-head is used contain-
ing the name of the city and state, or if social stationery
with engraved street address at the top, then only theDIFFERENT KINDS OF LETTERS 25

date is added. This is written in the upper right hand
corner, allowing for margin to the right. The address
may be written:

Washington, D. C,
September 19, 19...

or all on one line as:

Boston, Mass., July 6, 19...

The street address may be used at the beginning
or at the close:

550 Morningside Drive,
New York City,

June 6, 19.

The expressions "5th" and "3rd" are no longer used
either in business or social correspondence. In strictly
social correspondence the date may be written out:
"August the fifth," in which case the year would be
omitted. It is far better, however, always to use both
the day of the year and the month. Undated, or par-
tially dated letters often put the recipient to much incon-
venience. Practices differ in expressing the date of the
months in figures. Business firms in the United States
and Canada use 5/6 for May 6, but in all other parts of
the world 6/5 is the usage. Moral—in order to pre-
vent any confusion always write out the name of the
month, especially in foreign correspondence.

The Salutation.—In the social letter there is more
latitude allowed in both the heading and the salutation
than in the business letter.

Correct forms of salutation for business letters are:
Sir, Sirs, Gentlemen, Dear Sir, Dear Madam, Dear Mr.26 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

Ashton. "Gentlemen" is more commonly used than
"Dear Sirs" in this country, but "Dear Sirs" is pre-
ferred abroad.

In all business letters and in personal letters of a
semi-business nature, the following form prevails:

Miss Agnes Ames,

Nashville, Tenn.

My dear Miss Ames:

In social correspondence "Dear Sir" and "Dear
Madam" are used only when addressing some high dig-
nitary. "Dear Mr. Morgan" or "Dear Mrs. Milton"
are the terms most used, varying with the degree of
intimacy, as: "Dear Mary," "Dearest Girl," "Dear
old Pal," "Well, old Dear," "Hello, old Scout," and
other colloquial expressions.

Opening and Closing Paragraphs.—The opening
and closing paragraphs are of extreme importance.
The opening paragraph should immediately catch the
reader's attention. Avoid preliminaries and preambles
and come to the point at once. One can be gracious
without being abrupt. The usual beginning is to ac-
knowledge the receipt of a previous letter. "Your letter
of June 4 is received" is the accepted way of opening
a business letter, and "Your recent letter received a
most hearty welcome" or some similar expression, is
recommended for the friendly letter.

The old copy book rule, "Never begin a letter with
T," though no longer generally observed, is worth
remembering. "Your letter of June 4 is received" is
a better form than "I have your letter of June 4,"
because in the one the stress is laid on "you" and inDIFFERENT KINDS OF LETTERS 27

the other on "I." It is certainly in better taste for the
writer to give first consideration to the person to whom
he is writing. This is one of the little points worth
observing.

The closing paragraph should leave a pleasant im-
pression. A letter should never close with a curt refusal
or a bit of unpleasant news or anything that will leave
a bad taste.

A prominent official who dictates numerous letters
told the writer that he often spent more time on the
final sentence than on all the rest of the letter. To
soften a refusal without leaving the point in doubt is
difficult and requires careful thought. Never let a
letter close with something unpleasant. "I hope I can
do more for you next time" takes the sting from a
refusal.

The Body of the Letter.—In all letters, even the
most informal of personal letters, there should be unity,
coherence, purpose. Don't put too many ideas into one
letter. Save some for the next time. First have
clearly and definitely in mind what you want to say
and then say it.

As to the form of the letter, observe margins, both
at the right and left of the paper, the size of the margin
depending on the size of the paper and length of the
letter. Use a new paragraph for each new thought.
Don't forget to use periods at the end of sentences, or
to begin the next with a capital letter. It is surprising
how many people who really know better err in this
respect.

The Complimentary Close.—"In closing a business
letter I never know whether to use Gratefully yours,
Cordially yours, or Respectfully yours/' said a business
woman recently. Coming from the person it did, the28 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

remark convinced me of the need of more established
usage, for all of her suggested endings were incorrect.
"Very truly yours" is the correct form for letters of
a business nature. This is equally correct for the indi-
vidual as for the conservative bank, the progressive
business firm, or the president of a corporation. In
using this form one can be assured of not going wrong.

When writing to a perfect stranger or to some high
official or public dignitary, or when an employee writes
to his employer, the ending "Yours respectfully" may be
employed, but as it denotes a certain inferiority and few
people like to admit their inferiority it is rarely used.
"I have the honor to remain your obedient servant"
is given as the correct formal ending for letters ad-
dressed to high officials, but I wonder how often it is
really used!

In writing a business letter to a person whom you
know, the form "Sincerely yours" is customary. For
the personal letter the most commonly used endings are:
Sincerely yours, Yours very sincerely, Faithfully yours,
Cordially yours, Yours affectionately, Devotedly yours,
Yours lovingly, and many others, ranging from "Au
revoir" to "So long, Bill," according to the degree
of friendship existing between the two.

To be grammatical, all adverbs ending in "ly" require
"yours." "Yours" alone or "Sincerely" are not con-
sidered the best form.

The Signature.—In signing a business letter, a man
uses the name by which he is commonly known, John J.
Ayres or F. Martin Johnson. Initials only or the full
name are not customary in business correspondence.
But in social correspondence a man signs his full name:
John Justice Ayres, Francis Martin Johnson.

In all business correspondence a woman should indi-DIFFERENT KINDS OF LETTERS 29

cate whether she is married or single. Her signature
should read:

Very truly yours,

(Miss) Mary Agnes Ayres.

Yours very truly,

Florence Jackson Ayres,
(Mrs. John J. Ayres)

If she is a widow she would ordinarily write,

(Mrs.) Florence Jackson Ayres.

So numerous are divorces in this country and so
frequently do the divorced parties marry again, that
to avoid confusion in names, it has become customary
for a divorcee, when she does not take her maiden
name, to use her surname with her husband's surname.
If Mrs. Florence Jackson Ayres secures a divorce from
her husband John J. Ayres, she would use on her visit-
ing cards and as her business signature, "Mrs. Jackson
Ayres."

Every letter should be signed in ink by the person
writing or dictating it. The name should be written
plainly and legibly, and should stand alone on a line
by itself. Many persons, particularly authors and
artists and prominent business men, affect a signature
wholly undecipherable. They sometimes excuse them-
selves on the plea that it makes forgery of their name
less possible. But there is no justifiable excuse for
writing so illegibly that bank clerks and business asso-
ciates and friends must waste valuable time and energy
to decipher it.

It is now; customary to type all names m business3o ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

letters either above or beneath the written signature.
This is a custom that is most highly to be commended.

In writing the social letter, special care should be
taken with the signature. The natural inclination is
to dash off the signature with a final flourish. Hand-
writing experts say this is a form of egotism. It is
in better taste to write simply and plainly.

Never sign initials or the first name alone to a letter
or to a card. Initials on picture post cards and Christ-
mas cards are very common and frequently confusing.
The writer has received picture post cards signed
"Mary," when we knew at least six Marys traveling in
that section of the country. Initials are even more
difficult. One may know Mary Anderson quite well,
but "M. E. A." may be from Marcia Ayres, Martha
Ackers, Miriam Ash or Maria Ashton. Sign the first
and last name or the last name with initials to avoid
confusion.

Always sign your name in ink. Never use an indeli-
ble pencil. Avoid the use of rubber stamps.

Addressing the Envelope.—Extreme care should
be used in addressing the envelope. Largely because
of incorrect or undecipherable addresses there were the
enormous total of 16,586,419 undeliverable letters sent
to the Division of Dead Letters and its respective
branches during one fiscal year and this was a decrease
of approximately sixteen per cent compared with the
preceding fiscal year! Thousands of these letters were
of great importance. A little more care and they
would have gone through. The loss to the general
public, largely through neglect, amounted in the aggre-
gate to more than $423,000 during the year. This is
from the annual report of the Postmaster General of
the United States.DIFFERENT KINDS OF LETTERS 31

In giving directions for the proper addressing of the
envelopes we can not do better than follow the instruc-
tions of the Post Office Department. In a small
pamphlet entitled "Postal Information," which can
be secured free of charge by writing to the Post Office
Department at Washington, we find the following per-
tinent advice:

"Write plainly the name of the person addressed,
street and number, or number of rural route, post office
and State in full. When the name of the State is
abbreviated, frequently Va. and Pa., Md. and Ind.,
Colo, and Cal., Miss, and Minn., and others are con-
fused and mail mis-sent, as post offices of the same
names are located in several different States. Do not
abbreviate or use lead pencil.

"The words, 'General Delivery/ should be used as
a part of the address only when it is known or believed
that the addressee calls at the general delivery for
his mail.

"Directions for transmission, delivery, forwarding,
or return of mail are deemed part of address.

"Mail addressed to one person in care of another will
be delivered to the first of the two persons named who
may call for it, or to the address of the person in whose
care it is directed, in the absence of other instructions.

"Space must be left (not less than three and one-
half inches) on the address side of all mail sufficient
for a legible address and for all directions permissible
thereon, for postage stamps, post marking, rating, and
any words necessary for forwarding or return.

"The sender's name and address must be placed on
all fourth class or parcel post mail, on all mail in win-
dow envelopes, and on all registered mail, and should32 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

be placed on all other mail, in the upper left corner of
the envelope or wrapper.

"The practice of some business concerns of omitting
street numbers from their stationery and advertisements
results in increasing the volume of insufficiently ad-
dressed mail. The Post Office Department urgently
requests the public to exercise the greatest possible care
to see that mail is sufficiently and correctly addressed, in
order to secure its prompt and certain delivery, thereby
relieving the postal service of much unnecessary ex-
pense and increasing its efficiency.

"If the sender of a letter mailed in the envelope of
a hotel desires to have the letter returned if not deliv-
ered, he should add to the hotel card a request to that
effect, as unclaimed letters bearing the card of a hotel,
club, school, college, or other public institution, which
has evidently been printed upon the envelopes to serve
as an advertisement, will not be returned unless the
sender so requests.

"When remailing a letter which has been returned
to the sender as undeliverable, it should be placed in
a new envelope, in order to avoid confusion and secure
prompt transmission. A new prepayment of postage
is required.

"It is recommended that stamped envelopes on sale
at all post offices be used. The department issues six
different sizes of stamped envelopes—the smallest three
and three-eighths by five and seven-eighths inches, the
largest four and three-eighths by ten and one-eighth
inches—in three qualities and three colors of paper, as
follows: extra quality, white; standard quality, white
and blue and manila. The denominations are one,
two, four and five cents. When stamped envelopes are
purchased in lots ,of five hundred or its multiple, of aDIFFERENT KINDS OF LETTERS 33

single size, quality or denomination, the department
will, upon request through the purchaser's post office,
print his return card. Although no advertisement will
be printed on stamped envelopes by the department,
names indicating or incidentally disclosing the nature
of the purchaser's business will be printed on them
under certain regulations."

Model forms of address given by the Post Office
Department are: v

Mr. Frank B. Jones,

Rural Route, No. 3, Box 45,

Oswego,

Ohio.

Smith, Doe & Co.,
24789 Alaska Ave.,
Chicago,

Illinois.

When an identifying title is used it should be written
on a separate line below the name, as:

Mr. Frank B. Jones,
City Commissioner,

If the name and address of the sender are not
stamped in the upper left-hand corner of the envelope,34 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

or on the flap of the envelope, they should be written
there.

So much for letters in general. In succeeding pages
we shall take up the various kinds of letters mentioned
in our general classification. In closing this chapter,
however, we strongly urge that every letter, no matter
how unimportant it may seem at the time of writing,
be carefully planned and executed with due attention
to appropriate stationery, general appearance and
grammatical construction. Then after you write it—
read it over before mailing.Ill

THE PERSONAL LETTER
HE personal letter is the letter that is optional,

not obligatory. In the informal heart-to-heart

talk on paper, one's culture and character are

revealed.

In this group I would place the letter from one mem-
ber of the family to another, from lover to beloved,
from friend to friend. These letters may be descrip-
tive, critical, philosophical, gossipy, humorous, serious,
conversational, intellectual or just friendly.

These are the letters of which literature is made.
The letters, or epistles, of St. Augustine and St. Paul,
written in Greek; of Cicero among the Romans; of
Mme. de Stael, Mme. de Savigne, Voltaire, and Mme.
de Maintenon among the French; of Horace Walpole,
Lord Chesterfield, Keats, Shelley, Carlyle, Thackeray,
Dickens, among the English; of Sidney Lanier, Lincoln,
and Roosevelt, among Americans, are noteworthy
contributions to the literature of their day. These
letters reveal not only the character of the writer, but
also furnish a background for interpreting the history
of the times.

A good letter is intimate, self-revealing. The per-
sonal note is essential. We are human enough to be
interested in personalities. Some of us never rise
above them.

3536 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

Asking and Answering Questions.—There are
three questions I ask the persons with whom I maintain
a friendly correspondence: What are you doing?
What are you reading? What are you thinking? For
these are the things in which I am interested and
which they alone can tell me.

Speaking of questions, let us pause here and ask
ourselves, How many of us really answer the ques-
tions asked in letters we receive?

Every letter should be kept, and re-read just before
the answer is written. All questions asked should be
answered in the first part of the reply. Nothing is
more annoying than to receive a letter from a friend,
which contains no reference to our last letter to him,
and which completely ignores all that we have said.
His letter may be extremely interesting in itself, but
if our remarks, our comments, and our questions are
ignored we feel a sense of irritation and neglect.

Re-reading letters just before replying has another
advantage. We often gain inspiration previously lack-
ing, we find ourselves in tune with his thought, and so
our letter to him shows interest and sympathy.

Perhaps he has asked us, what we have been doing,
reading, thinking. We may have been so busy doing
many things that we have had no time for reading or
for serious thinking, but we should be able to write a
good letter about our activities. Perhaps we have been
doing nothing that seems interesting to us, just the
daily grind. In that case we should have found time
for reading and thinking and can either write of such
things or fill our letter with comments on the thoughts
contained in his own communication. It is not always
the people who lead the busiest lives who write the
most interesting letters; often the contrary. Some ofTHE PERSONAL LETTER 37

the most beautiful and inspiring of letters were penned
by those who had leisure for thinking and for self-
expression.

Qualities Essential to Good Letters.—"To write
a really good letter the writer must himself be inter-
esting and have interesting matter to communicate,"
says Dawson, in his introduction to Great English Let-
ter Writers. "He must possess the intimate note, for
without it he will produce an essay, not a letter. The
man who can not unlock his heart to us can never write
a great letter. The genuine letter-writer writes to
gratify himself and please a friend."

We speak of "art and letters," the word letters in
this sense being synonymous with literature. It is the
personal, family, friendly letter that has proved to be
literature—the son writing to his mother, sister writing
to sister, friend to friend.

Three Essentials.—Among the qualities that the
friendly letter should possess are: (1) interest,
(2) clearness of style and diction, and (3) a friendly,
conversational tone.

First of all, the letter should be of interest to the
person receiving it as well as to the person writing
it. The tastes, likes and dislikes of the person to whom
it is addressed should be considered. Here psychology
enters in. What may interest one person may bore
another. Parents are interested in matters of health
and intimate personal details that may prove of lesser
interest to other members of the family. Certain
friends wish to hear of social activities, others of our
intellectual pursuits. We should temper our letters
to our friends, and write of the things in which we are
mutually interested.

Clearness of style and diction ! How many letters38 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

are lacking in these essentials, and how slovenly are
some of the letters we write and receive! There are no
punctuation, no paragraphs, no coherence, no unity of
thought. There may be several thoughts in one para-
graph, and in the next a subject far afield may be dis-
cussed. We try to discover the relationship but fail
—there isn't any! The writer has put down stray
thoughts at random. He has written the letter with
no preconceived plan or thought of what he wanted
to say, and we finish it wondering why he wrote it.

All of us have probably received letters with no
periods from beginning to end, no paragraphs, no capi-
tals, and from people who really knew better, but who
had grown careless.

There is the letter written on any and every kind
of stationery,—on a leaf from the children's note book,
on a sheet of the husband's business stationery, on
stationery from the last hotel at which the writer
stopped; the letter written on whole sheets and half
sheets, on sheets of different hue and material, and
folded into queer and unconventional shapes, and
mailed in an envelope never intended for it, and which
bulges at every corner.

Such letters are the result of carelessness, ignorance,
or indifference. There is no excuse for them. When
letter paper can be purchased for fifty cents and one
dollar a pound; when two hundred half sheets with
one's address neatly printed at the top together with
one hundred envelopes can be secured for one dollar,
and five hundred sheets of bond paper, suitable for the
office or home typewriter, are to be had for the same
price, and an extra quality of stamped envelopes can be
secured at the local post office, there is no excuse for
such miscellaneous stationery.THE PERSONAL LETTER

The Typewritten Letter.—The typing of personal
letters among intimate friends is becoming more and
more common, and the secretary of the busy club-
woman or social leader types many of the letters of
inquiry that form a part of her daily mail.

Of course, the typewriter is never used for strictly
social correspondence, or for personal correspondence,
if it is known that the person receiving it dislikes type-
written letters. Unless one's chirography is unde-
cipherable, the personal letter should preferably be
written by hand on medium-sized letter paper. The
hand-written letter is considered a greater compliment
than the typewritten one.

To-day many of us write only those letters which
business or social obligations imperatively demand, and
these are written with the one thought of getting an
unpleasant task concluded as quickly as possible.

As a nation we are restless, wholly immersed in
business, or madly pursuing pleasure. We do not enjoy
our leisure quietly. The harder we work, the harder
we play. We must be doing something,—playing golf
or tennis or cards, or swimming, skating, dancing,
motoring; or we spend our spare time at the theater,
the vaudeville or the motion picture. An evening spent
quietly at home reading or writing letters is extremely
rare in the average household. Yet in order to receive
letters we must write them, and all of us like to re-
ceive them.

Beginnings of Correspondence.—There are some
friends to whom we never write, and others who may
be no dearer to whom we write regularly. The ex-
planation may lie partly in the fact that we naturally
like to write to the people who enjoy writing to us, and
who show their appreciation of our letters by answer-40 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

ing them with some degree of promptness and with
some reference to the contents of our letters to them.

The beginnings of correspondence—their continua-
tion—their end—what an interesting, fascinating and
sometimes tragic story lies behind these beginnings
and endings.

On our travels, and most particularly on long ocean
voyages, we meet charming individuals with whom we
part with regret, sometimes so great that we attempt
to continue the acquaintance by means of correspond-
ence. It is not of importance who writes first. More
depends upon the promptness of the first and second
answers. But a correspondence may begin most pro-
pitiously, flourish gayly and joyously for weeks or
months and gradually languish and die. That is the
fate of the majority of correspondence. The reason is
plain. When time and distance intervene and new
sights, new activities and new interests fill the diverging
lives, the friends gradually find that they have less and
less in common. The longer the intervals between let-
ters, the more difficult it is to write. There is so
much to say that we do not know where to begin; so
we write a brief note, mainly about nothing, which in
the course of time brings forth the same kind of letter
in reply, and the end is in sight.

If we should meet these same people again we un-
doubtedly would be tremendously glad to see them; the
friendship would be renewed where it left off, and so
would the correspondence, for a time. But far better
to terminate it than to let it drag on after it becomes
burdensome.

Need of Letters.—There is only one reason for the
friendly letter—the mutual pleasure to be derived there-
from. But what of the filial letter, the parental letter,THE PERSONAL LETTER 41

the letter breaking bad news, and a host of others that
give pleasure neither in the writing nor the receiving?

Though individual letters may not give pleasure, the
correspondence as a whole should be pleasurable or it
should be discontinued. There is one general excep-
tion : children should write to their parents, and parents
to their children whether they enjoy it or not.

There is nothing more agonizing or more nerve-
racking than to expect a letter that fails to arrive; to
wait for hours and days, one's imagination a prey to
doubts and fears and misgivings. To fail to write the
expected, longed-for letter is as cruel a bit of torture
as any ever devised by a lawless member of the K. K. K.
The worst offenders in this respect are grown-up sons
and daughters who have left the parental firesides and
who forget that as mother and father grow older they
live more and more in their children and in their chil-
dren's children, and to them letters mean much.

If we knew what heartaches were caused by our
carelessness, laziness or indifference, and what pleasure
we can so often give by taking the time from our busy
lives to write the letter we have been intending to write
to mother or grandmother or Aunt Mary or Uncle Joe
or old Cousin Kate, we would put it off no longer.

Suppose we have not written to Cousin Kate for
years. How shall we begin? What shall we say? Tell
her you have been thinking of her more than usual, and
your thoughts are at last taking form on paper, and
tell her the things you have been doing since last you
saw her or wrote to her, choosing from the list what
would interest her most. The mere fact that you took
the trouble to write to her at all will doubtless please
her so much that she will answer immediately. Then
you will wonder, "Will I have to keep this up indefi-42 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

nitely?" and probably curse your kind impulse. But a
second letter dispatched in due time with a remark that
you will try to write at least every few months after
this and more often if anything of great importance
arises will solve the problem.

Writing the First Letter.—Suppose an intimate
friend marries and moves to a distant city. You
promise to write to each other. He gives you either
a temporary or permanent address. If you are really
good friends neither will wait for the other to write,
but the one who first finds the opportunity will write
the first letter.

If the person who stays behind writes very promptly
telling all the little bits of news of the home town that
will be of interest, the distant friend is apt to answer
speedily. He will want another letter telling the news
of mutual friends. If you value his friendship and
want his letters, don't wait for him to write first. Per-
haps he has promised a dozen friends to write. He will
naturally write first to those who have shown their
interest by writing to him. A correspondence begun
under such auspicious circumstances may continue in-
definitely, and prove a boon to both.

Letters Are Self-Revealing.—There are people
who can express themselves much more freely in a
letter than in conversation. There are men and women
for whom self-expression is difficult. They have no
conversational gifts, yet often these reticent, self-con-
scious people can pour out their heart to a distant friend
on paper.

The inner thoughts and feelings of a man are fre-
quently revealed through intimate correspondence; new
traits of character are discovered. Although we may
see and talk with a person frequently during a courseTHE PERSONAL LETTER

of years, yet we may learn to know him better after
a three months' correspondence, than in all our previous
acquaintance.

One discerning woman declared she would never
marry until she had corresponded with her prospective
husband. "Whether he is a good letter writer or a
poor one," she said, "I shall be able to learn through
his letters his traits of character and disposition that
I would never be able to learn otherwise. A man often
reveals a new side of himself in his letters."

Women are said to be the best letter writers, yet some
of the most self-revealing letters of literature were
written by men.

Specimen Letters.—It would be both foolish and
futile to attempt to tell one how to write a friendly
letter. Instead of saying, "This is how you should
write a friendly letter," I shall present extracts from
noteworthy letters. Read, study and analyze them.
They will not teach you how to write a letter, but from
them you may gain inspiration or discover the qualities
that go to making the ideal letter. If you accomplish
that you have gained much.

In Keats we probably have the best example of
inspired letter writing. He dwells more on his thoughts
than on his actions. He is frankly the poet, gifted
with imagination. In reading his letters one feels that
he enjoyed writing them fully as much as his friends
enjoyed receiving them.

Imaginative letter
(John Keats to George and Georgiana Keats.)

"My passions are asleep, from my having slumbered
until nearly eleven, and weakened the animal fibre all44 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

over me to a delightful sensation, about three degrees
on this side of faintness. If I had teeth of pearl and
the breath of lilies I should call it languor, but as I
am I must call it laziness. In this state of effeminacy,
the fibres of the brain are relaxed in common with the
rest of the body, and to such a happy degree that
pleasure has no show of enticement and pain no unbear-
able power. Neither Poetry, nor Ambition, nor Love
have any alertness of countenance as they pass by me;
they seem rather like figures on a Greek vase—a man.
and two women whom no one but myself could dis-
tinguish in their disguisement. This is the only happi-
ness, and is a rare instance of the advantage of the
body overpowering the Mind. . . .

"Circumstances are like clouds, continually gathering
and bursting. While we are laughing, the seed of some
trouble is put into the wide arable land of events—
while we are laughing it sprouts, it grows and sud-
denly bears a poison fruit which we must pluck. Even
so, we have leisure to reason on the misfortunes of our
friends; our own touch us too nearly for words. Very
few men have ever arrived at a complete disinterested-
ness of Mind. I can remember but two—Socrates and
Jesus—Their histories evince it. What I heard, a little
time ago, Taylor observe with respect to Socrates, may
be said of Jesus—That he was so great that though
he transmitted no writing of his own to posterity, we
have his mind and his sayings and his greatness handed
to us by others."

Farther on in this "journal-letter," Keats discusses
his views of religion and eternity. The entire letter is
too long to give here, but it is most interesting in reveal-
ing the poet's thoughts on "the problems of the uni-
verse."

In writing the letter of friendship it is the way aTHE PERSONAL LETTER

thing is said as much as what is said that counts.
There are persons who can relate the simplest incident
in such a way that it assumes dramatic proportions.
Comments on daily happenings may be so full of a
humorous philosophy, so permeated with the writer's
outlook on life, that every word is alive with the
.writer's personality.

Jane Welsh Carlyle has written this type of letter.
As one critic says: "Mrs. Carlyle can make us more
interested in her finger's ache than another writer in
his most brilliant discussions." The failure of a birth-
day letter to arrive when expected becomes a tragedy
as related by Mrs. Carlyle.

Letter describing disappointment
{Jane Welsh Carlyle to Thomas Carlyle.)

"Oh, my dear husband, Fortune has played me suck
a cruel trick this day! But it is all right now; and I
do not even feel resentment against Fortune for the
suffocating misery of the last two hours. . . . But you
shall hear all how it was.

"Yesterday, in coming back from the post office,
where I had gone myself with the letter to you, my head
took to aching, and ached and ached on all day in a
bearable sort of fashion, till the evening, when Geral-
dine came over from Manchester, and the sudden bound
my heart gave at the sight of her finished me off on
the spot. I had to get myself put to bed, and made a
bad wakeful night of it; so that this morning I was
nervous, as you may figure, and despairing of all things,
even the letter from you that I expected so confidently
yesterday. . . .

"At ten, the post hour, I slipped away myself to the
post office, but was detected by Betsy and Geraldine,46 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

who insisted on putting on their bonnets and accom-
panying me. However, I trusted there would be a
letter, and their presence would only hinder me reading
it for a little. And two were handed out which I
stretched out my hand to receive. Both for Betsy.
None for me, the postmistress averred!

"Not a line from you on my birthday—on the fifth
day! I did not burst out crying—did not faint—did
not do anything absurd, so far as I know; but I walked
back again without speaking a word, and with such a
tumult of wretchedness in my heart as you, who know
me, can conceive. And then I shut myself in my room
to fancy everything that was most tormenting. Were
you finally so out of patience with me that you had
resolved to write to me no more at all ? Had you gone
to Addiscombe and found no leisure there to remember
my existence? Were you taken ill, so ill that you could
not write ? That last idea made me mad to get off to
the railway and back to London. Oh, mercy! what a
two hours I had of it! And just when I was at my
wits' end, I heard Julia crying out through the house,
'Mrs. Carlyle, Mrs. Carlyle! are you there? Here is
a letter for you!' And so there was, after all. The
postmistress had overlooked it. ... I wonder what
love letter was ever received with such thankfulness.
... I am as much broken over that little incident as
if I had come through an attack of cholera or typhus
fever. I cannot even steady my hand to write decently.
But I felt an irresistible need of thanking you by return
of post."

Just a simple incident related in detail, yet we feel her
bitter disappointment, and rejoice with her at the ar-
rival of the delayed letter.

The diary type of letter—"It rained to-day; I wentTHE PERSONAL LETTER

downtown when it cleared up and saw John and Mary
and James. I read a bit in the evening and retired
early,"—how dull it is! Yet a mere chronicling of
events can be made interesting.

The letters of Horace Walpole live to-day because
they are a chronicle of that society of which he is a part.
W&lpole was a keen critic of life and his letters are
a mirror of his times.

The gossipy letter
(Horace Walpole to the Countess of Ossory.)

"I have been to four balls since yesterday se'nnight;
though I had the prudence not to stay to supper at
Lord Stanley's. That festival was very expensive, for
it is the fashion now to make romances rather than balls.
In the hall was a band of French horns and clarionets
in laced uniforms and feathers. The dome of the stair-
case was beautifully illuminated with coloured glass,
lanthorns; in the ante-room was a bevy of vestals in
white habits, making tea; in the next, a drapery of
sarcenet, that with a very funereal air crossed the chim-
ney and depended in vast festoons over the sconces."

And much more of the same order, pages of minute
descriptions of balls, and teas, and dinners from which
we gain an intimate picture of those times.

Letters from parents to children are apt to contain
more advice than news. Lord Chesterfield writing to
his son at college gave advice as timely to-day as when
it was written. It is worthy to rank with the famous
lines of Potonius to his son in Shakespeare's "Hamlet/*48 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

Letter of parental advice
(Lord Chesterfield to his son.)

"Dear Boy :

"My plan for you, from the beginning, has been to
make you shine, equally in the learned and in the polite
world. The former part is almost completed to my
wishes, and will, I am persuaded, in a little time more,
be quite so. The latter part is still in your power to
complete; and I flatter myself that you will do it, or
else the former part will avail you very little; especially
in your deportment, where the exterior address and
graces do half the business; they must be harbingers of
your merit, or your merit will be very coldly received;
all can and do judge of the former, few of the latter.

"I should be sorry you were an egregious fop; but
I protest that, of the two, I would rather have you a
fop than a sloven. I think negligence in my own dress,
even at my age, when certainly I expect no advantage
from my dress, would be indecent with regard to others.
I have done with fine clothes; but I will have my plain
clothes fit me, and made like other people's. . . .

"In the evenings I recommend to you the company
of women of fashion, who have a right to attention,
and will be paid it. Their company will smooth your
manners, and give you a habit of attention and respect
of which you will find the advantage among men. . . „
If you will but, for the next year only, exert your whole
attention to your studies in the morning, and to your
dress, manners, air and tournure in the evenings, you
will be the man I wish you, and the man that is rarely
seen."

It has been said of Thomas Carlyle that his letters
are his true memoirs. In his letters to his brother, hisTHE PERSONAL LETTER

mother, his wife, and his friends, he shows a side of
his character that many of his intimates never saw.
What a genial, kindly man he appears in this extract to
his brother.

Intimate, family letter
(Thomas Carlyle to his brother, Dr. Carlyle.')

Cheyne Row, Chelsea, London

"My Dear Brother :

"You can fancy what weary lonesome wanderings I
had, through the dirty suburbs, and along the burnings
streets, under a fierce May sun with east wind, 'seeking-
through the natives for some habitation'! At lengtlr
Jane sent me comfortable tidings of innumerable diffi-
culties overcome; and finally (in, I think, the fourth
week) arrived herself; with the Furniture all close
following. ... I carried her to certain of the hope-
fullest looking houses I had fallen in with, and a toil-
some time we anew had: however, it was not long; for,
on the second inspection, this old Chelsea Mansion
pleased us very decidedly, far better than any other we
could see; and, the people also whom it belongs to prov-
ing reasonable, we soon struck a bargain, and in three
days more a Hackney Coach, loaded to the roof and
beyond it with luggage and live-passengers, tumbled
us all down here about eleven in the morning. By
'all' I mean my Dame and myself; Bessy Barnet, who
had come the night before; and little Chicao, the
Canary-bird. . . . There then we sat on three trunks;
I, however, with a matchbox soon lit a cigar, as Bessy
did a fire; and thus with a kind and cheerful solemnity"
we took possession by 'raising reek/ and even dined,.50 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

in an extempore fashion, on a box-lid covered with
some accidental towel. ....

"With the house we are all highly pleased, and I
think, the better, the longer we know it hitherto. . . .
At night we are pure and silent, almost as at Puttock.
. . . On the whole I fear nothing. There are funds
here already to keep us going above a year, indepen-
dently of all incomings: before that we may have seen
into much, tried much, and succeeded somewhat.,,

Carlyle's last letter to his mother before her death is
one that every mother's son might well read with
profit. Parents receive too few letters of appreciation
from ungrateful or mute offspring.

Filial letter
(Thomas Carlyle to his mother.)

"Dear old mother, weak and sick and dear to me.
. . . Let it ever be a comfort to you, however weak you
are, that you did your part honorably and well while
in strength, and were a noble mother to me and to us
all. I am now myself grown old, but there is nothing
I ever had to be so much thankful for as for the
mother I had. That is a truth which I know well,
and perhaps this day again it may be some comfort to
you. Yes, surely, for if there has been any good in
the things I have uttered in the world's hearing, it was
your voice essentially that was speaking through me;
essentially what you and my brave father meant and
taughtIme to mean, this was the purport of all I spoke
and wrote. And if in the few years that may remain
to me, I am to get any more written for the world, the
essence of it, so far as is worthy and good, will still
be yours. May God reward you, dearest mother, for
all you have done for me! I never can."

Even members of our family do not like letters of
woe. Though interested and sympathetic at first, theirTHE PERSONAL LETTER 51

interest soon wanes, and sympathy gives way to bore-
dom. "I almost dread to hear from Jane/' was the
pathetic remark made by a devoted mother concerning
one of her married daughters. A thick letter had just
arrived, and the old lady turned it over several times
before opening it, and as she did so, said apologeti-
cally: 'There is always something wrong—if the
baby isn't ill, or one of the children isn't ailing, the
weather has been bad, or the cat has gotten into a
fight, or something has happened to some of the
neighbors. If anything pleasant ever occurs she never
writes to us about it."

There is a great difference between the complaining
letter and the letter that carries bad news. If there has
been a death or an accident, the news must be broken to
members of the family and to dear friends. These
letters are difficult to write. The shock can be greatly
lessened or greatly increased by the manner of the tell-
ing. I recall an instance where a lady went forth from
a serene and happy home to go shopping. As she was
about to board a street car for the journey home a
neighbor rushed up to her exclaiming—"They have
been looking for you everywhere. Your house has
burnt down and your husband is dead."

How differently Leigh Hunt announced the death
of Shelley.

Letter announcing bad news
(Leigh Hunt to his sister-in-law.)

"Dearest Bessy :

"Your sister is as well as she can be expected to be:
so am I, and the children; all of which I tell you at
once, at the head of my letter, lest the frightful note
I am compelled to strike up, should affect you still52 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

.more than it must. Good God, how shall I say it?
My beloved friend Shelley,—my dear, my divine
friend, the best of friends and men, he is no more. I
know not how to proceed for anguish; but you need
not be under any alarm for me. Thank heavens!
The sorrows I have gone through enable me to bear
this; and we all endeavor to bear it as well as possible
for each other's sakes, which is what he, the noble-
minded being, would have wished. . . .

"He was returning to Lerici by sea with his friend
Captain Williams. ... It was on the 8th. A storm
arose; and it is supposed the boat must have foundered
not far from home. The bodies were thrown up some
days after. Dear S. had retained a book in his pocket,
which he told me he would not part with till he saw me
again,—Keats's last publication. He borrowed it to read
as he went. It will be buried with him: that is to say, it
is so already, on the sea shore; but if he is taken up to
be buried elsewhere, it shall go with him. . . .

"Adieu, dearest Bessy, you will not wonder that
I do not make this letter an answer to your last, which
I was delighted to receive. It showed me you were
well, and Henry out of danger."

In contrast to the letter announcing misfortunes is
the cheerful, happy, pleasant, delightful letter, the letter'
that makes faces brighten with pleasure when familiar
handwriting is recognized, and causes the look of pleas-
ure to deepen as the letter is perused, or calls forth the
comment, "I love his letters. They are so like him
and so refreshing!" Some of the most noteworthy
^examples of letters in literature are those from one
friend to another. They are descriptive, critical, gos-
sipy, humorous, serious, literary, conversational, philo-
sophical.THE PERSONAL LETTER 53

Robert Southey loved life, and his letters breathe a
genial spirit and are full of humor. They may seem
silly and foolish to the unsympathetic reader to whom
they were not addressed, but we can imagine a friend
receiving them opening them with a smile, and the smile
deepening to a laugh as the letter progressed.

Humorously philosophical letter
(Robert Southey to Henry Taylor.)

"Have you seen the strange book which Hope left
for publication, and which his representatives, in spite
of all dissuasion, have published? His notion of im-
mortality and heaven is, that at the consummation of
all things he, and you, and I, and John Murray and
Nebuchadnezzar, and Lambert the fat man, and the
Hottentot Venus and Thurtell, and Probert and the
twelve Apostles, and the noble martyrs, and Genghis
Khan, and all his armies, and Noah with all his an-
cestors and all his posterity—yea, all men and all women
—and all children that have ever been or ever shall be,
saints and sinners alike—are all to be put together, and
made into one great celestial eternal human being. . . .
I do not like the scheme. I don't like the notion of
being mixed up with Hume and Hunt, and Whittle
Harvey, and Philpotts, and Lord Althorpe, and the
Huns, and the Hottentots, and the Jews, and the Philis-
tines, and the Scotch, and the Irish. God forbid! I
hope to be I myself; I, in an English heaven, with you
yourself—you, and some others, without whom heaven
would be no heaven to me. God bless you!"

Descriptive letters are many—such letters as trav-
elers abroad write to friends back home. A travel letter
should not read like a guide-book or an encyclopedia.
Little, unusual things that impress the traveler, or his54 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

own feelings and thoughts on first beholding some of
the wonders of the world, these are the things that in-
terest "the folks back home."

So numerous and so charming are the many descrip-
tive letters before us that a selection is difficult. Nearly
every one hopes to see Venice or Rome before he dies,
so extracts from Dickens's impressions of Venice, and
Shelley's impressions of Rome have been chosen.

Travel letter
(Charles Dickens to John Forster.)

"My dear fellow, nothing in the world that ever you
have heard of Venice is equal to the magnificent and
stupendous reality. The wildest visions of the Arabian
Nights are nothing to the piazza of Saint Mark, and
the first impression of the inside of the Church. The
gorgeous and wonderful reality of Venice is beyond
the fancy of the wildest dreamer. . . . All that I have
heard of it, read of it in truth or fiction, fancied of it,
is left thousands of miles behind. You know that I
am liable to be disappointed in such things through
over-expectation, but Venice is above, beyond, out of
all reach coming of near, the imagination of man. It
is a thing you would shed tears to see.

"When I came on board here last night (after a five
miles' row in a gondola, which somehow, or other, I
wasn't at all prepared for) ; then, from seeing the city
lying, one night, upon the distant water, like a ship, I
came plashing through the silent and deserted streets;
I felt as if the houses were reality—the water, fever
madness. But when, in the bright cold bracing day, I
stood upon the piazza this morning, by Heaven, the
glory of the place was insupportable! And diving down
from that into its wickedness and gloom—its awfulTHE PERSONAL LETTER 55

prisons deep below the water; its judgment chambers,
secret doors, deadly nooks, where the torches you carry
with you blink as if they couldn't bear the air in which
the frightful scenes were acted; and coming out again
into the radiant, unsubstantial Magic of the town; and
diving in again, into vast churches, and old tombs—a
new sensation, a new memory, a new mind came upon
me. ... I never saw a thing before I should be afraid
to describe. But to tell what Venice is I feel to be an
impossibility. . .

Travel letter
{Percy Bysshe Shelley to T. L. Peacock.)

"Since I last wrote to you, I have seen the ruins of
Rome, the Vatican, St. Peter's, and all the miracles of
ancient and modern art contained in that majestic city.
The impression of it exceeds anything I have ever ex-
perienced in my travels. We stayed there only a week,
intending to return at the end of February, and devote
two or three months to its mines of inexhaustible con-
templation. The Coliseum is unlike any work of human
hands I ever saw before. It is of enormous height
and circuit, and the arches built of massy stone are
piled on one another, and jut into the blue air, shat-
tered into the forms of overhanging rocks. It has been
changed by time into the image of an amphitheater of
rocky hills overgrown by the wild olive, the myrtle, and
the fig-tree and threaded by little paths, which wind
among its ruined stairs and immeasurable galleries:
the copsewood overshadows you as you wander through
its labyrinths, and the wild weeds of this climate of
flowers bloom under your feet. . . . But a small part
of the exterior circumference remains—it is exquisitely
light and beautiful. . . . The interior is all ruin. I
can scarcely believe that even when encrusted with
Dorian marble and ornamented by columns of Egyptian56 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

granite, its effect could have been so sublime and so
impressive as in its present state."

Robert Louis Stevenson is the master of the con-
versational letter. As one critic says: "From the mere
literary point of view, his letters are in many instances
superior to his tales and essays. In his letters there is
the essential artist, instinctive, natural, triumphant,
flexible and at ease." Some of Stevenson's best letters
were written to his mother.

Reflective letter
(R. L. Stevenson to his mother.)

"I wonder if you or my father ever thought of the
obscurities that lie upon human duty from the negative
form in which the Ten Commandments are stated, or
of how Christ was so continually substituting affirma-
tions. 'Thou shalt not' is but an example; 'Thou shalt'
is the law of God. . . . But what led me to this re-
mark is this: A kind of black angry look goes with
that statement of the law of negatives. 'To love one's
neighbor as oneself' is certainly much harder, but states
life so much more actively, gladly, kindly, that you can
begin to see some pleasure in it; and until you can begin
to see some pleasure in these hard choices and bitter
necessities, where is there any Good News for men?
It is much more important to do right than not to do
wrong; further, the one is possible, the other has always
been and will ever be impossible; and the faithful de-
sign to do right is accepted by God. . . . The whole
necessary morality is kindness; and it should spring,
of itself, from the one fundamental doctrine, Faith.
If you are sure that God in the long run means kindness
by you, you should be happy; and if happy, surely, you
should be kind. I beg your pardon for this long dis-THE PERSONAL LETTER 57

course, it is not all right of course, but I am sure there
is something in it."

Conversational letter
(R. L. Stevenson to J. M, Barrie.)

"My dear Barrie,—

"This is the last effort of an ulcerated conscience. I
have been so long owing you a letter, I have heard so
much of you, fresh from the press, from my mother
and Graham Balfour, that I have to write a letter no
later than to-day, or perish in my shame. But the deuce
of it is, my dear fellow, that you write such a very
good letter that I am ashamed to exhibit myself before
my junior (which you are, after all) in the light of the
dreary idiot I feel. Understand that there will be noth-
ing funny in the following pages. If I can manage
to be rationally coherent, I shall be more than satisfied.

"In the first place, I have had the extreme satisfaction
to be shown that photograph of your mother. ... I
never in my life saw anything more deliciously char-
acteristic. I declare I can hear her speak. I wonder
my mother could resist the temptation of your proposed
visit to Kirriemuir, which it was like your kindness
to propose. By the way, I was twice in Kirriemuir.
... I have a distinct recollection of an inn at the end
—I think the upper end—of an irregular open place
or square, in which I always see your characters evolve.
But, indeed, I did not pay much attention; being all
bent upon my visit to a shooting-box, where I should
fish a real trout-stream, and I did it, too, and it was a
charming stream clear as crystal. ... It formed an
epoch in my life, being the end of all my trout-fishing.
I had always been accustomed to pause and very labori-
ously to kill every fish as I took it. But in the Queen's
River I took so good a basket that I forgot these nice-
ties ; and when I sat down, in a hard rain shower, under58 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

a bank, to take my sandwiches and sherry, lo! and
behold, there was the basketful of trouts still kicking
in their agony. I had a very unpleasant conversation
with my conscience. All that afternoon I persevered
in fishing, brought home my basket in triumph, and
some time that night, 'in the wee sma' hours ayont the
twal/ I finally forswore the gentle craft of fishing. I
dare say your local knowledge may identify this historic
river; I wish it could go farther and identify also that
particular Free kirk in which I sat and groaned on
Sunday. While my hand is in I must tell you a story."

Numerous other examples of letters worthy of the
name could be given. From my own personal cor-
respondence I could also give excellent illustrations of
practically every type of friendly letter named, but they
would not prove of the same general interest as the ex-
tracts selected.

There are many excellent personal letters being writ-
ten to-day, so many in fact that the poorly expressed
and slovenly appearing letter is the more noticeable by
contrast and the more inexcusable.

In the extracts here given one can feel the person-
ality of the writer. No two letters are alike. They
are as different as the men who wrote them. A read-
ing of them makes it clear how futile it would be to
attempt to instruct one in the art of letter writing.
To read carefully the published letters of the great
writers is of greater value than all the advice that could
be given.

Love-letters.—I mention the love-letter with great
hesitation, feeling that discretion lies in leaving the
greater part unsaid; yet a chapter on "Personal Let-
ters" would hardly be complete if all mention of love-
letters were omitted.THE PERSONAL LETTER	59

There will be no attempt made to give models. I
remember with what amusement I read a series of
model letters that attempted to cover every possible
contingency, letters of proposal, acceptance and re-
fusal ; a letter of proposal from a widower to a young
girl, from a young man to a widow; from a wealthy
man to a poor girl, from a man to a girl to whom he
had not been introduced; letters breaking off an en-
gagement; from a mother to her daughter's fiance
breaking the engagement; letters from a jealous girl
to her fiance and his answer; letters from a man
taking his fiancee to task; and many others. How dif-
ferent were those letters from the love-letters we have
seen! They were much more dignified; the kind of
letter that one would not blush to see in print. Every
one knows that he (and more particularly she) should
be careful what is said in a letter—it may be used as
evidence some day—yet how many real lovers are care-
ful what they put on paper? Take, for example, the
letters of Keats to Fanny Brawne. It is the kind of
letter poetic lovers have written during the ages.
Though filled with ardent passion there is nothing that
offends, yet is hardly the letter you or I would recom-
mend as a model.

A letter of love
(John Keats to Fanny Brawne.)

"My dearest Girl :

"This moment I have set myself to copy some verses.
I cannot proceed with any degree of content. I must
write you a line or two and see if that will assist in
dismissing you from my Mind for ever so short a time.
Upon my soul I can think of nothing else. The time6o ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

is passed when I had power to advise and warn you
against the unpromising morning of my Life.- My
love has made me selfish. I cannot exist without you.
I am forgetful of everything else but seeing you again
—my Life seems to stop there—I see no further. You
have absorb'd me. I have a sensation at the present
moment as if I was dissolving—I should be exquisitely
miserable without the hope of soon seeing you. . . „
My Creed is Love and you are its only tenet. You have
ravish'd me away by a Power I cannot resist; yet I
could resist until I saw you; and even since I have seen
you I have endeavored often to reason against the
reasons of my Love. I can do that no more—the pain
would be too great My love is selfish. I cannot
breathe without you.

"Yours for ever,

"John Keats."

The love-letter changes little, less perhaps than any
other form of letter. It springs from the heart and
expresses feelings common to lovers the world over,
love, passion, desire, doubt, anxiety, longing, fears
and hopes.

A century after Keats penned the words of love just
quoted, another lover less known to fame wrote in simi-
lar vein:

A love-letter

"A queer thing happened yesterday. I was standing
waiting for my car when I felt a hand on my arm, and
a voice—feminine—said 'Oh, here you are!' I looked
around, and there was your hat and under it a girl of
your size and general type. It gave me such a start
that I must have looked as if I had seen a ghost. AsTHE PERSONAL LETTER	61

soon as I turned she informed me she thought it was
'someone else' and departed hurriedly. And I just
stood staring after her. You can't imagine the jump
it gave me. And it sent through me, from head to foot,
a hot, eager longing for you that was like one great
big ache. I am almost sorry it happened, for it has had
almost the effect of seeing you just for an instant and
then losing you again. It brought back all the hurt of
parting and the bitterness of waiting. My arms ache
for you. I want you and love you more than it is pos-
sible to tell you."

Among the famous love-letters of the present day
are those of Sarah Bernhardt, edited and published by
M. Dorian. They reveal the temperamental artist and
the emotional woman and are frank with the frankness
of the French. In her published letters, which are nu-
merous, the famous actress expresses her views on
many subjects. In a letter to Victorien Sardou, the
famous poet and dramatist, she writes of love in much
the same terms:

Letter from Sarah Bernhardt

"Paris now without thee is but a morgue; before I
knew thee it was Paris and I thought it heaven; but
now it is a wide desert of desolation and loneliness.
It is like the face of a clock when the hands have been
taken away. I can not now live away from thee—thy
words, even though they were bitter words—would
give chase to all the world's uneasiness and make me
glad; my art has been nourished by them and softly
rocked in their tender cradle until they are as requisite
to me now as are the sunlight and the air. I am hun-
gry for them as I would be for food. . . . Thou art
all to me!"62 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

Protestations of love do not seem to change greatly
-whether written by man or woman, this century or last.
The Adler collection of letters gives forms used in
proposing marriage five hundred years ago.

The true lover needs no such help. He will write
in his own words what his heart dictates. It may come
falteringly, but its sincerity will compensate for rounded
phrases or poetical thoughts clothed in the language of
another.IV

SOCIAL CORRESPONDENCE
HERE is a distinct difference between the

social letter and the personal letter. The social

letter is written for a distinct social purpose:
to extend an invitation, to accept or decline one, or to
acknowledge some social obligation.

Social letters are of two general kinds, formal and
informal. Included in the informal group are letters
of condolence, of congratulation, of introduction,
birthday letters, letters to a convalescent, letters in be-
half of charity, because all of these letters are an im-
portant link in the social chain.

For the writing of the formal social letter there are
very definite rules which should be strictly observed.
Failure to observe them immediately classifies one as
lacking in social knowledge.

Social Stationery.—In the social letter, appropri-
ate stationery plays an important role. A high grade
of paper in white or cream is conservative and always
good. Three sizes are desirable—large, for special cor-
respondence; medium, for general correspondence; and
note paper for the writing of letters of thanks and
notes of condolence.

The fad of the present moment is for large size paper
with rough edges, measuring about six and one-qtiarter
by seven and one-half. If you get only the one size, it64 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

is better to keep to the standard size, measuring about
six and three-quarters by five and one-half, which is
always in good taste and is used year in and year out.
Note paper comes in two styles, square and oblong,
both good. The oblong is more popular at the pres-
ent time.

The tendency to-day is towards simplicity and re-
finement. Many men and women adopt a conservative
style of stationery and use it year in and year out re-
gardless of changing styles. Fads of the moment are
left to the faddists and are to be avoided generally.
They may be, and frequently are, taken up by the
debutante or the school girl, but rarely by the man or
woman moving in the best social circles.

But one may be individual in one's stationery. Sta-
tionery in light colors, gray or tan being the most
popular, is frequently used. Thin white envelopes with
bright colored linings are now in favor. Thin paper
with colored envelopes is rather generally employed in
foreign correspondence. Light in weight, it tends to
reduce the bulk of first-class foreign mail.

A leading stationer is the authority for saying that
the greatest demand to-day is for plain white paper of
good quality in the large and medium sizes. Much
less "fancy stationery" is carried to-day than formerly,
the tendency being toward "elegant simplicity."

In choosing one's writing paper, it is well to re-
member that the size of the paper should depend some-
what on the handwriting. Angular writing looks
better on large-size paper, preferably oblong, while
small writing looks better on medium-size paper,
preferably rectangular.

Crests, Monograms and Markings.—Stationery,
as well as clothes, hats and the manner of dressing one'sSOCIAL CORRESPONDENCE 65

hair, can and should reflect one's personality. In line
with the trend towards simplicity, the use of the crest
has given way to the monogram, and this in turn to the
one or two line engraved address.

There is more demand to-day for the two-line ad-
dress, than for the three-line with name, and for ad-
dress dies than for monogram dies.

The address engraved in varying shades of blue and
placed in the center of the page is in high favor, as:

1157 Oak Hill Avenue,

Los Angeles, California

Stoneleigh Court,

Washington, D. C.

When residing in a large city the number of the
apartment is usually added, as:

Apartment 56
880 West Seventy-third Street
New York City

For Informal Correspondence.—For the informal
personal letter the half sheets with address printed at
the top are recommended. These single sheets with
address alone, or name and address neatly printed in
blue or black ink, are very popular with the man and
woman in the ordinary walks of life. They are sen-
sible, practical, and have much to recommend them,
but should not be used for formal social correspond-
ence where plain, unmarked white folio paper is
preferable. It is surprising how many people of sup-
posed culture use inappropriate stationery and acknowl-
edge a formal invitation to dinner on small note paper66 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

which should be reserved for informal acknowledg-
ments, or on the single sheets now so popular, instead
of on the medium-sized plain or engraved stationery
which the occasion demands.

One's individuality may be somewhat freely ex-
pressed in the stationery for the suburban home or
country house where wide latitude is allowed. Often
a gay color is employed, which is permissible if appro-
priate. Most attractive was a distinctive gray paper
with the following marking:

Gray Gables

Telephone, Clarendon 99	Cherrydale, Va.

If the railroad station and the post office address
are different they are both given on the letter-head, the
object being to give the information that friends and
visitors may require in order to get in touch with the
person living near a big city.

The Formal Invitation.—Invitations to weddings
and wedding receptions and wedding announcements
are engraved on the first page of folio paper of ex-
cellent quality. All other formal invitations,—to re-
ceptions, dances, dinners, teas—are engraved on cards
of the proper size. Any stationer will show a prospec-
tive customer all styles in fashion from which a selec-
tion may be made.

Formal invitations should be Issued two or three
weeks in advance, and should be answered promptly,
within two or three days or a week at the latest. The
acceptance or regret should be definite—never pro-
visional.

If formal invitations are written instead of en-SOCIAL CORRESPONDENCE 67

graved, as is sometimes done, they follow the style
of the engraved invitation, taking the following form:

Mr. and Mrs. James Monroe
request the pleasure of
Mr. and Mrs. Hooper's
company at dinner
on Thursday, November the eighth
at seven o'clock
to meet Mr. and Mrs. James Monroe, Jr.
778 West End Avenue

The acceptance to the formal invitation is usually
spaced as follows:

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Hooper
accept with pleasure
Mr. and Mrs. Monroe's
kind invitation for dinner
on Thursday, November the eighth
at seven o'clock
to meet Mr. and Mrs. James Monroe, Jr.

Regrets would read:

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Hooper
regret that a previous engagement
prevents their accepting
Mr. and Mrs. Monroe's
kind invitation for dinner
on Thursday, November the eighth
to meet Mr. and Mrs. James Monroe, Jr.

It is permissible, however, to write consecutively,
observing sufficient margins.

When an invitation is accepted, the date of the en-88 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

tertainment should be mentioned to avoid any possi-
bility of a mistake. If the invitation is declined, the
date may or may not be mentioned.

If a dinner or tea or dance is given at a place other
than the home, the place should be mentioned and the
home address should be placed in the lower left hand
corner of the invitation, so that the invited guest will
know where to direct the reply.

The third person is always used in acknowledging
formal invitations, even though the persons are the
most intimate of friends. A formal invkation demands
a formal answer and should never be answered in-
formally.

The following points should be noted: heading, date
and salutation are omitted In the formal invitation and
reply; replies follow the form as well as the wording
of the invitation; the hour and the date are mentioned
in the acceptance; these may be omitted in the regret.
The formal reply is written on medium-sized letter
paper, so that it is contained on the first page without
crowding. Note paper is reserved for the informal
note.

Informal Invitations.—Invitations to a tea, small
dance or an informal dinner may take the form of in-
formal written notes. Sometimes visiting cards are
used for such invitations, but never in acknowledging
them. A note must be written. An informal invita-
tion to dinner might properly read:

800 Ninety First Street,

New York City,
October 10, 19—

My dear Mrs. Clarke :

Mr. Brown and I are asking a few friends to dinnerSOCIAL CORRESPONDENCE 69

Wednesday evening, October the twentieth, at seven
o'clock and hope that you and Mr. Clarke can join us.
We trust that you have no other engagement and can
arrange to be with us.

Cordially yours,

Alice Lake Brown.

The acceptance would read as follows:

Dear Mrs. Brown:

Mr. Clarke and I are delighted to accept your kind
invitation to dinner on Wednesday, the twentieth of
October, at seven o'clock. Thank you so much for
thinking of us.

Sincerely yours,

Mary Clarke.

Do not make the mistake made by Mrs. Just Arrived,
who wished to show her knowledge of social forms
and wrote a formal acceptance in the third person to
an invitation written in the first. Answer all invita-
tions in kind.

These are little things but they are important. Re-
member then to acknowledge in the third person invi-
tations worded in the third person, and in the first
person invitations written in the first person.

Formal invitations are engraved or written, never
printed. It is far better to write informal notes bidding
friends to your wedding, than to send out printed in-
vitations. While there is no reason for this except
custom, custom is an all-sufficient reason and in this
case failure to observe this rule indicates ignorance
and lack of social experience. Either do a thing right
or not at all, is a rule to be scrupulously observed in
social correspondence.70 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

When formal invitations are issued to several mem-
bers of the same family, one is sent to the parents,
one to the daughter or daughters, and one to each of
the sons invited. It is no longer correct to add "arid
family" to any invitation. One invitation to two sis-
ters reading "The Misses Brown" is correct, however.

An invitation issued on a visiting card is never an-
swered on a visiting card but a formal note in the third
person is written. The use of the visiting card in ex-
tending invitations seems to be passing. Formal en-
graved invitations or informal social notes are more
in favor.

"Just a Note."—In this day and age of informality
the informal social note is used for a variety of pur-
poses—to bid one's friends to a quiet home wedding,
to tea, dinner, a garden party, a house party or a dance.
For the writing of these notes, small or medium-sized
writing paper with the address engraved at the top is
in the best taste. The notes are usually brief, the word-
ing cordial but not gushing. They follow no pre-
scribed form, but should express the personality of the
writer.

House Parties.—In extending an invitation to a
house party, the words "house party" are not employed
but the guests are invited for "the week-end," "from
Friday to Tuesday" or "over the holidays." Such in-
vitations should be explicit and should give the day
and hour at which the guests are expected to arrive and
depart, specify the kind of clothes that will be needed,
and how the home can best be reached.

A week-end invitation, when not otherwise stated,
means from Saturday afternoon until Monday morn-
ing. If something is planned for the first evening, theSOCIAL CORRESPONDENCE 71;

fact is stated in the invitation so that the guest can
plan accordingly.

A holiday house party invitation might read:

My dear Clara :

Please say that you can and will spend Thanksgiving
with us. We find our country place so lovely at this
season that we are inviting a few friends out for
Thanksgiving to enjoy it with us.

Can you reach here in time for six o'clock dinner
Wednesday evening? After dinner we are planning
to attend a dance at the Country Club. For the re-
mainder of the week there will be golf and tennis and
horseback riding and motoring. So bring your tennis
racquet and golf sticks and of course evening clothes for
there will be another dance Saturday evening.

We are anticipating a jolly time, to which your pres-
ence will add materially. I do hope you can come.
You can take an early train back to the city Monday
morning.

Affectionately yours,

Mary Gray Stone.

The answer should be equally explicit.

Dear Mrs. Stone :

Your kind invitation to spend the holidays with
you answers the question I have been asking myself—
what shall I do Thanksgiving? There are certain
things I ought to do but your invitation is so tempting
that I can not refuse. You may expect me Wednesday
afternoon about five o'clock. I shall come with eve-
ning and sport clothes and the tennis racquet you sug-
gested. I know we shall have a jolly time under your
hospitable roof. I am already enjoying it in an-
ticipation.72 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

Many thanks for thinking of me and for including
me in your guest company.

Very sincerely yours,

Clara Endicott.

The "Bread-and-Butter" Letter.—The thank-you
or ^bread-and-butter" letter should be written at the
earliest possible moment after the conclusion of such
a visit. To have "broken bread" with a friend and to
have slept beneath her roof demands a prompt ac-
knowledgment of the accepted hospitality. The thank-
you letter may be short but should be sincere. No
formal, stilted words are needed.

Dear Mary :

I had a wonderful time at your Thanksgiving house
party. It was a grand success. Mr. Stone and you
are the perfect host and hostess and every member of
the party fitted in to such an extent that it seemed like
one big family. I enjoyed every moment of my stay
with you and feel wonderfully invigorated and re-
freshed. Being with you and that jolly crowd was
better than any tonic. I want to thank you and Mr.
Stone again for one of the most delightful Thanks-
givings I have ever spent. Friends like you are indeed
something for which to be thankful.

Devotedly yours,

Clara Endicott.

Although it is customary for a married woman to
acknowledge social invitations for her husband, sisters
and mothers are not expected to attend to the social
correspondence of brothers or sons. The young man
entering society is only too apt to neglect the "bread-
and-butter" letter, the letters of thanks and of con-SOCIAL CORRESPONDENCE 73

dolence and acknowledgment which good breeding re-
quires of him. The fact that he is a man does not
excuse him, but because he is a man he expects to
secure a "repeat" invitation even though he neglects
his social obligations. From some hostesses he may
receive it, from others he will not.

Letters of Thanks.—Important among social letters
that must be written are the letters of thanks for any
and all favors received, and for all gifts,—birthday
presents, Christmas presents, gifts to the new baby,
Howers sent in time of illness or bereavement, and
last but not least, wedding gifts. These should be ac-
knowledged within a week after their arrival. Wise
is the bride who writes her "thank-you-for-the-lovely-
gift" notes as soon as she opens the package.

Although the bride must acknowledge all presents
sent by relatives and friends of the groom, even though
she has never met them, it is also customary for the
groom to write a personal note to his particular friends
thanking them for the wedding gift, which he knows
was sent on his account. Such letters are the more
appreciated because comparatively few men take the
trouble to write them.

There are some punctilious people who make it a rule
to acknowledge all Christmas gifts before New Year's
Day and who answer Christmas cards with New
Year cards. Others answer all greeting cards with per-
sonal notes. This is as rare as it is delightful.

Greeting Cards.—A pretty custom which is fast
growing in favor, is that of sending greeting cards on
various occasions to friends and relatives with whom
one does not correspond regularly.

There are many pretty and attractive cards on the
market, some daintily hand colored, some unusually74 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

artistic, with appropriate sentiments charmingly ex-
pressed. Among the greeting cards are those that say
"thank you" in appropriate ways—a thank you for the
person to whom you neglected to send a post card but
who sent you one; a "sorry you are ill" card; a greet-
ing to speed the traveler on his way; a bon voyage and
a welcome home card; birthday cards for every mem-
ber of the family, including aunts, uncles and cousins;
Easter cards and Thanksgiving cards and Hallowe'en
cards, congratulations on graduation day and on the
announcement of an engagement. Of course, at
Christmas such cards are sent by the million. When
the card is artistic and the sentiment appropriate it
may give as much pleasure to the recipient as a letter.
Every well-appointed desk should have a set of greet-
ing cards for emergencies. These cards are a pleasant
way of letting friends with whom we do not cor-
respond regularly know that we have not forgotten
them. They should not be used as a substitute for the
note which should be written, but in addition to it.
They should not be used unless they will be received
with a feeling of pleasant surprise and not with a feel-
ing of disappointment because they are not the letter
that was expected.

"Duty" Letters.—Informal social correspondence,
in addition to the "duty" letters—letters of thanks,
"bread-and-butter" letters, acknowledgments of invi-
tations—also includes the letter of condolence, of con-
gratulation, of introduction, and various miscellaneous
letters difficult to classify.

These are the letters which no one can tell you how
to write, for unless they express your personality they
are valueless. When you hear that a friend is in sorrow
or has received some honor, sit down at once and writeSOCIAL CORRESPONDENCE 75

the sincere words of sympathy or of congratulation
which naturally spring to mind. It is when you put
off the writing of such letters to "a more convenient
time" that the writing of them becomes a burden and
the words come haltingly.

Letters of Condolence,—Among the letters which
etiquette demands of us and our own feelings should
dictate are letters of condolence. A guiding rule should
be, don't say too much. Be brief, be sympathetic, be
sincere. Write the kind of letter you feel will give
most comfort to the recipient. If your brain fails to
function and your heart does not inspire you, send a
brief telegram saying "Sincerest sympathy," or write
a few words on note or letter paper saying merely, "I
have heard of your sorrow and want you to know that
I sympathize with you sincerely. I only wish there
were something I could do or say, but words are inade-
quate to express my feelings."

It is not so much what is said as the feelings that
prompt it, that makes even the briefest letter of sym-
pathy appreciated by those in sorrow. Do not dwell
unnecessarily on sorrowful details; a few sincere words
of admiration or an expression of your personal feeling
of loss may bring a bit of comfort to the one bereaved.

Probably the most famous letter of condolence ever
penned is that written by Abraham Lincoln to Mrs.
Bixby. The letter reads:

Executive Mansion,
Washington, November 21, 1864.

Mrs. Bixby, Boston, Massachusetts.

Dear Madam :

I have been shown in the files of the War Department
a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts76 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

that you are the mother of five sons who have died
gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and
fruitless must be any words of mine which should
attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so over-
whelming. But I can not refrain from tendering to
you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of
the Republic they died to save. I pray 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.

Yours very sincerely and respectfully,

Abraham Lincoln.

Any comment on a letter that speaks so eloquently
for itself seems unnecessary. Its beauty lies in its
brevity, the nobility of sentiment and the simplicity of
expression. All is said that need be said. Though this
letter, written to fill a special need, is not given to serve
as a model, it should nevertheless furnish inspiration
to all writers of letters of condolence as to what to
leave unsaid and the manner of saying that which may
bring some comfort to the person bereaved.

Letters of condolence should be acknowledged. A
short personal note is sufficient. Here are extracts
from two acknowledgments which are given in the hope
that they may serve as an inspiration to the unin-
spired :

"Thank you for your recent letter. The tender sym-
pathies and condolence of such good friends as your-
self have done much to soften the sorrow incident to
the loss of my dear mother. She always appreciated
your friendship, kindly interest and attention, and
often spoke of you and the tender affection that sheSOCIAL CORRESPONDENCE

had for you and the appreciation of your kind cour-
tesies to her."

It is worth writing a dozen letters of condolence to
receive in answer one such letter as the above or such
a reply as this one:

"Your letter to me after the death of my father did
more really to help me to get myself where I could
look on my work again than any I received. Too, your
sympathy was so genuine."

Probably no person in the world has ever received
as many letters of condolence as did Mrs. Harding on
the death of President Harding. In range and in depth
they represented the sentiments of a thinking, grieving,
sympathetic world. The hearts and brains, not of one
nation, but of the nations of the world, spoke their
grief and their sympathy. Among all the messages
received, those of two former Presidents of the United
States stand out:

"Allow me to express my profound sympathy," Mr.
^Wilson said in his message. "I deplore with all my
heart the loss which the nation sustained."

Chief Justice Taft's message read:

"Mrs. Taft and I send to you our deep personal sym-
pathy in your great sorrow, which we share. Our
hearts go out to you in this hour of your inestimable
loss."

He also wrote:

"I am shocked beyond expression at the news of
President Harding's death. The loss is a deep personal
sorrow to me. The loss to the people of the United
States can not be overestimated. He had impressed78 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

the whole country with his nobility of character, the
sweetness of his nature, his wonderful patience, breadth
of vision, high patriotism and his love of human kind.
His death at this juncture in the affairs of the country
and the world is a great calamity/'

Letters of Congratulation.—Among the informal
social letters one should write are: letters of congratu-
lation, of introduction, the letter in the interest of
charity, the request to serve as chaperon, as patron or
patroness to a benefit, and acknowledgments of such
letters.

The letter of congratulation is easier to write than
the letter of condolence. The great difficulty seems to
be in getting started. It is an excellent practice to
write our congratulations as soon as we hear of a
promotion received by a friend, learn that he has been
elected to a public office, read a speech he has made,
or see a book or article he has published. The letters
are easier to write when the news is fresh, and the first
letters received are the most appreciated. Even the
busiest and most prominent people enjoy the sincere
words of congratulation of their friends. Don't excuse
yourself from writing with the thought, "He will
doubtless receive so many letters of congratulation,
mine will not be noticed." An extremely prompt and
gracious acknowledgment to a letter of congratulation,
which the author recently received from a prominent
man who had gained honor after honor, bore evidence
that those accustomed to honors appreciate the con-
gratulations of their friends when new honors befall
them.

A brief note saying, "Accept my heartiest congratu-
lations on the wonderful work you are doing," cameSOCIAL CORRESPONDENCE 79

when the first flush of elation on undertaking a new
line of work had passed and discouragement had set
in. It brought needed cheer and encouragement.

When an engagement is announced, congratulatory
letters should be written to both parties. The day has
passed when the bridegroom alone is congratulated. In
this day of freedom and frankness the bride may
receive a double share of congratulations.

On receipt of a birth announcement, always write
the parents a congratulatory word. The event is a most
momentous one to them and should be recognized. If
a gift is sent the new baby, a short note usually accom-
panies or precedes it.

Graduation day is a great event in the life of a boy
or girl. Letters of congratulation from older mem-
bers of the family, family friends, and acquaintances
may add much to the significance of the event. It is
customary to add words of advice, but it is extremely
doubtful if they have much effect on the graduate,
though helpful advice from an experienced business
man contained in a letter written at graduation time
has changed one boy's life in our acquaintance. Re-
ceived at a time when he was just starting out in life
and trying to decide between two courses of action,
that one letter decided him to make what proved to be
a wise move. Such may be the power of a letter. Its
possibilities stir the imagination.

Birthday Letters.—Birthday letters come in the
congratulatory class. Every one likes to be remem-
bered on anniversaries. The birth and wedding anni-
versary are most frequently remembered. A letter at
these times is often more appreciated than a gift.

Some people make much of birthdays, while others
make little. One old lady of my acquaintance enjoyedBo ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

the birthday celebrations arranged by her children far
more than Christmas. On her birthday she was the
central figure. The birthday letters and cards and tele-
grams she received reached frequently into the hun-
dreds. These kept the dear old lady happy and inter-
ested for days and weeks thereafter.

I have friends from whom I rarely hear except on
my birthday, but I look forward to these birthday let-
ters telling me the happenings of the past year, and I
feel that it is worth growing older to get these kind,
friendly letters and to know that friends do not forget
with the passing years.

I know of people who evidently keep a card catalogue
of the anniversaries of all of their friends, for not one
do they miss. They remember the birthday and wed-
ding anniversaries of the parents, and the birthdays of
all the children. Either their memory for dates is mar-
velous, or they have an excellent system. But it is
pleasant to have anniversaries remembered that we our-
selves sometimes forget.

The Letter to a Convalescent.—It is a very human
trait to prefer receiving letters to writing them. But
if there is ever a time when a letter is a little more
welcome than at another, it is when we are ill or con-
valescing.

The letter to the person recovering from an illness
is one that the person who is well and busy with many
things is apt to overlook; yet no letter gives more gen-
uine pleasure, or yields better returns in friendship.
A chatty, newsy letter bringing the out-of-doors and
the world of affairs to the invalid is often a better tonic
than that prescribed by the doctor.

The light-hearted, gay, inconsequential letters of a
young girl brought much cheer to an incurable invalid,SOCIAL CORRESPONDENCE 8r

who said those letters made her forget her pains for
the moment, while the letters of most of her friends-
commiserating with her on her troubles reminded her
of them.

It is trite but true that the world is full of trouble
and sorrow and disappointment. The purpose of all
letters belonging to the friendly group or informal
social correspondence should be to ease pain or to give
pleasure. To fail in this respect is to fail completely.

The Letter of Introduction.—Important among
informal social letters is the letter of introduction. The
social letter of introduction is a more delicate matter
than the business letter of introduction. It is not con-
sidered good form to ask for a letter of introduction
except from intimate friends. It is a thoughtful cour-
tesy to offer letters of introduction when we feel the
acquaintance will be mutually agreeable to both parties.
However, be very chary about asking for or giving
letters of introduction. If a friend asks you to write
a letter of introduction for a friend, refuse rather than
commit the greater error of introducing a person for
whom you do not wish to be responsible. On the other
hand, letters of introduction from one friend to another
are an important link in the social chain.

The letter of introduction is usually a short social
note written to the person to whom the introduction is
made, but delivered, with the envelope unsealed, to the
person being introduced, together with her card and
address, to the person for whom it is intended. Such
a letter might read:

Dear Mrs. Mann :

This will introduce to you Mrs. Arthur Bennett, a
very dear friend of mine, who arrives in your city82 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

Thursday of next week to spend several weeks. I am
eager for you to know each other, as I feel the acquaint-
ance will prove mutually agreeable. When two such
good friends of mine as you and Mrs. Bennett are to
be in the same city at the same time I feel I should be
lacking in kindness to you both if I did not try to bring
about a meeting. I hope you will see much of each
other. She will let you know where she is stopping.

Very truly yours,

Martha A. Blake.

Mrs. Blake gives this letter to Mrs. Bennett, who
writes a short note to Mrs. Mann saying she is inclosing
a letter from their mutual friend Mrs. Blake, and add-
ing that she is stopping at the New Hotel, where she
can be found any morning.

Or Mrs. Blake may write directly to Mrs. Mann,
telling her that Mrs. Bennett is to visit in her city,
stopping at the New Hotel, and hoping that Mrs. Mann
will call on her and show her other courtesies.

Mrs. Blake informs Mrs. Bennett that she has writ-
ten Mrs. Mann about her forthcoming visit. The latter
method is becoming more and more employed. It is
less formal than the other and does not put Mrs. Mann
under as great an obligation. In fact, there is less
obligation all around.

After Mrs. Bennett and Mrs. Mann have met, both
should write Mrs. Blake who brought about the meet-
ing. If Mrs. Bennett, for any reason, does not use the
letter of introduction, she should still write her letter
of thanks to Mrs. Blake and explain why the letter of
introduction was not used. A letter of introduction, it
will be seen, entails not one but a series of letters.

The Letter in Behalf of Charity.—One of the
first duties of those in charge of charity benefits is toSOCIAL CORRESPONDENCE 83

*mte notes to prominent and well-to-do people, who
may or may not be acquaintances, asking their assist-
ance. A list of patrons and patronesses who are
socially known is essential to the success of most charity
benefits. The chairman of the committee on arrange-
ments or the entertainment committee usually writes
these notes which may read:

Mrs. Harrison Harris,

Washington, D. C.

My dear Mrs. Harris :

The Southern Society is to give its annual benefit
ball on May the tenth at the New Willard Hotel, and
the entertainment committee would very much appre-
ciate being allowed to use your name as patroness. I
am inclosing six tickets which I hope you will be able
to use. Perhaps you would prefer a box. They seat

ten persons and cost-dollars.

All checks are to be made to the order of Arthur M.
Rhodes and should be sent to me.

We hope you will allow us to use your name as
patroness and that you will honor the occasion with
your presence.

Sincerely yours,

Mary E. Martin,
Chairman Entertainment Committee.

Mrs. John J. Martin,

Woodley Road,

Washington, D. C.

Such a letter should be acknowledged promptly. If
Mrs. Harris decides to serve as patroness she is ex-
pected to subscribe to the extfent that her means allows.
She incloses her check for the six tickets with her note84 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

of acceptance. If she decides to take the box she sends
a check for it and returns the six tickets.

If she does not wish to serve as patroness or to keep
the tickets she must write a polite note of regret and
return the tickets. It is the height of ill breeding to
ignore or to delay replying to such a request. The note
of regret may seem difficult to write. The following
will serve :

Mrs. John J. Martin,

Chairman of Entertainment Committee,

Southern Society of Washington.

Dear Mrs. Martin :

I regret that I am unable to accept your very kind
invitation to serve as patroness at the Southern Society
Charity Ball, and beg to return the six tickets sent me.

Please let me thank you for the courtesy of asking

me*	Very truly yours,

Alma M. Harris,
(Mrs. Harrison Harris)

The begging letter asking for a donation for some
charity should also be answered. There are times, how-
ever, when persons of wealth and influence are more
than excused from answering the many inconsiderate
requests made of them.

In writing the social letter, both formal and informal,
it is the little things that count—promptness, appro-
priateness, the right stationery at the right time, for-
mality when formality is demanded.

"Do it now" is an excellent motto to follow in regard
to social correspondence. If in doubt as to whether
a letter requires an answer, the mere fact that there is
a doubt should cause one to reply.SOCIAL CORRESPONDENCE 85

Even apparently trivial letters often become impor-
tant, if neglected or laid aside for a more convenient
season. Pigeonholes in one's desk are dangerous; they
are too liable to become hiding places. Make a practice
of leaving all incoming letters on the front of your desk
until disposed of. Do not take them to the dinner table
(a poor place for them, anyway) or toss them among
the magazines on the center table. Keep them in their
proper place and answer them at the proper time.32

PERSONAL BUSINESS LETTERS

IT is surprising how many people there are of edu-
cation and culture who find great difficulty in
writing even the simplest kind of business letter.
They may know the exact form for acknowledging all
formal invitations, they may write the informal social
note with unerring good taste and rise to every demand
of social correspondence unhesitatingly, and yet feel
absolutely helpless when it comes to writing a letter of
reference, of inquiry, of complaint, writing an order,
sending money, requesting definite information. And
many a college-bred person when the question of earn-
ing a living or of carving a career is demanding an
answer, finds himself puzzling and laboring over the
letter seeking a position or requesting an interview.
So here we^shall consider letters of a business nature
that the person not in business is called upon to write.

Individuals usually put off the writing of personal
business letters till the last possible moment, and when
they finally sit down at their desks it is with a hopeless
feeling of not knowing what to say or how to begin.
The writing of any business letter requires the same
care as the social letter, and even greater attention to
detail. One can learn to write correctly and efficiently
with a little study, a little care, a little pains. Witness

86PERSONAL BUSINESS LETTERS 87

the best type of business letter turned out by the blonde
young bobbed-hair graduate of the average business
college.

Any one with any intelligence whatsoever can master
the form of a business letter, but one's individuality
may and should be expressed by the contents, the man-
ner of expression, the excellence of one's English, the
distinction of one's style. Style in writing is as inde-
finable as charm in an individual, yet as important to
business success as the other is to social success. Some
writers affect a formal dignified style; some a clear,
straightforward, concise style; some a breezy, conver-
sational style. By the style of your letter you will be
judged. This is particularly true of the letter seeking
a position, or asking an interview, or requesting a favor
of a stranger.

General Rules.—A few general rules to be ob-
served are: clearness, conciseness, courtesy, neatness.

Before starting to write, have clearly in mind what
you are going to say. Then write it as directly and
simply as possible. Be brief without being abrupt, be
definite without being profuse. Remember that any
kind of letter, if it is worth writing at all, is worth
writing carefully. Anything recorded on paper and
appearing over one's signature is a more or less perma-
nent record of one's character. An order for goods,
and a letter transmitting money over the signature of
George Washington are among the relics at Mt. Ver-
non. From these and other apparently insignificant
letters on personal business we learn that George Wash-
ington was careful, painstaking and always the cour-
teous gentleman. When he penned them he doubtless
little dreamed that they would serve as a permanent
record of his character.88 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

Though the writings of few of us will ever assume
such significance, a poorly-written, poorly-constructed
letter, lacking paragraphs and punctuation, would indi-
cate ignorance or carelessness, or both, and thus we
would be judged. If a letter when finished has not a
neat appearance it should be copied a second or even a
third time. We are judged by the appearance of the
letters we write as well as by the subject matter, just
as first impressions are made by the clothes we wear.

Stationery.—With these simple facts in mind, we
sit down at our desk and begin our business letter. If
a typewriter is available, we should use it. For a
letter of average length, the ordinary typewriter paper,
eight and one-half by eleven, is to be preferred. For a
shorter note the half sheets with letter-head or printed
or engraved address at the top of the sheet, are used.
For any letter of a business nature, the single sheet is
preferable to the folded letter paper used in social
correspondence. The latter is to be used only when
nothing else is at hand. Every household should be
supplied with the single sheets now so popular and use-
ful for so many occasions.

Heading.—The heading proper consists of the name
of the place from which the letter is sent and the date of
the writing. If there is no printed or engraved street
address, it is written first. The heading occupies the
upper right-hand corner of the page, about one inch
from the top, and may be written on one, two or three
lines. The usual form is:

810 West Main Ave.,
Knoxville, Tenn.,
October 7, 19—.PERSONAL BUSINESS LETTERS 89

Another form is:

Morristown, Tenn., November 3, 19—.

Points to be noted are: (1) The date is not spelled
out, nor are 5th or 3rd used. The figures alone suffice.
(2) The name of the month is not abbreviated but
spelled out in full. (3) The name of the state may be
abbreviated in the body of the letter and in the heading,
but never on the envelope. (4) Punctuation may be
omitted in the heading and there is a growing custom
to omit all except the period, which must always follow
an abbreviation. The maximum punctuation is used
above. The punctuated heading looks more finished,
and is therefore recommended. (5) When the desig-
nation of the street is a number it is customary to spell
it out unless it contains more than two parts: 12 West
Eleventh Street; 17 East 197th Street.

The Salutation.—The salutation or introduction
consists of the name and address of the firm or indi-
vidual to whom the letter is written. Its proper place
is at the left-hand corner of the page, several spaces
beneath the heading, and beginning at the margin line,
about one inch from the edge.

The amount of space is regulated somewhat by the
length of the letters. Short letters should not be
crowded to the upper part of the page.

In all business letters, formal and informal, whether
addressed to firms or individuals, to friends or
strangers, the introduction should contain the name
and address of the person or firm addressed; the name
being written on the first line, the street address on the
second, and the city and state on the third, as:go ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

Miss Mary Scott,

519 Oak Street,

Columbus, Ohio,

My dear Miss Scott:

The greeting follows the introduction, and is written
on a separate line beginning at the margin line. The

American custom is to use "My dear Mr.-" for the

more formal address, and "Dear Mr.-" for less

formal. The usual form of greeting in a business
letter where a firm or organization is addressed is one
of the following:

Gentlemen:	Ladies :

Sir:	Madam:

Dear Sir:	Dear Madam:

My dear Sir:	My dear Madam:

Sir and Madam are used only in very formal letters.

The following forms are correct for addressing busi-
ness firms:

The International Film Co.
New York City.

Gentlemen:

Mr. M. Y. Mimms, Gen. Mgr.,

Universal Insurance Company,

San Francisco, California.

Dear Sir:

If Mr. Mimms is personally known to the writer, the
greeting may read "My dear Mr. Minims" instead of
"Dear Sir."PERSONAL BUSINESS LETTERS 91

In opening your letter, use the personal instead of the
impersonal form. Correct forms of opening are:

"I inclose check for—"

"Please let me know"

"I should like to know"

"I acknowledge"

"In answer to your advertisement."

Avoid such expressions as, "Inclosed find check/'
"Kindly advise," and other stereotyped expressions used
by business firms in writing to the public. Remember
that you are writing a personal letter on business.
Invest the simplest and shortest of business letters, an
order for stationery, a request for a catalogue, with a
bit of your personality, if possible. Let your letter
be kindly, courteous, informal, and human.

Avoid stereotyped phrases in closing as well as in
opening. Participial phrases are best omitted. They
are usually ungrammatical and mean nothing. "Thank-
ing you in advance, yours very truly," is incorrect. If
you are wedded to this form, be grammatical and say,
"Thanking you in advance, I am, Yours very truly."

Another form once greatly used is, "Please attend
to the matter, and oblige." The "and oblige" is no
longer good usage. Avoid senseless and unnecessary
formulas.

Be as considerate in your letter as you would be if
you had met for a business chat. When a favor is
asked and the reply confers a favor on the first writer,
it is the courteous thing to inclose a stamp or, better
still, a self-addressed stamped envelope.

Different Kinds of Business Letters.—Among
the many personal business letters that the average indi-
vidual finds himself called upon to write are letters92 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

ordering goods, requesting prices, engaging rooms,
asking for catalogues or samples, subscribing to a
magazine, etc. There are also letters of recommenda-
tion, of inquiry, testimonials, business introductions,
letters of application, and letters requesting an inter-
view.

The examples here given are not to be followed
blindly, but are to be used as a guide. No two cases
are exactly alike. The wording of the letter should fit
the occasion. One often answers an advertisement in
some magazine. In writing for the goods advertised it
is well to state where you saw the announcement. This
not only identifies the order, it serves as a personal
favor to the advertiser in enabling him to judge the
value of the medium or advertisement.

A specimen letter inclosing money would read:

An order with inclosure

Bristol, Tenn.

June 30, 19—.

De Luxe Stationery Company,

1921 Linden Street,

Philadelphia, Pa.

Gentlemen:

I inclose money order for one dollar for which please
send me a box of "Personal Stationery" as advertised

in the June number of-magazine. According

to the advertisement the box will contain two hundred
sheets five and seven-eighths by seven and one hundred
envelopes, with name and address printed thereon,
which should read:

Phyllis Scott

1919 Oak Avenue
Bristol, TennesseePERSONAL BUSINESS LETTERS 93

Please let me know how soon I may expect it.

Very truly yours,

(Miss) Phyllis Scott.

In letters ordering goods, there are certain things to
be remembered. The various items should be in tabu-
lar form, that is, set down one beneath the other so
that they may be easily deciphered and checked off by
the order clerk. For the same reason, figures are used.
If you are not ordering from an advertisement or a
catalogue, state size, style and all other details that will
help to identify the article beyond a possibility of mis-
take. In ordering from a catalogue where articles are
given a number, give this number, the name of the
article, and the particular catalogue from which you are
ordering. Each firm has rules regarding payment.
Conform to these and state in your letter how you
intend to make payment. Also state if you wish the
goods sent by freight, express, or parcel post. In other
words, be definite and exact If, for example, you are
ordering canned tomatoes from a wholesale house
which carries four different sizes in the same brand,
specify the size, otherwise the order clerk will have to
guess at what you want.

Here is an order for goods that is explicit:

An itemized order

Cumberland, Md.

July 31, 19—.

Sears, Roebuck & Co.

Philadelphia, Pa.

Gentlemen:

Please send me the following:

25 lbs. of granulated sugar94 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

i doz. cans "Early June" peas
i doz. cans (No. 2) tomatoes, Elite brand
1 bu. Irish potatoes

Yz doz. cans "country gentleman" sugar corn
y2 doz. cans white cherries (No. 2 size)

Please charge to my account.

Very truly yours,

MARY N. White.

Mrs. James S. White,

4 Pine Street,

Cumberland, Md.

Request for, catalogue and information

Seattle, Washington,
August 15, 19—.

Georgetown Visitation Convent,

Washington, D. C.

Dear Sister:

Will you please send me a catalogue of your school?
My fifteen-year-old daughter has completed the seventh
grade. What class would she enter at your school and
how long should it take her to graduate?.

Very truly yours,

Estelle Mabston,

Mrs. Ralph Marstofi,

5100 East 19th St
Seattle, Washington.PERSONAL BUSINESS LETTERS 95

Requesting terms

Box 77
New Orleans, La.

Manager, Hotel Seabrigkt*	J00® I9""~•

Atlantic City, N. J.

Dear Sir!

Please quote me your rates by the week and by the
month for two communicating rooms with bath for a
family consisting of myself and wife, and two daugh-
ters, aged seven and fifteen. Can you make us a special
rate for three months—from June 15 to September 15 ?

Very truly yours,

Robert S. Sautelle.

Engaging rooms

6 N. First St.
Birmingham, Ala.
October 11, 19—«

Manager, Waldorf-Astoria Hotel,

New York City.

Dear Sir:

Please reserve a single room with bath for one week
beginning October 22. I expect to arrive in the late
afternoon. [Wire me if impossible to reserve this room.

Very truly yours,

R. Leroy Morris.96 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

Letters to servants and tradespeople

The busy housewife may find it necessary to write
the letters engaging rooms for herself and husband,
and it will also fall to her lot to write the servants and
tradespeople notifying them of the family's return from
their summer outing. Such a letter might read:

My dear Ellen :

We expect to reach home Tuesday morning on an
-early train. Will you please be at the house promptly
at eight o'clock Tuesday morning. If you should arrive
before we do, please wait on the porch for us. I hope
you have enjoyed your vacation as much as we have,
and will be as eager to come back to us as we shall be
to reach home. I shall expect to see you Tuesday.

Very truly yours,

L. E. Sautelle.

The initials alone are generally used in writing to
servants.

rA household order

Mrs. Robert S. Sautelle wishes the Gulf Ice Com-
pany to leave a hundred pounds of ice at her home, 816
Elm St., Tuesday, September 17, and to call at the
house daily thereafter until further notice.

t	Letters of reference

During Mrs. Sautelle's absence for three months,
her maid Marie probably desired to secure a temporary
position, in which case Mrs. Sautelle may have given
her the following letter of reference:PERSONAL BUSINESS LETTERS 97

This is to certify that Ellen Rourke has been in my
employ as waitress and housemaid for nine months. I
have found her satisfactory in every way, quiet, neat,
efficient. I am giving her up reluctantly, because I am
closing my house for the summer. I am very glad to
recommend her highly.

Lucia E. Sautelle.
(Mrs. Robert S. Sautelle)

Before leaving for the East, Mrs. Sautelle has re-
ceived a letter of inquiry concerning a chauffeur whom
she dismissed because he was unsatisfactory, which
reads:

Mrs. Robert S. Sautelle,

8 La Salle St.

New Orleans, La.

My dear Mrs. Sautelle :

Please forgive me for troubling you, but James
Wilson, who said he was lately in your employ, has
answered our advertisement for a chauffeur. I shall
greatly appreciate any information you can give me
regarding his character and ability and shall treat the
matter as confidential.

Very truly yours,

Marie M. Hill.
(Mrs. R. L. Hill)

(In this letter a self-addressed stamped envelope should
be inclosed.^

Mrs. Sautelle is puzzled just how to answer this
letter. She cannot conscientiously recommend James,
but she does not wish to prevent him from securing98 ETIQUETTE OF BETTER WRITING

another position. Her husband, who Is a lawyer, has
warned her that servants failing to secure recommenda-
tions may prove troublesome, even revengeful; some
have even been known to sue their former employers
for libel and defamation of character, and though few
such suits have been won by the plaintiffs, such affairs
may prove exceedingly unpleasant. Mrs. Sautelle, there-
fore, words her reply very carefully:

Mrs. R. L. Hill,

New Orleans, La.

My dear Mrs. Hill :

I have your letter of inquiry concerning James
Wilson. He was our chauffeur for two months. The
first month he proved so satisfactory in every way that
I feared it would not last. My husband and I remarked
that he was without doubt the best chauffeur we had
ever had. But, as I feared, it did not last. His one
failing, so far as I have seen, seems to be drink. Where
and how he got it we do not know. He failed to put
in an appearance for two days and left no word. When
he arrived on the third morning he looked as if he had
been quite ill. It was only when these illnesses re-
turned and we were convinced that they were caused
by an evidently inferior brand of intoxicant which made
James untrustworthy as a driver that we reluctantly
dismissed him, telling him our reason. For the sake
of our children it is necessary for us to have a chauffeur
upon whom we may rely. He promised to stop drink-
ing and if he does I am sure he will make an excellent
servant. I would not ask for a better servant than he
proved to be the first month he was with us.

Yours very truly,

E. L. Sautelle,PERSONAL BUSINESS LETTERS 99

>

Letters of Application.—It is quite possible that
the Sautelle family meets financial reverses, and it may
become necessary for the eldest daughter to go to work.
She has always wanted to write, and decides to try to
get a position on the local newspaper, so writes to the
managing editor as follows:

Letter, of application

Mr. H. L". Brown,

Managing Editor,

New Orleans Item.

Dear Sir:

I have always wanted to write, and as I must go to
work and as I have made excellent grades in English
throughout my high school course, which I have just
completed, I am writing to you to ask if there is an
opening in the editorial department of The Item. Per-
haps the society or club editor can use an assistant.
Our family has lived here for several generations and
we are what is known as "the old residents/' so in
addition to my own friends I know a number of
mothers whom I am sure would be glad to give me
social news for the paper.

I am seventeen years old, and although I have had
no newspaper experience, I was assistant editor of our
High School Journal. I feel that I can make good and
am willing and eager to learn, and have the advantage
of having nothing to unlearn. I am willing to start at
a modest salary and work up. Will you not give me a
trial? And may I see you one day this week and dis-
cuss the matter in more detail? I will come at any
time you specify.

Hopefully yours,

Evelyn Sautelle.300 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

Although this is not the conventional letter of appli-
cation, it is the kind of letter that an enthusiastic, am-
bitious young high school graduate might be expected
to write, and would probably bring better results than
the letter of application composed in a business college.

It contains, moreover, all the essentials of the formal
letter of application, which should state: (i) the reason
for applying; (2) age; (3) education; (4) experi-
ence, if any; (5) salary; (6) references.

Inclosures.—When references are inclosed, copies
of the original should be made and marked "Copy,"
and the word "(Signed)" in parentheses should be
placed before the signature.

In all letters where inclosures are made, it is cus-
tomary to write the word "inclosure" at the end of the
letter in the lower left-hand corner. If more than one
inclosure is made, the fact is noted thus: (2 inc.)

When checks, money orders, receipts or bills are
inclosed in a letter they should be placed, face upward,
across the face of the letter and folded with it. Some-
times they are attached to the body of the letter with a
paper clip or pin, but the post office department frowns
upon this practice.

The Business Introduction.—The business letter
of introduction, like the social letter, should not be
solicited, except from an intimate friend. A mutual
friend, however, may suggest that such a letter would
be appreciated.

A short note may be written, but a calling card with
"Introducing Mr. H. M. Black" written at the top is
usual. If Mr. Black is an old friend, this fact may be
noted and the words, "an old friend whom I want you
to meet," may be added at the bottom, or on the back
of the card. The person receiving this will recognizePERSONAL BUSINESS LETTERS iol

the informality of the note and greet your friend
accordingly.

If business reasons make advisable a letter of intro-
duction for a business acquaintance whom you know
slightly, a formal note would be in order, reading
somewhat as follows:

Dear Tom :

This will introduce Mr. H. M. Black, with whom I
have had pleasant business relations. He wishes to
discuss business with you, and I hope you can give him
a few moments of your time.

Sincerely yours,

Allen Taylor.

Most letters of business introduction are written to
gain admittance to a busy or well-known person. Ad-
mittance once gained, the person must make his own
impression. A letter of introduction does not go into
detail regarding the qualities and qualifications of the
person introduced. Such a letter would be a letter of
reference.

In writing a letter of introduction, the writer should
be guided by such considerations as, how well he knows
the person addressed, how well and favorably he knows
the person for whom the letter is written, and the pur-
pose of the introduction. This can be indicated in the
way the letter is couched.

A letter of introduction which every business man is
often required to write is for the college graduate seek-
ing a position. The graduate may be the son or daugh-
ter of a relative, or an old friend or a business associate.102 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

The man writing the letter usually knows the parents
far better than the son. Such a letter might read:

Dear Mr. Marston:

The bearer, James Lansdon Brown, has just grad-
uated from - College and wishes to enter

business in your city. His father and I are college
chums and life-long friends. Anything you can do for
the son will be very much appreciated by me.

Horace Mandell.

This letter tells nothing about young Brown except
that he has graduated from a certain college. From
the tone of the letter, Mr. Mandell realizes that he
will have to be his own judge of the young fellow
seeking a position, and young Brown should realize
that the letter is merely an opportunity which he must
follow up.

Summary.—The personal business letter should not
be stereotyped in form but should bear the impress
of the writer. On the other hand, it should come at
once to the point. Individuals writing to a firm often
make the mistake of asking questions on unrelated
points in the same letter. This makes it necessary for
the firm to refer the letter from one department to
another, and the result is unsatisfactory to all con-
cerned. Several letters each dealing with one subject
would bring better results.

Some Good Rules.—In writing the personal busi-
ness letter, the same general rules apply as for corre-
spondence handled by any business firm. We recom-
mend the individual to read carefully the following
instructions pertaining to the form of correspondencePERSONAL BUSINESS LETTERS 103

t

used in one of the departments of the Federal
Government:

Spacing.—All letters will be double spaced except
for quotations, which will be single spaced.

Neatness.—No soiled or rubbed letter will be signed,
nor any letter in which corrections are carelessly made.

Margins.—Letters of not less than one full page
should have a margin approximately one inch at each
side of the page. When a letter occupies less than one
full page, the margins should be such as to give it a
symmetrical appearance.

Numbering and initialing pages.—The pages of all
letters and documents, except those of only one page,
will be numbered at the bottom and initialed at the top
on the left side, triple spaced above the body of the
letter.

Date.—The date should be half an inch below the
lowest printed line on the letter-head. The month
should not be abbreviated. Figures alone should be
used, as—March 30.

Salutation.—"Dear Sir" should ordinarily be used
unless the letter has a more intimate form. "Sir" is
used only in very formal letters. Titles should be
written out.

Language—brevity.—Use direct clear-cut language.
Avoid odd or lengthy words when shorter, simpler ones
will express the idea. Avoid laborious arrangements
which might well be expressed in half the space. Very
few letters need be longer than one page. Be concise
but not curt.

Avoid preambles.—Never use the substance of the
letter received as a preamble to the reply. For acknowl-
edgments or replies the initial sentence should usually be
in this form—"Your letter of March 30 is received."

Courtesy of diction.—The phrase "you will" shouldio4 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

not be used in giving orders or instructions. It is
peremptory without adding force and a friendlier tone
is more courteous and fully as effective.

Punctuation.—It should be borne in mind that the
purpose of punctuation is a clear understanding of the
text by the reader. Too little punctuation is almost as
bad as too much.

Promises.—When a promise is made do not use such
indefinite phrases as "within a few days," "before
long." Specify the date, or when that is impossible give
the approximate date, as "not later than-."VI

BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

TO-DAY a large part of the business of the world
is conducted by correspondence. Therefore the
importance of the business letter can hardly be
overestimated. As a matter of fact, it is usually un-
derestimated.

We have discussed, somewhat in detail, the business
letter written by the individual to another individual
or firm, and now come to the other type of business
letter, which probably comprises the bulk of all matter
carried in the mails,—the business letter written to the
public by a firm, club organization, or by the Federal,
State and local government.

Of these letters there are many kinds; the sales letter,
the follow-up letter, credit and collection letters, reply
letters, official letters, letters of information, circular
and form letters.

Whole books have been devoted to the subject of
how to write the commercial letter. Here we shall
attempt to give only some of the salient points to be
considered. The same general advice as to form given
at the close of the preceding chapter applies here.

Letter-heads.—Letters by business men for busi-
ness purposes should be written on standard business
stationery with an appropriate business letter-head. To
the selection of the paper and the style of the letter-
head careful thought should be given.

105106 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

The letter-head that sprawls across the top of the
page and straggles down the sides is a form of garish
advertising in questionable taste; it is no longer "good
form."

This desire to impress too often impresses unfavor-
ably. Therefore a conservative letter-head is recom-
mended. In studying letter-heads used by the various
Departments of the Government, high officials, large
corporations, civic institutions, philanthropic and chari-
table organizations, clubs and societies, we have been
impressed with the general conservatism displayed.

Here are a few examples:

THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE
WASHINGTON

In the above the words are engraved in blue on a
fine grade of white paper. The seal of the Department
is embossed in the upper left-hand corner.

Where a particular bureau or section is writing, the
letter-head may read as below:

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
OFFICE OF DIRECTOR OF EXTENSION WORK
WASHINGTON

MOTION PICTURES

Two other official letter-heads which manage to con-
vey a good deal of specific information, without the
appearance of crowding, follow:

THE UNIVERSITYIOF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
ALBANY

VISUAL INSTRUCTION DIVISION
ALFRED W. ABRAMS. CHIKPBUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE 107

BOARD OF EDUCATION
OF THE CITY OF NEW "YORK
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF LECTURES
157 EAST 67TH STREET

ERNEST R. CRANDALL

DIRECTOR OF LECTURES
WENDELL M. THOMAS

.ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Examples of simplicity in style are afforded by the
following from large corporations:

EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY

ROCHESTER, N. Y.

GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY

RESEARCH LABORATORY

SCHENECTADY, N. Y.

Where heads of different departments conduct con-
siderable correspondence, the office is noted on the letter-
head, usually in the lower left-hand corner, reserving
the lower right-hand corner for the date line. Large
business houses use such expressions as "Office of the
Secretary," "Office of the Treasurer/' "Office of the
General Manager/' "Auditing Department/' etc.

The old days of garish letter-heads, carrying adver-
tising matter or cumbered with the names of many
officers, have passed. The simpler the form, the better
and more lasting. The examples given above, which
might be extended indefinitely, are inserted only as
suggestions to be studied rather than followed, neces-108 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

sarily. Having studied them, do not copy slavishly
but select a letter-head equally distinctive, one that is
appropriate and in keeping with the nature of your busi-*
ness,—one that will wear well and carry a good impres-
sion to the stranger who may never see you face to
face.

Business Forms.—With the letters of well-known
business firms and organizations before us, let us
glance a moment at some of the forms used.

Replying to letter of inquiry

Dear Madam :

In reply to your letter of March 13, we regret it if
not possible to give you detailed information on the^
subject of your inquiry. However—, etc., etc.

We trust the somewhat meager information we hav^
been able to furnish may be of some assistance to yotk
With best wishes,

Yours very truly,

Eastman Kodak Company,

(Signature) ..............

Sales Manager. -

A letter with a slightly different opening and clos-»
ing reads:

My dear Mr. Black :

•4

We have your letter of January 4th in regard to —^
We will be glad to advise with you further, etc. |

Yours very truly,

(Signature) ................. |

Engineer, Research Laboratory. jBUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE 109

The name of the firm is frequently used in the formal
closing, sometimes above the name of the individual
and sometimes below it. Here are two other forms
in use by business concerns:

Very truly yours,

(Written Signature) Don Carlos Ellis,

Secretary,

National Non-theatrical Motion Pictures.

In the second example the name of the firm is used
on the line above the written signature:

Yours very truly,

National Auto Corporation,
(Written Signature) L. L. Mann,

Secretary-T reasurer.

(Typed) L. L. Mann
MMT

Typewritten Signatures.—In practically all busi-
ness letters to-day the signature is both written and
typed. Sometimes the typed signature comes first, as:

Yours very truly,

H. K. House,
Contract Service Dept.,
(Written Signature) .................

The more common form is to type the name beneath
the written signature instead of above it.

Never use a typewritten signature alone. Every
letter should be signed in ink by the person writing orIio ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

dictating it. In all business letters where a letter is
dictated, it is customary for the stenographer to type
the initials of the person dictating, and her own initials
in the lower left-hand corner. In some corporations
the custom is for the initials to appear only on the
carbon copy kept in the reference files. .This gives the
original a neater appearance.

In some firms where the heads are too busy to read
over all the letters, a postscript is used, saying, "Dic-
tated but not read." This adds nothing to the value
of the letter, and is apt to impress the reader unfavor-
ably—it makes him feel so unimportant! Yet it is
used as a sort of protection against error. At times
it is necessary and unavoidable; but in many offices it
is overworked.

Foreign Correspondence,—Many business firms
offend in letters sent abroad through ignorance of the
customs of the country. In a recent announcement
from the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce
we read:

"It is safe to say that relatively few persons, ad-
dressing correspondents in Great Britain and certain
British colonies and possessions, use 'Mr./ 'Esq.' and
'Messrs.' in the way prescribed by custom in those
countries.

"It is not easy to explain when to use 'Mr.' and when
'Esq./ but as a general rule 'Esq.' is used in cor-
respondence with individuals of a certain social or busi-
ness standing and with the heads and important officials
of a concern. The title 'Mr/ is used in addressing
tradesmen or subordinates. One must therefore be
very careful in writing to a banker or an officer of a
foreign concern to address him as 'Esq.' and not a$
'Mr.'BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE hi

"The title 'Messrs.' is used before the names of all
companies and even in the case of banks—when the
names of individuals appear in the corporate name—
and this title should never be omitted, whether one is
addressing a firm or mentioning a firm in the text of the
correspondence.

"American and English usages differ somewhat in
regard to the salutation. The term 'Dear Sirs' is pre-
ferred abroad to the term 'Gentlemen.' The compli-
mentary close should be: 'We are, dear Sirs, yours
faithfully/ "

In letters from the United States to South America,
blunders are so frequent as to be habitual. The trouble
is that we are so cocksure of ourselves (apparently)
we do not take the trouble to learn our neighbor's point
of view. Every writer on South American topics notes
this fact with surprise and pain.

Stamping Signatures.—Never rubber-stamp the
signature on a letter. If routine letters are too numer-
ous for the head of the firm to sign, a clerk, whose
handwriting is similar to his, should be delegated to
sign his name in ink. The only case where a rubber
stamped signature is justified is in signing multigraphed
or form letters. The personal signature isn't merely
a matter of good taste, it is good business. The per-
sonal touch in business is coming more and more to the
front, and is proving more and more valuable.

Physical Form of Letters.—Too much attention
cannot be paid to the form and appearance of the busi-
ness letter. Independent of its message it can be made
or marred by its spacing, typing and paragraphing. In
typing letters (and all business letters should be typed)
it is customary to double-space letters that are very
short and will occupy a page or less. A longer letterii2 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

is single spaced, with a double-space left between para-
graphs to set them off, and make the letter more easily
read.

Each paragraph should contain a single thought. In
advertising, in sales letters, and in business correspond-
ence generally, the tendency is toward short paragraphs,
and the omission of all extraneous matter.

The Sales Letter.—The sales letter is perhaps the
most important of all business letters. To write a sales
letter that brings in business is a career in itself, and
the science of selling can not be taught in a few pages,
or even between the covers of a book. Big advertising
firms have experts in charge of their correspondence.
Although these experts may have gotten valuable sug-
gestions from books on salesmanship, they have learned
through experience and by being ever alert and on the
job. Some "correspondents" (this being the official
title given to those whose duty is to write letters to
agents and customers for their firm) make a point of
keeping a note-book or card index files, in which they
keep all the snappy expressions, catch phrases, clever
or artistic expressions they hear or read and which
may prove of use. It is a good practice, as the average
memory is most unreliable.

A good rule in regard to the sales letter is to keep
the letters you receive that impress you, and analyze
them to discover why they make an appeal.

From a study of numerous sales letters we have come
to the following conclusions: (I) the letter that catches
and holds our attention is brief and to the point; (2)
it gives a sound and logical reason why it would be to
our advantage to purchase that particular object; and
(3) it gives reasons why we should act within a definite
period of time, and thus makes us decide to keep theBUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE 113

letter and think the proposition over, instead of throw-
ing it at once into the waste basket.

The most irritating of all letters is the one that leaves
unanswered all the questions the reader is mentally
asking. In writing any kind of business letter put
yourself in the reader's place and write the kind of
letter that would interest you and hold your attention;
or take the person of your acquaintance whom it would
be most difficult to interest and write your sales letter
presumably to him. Give the letter a personal tone if
possible. Don't address some mythical person, but
make the reader feel that you are interested in him
and in his needs.

Don't deal in generalities; be as specific as possible.

Don't deal in superlatives. No one will believe you.
Stick to facts. Even if you think you have "the finest
product on the market," the mere statement will not
convince the skeptical reader who may have received
dozens of other letters containing the same statement.
If you think you have the best, tell some of the reasons
why you think it to be so, and let the reader draw his
own conclusions. In the telling be careful to say noth-
ing derogatory to any competitor. "Knocking" a rival
firm merely arouses suspicion against your product.
The reader of your knocking letter may remember the
old saying, "Anything that is good enough to knock
must be pretty good," and be led to investigate and
perhaps purchase the rival product. Make your prod-
uct appear so worth while that it will be bought at your
price. Without running down your competitor, you
may state in what essentials your product excels.
"Honest Advertising" is a slogan that is sweeping the
country. The good-will of one's customers has a highii4 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

financial rating and can only be secured by dealing
fairly, squarely, honestly and openly with them.

If you are offering special rates say so, but don't
say it unless it is a special offer, for you are apt to be
found out and lose the confidence of a possible client.
Satisfied customers are the best assets of any business
concern. Probably half the business of the world is
conducted through correspondence. This correspond-
ence requires thought and care and brains.

There is much being written about the psychology
of business. In writing a business letter it is well to
study or at least give thought to the nature of the firm
or locality to which the letter is to be sent A sales
letter written to persons in the far West may not be
appropriate for those living in the South. In other
words, don't try to sell luxuries to the farmers in the
South, when the cotton crop has been a failure, or to
the Western farmers when wheat is selling at a dollar
a bushel.

The sales letter requires that the writer thereof be
alert and alive to every situation.

Form and Circular Letters.—The efficient sales
letter is personal and individual. While form and cir-
cular letters have their uses, they have been greatly
abused. The form letter has been so greatly overdone
that a comparative few reach the persons to whom they
are addressed.

Exact statistics in regard to the value of form let-
ters, circular letters, and follow-up letters are not easily
obtained, though some business concerns keep elaborate
check-up accounts, and are convinced, in their own
minds, that the money so spent is well invested. Others
are sent broadcast, on the assumption that from one
to five per cent will respond.BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE 115

Such letters are necessarily impersonal, but much
of what has been said regarding the sales letter applies
here.

The circular letter is in the nature of a general ad-
vertisement. As a general rule, it should be brief and
make one specific point. One page is more apt to be
read than two, and it is what is actually read that
counts. The beautiful three-page story is speedily con-
signed to the waste basket, while a half-page letter has
a chance of being read—especially if it starts off with
snap.

Inclosing Printed Matter.—The printed circular
is not to be confused with the circular letter, though
it is sometimes a first cousin to the latter. The printed
circular containing additional information is often in-
closed with the circular letter, or with the sales letter
or follow-up letter. It should contain essential facts
in a concise, easily accessible form, but without flam-
boyant style or superlatives. In inclosing a printed cir-
cular or catalogue, it is good business to mark special
paragraphs or sections in which the reader may be spe-
cially interested. For example, if a catalogue of avail-
able educational films is sent to ministers, in a personal
letter call special attention to the religious films, and
mark this section in the catalogue. If the catalogue is
mailed to teachers, mark the section containing peda-
gogical films, or else call attention to the section in the
letter with some such phrase as, "You will probably be
especially interested in the films listed on page 16 in the
catalogue, being sent you under separate cover."

Do not inclose more than two pieces of printed
matter with one letter. One piece is better.

Follow-up Letters.—Many firms have an elaborate
system of follow-up letters. Their principle is to maken6 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

one telling point at a time, letting each point sink home
before making the next one. The system seems to have
proved profitable, and the theory is plausible. A series
of letters often produce replies, where the first letter is
passed by in silence.

The follow-up letter is one of a series of sales let-
ters. It should invite correspondence and make it easy
for the reader and possible client to secure additional
information. For this reason, an addressed postal for
reply, or addressed envelope is usually inclosed.

The follow-up letter when used consistently (some
firms send out from twelve to twenty follow-ups) in-
variably has one of two effects on the recipient. It
irritates him and makes him vow he will never patronize
that firm, or else the very persistence of the firm ex-
cites a certain admiration and respect, or arouses an
interest which makes of the recipient a purchaser.
The result is a gamble, but the majority of firms using
the follow-up system seem to have found it profitable.
"We have found," said one business man, "that where
the first letter may go unread, the second arouses a
slight interest, the third catches the attention, the
fourth sets the reader thinking, and the fifth brings
results. Our experience has been that persistence wins
and that success comes by hammering away."

The Form Letter.—The form letter is different
from the circular letter or follow-up letter in that it is
not usually a part of a direct sales campaign, but is an
answer to letters from correspondents. So many
people write asking the same kind of information, that
the person dictating the replies sooner or later decides
to compose a letter which will cover all inquiries of the
same nature. He does not stop with one form letter.
There is a series, marked Form A, B, C, D, etc.BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE 117

Oftentimes the secretary, in glancing over a letter, sees
at once which form letter will answer the questions
asked, and makes a memorandum accordingly. The
form letter is dispatched, and the busy head of the
office is saved the worry of attending to this routine
matter. The form letter makes for efficiency. It
should be composed with greatest care, and should
never be used when it does not cover all the points in
the letter of inquiry. In such cases individual letters
should be written. Occasionally form paragraphs may
be inserted in the body of a letter, thus saving much
time.

The Departments of the United States Government,
where requests for information are constantly being
received, makes extensive use of form letters, and
rightly so, as the form letter is a great economy, and
in many instances serves the purpose as well as a spe-
cially dictated letter.

Publishing companies are among the many business
concerns making wide use of form letters. A manu-
script reader connected with a well-known magazine
told the writer that all manuscripts were graded, A, B,
C, D, E, etc., and one form letter went to those graded
E, another to those graded D, a third to those graded
C; while the A and B manuscripts went to the editor-
in-chief and if rejected were returned with a personal
letter from the editor. This bit of information may
be interesting to collectors of rejection slips.

Complete records are usually kept of all form letters
and follow-up letters sent out. Many firms keep a
card index of their mailing list, and make notations on
the cards.

Replies.—It is good business to answer promptly
all letters received, even when a reply is not required.ii8 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

Many high-class firms make this a rule. A form letter
or a printed card to the effect that "your order has been
received and is being given attention" serves as suf-
ficient acknowledgment.

The receipt of money in any form should always
be acknowledged promptly. All replies should be brief
and to the point, unless the nature of the inquiry de-
mands a detailed explanation.

All letters of complaint should be answered courte-
ously. The manner in which a complaint is acknowl-
edged can make a friend or an enemy of the person
writing. If objections are met frankly, if the firm is
in error and acknowledges it promptly, the complain-
ant is usually appeased. When the complainant is in
the wrong, the reply may require considerable tact.

Letters of Apology.—It is equally difficult to write
a letter of apology gracefully. This opening paragraph
is one of the ablest that has come to our attention:

Dear Mr. Blanck :

Your letter of June 10 is received. I am afraid
the earlier part of my previous letter was overharsh.
Your reply is of the kind that turneth away wrath, and
if I may be allowed to say so, certainly shows a fine
spirit.

Such an opening immediately reestablishes the entente
cordiale. It is a most graceful apology and the essence
of tact.

Although it is not good business to open a letter with
an apology, if an apology is in order make it in as few
words as possible, and proceed at once to the realBUSINESS. CORRESPONDENCE 119

business of the letter. The following is an instance in
point:

June 30, 19—

Dear Mr. Brown :

Please accept apologies for the delay which has taken
place in replying to your letter of May 10. I returned
to Washington at the end of last week from an extended
Western trip, to find my desk piled high with material
requiring immediate attention.

When there has been an unavoidable delay in the
answering of a business letter, some explanation is in
order. One should avoid the necessity of apologies.

Letters of Refusal.—Another difficult letter to
write is the polite letter of refusal. Because of its
difficulty, such letters are sometimes entirely ignored
on the plea that "the less said the better." But to keep
a person in suspense is far more unkind than a definite
refusal.

The following answer to an application for a posi-
tion is very definite but is at the same time considerate.

Mr. Martin F. Smith,

New York City.

Dear Sir:

Your letter of May 2 is received. The positions in
this office have not yet been filled, but an offer has
been made for one of them, and we have two men under
consideration for the others. The chances are, I think,
that one of these men will be secured. I am sorry that
it does not look as though there would be an opening
for you here.

Very truly yours,120 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

Requests of any kind sent to the Federal Govern-
ment invariably receive a courteous answer, even
though the reply is in the negative,—an example that
business organizations might follow with profit.

The following letter, though a definite refusal,
leaves the recipient feeling kindly towards the writer:

Dear Sir:

Your letter of April 2 is received. I am very sorry
to say that the Forest Service has no picture of a cedar
tree suitable for your purpose that we could send you.
Possibly you could buy a photographic print of a good
specimen of red cedar (Junipens Virginia) which, I
presume, is the tree you have in mind, by writing to
the Forest School, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
I wish I could make some suggestion more likely to
be helpful.

Very truly yours,

There are several points worth noting in this letter.
The writer might easily have said, "We are sorry but
we have not what you want," and have stopped there,
but he didn't. He shows by his reply that he has given
the letter careful attention. He makes a practical sug-
gestion, gives the inquirer definite information as to
what to ask for and where to get it. The closing sen-
tence is the kind that leaves a pleasant taste—"I wish
I could make some suggestion more likely to be help-
ful." It shows interest and a desire to be of as-
sistance.

Many business organizations have learned that this
spirit of service pays.

Answering Letters of Complaint.—One business
firm has as its motto: "Our patrons are always right";BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE 121

another "Our motto is service." The public-be-pleased
policy of a large New York concern, considered revo-
lutionary when inaugurated, has been almost univer-
sally adopted because it has been found to pay. This
same policy has been found particularly profitable in
the answering of letters of complaint.

In many large and successful houses, the complaint
department is one of the most important in the entire
establishment. Many complaining letters are so trivial
as to be absurd. It is unfortunately a trait of human
nature to find fault over trifles. Other complaints are
due to the failure of the customers themselves to give
correct addresses, or the right shipping instructions, or
write their names legibly, or any one of a hundred other
lapses which rise up daily to vex and perplex the busy
shipping department.

But the complaint desk must allow for this human
equation, and must proceed on the motto above men-
tioned, "Our patrons are always right." When the
patron is clearly wrong, he (or she) must be told so in
as tactful a manner as possible. The letter should end
with an expression of regret that the error or delay
occurred.

Every one has probably heard of the famous letter
of complaint, in which the client receiving a box of
machinery wrote to the firm a scathing letter for send-
ing the machinery with one of the essential parts miss-
ing. The letter was a lengthy one of several pages
and filled with bitter denunciations. At the close there
was a postscript reading, "We have just found the
missing part."

The original story did not add that a polite letter
was sent in answer, saying—"We have received your
letter and are very much pleased that you found the222 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

missing part," though the temptation to write a scorch-
ing letter in reply was hard to resist, unless the firm's
letter-writer had a sense of humor.

If you must be angry, do not be angry on paper.
Politeness pays. This does not mean that there are
not times when one should not be firm. It is one
thing to be polite, and another thing to let your corre-
spondent gain an unfair advantage.

Collection Letters.—A combination of firmness
and politeness is essential in collection letters. The
writing of the collection letter, like the writing of the
sales letter, is a science in itself. As each case requires
individual attention, examples of collection letters that
have proved successful would not prove of sufficient
benefit to justify their inclusion here. The subject is
too broad to attempt a brief analysis. Special books
have been written on the subject, and a successful col-
lection man usually commands a good salary.

Not one, but several kindly reminders should be given
the delinquent, followed by a sterner reminder before
the account is turned over to an attorney for collection.
Do not resort to the "big stick" until necessary; but
there are some persons who respond to no other method.

Letters Refusing Credit.—Letters refusing credit
also require tact and consideration. Even when the
person refused credit would undoubtedly prove to be a
liability instead of an asset on your books, avoid in-
curring his ill-will, as he may harm your firm by
malicious or unkind remarks.

This chapter is not written with the desire to tell
a business firm how to write its letters, but is included
because no book on correspondence would be complete
without some consideration of that vast bulk of letters
sent out daily to buyers and sellers. We have refrainedBUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE 123

from quoting form letters, contenting ourselves with
a few extracts and general observations. After perusal
of numerous letters of distinct merit, we have found
them so applicable solely to individual cases as to be
practically valueless here.

Conciseness, politeness, with a human, kindly, per-
sonal note, where possible, should form the basis of
every business letter. Never deal in superlatives; never
knock the other fellow; never make promises you can't
keep; never create a demand you can not supply. Keep
faith with the public.VII

WHAT TO SAY, AND WHAT NOT TO SAY

IN both business and social correspondence what
not to write is often as important as what to
write. There are many letters which should never
be written, many expressions which should never be
used, many statements which should never be made.

The letter filled with misstatements and unbelievable
superlatives, the letter that is overboastful, that runs
down a competitor, that contains derogatory statements,
that is curt, short, surly, discourteous, or that is written
in anger or under the stress of any very strong emotion,
should never be sent. If such letters are ever written
their place is in the waste basket of the writer.

Style in Letters.—In the business, as in the social
letter, principles of grammar and composition as well
as certain conventional requirements as to form should
be observed. Many stock expressions in common use
are neither good English nor in good taste and should
therefore be avoided. An eminent English authority
says: "Ability to write a clear, terse, courteous, busi-
ness letter is a test of one's training in the use of Eng-
lish."

The choice of the right word to express the exact
shade of meaning is highly important in the business
letter, particularly in the letter involving governmental
policies or legal matters. The letter should be worded
so carefully that there is no possibility of misunder-

124WHAT TO SAY

125

standing. To achieve this requires care, thought, a
good vocabulary, a knowledge of grammar and com-
position—in fact, a mastery of English.

Some Don'ts.—Although psychologists inform us
that we should not say "don't/' a summary of the
things to avoid in letter writing may prove helpful at
this point, so we shall have recourse to the time-hon-
ored "don't" and hope the psychologists will forgive
us, as the rest of this volume is devoted to what to do
rather than what not to do. In both business and
social letters, then,—

Don't use superlatives.

Don't make misstatements.

Don't write when angry.

Don't be curt, vindictive, rude or discourteous. It
does not pay.

Don't sacrifice clearness for brevity, and don't be
brief to the point of brusqueness.

Don't use stock phrases and stereotyped expressions.

Don't abbreviate dates. Write plainly,—thus, May

'5> 1923-

Don't abbreviate addresses. In addressing the en-
velope always spell out the State in full.

Don't sign your name in pencil. Use ink, and (if
the letter is typewritten) type your name beneath
the written signature. Never use a typewritten signa-
ture alone. This is frequently done but is bad form.

Don't write on both sides of business stationery.

Don't use postscripts.

Don't send out any letter which has unsightly cor-
rections, erasures, lacks sufficient margin, or is crowded
at the bottom of the page. It is better to take time to
retype the letter so that it has a neat, attractive, busi-
ness-like appearance.126 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

Don't use cheap, lined, perfumed, or unusual sta-
tionery.

Don't boast. Stick to facts.

Don't use superfluous words. Of two words mean-
ing the same thing, use the shorter.

Don't use long paragraphs. Shorter paragraphs are
more easily read.

Don't write dunning letters on post cards. We be-
lieve there is a law against this.

Don't fail to be polite, even though stern measures
may be required.

Some Things to Do.—To sum up a few things
which should be done without fail, we would set down
the following:

Be brief, accurate, clear, courteous, consistent,
sincere.

Spell words correctly. Use a dictionary if neces-
sary, and be particularly careful in the spelling of
proper names. To misspell the name of the person
addressed is not only bad manners but bad business.

Make and keep a carbon copy of all business letters.

Acknowledge at once receipt of money, or order for
goods.

Answer all letters promptly.

Points for the Social Letter.—In the social letter
there is more latitude. There are, however, a few
things which are never done, and other things which
must be done without fail.

Always acknowledge every invitation promptly.

Always use the third person in acknowledging the
formal invitation and follow the form of the invitation
received both in wording and spacing.

Always use high-grade stationery. All formal
social correspondence should be written by hand. ForWHAT TO SAY

127

the very informal social correspondence the single
sheets with address printed or engraved at the top and
typewriter may be used.

Always write legibly, taking special pains with the
signature, which so often is the most illegible part of
the letter.

Always acknowledge with a sincere, cordial note all
gifts; this includes gifts to the bridal couple, Christmas
gifts, birthday gifts, gifts to the new baby, flowers
sent when there is an illness, or bereavement in the
family.

Always write a letter of thanks to one who has en-
tertained you over night. It is also customary for
visitors to write letters of thanks to all who have enter-
tained them during their visit to another city.

When folio letter paper is used, write on consecu-
tive pages, first, second, third, and fourth, unless the
letter requires only two pages,—then use the first and
third. Do not use the first and fourth, second and
third, nor first, third, second and fourth. The last
named order may be more convenient to the writer,
but the consecutive order is more convenient to the
reader, who should be given first consideration.

Write the kind of friendly, social letter you would
like to receive.

Write the most legible hand you can, not the one that
looks artistic and is almost undecipherable.

Always keep a friendly letter until it is answered,
and make a point of really answering it. Read the
letter over just before answering it, comment on the
things mentioned, and reply to all questions asked.
How often have we heard parents say of absent chil-
dren, "Yes, we hear from them, but they never answer;128 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

our letters. We wonder sometimes if they really read
them."

Never write a bitter, sarcastic, nagging, scolding
letter. The bitter letter engenders bitterness; the sar-
castic letter hurts, sometimes very deeply; the nagging
letter lowers the morale of the receiver and like the
scolding letter does no good and may do much harm.
Nagging letters from home have seriously hindered
many a business man's efficiency. The man or woman
who receives scolding, unsympathetic, letters from
those from whom he or she has a right to expect sym-
pathetic and encouraging letters suffers a severe
handicap.

The friendly letter may prove a powerful weapon.
A few words of cheer and encouragement from a
loved one; a hearty word of greeting from an absent
friend; a letter of commendation to one in public office
for an act requiring courage, may start a whole day
right and give renewed strength for fighting the bat-
tles ahead.

A single letter has been known to make or mar a
life, to change the destinies of a nation. Some letters
are as dangerous as dynamite.

The letter that has done the most harm in the world
is perhaps the love-letter which falls into the hands of
persons for whom it is not intended. We therefore
suggest that in penning a love-letter, the possibility of
its falling into the hands of your worst enemy be always
lcept in mind. The time-honored advice to writers of
love-letters is—write nothing you would fear to see in
print.

After all, it's the little things that count in letters,
as in life. Be thoughtful, kind, considerate.

Don't begin your letters with apologies for notWHAT TO SAY	12$

having written sooner. Elaborate apologies irritate,
for every one knows that we find the time to do the
things we want to do the most. Better to say, "I have
thought of you many, many times these busy days and
weeks," than to say, "I have been so very busy I
haven't had a moment to write." The former is flat-
tering, the latter isn't.

Don't fill your letter with what you have been doing,
unless you are certain that the person receiving the
letter will be interested. Parents, brothers, sisters,
lovers are interested in your comings and goings, and
friends may be. Before beginning to write, think of
the person's likes and dislikes, and write what he wants,
to hear, rather than what you want to tell him. How
few of us do that!

The old copy-books told us never to begin a letter
with "I." That rule no longer holds good, but it is
certainly in very poor taste to begin every paragraph
with "I," or to have an over-abundance of "Fs" scat-
tered throughout the letter. Generally speaking, there
should be more "you's" than "Fs" in both the business:
and social letter.

Don't take people to task for not writing to you.
If you have missed their letters, tell them so frankly.
Speak of the pleasure their letters give, of how much
you enjoy them, how you miss them when you expect
them and they fail to arrive. Such a letter from you
will be far more likely to bring a prompt answer than
a letter of complaint.

Make your letter as personal and human as possible.
At best there is something cold and impersonal about
a letter. There are many things one should not say in
a letter that one may say in person. Oftentimes the
tones of the voice lend warmth and kindness andI30 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

geniality to that which, when written, sounds unkind,
even cruel. What may sound funny, witty or facetious
when said lightly or jestingly, may hurt deeply when
we read it. Therefore, avoid the double meaning.
If what you have written may, by a different inflection
of the voice, be given another meaning, change the
wording so that the meaning will be clear.

Make it a rule to read every letter before it is sealed
and mailed. If this rule became universal, many letters
which now burden the mails would never be sent at all,
and others would be rewritten.

Do not be "stingy" with your letters. If you have
good friends living across the continent from you, do
not wait for letters from them. Send them a line
whenever the spirit prompts you. If you have run
down to Atlantic City for a few days, take time to tell
them so. If anything out of the ordinary has transpired,
such as removing your residence from one part of
town to another, advise them of the fact. How often
do we hear the remark, "I never know what the Blanks
are doing unless I chance to see them."

Another form of stinginess is from the "out of sight
out of mind" folks. I know a girl who has been study-
ing music in New York and while there lives with near
relatives. She seems devoted to them and they to her;
but when she goes to her Western home for a summer
vacation, they may not receive a line from her except
one announcing her safe arrival there. She is always
"too busy."

We are a restless, hurrying, careless people, and
nowhere is this more apparent than in our correspond-
ence. Let us not forget the art of taking pains.

Let us project ourselves, as it were, into the inner
circle of the friend or acquaintance to whom we areWHAT TO SAY

writing. What are his interests? Have we seen or
done anything that would interest him? If he were
with us in person, what should we talk to him about?

A few simple interrogations to ourselves such as
these, as we sit down and "take our pen in hand," will
mark the difference between a real letter and a sheet
filled up with words.VIII

POINTS IN GOOD ENGLISH

70RTUNE has been lost because of a misplaced
comma, and a good position because of a mis-

spelled word.

Many large firms require applicants for positions to
apply by letter, and are guided in their decisions by the
neatness, correctness and general appearance of the let-
ter, as well as by its contents. Other things being equal,
the place goes to the person most careful in small
details.

In writing letters, attention should be paid to style,
grammatical construction, and punctuation. If we are
to practice the art of letter writing, a knowledge of
good English is essential.

There are so many errors in grammar, spelling, and
punctuation made by letter writers who should, and
often do, know better, that before leaving this subject
let us stop and consider a few of the most common
faults.

Slang.—There is the question of slang. Is its use
permissible in letters?

"No one should use slang until after he is thirty/'
says one writer, and adds, "Though this is the rule,
the practice is that all young people use slang until
thirty; after that they usually drop it for a more re-
spectable form of expression/' To use slang indicates
that one is lazy, careless, and possesses a limited vocab-POINTS IN GOOD ENGLISH 133

ulary. Slang has no place in a letter. If it is used
only when nothing else expresses the meaning as clearly
—the excuse usually given—it will be used rarely.
Colloquial expressions, on the other hand, which are
generally understood, are frequently used by the best
writers in informal letter writing, and give the letters
a conversational tone.

Foreign words and phrases should also be used with
discretion, and only in informal correspondence with
those who will understand them. Scientific, legal and
technical terms should be avoided when writing to those
outside the profession.

It is even more important in writing than in con-
versation, to use simple and specific terms rather than
general terms.

Choice of Words.—The use of the right word to
express the exact shade of meaning is important in
letter writing. The English language is rich in words
of varying shades of meaning. The misuse of words
is a common failing. It is surprising how frequently
formerly and formally are misused, for example, due
to carelessness because of the similarity of sound.
Affect and effect are often confused. To affect means
to move or be acted upon or to influence, while to effect
means to bring about, to accomplish. Often we are in
doubt when to use further and when farther. Farther
usually refers literally to distance, while further is
used figuratively.

Whole volumes have been written on the subject of
misused words. We mention only a few to show that
eternal vigilance is required in the mastery of correct
English.

Verbs.—Every sentence should contain a verb.
This is one of the elemental rules of grammar, yet134 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

many writers omit the verbs in sentence after sentence.
The verb should be near the subject, and should agree
with it in number. Plural nouns require plural verbs.
When the subject is separated from the verb and the
verb from the subject, one is apt to forget the real
subject and use the wrong form of the verb. Many
persons are confused in regard to the use of verbs
with collective nouns. Use a singular verb when you
are thinking of the group as a unit, and a plural verb
when you are thinking of the individuals forming the
group.	;

"Use the tense of the verb that Accurately expresses
the time of action," says the Manual of Good English.
Letter writers too frequently use the future tense in-
stead of the present. "I am pleased to accept your kind
invitation," is correct; "I shall be pleased," is incorrect.

The correct use of shall and will puzzles even the
best writers. The confusion is due largely to the shades
of meaning involved. The greatest error is using will
for shall in the first person future. Shall should be
used far more often than it is. In referring to the
future, always use shall after I and we; and will with
you or he. In asking a question use shall not only in
the first person but also in the second and third when
its use is expected in the answer, as, "Shall you go?"
"Yes, I shall go."

Many writers use will on all occasions. The major-
ity of errors prevalent in letters is to misuse will for
shall in the first person future and in asking questions.
The following sentences are correct: "I shall write
to-day." "Shall you write to-day?" "He will write
to-morrow." "We shall write to-morrow." "They
will write to-day."

If, however, you are not making a mere statementPOINTS IN GOOD ENGLISH 135

but a positive promise the correct form would be:
"I will write to-day" (meaning that nothing shall pre-
vent me). "He shall write to-day" (meaning that you
will make him write to-day if necessary).

This is where the confusion arises. First know
what you intend to say, be clear in your own mind as
to your meaning, then take care to use the correct form
to express it.

Can and may are frequently misused. May and
might express permission, while can and could express
ability. A scholar asked his teacher—"Can I go
home?" and the teacher answered, "You can} but you
may not."

Lie and lay are also frequently confused. To lie
signifies a state; to lay is active and denotes an action
on an object. We lie down in order to rest, but we lay
a book on the table, where another book already lies.

Sit and set are similarly misused. We sit down but
we set a vase of flowers on the table.

Adjectives.—Many forceful writers use few ad-
jectives but many verbs. The overuse of adjectives
is a fault common especially to young letter writers
who are "just wild" or "simply crazy" about things
that are "simply adorable," "perfectly sweet," "awfully
nice," and "too darling for words!"

Be chary in the use of adjectives. It is better to
use too few than too many. When using adjectives
be sure to use the correct form.

When comparing two objects use the comparative
form of the adjective and the superlative when three
or more are meant, as, "He is older than I, and is the
tallest boy in our crowd."

Adjectives are usually placed before the noun or
pronoun they modify. Some adjectives can not be136 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

compared, such as round, square, right, unique, perfect,
alone. A ball may be more nearly round than another,
but not rounder„

Adverbs.—Adverbs have two uses, they modify a
verb, adjective or another adverb, and they also con-
nect. They should be placed as near the words they
modify as possible.

Double comparisons and double negatives are incor-
rect. Adverbs are used to answer the questions, how,
when, where, why, how long, but never how many.

Adverbs are frequently wrongly used for adjectives
to express the condition of the subject. "She looks
sad" (not sadly), but "she sings sweetly" for sweetly
expresses the manner of the action and not the con-
dition of the subject. "Candy is sweet"; the adjective
here shows the condition of the subject.

Pronouns.—How often one hears "It's me," "This
is him." And as we speak so do we write. "It is I"
and "This is he?' are correct. The objective forms of
the pronouns are me, us, him, her, them, and whom, and
are used after prepositions and as objects following
transitive verbs.

Remember that pronouns must agree with their ante-
cedents in person, number and gender, though not in
case. When a person writes a letter, he (not they)
should write good English. The use of the plural for
the singular is to be avoided. The following is cor-
rect: "None (literally no one) wrote his parents."

Prepositions.—The use of the correct preposition
gives many writers trouble. Only by care, study and
practice is this knowledge acquired*

A preposition shows the relation of its object to
some preceding word to which that object refers. Do
not omit a preposition unless the sense fully permits itPOINTS IN GOOD ENGLISH 137

Place the preposition immediately before the word used
with it. Probably every one has heard the paradoxical
remark, "A preposition is a bad word to end a sentence
with" Do not use one preposition when two are
needed.

Here are a few suggestions that may prove helpful
in selecting the correct preposition. Use between when
speaking of two objects and among when speaking of
three or more. Use in when speaking of a large
city. "While in New York he stopped at the May fair
Inn."

Use by to indicate the actor and with to indicate the
instrument, as: "He was hit with a stone, by a boy."

Use the preposition that corresponds with the prefix
of a word. De means from, therefore with such words
as derive, deduct, we use from. Com means with, so
we compare one object with another.

One person is married to or with another, the latter
preposition being popular to-day on wedding announce-
ments.

The writer should guard against omitting preposi-
tions, making one do the duty of two, and should not
end a sentence with a preposition. The awkward use
of prepositions can be avoided by entirely recasting
the sentence.

Use of Hyphens.—The correct use of words is
important; but there are other points of which the letter
writer should be reminded, such as paragraphs and
punctuation, capitals, abbreviations.

The hyphen, for example, causes much confusion.
An excellent general rule is to omit the hyphen unless
clearness demands it. It is better to write compound
words frequently used together as one word and those
less frequently as two words, as electric light, airship*138 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

The "Government Style Book" says, "omit the hyphen
In civil and military titles as attorney general, lieutenant
colonel, and in such Latin forms as ex officio member,
ante bellum days." The same authority says that com-
pound adjectives usually take the hyphen; but do not
confuse a qualifying word with a subject word, as:
shoemaker, and a wooden-shoe maker. Compound
nouns, however, are usually written as two words, as
post office, parcel post, foster mother. Note that all
right is two words. There is no such form as alright,—
one of the most common mistakes of careless writers.

Fractions, when spelled, usually require the hyphen
for the sake of clearness, as: one-fifth, six twenty-
thirds, sixty-six hundredths.

Prefixes and suffixes are usually joined to a word
without a hyphen, unless the prefix ends and the word
begins with a vowel or the same consonant, as anti-
American.

The following words are among those that usage has
sanctioned as a single unit: oneself, railroad, someone,
semicolon, candlepower, lighthouse, workman, anybody,
battleship.

Use of Capitals.—Letter writers frequently use
capitals with no regard for grammatical construction.
It is true that we may capitalize words according to
the thought of our sentences, but the best usage is to
use capitals sparingly.

The great fault with many writers is that they capi-
talize individual words, by way of emphasis, which
should not be capitalized, and fail to capitalize others.
They are not consistent. They go even further and
run sentences together, using dashes and commas in-
stead of periods.

In general, capitalize: (i) the first word of everyPOINTS IN GOOD ENGLISH 139

sentence; (2) the first word of every direct quotation;
(3) the first word of every line of poetry; (4) the
pronoun I and the exclamation O (but not oh); (5)
proper nouns and words used as names; (6) adjectives
and words derived from proper names; (7) the name
of a specific individual, place or organization.

For example one says: "I am going to the post
office " but in referring to a specific post office as "the
Washington Post Office/' capitals should be used. We
write Roman coins but roman type, because in the latter
case the specific force of the word has been lost.

Be consistent in the use of capitals. tWhen in doubt
it is usually safe to use a small letter.

Paragraphs.—Many writers fail to observe para-
graphs. They ramble from one subject to another in
such a desultory fashion that they probably do not
realize they have changed the subject until well launched
upon the new topic, and then it is too late to begin the
new paragraph at the proper point.

Correctly speaking, "a paragraph is the complete
development of a single thought." The hasty writer
flits from thought to thought, then back again, develop-
ing none of them. Miscellaneous and unrelated
thoughts are huddled together in one long paragraph,
while in the middle of the next he returns to something
previously mentioned.

Many letters lack this unity of thought as well as the
dignity of expression consistent with the laws of gram-
mar.

Paragraphs should be used consistently. The tend-
ency is away from involved sentences and long para-
graphs. Short paragraphs are popular. They are
easily read and give a pleasing, open look to the letter.140 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

Proper Punctuation.—When to punctuate and
when not to punctuate is a question that puzzles many
letter writers. Many solve the problem by omitting
punctuation entirely, which is all very well for the
writer, but is confusing to the reader, who may be
compelled to read a sentence or paragraph several times
before the meaning is clear.

That is the object of punctuation—to make the
meaning clear.

Children frequently omit the period or question mark
at the end of sentences; but the fault is by no means
confined to children. One is apt to use too little rather
than too much punctuation. He becomes careless and
omits question marks, commas, quotation marks and
apostrophes. He very rarely uses a semicolon even
when obviously required, as between coordinate clauses
distinctly separate in thought, resorting to a comma or
a period. The exclamation mark, "screamer" in news-
paper parlance, is overdone in letters, being commonly
used more than any other mark of punctuation.

There are times when the comma should be used
without fail, and times when it is used but should not
be. A general rule is to omit the comma unless the
sense of the sentence requires it. The sense of a sen-
tence is often completely changed by the position of a
comma. The comma is essential with a descriptive
relative clause. When a clause is introduced by for,
it should be separated from the rest of the sentence to
prevent the reader from mistaking for for a preposi-
tion. A comma is ordinarily used to separate a short
direct quotation from the rest of the sentence.

Writers frequently forget to use quotation marks
to end a quotation. If the quotation extends through
several paragraphs, the marks are used at the beginningPOINTS IN GOOD ENGLISH 141

of each paragraph and at the end of the last onlyv
Quotation marks always follow other marks of punc-
tuation, when the other marks belong to the quotation^
The apostrophe is used: (1) as a sign of the pos-
sessive case: as, six days' time; (2) to indicate the
omission of letters in contractions, as, "he doesn't
care"; (3) as a sign of the plural of figures and letters,,
as, "he should cross his t's and spell out all the 4's"

Writers often misuse the dash, making it take the
place of a comma or a period. Strictly speaking, a dashi
is used only to mark an abrupt change.

Abbreviations and contractions so frequently en-
countered in letters denote laziness. Never use ain't.
There is no such word. Cannot is preferable to can't...
Don't and doesn't are frequently used and often
misused. If you insist on using these forms take care
to use them correctly. Don't is a contraction for do-
not and should never be used with the third person
singular. He don't is incorrect, as is readily seen when
translated into the full form—he do not.

Abbreviations should be followed by a period. When*
an abbreviation ends a sentence, one period suffices.

When in doubt on all such matters, it is well to con-
sult the "Government Style Book" or other equally
recognized authority.

Figures and Numbers.-—When to use figures and
when to spell them out is confusing to many. On this-
point the "Government Style Book" says: Ordinarily
under ten spell out, over ten use figures. If compli-
cated spell, as, "five 5-cent pieces." Where any single
enumeration in a group is ten or more, use all figures,
as, 120 horses, 10 cows, 6 goats.

If an expression contains two or more enumerations,
some definite and others indefinite, spell the indefinitei42 etiquette of letter writing

and put the definite in figures (unless under ten), as,
"four or five thousand spent out of $6,000 appro-
priated."

If sums of money are used as adjectives express in
figures, as, a $1,200 clerk.

Use figures for all enumerations of weights and
measures, for numbers referring to numbered pages,
rooms, houses, etc., for dates of the month and year.

Write out any number beginning a sentence, because
it is impossible to capitalize figures. Write out sums
of money less than a dollar, and do not use a dollar
sign in referring to sums less than one dollar.

Above all be consistent. Do not write ten cents in
one paragraph and 10 cents in another. Decide which
form you prefer, and use it exclusively throughout
your letter.

In Conclusion.—It is not possible, of course, to point
out all the pitfalls in good English in a single brief
chapter. If one's grammar is a bit uncertain, it would
be wise to invest in a good school grammar, and keep it
on the writing desk alongside of the dictionary. Read
it through, first of all, to familiarize yourself with its
contents. You will be surprised how interesting a
grammar can be, and how helpful. Then mark the
chapters or pages which deal with your special weak-
nesses, and go after them. If, for example, you have
been saying, "Between you and I," put it on your black
list. If you have used "providing" for "provided" (a
very common mistake), learn the difference between
the two words. If you use split infinitives, study your
verbs and learn why you should not separate "to" from
its proper verb. If you are in the habit of saying "these
kind" (for "this kind") learn why such an expression
betrays you. If you misuse your adjectives for yourPOINTS IN GOOD ENGLISH 143

adverbs, or use double negatives, or say, "this one is the
best," when there are only two objects compared,—hie
you to a grammar.

A careful regard for the niceties of speech marks the
careful writer. They are just as essential as the clean
collar that the careful dresser puts on in the morning
before going downtown.IX

CORRECT FORMS OF ADDRESS

NO book on correspondence would be complete
without information as to the correct form to
use in addressing officials of Church, State,
ambassadors and ministers from foreign countries, and
members of the army and navy.

Occasions arise where, in a personal or official capac-
ity, we have occasion to write to some high dignitary.
Here are certain forms that are usually observed.

Addressing the President of the United States

The President of the United States,

Washington, D. C.

Sir: (Formal)

My dear Mr. President: (Informal)

(Formal closing)—I have the honor to remain your

most obedient servant.

(Informal closing)—I have the honor to remain most
sincerely (or respectfully) yours.

Addressing a Member of the Supreme Court

The Hon. William H. Taft,

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United
States,

Washington, D. C.

144CORRECT FORMS OF ADDRESS 145

Mr. Chief Justice,

Sir, or Dear Sir: (Formal)

Dear Justice Taft: (Informal)

(Formal closing)—I have the honor to remain your

obedient servant.

(Informal closing)—Believe me, most sincerely yours.

Member of the Cabinet

Hon. Charles E. Hughes,

Secretary of State,

Washington, D. C.

Sir, or Dear Sir: (Formal)

Dear Mr. Hughes: (Informal)

Senator

Senator Albert B. Cummins,

Washington, D. C.

Dear Sir: (Formal)

Dear Senator Cummins: (Informal)

Representative

Hon. Hubert F. Fisher,

House of Representatives,

Washington, D. C.

Dear Sir: (Formal)

Dear Mr. Fisher: (Informal)

Governor

Governor Gifford E. Pinchof,

Harrisburg, Pa.146 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

His Excellency, the Governor of Pennsylvania,

Dear Sir: (Formal)

Dear Governor Pinchot, or Dear Mr. Pinchot: (In-
formal)

Mayor

Hon. John Brown,

Mayor of Chicago,

Chicago, 111.

His Honor, the Mayor of Chicago,

Dear Sir: (Formal)

My Dear Mayor Brown: (Informal)

The formal and informal closing for all of these
public officials is the same: for extreme formality, "I
have the honor to remain your obedient servant"; for
informal closing, "Believe me, most sincerely (or, most
faithfully) yours," or "Yours very sincerely/'

Formality prevails in addressing members of the
foreign diplomatic service. Many Americans fail to
give the proper title to accredited representatives in
this country.

!'Ambassadors

His Excellency,

Mr. J. J. Jusserand,

The Ambassador of the French Republic,
Washington, D. C.

The Belgian Ambassador,

Baron de Cartier de Marchienne,

Washington, D. C.CORRECT FORMS OF ADDRESS 147

His Excellency, Don Gelasio Caetani,

The Royal Italian Ambassador,

Washington, D. C.

Mr. Masanao Hanihara,

The Japanese Ambassador,

Washington, D. C.

All other ambassadors are addressed,

His Excellency,

Ambassador of-.

His Excellency, -,

Ambassador of -.

Sir: (Formal salutation)

Ministers

Mr. Sao-Ke Alfred Sze,

The Chinese Minister,

Washington, D. C.

The Siamese Minister,

Mr. Phya Buri Navarasth,

Washington, D. C.

Mirza Hussein Khan Alai,

The Minister of Persia,

Washington, Dr C.

Where the name of the person is not known, the
letter would simply be addressed to "The Minister of
-, Washington, D. C."■148 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

In writing to our representatives in foreign coun-
tries, we would address them as follows:

Hon. Frank B. Kellogg,

American Ambassador to Great Britain,

London,

England.

It might be well to mention here that we have am-
bassadors to the majority of the European countries,
to Brazil, Chili, Peru and Argentina among South
American countries, and ministers to other countries
where we are officially represented. In addressing our
foreign ministers we would write:

Mr. Jesse S. Cottrell,

American Minister to Bolivia,

La Paz,

Bolivia.

In formal introductions one would say, "His Ex-
cellency, the Ambassador of France," or "His Excel-
lency and Madame Jusserand."

In referring to him or addressing him personally,
"Mr. Ambassador" and "Mr. Minister" are correct
forms, and are more frequently used than "Your
Excellency." "Mr. Governor" and "Mr. Mayor" are
also more commonly used than "Your Excellency" and
"Your Honor."

Church dignitaries

Certain prescribed forms are used in addressing
church dignitaries.* In writing to the Pope, head of
the Roman Catholic Church, the usual form is:

♦Prescribed forms are strictly observed in Catholic circles.
When in doubt consult the National Catholic Directory.CORRECT FORMS OF ADDRESS 149

To the Cardinal, the Secretary of State,

For His Holiness, Pope Pius XI,

Rome, Italy.

Your Holiness: (Formal salutation)

Other forms of address are :

His Eminence,

Cardinal William O'Connell, D.D.

Boston, Mass.

Your Eminence: (Formal salutation)

The Most Reverend Patrick J. Hayes, D.D.
Archbishop of New York,

New York City.

Your Grace: (Formal salutation)

The Right Reverend J. L. Howard, D.D.

Bishop of Kentucky,

Covington, Ky.

Right Reverend and Dear Bishop, or Your Lordship:
(Formal closing)—I have the honor to remain your
obedient and humble servant, or I beg to remain your
obedient servant.

The form of salutation for Catholic bishops is "Your
Grace"; for English bishops, "My Lord Bishop," and
for Protestant bishops in the United States, "Right
Reverend and Dear Sir."

Catholic priests, Protestant clergymen, and Jewish150 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

rabbis are addressed "Reverend," and, if entitled to it,
"Doctor."

Catholic Priest

Rev. John S. Brown (D.D.)

Reverend and dear Sir: (Formal)

Rev. and Dear Father: (Informal)

Protestant Clergyman or Jewish Rabbi

Doctor John S. Brown

Dear Sir: (Formal)

Dear Dr. Brown: (Informal)

Judge

Hon. Judge Brown,

U. S. Circuit Court,

Nashville, Tenn.

Dear Sir: (Formal)

Dear Judge Brown: (Informal)

Officer of Army or Navy

It is a general rule that all officers above the grade
of lieutenant should be addressed by their titles and
rank.

General B. H. Wells,

Brigadier General,

United States Army,

War Department, Washington, D. C.

Dear Sir: (Formal salutation)CORRECT. FORMS. OF. ADDRESS 151

Admiral R. W. Jackson,

Rear Admiral, United States Navy,

Navy Department, Washington, D. C.

Sir: (Formal salutation)

Dear Admiral Jackson: (Informal)

A lieutenant is generally spoken of as Mister, but
his title is also given:

Mr. Cortlandt Spencer Johnson,

Lieutenant Air Service, United States Army,
Governors Island, N. Y.

Dear Sir: (Formal)

Dear Mr. Johnson: (Informal)

When writing to a member of the United States
Army, if you do not know where he is stationed, give
the name, the rank, the regiment, and send to the
Adjutant General's Office, War Department, Wash-
ington, D. C.

Captain John J. Smith,

nth Cavalry, United States Army,

Care of Adjutant General's Office,

War Department,

Washington, D. C.

If you do not know the address of a member of the
United States Navy, the letter should be addressed to
Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, Washing-
ton, D. C.

If he is stationed with the Pacific fleet, the letter
would be addressed Via Postmaster, San Francisco.
If you know he is at an Asiatic station the address
would read Via Postmaster, Seattle, Washington; if he152 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

is with the Atlantic fleet or at a European station, Via
Postmaster, New York City, is the correct address.

The more explicit the address, the better will be the
mail service. The War, Navy and Post Office Depart-
ments all cooperate to facilitate the delivery of mail to
persons in the service of the United States, civil, mili-
tary or naval. Parcels as well as letters will be for-
warded without extra charge, if change of address is
caused by official orders.

Men and women in professional life, physicians, pro-
fessors and those holding public office are addressed
by their titles. The title is usually abbreviated on the
envelope, but is spelled out in the heading of the letter.
"Mister" is not used in connection with a title, nor is
the term Esq., which is used in England far more than
in this country.

Dr. John J. Brown,

Teachers' College,

Columbia University,

New York City.

Dear Doctor Brown:

Dr. C. H. Morgan,

President of University of Tennessee,

Knoxville, Tenn.

John J. Brown, M.D. (or LL.D. or Ph.D.) are
forms that are occasionally used. The term Doctor
covers all of these but it is ambiguous, as it does not
state whether John Brown is a Doctor of Divinity,
Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Law, or Doctor of
Philosophy. But if these initials are used, do not use
"Mr." or "Dr." before the name.CORRECT FORMS OF ADDRESS 153

Addressing Royalty and Nobility

Members of the royal families of Europe are fre-
quent visitors to this country)-and they are usually
widely and elaborately entertained. They are not only
invited to private social functions, but are asked to
serve as patrons and patronesses at charitable benefits
and to address clubs and organizations. If you are
the corresponding secretary of a club or president of
some philanthropic organization, you may have occa-
sion to write to some distinguished royal visitor, and
may find this brief table helpful:

Title
King or Queen

Royal Prince

Duke or Duchess

Marquis or
Marchioness

Dowager Mar-
chioness

Earl, Countess

Daughter of Duke,
Marchioness or
Earl

Address
To His (Her) Most
Gracious Majesty,
King Albert

To His Most
Royal Highness,
the Prince of Wales

To (His) Her Grace
The Duchess of
Marlborough

To the
Marquis of Fife

To the Dowager,
Marchioness of Fife

Right Honorable the*

Earl of Warwick,
Countess of Warwick

Right Hon. the
Lady Jane Grey

Salutation
Sir, May it please
your Majesty

Dear Sir:

My dear Duchess:

My Lord Marquis:
Madam:

Dear Lady Fife:

My Lord:

Dear Lady
Warwick:

Madam t

Among the titled persons who are or have been con-154 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

nected with the foreign diplomatic service at Wash-
ington are:

The Right Honorable Sir Auckland Geddes and Lady
Geddes.

Baron de Cartier de Marchienne and Lady Cartier.
Prince A. Bibesco and Princess Bibesco.

Count Laszlo Szechenyi and Countess Szechenyi.

Baron Leopold Plessen.

Don Gelasio Caetani.

Barone Giovaenni di Giura.

Marquise di Bernezzo.

Senor Don Juan Riano y Gayangos.

The Honorable H. W. Brooks and the Honorable Mrs.
Brooks.

Jonkheer Dr. A. C. D. de Graeff.

In writing to any of these, the envelopes would be
addressed as here given. The formal salutation in the
majority of cases is Sir or Dear Sir, and Madam or
Dear Madam.

Failure to observe the forms prescribed for official
and social correspondence when addressing persons
entitled to the recognition shows ignorance of social
customs.

It has been said that Americans are greater offenders
in this respect than any other nation. It is partly the
fault of our democratic upbringing, but is none the
less inexcusable. Abroad, the finer points of etiquette
are observed in all things: the right dress to wear at
formal occasions; the proper forms of salutation to
dignitaries, whether verbal or written; and many
another social nicety which we are too busy or too
superior to affect.CORRECT FORMS OF ADDRESS 155

Let us not push our "liberty" to the point of "license"
in matters of taste any more than conduct. A proper
regard for social rank, or the use of titles which per-
sonally we might perhaps disdain is, after all, only the
mark of education and social finesse.X

POSTAL INFORMATION

BUSINESS concerns and individuals with a large
correspondence are advised to secure a copy of
the pamphlet entitled, "Postal Information,"
from the Post Office Department at Washington for
ready reference.

Here are a few facts culled from it which everyone
should know:

Foreign and Domestic Postage.—If you have a
friend residing in London, or in Canada, Mexico,
Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, and certain other coun-
tries of South and Central America, you can send him
a letter weighing as much as an ounce for two cents;
but if your friend is traveling through Europe, and
his address is Paris or Geneva or Rome or any other
European city outside of the British Isles, five cents
will be needed for your letter. If your friend has gone
abroad for the summer and gives you London as a
forwarding address, be sure to attach a five-cent stamp,
for if the letter is forwarded to the Continent difficulties
may arise because of insufficient postage.

First Class Mail.—Domestic mail matter is di-
vided into four classes. First class mail is the most
expensive to send. Letters, post cards and all sealed
matter are first class mail. If you seal the envelope
in which your photograph is mailed, it becomes first

156POSTAL INFORMATION 157

class matter instead of third class and is charged for
at the rate of two cents an ounce instead of one cent
for two ounces. You may send clippings in an un-
sealed envelope, provided the envelope contains only
clippings and no written matter.

If you are a writer, your manuscript should be sent
to the publisher by first class mail. If the manuscript
is mailed in a large flat envelope, it should be distinctly
marked "First Class Mail," and should be sealed, pref-
erably with sealing wax, which, by the way, is used
to-day only for official and valuable mail and not for
social correspondence.

The manuscript, when it is returned to you with the
proof sheets, comes third class, and in returning it to
the publisher you may take advantage of the third class
rate, which is one cent for each two ounces, provided
you have not made too many corrections in your proof.
(For permissible corrections in proof sheets mailed at
the third class rate, see Postal Guide at any post office.)

Third Class Matter.—Third class matter em-
braces "circulars, newspapers, and periodicals not ad-
mitted to the second class, nor embraced in the term
'book,' miscellaneous printed matter, proof sheets,
matter in point print or raised characters used by the
blind, and matter produced by the photographic process
including blue prints." (But matter printed on mate-
rial other than paper is fourth class.) The limit of
weight for third class matter is four pounds. Printed,
mimeographed, or multigraphed letters may be sent
third class, "provided they are mailed at the post office
in a minimum number of 20 identical unsealed copies."

Second Class Matter.—Second class matter in-
cludes newspapers and periodicals bearing notice of
entry as second class matter. No limit of weight is158 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

prescribed. The rate of postage is one cent for each
four ounces not mailed by publishers, with special rates
for publishers. Now here is an interesting point. To
be entitled to this rate (second class is cheaper than
third or fourth) copies of newspapers must be com-
plete. "Incomplete copies are subject to the third or
fourth class rate, according to their character."

Fourth Class Matter.—Rates of postage on fourth
class matter (domestic parcel post) vary from one cent
for four ounces and one cent for two ounces to six
cents a pound, according to character of article and
distance it travels, the zone rate being in effect for
articles over a certain weight. Under fourth class
matter is included books, seeds, plants, parcels of
printed matter weighing more than four pounds, and
miscellaneous matter of all kinds.

All mail should have—and second, third and fourth
class mail must have—the name and address of the
sender plainly written on the outside.

Care in Wrapping Mail.—The Post Office Depart-
ment issues frequent bulletins asking the public to help
insure the safe delivery of their parcels by careful
wrapping. Fragile, dainty things in transit need pro-
tection against heavy objects, like scientific instruments,
auto parts, tools, electrotypes, weighty machine cast-
ings and similar objects which travel by mail and which
may easily injure delicate things if the latter are not
adequately protected.

For packages generally the most recent bulletin gives
the following rules:

"In the first place strong, tough paper should be
used, preferably two thicknesses. All packages should
be tied with a strong cord. In fastening the cordPOSTAL INFORMATION 159

around the package, whenever the cord crosses, bind
it over and under and over and under again before pro-
ceeding, so that it cannot slip in either direction.

"Also it is well to see that the cord is so placed that
it is far enough from the ends of the package to pre-
vent it slipping over them.

"Before wrapping the article to be mailed, a copy
of the address for which it is intended and the address
of the sender should be attached to it (inside) as a
precautionary measure, in case of loss of the outer
wrapper or tag in transit.

"Articles liable to breakage should be inclosed in
corrugated or heavy wrapping paper, or wooden boxes
and packed in excelsior or some similar substance.

"Remember," says the postmaster, "that the package
will be transported in a mail sack with others of irreg-
ular size, weight and shape, and that many other sacks
may be piled on top of it while in transit, in railway
mail cars, steamers, or motor vehicles, and that you
must protect it by such careful wrapping as will provide
against the strains which will be experienced.

"And, finally, when the package is ready to mail,
make a practice of giving it the 'once over' to verify
the postage, the address, the inside address, your re-
turn address as sender, the wrapping and the packing."

The sending of packages is a corollary to corre-
spondence and so is mentioned here. When packages
are sent, it is customary to write letters of transmittal
stating that such and such a parcel was mailed at such
and such a time.

Inclosures in Packages.—Letters should not be
inclosed in packages. "Matter of a higher class in-
closed with matter of a lower class subjects the whole
to the higher rate and persons knowingly concealing
such matter are liable to a fine of not more than $100."160 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

But there are provisions by which letters may accom-
pany parcels, provided the letter is paid for at the letter
rate and is attached to the outside of the parcel. Com-
bination envelopes or containers having separate por-
tions for a letter and matter of a lower class may be
used for mailing together two classes of matter.

In third class matter there may be inclosed a card
or envelope bearing the written or printed name and
address of the sender. In fourth class matter a card
bearing the inscription "Merry Christmas/' or "Best
wishes," may be inclosed without changing the char-
acter. There may be written on the blank leaves of a
book a simple dedication or inscription, "not in the
nature of a personal correspondence," and there may
be inclosed with fourth class matter a written or
printed invoice.

Inclosures in Letters.—Printed matter inclosed in
letters subjects the whole to first class rate. It is
better to send additional matter under separate cover
or in a separate envelope than to crowd too much into
one envelope.

Checks, money orders, drafts and receipts are fre-
quently inclosed in letters. A letter of transmittal
should accompany them. Money should not be in-
closed in a letter unless a coin-container made for the
purpose is used. In sending stamps do not stick them
to the letter. Do not send stamps for reply when
writing to the United States Government. Stamps, or
preferably stamped envelopes, may be inclosed in let-
ters to city and state officials when a reply is desired.
The rule is to inclose stamp or stamped and self-
addressed envelope when writing to a stranger or an
acquaintance for information which benefits you solely.
The local post office supplies stamped envelopes inPOSTAL INFORMATION	161

several sizes, so that the smaller may be inclosed in the
larger without folding.

Registered Mail.—When sending check, draft or
money in a letter, or when mailing valuable papers, it
is advisable to register them. First, second and third
class matter may be registered. Fourth class or parcel
post matter cannot be registered, but can be insured.

All valuable mail should be registered if the sender
wishes a receipt and insurance. Articles for which
the sender wishes a return receipt showing delivery
should be marked on the outside "Receipt desired."
Letters which the sender desires delivered to the ad-
dressee in person should be marked "Deliver to
addressee only." The registration fee of ten cents for
each letter or article insures it against loss, rifling or
damage up to $50 for first class mail and $25 for third
class mail. No indemnity is paid in connection with
second class registered mail, nor for any matter on
which both postage and fee are not fully paid.

One registers first and third class mail and insures
fourth class or parcel post matter. Return receipts for:
insured parcels may be obtained by endorsing the par-
cels "Return receipt desired."

Unmailable Matter.—Under unmailable matter we
find listed "post cards bearing tinsel, glass, metal, mica,
sand or similar substances" and post cards of a dun-
ning character or "calculated by the terms or manner
or style of display, and obviously intended to reflect
injuriously upon the character or conduct of another."
Clubs are advised not to send bills out on post cards.

Forwarding Mail.—Only first class mail can be for-
warded from one post office to another without a newf
payment of postage. This includes letters, post cards,
postals and official matter.162 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

A person desiring to have his mail forwarded should
file with the postmaster at the office of address a request
signed in writing giving his present address, the full
address to which the mail is to be forwarded, and period
of time during which the order is to be observed.

When individuals forward mail they should strike
out the old address and add the new plainly in the left-
hand corner of the envelope. Mail opened by mistake
upon misdelivery can be forwarded when endorsed
"Opened by mistake" and signed by the person who
opened it. Inscriptions not necessary to proper for-
warding subject the matter to new prepayment of post-
age. If a friend's mail continues to come in your care
after his visit has ended, don't write a note on the
envelope saying, "Dear George, this has just come and
I am sending it on to you. Hope you are fine. Cer-
tainly do miss you." Just forward the letter and omit
comments. Such a message written on the envelope
would either make the letter come under "unmailable
matter" or cause additional postage to be collected when
finally delivered. In other words, you would be forcing
your friend to pay for the letter you wrote him on the
envelope of a letter to him.

Special Delivery.—Special delivery means prompt
delivery of mail by messenger during prescribed hours
to persons residing within certain carrier limits.

Packages as well as letters may be sent special de-
livery by using a special delivery stamp in addition to
the required postage. Ten cents' worth of ordinary
stamps may be used instead of a special delivery stamp,
writing the words "Special delivery" directly below the
stamps.

Do not use special delivery carelessly. There are
often occasions when a special delivery stamp delaysPOSTAL INFORMATION 163

delivery instead of expediting it, and other cases
where the special delivery letter came in the regular
mail and nothing was gained. There is obviously no
advantage to be gained by using special delivery for
mail directed to rural communities or small villages,
where there is no carrier service and where facilities
for special delivery are not available. The city dweller
frequently writes to friends at a mountain resort where
there is never more than one delivery of mail a day,
and wonders why the special delivery letter does not
bring a speedier answer.

There are very definite and fixed rules regarding spe-
cial delivery service. The hours of delivery are from
7 A.M. to 11 P.M. at city-delivery offices and from
7 A.M. to 7 P.M. at other offices, and the service applies
only to persons "who reside within the carrier limits of
city and village delivery offices; to residents within one
mile of any village delivery post office, and house deliv-
ery by rural carriers to patrons of rural service who re-
side within one-half mile of the rural route." All the
special delivery stamps that may be purchased will not
expedite delivery of mail to persons not included in
these specifications.

Impatient lovers are the worst offenders in the mis-
use and over-use of the special delivery service. They
have been known to send a special delivery letter to
a post office box number! The special delivery arriv-
ing at a small village post office often causes much
annoyance and inconvenience. The postmaster may
try for hours to secure a messenger to take the parcel or
letter and then find that not even the boy with the
bicycle will deliver it for ten cents, and the postal regu-
lations say "special delivery service is not accorded par-
cels that are of such size or weight that they cannot164 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

be promptly delivered with the means available or for
the fee authorized by law for such service/'

Special delivery service is recommended when the
person addressed lives in a city, and a prompt answer
is desired. When addressed to a business man with
a large daily mail, the special delivery letter usually
receives first attention. The special delivery should
be used, not abused.

Telegrams.—Don't write a letter if a telegram is
better. On the other hand, don't send a telegram when
a letter would be better, and always follow up a busi-
ness telegram with a letter of confirmation. Such a
business letter should be written the day the telegram
is sent, or not later than the day following, and should
begin "To-day we wired you as follows": Then the
telegram, with all needed punctuation, should follow.

In sending telegrams, remember that no punctuation
is telegraphed unless specifically requested and paid
for. Each mark of punctuation is counted and charged
as one word. If the meaning of the telegram is not
clear without punctuation, by all means add it and pay
the additional charge. It is customary to write the
word "stop" or "period" at the end of each sentence,
and the word "stop," instead of the period for which it
stands, appears in the telegram when received.

It is surprising how many people do not know some
of the very simple facts regarding the sending of tele-
grams. There are still some people who do not know
that the address and signature do not have to be paid
for, others who use "Dear Sir" and "Respectfully
yours/' in ignorance of the fact that such words are
extra.

With the increasing use of the telegram in business
and social correspondence, stimulated by special ratesPOSTAL INFORMATION 165

for day and night "letters," the writing of a telegram
lias become more or less of a science. A knowledge of
English and a large vocabulary are extremely valuable
in the writing of telegrams. It is even more important
to use the right word in a telegram than in a letter, for
a telegram does not go into explanations. The mean-
ing should be clear at the first reading. As punctua-
tion is not telegraphed unless requested and paid for,
the telegram should be so worded that the meaning
should be clear without punctuation. This can usually
be done if sufficient thought is given to its construction.
It takes more time and thought to write a clear,
concise telegram than to write a letter. Some business
firms and government offices have a secretary whose
particular business it is to revise all telegrams and
improve the wording where possible.

Frequently the same thing can be said better in
fewer words.

Don't go to the other extreme and sacrifice clearness
for brevity. Don't stop at ten words when twelve will
make your meaning clear and ten will not. There is
only a very small charge for the additional words.
There is still a mistaken idea abroad that twelve words
cost as much as twenty. This is not the case.

There are a few points regarding the writing of tele-
grams of which the general public is largely ignorant.

Don't write 2nd. It will be counted two words,
while "second" is counted one word.

Don't use numerals in a telegram. Write out the
numbers. Say "eight billion," "eight hundred thou-
sand," "nine sixty-eight." If, for example, you use
800,000, it is counted as six words, where spelled out
it counts only three.

There are certain "short cuts" allowed by the tele-166 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

graph companies. According to their rules words like
night letter, post office, parcel post, postal telegraph,
C.O.D. are counted as one word, but "all right," even
if incorrectly written "alright" is counted as two
words. There is no such word as "alright" in the dic-
tionary, and with a few exceptions, as noted, the dic-
tionary is the basic authority. If a code is used, words
containing more than ten letters are counted as two
words.

Although the signature is not charged for, titles such
as "general manager," "president," "secretary" are
charged for according to the number of words used.
It is customary to omit all articles and unnecessary
conjunctions such as a, the, and, but, etc., unless abso-
lutely necessary to make the meaning clear.

After the telegram has been written and turned over
to the telegraph company, do not attempt to add a
postscript or ask if you may change the wording of a
telegram you handed in a half hour ago. This request
is very frequently made, according to a branch manager
of a telegraph company. Such changes can not be
made. Don't ask it; send another telegram and be
more careful next time to say what you mean.

Telegrams for social purposes are becoming more
and more popular. The Christmas telegram, the birth-
day telegram, the telegram of condolence, of congratu-
lation, because of their timeliness have certain advan-
tages over a letter. The telegram dispatched so as to
reach bride and groom near the hour of the ceremony,
or a graduate on his or her return from the graduation
exercises, or a relative or friend on the morning of his
or her birthday, makes one feel both pleased and im-
portant.POSTAL INFORMATION 167

Here are a few suggestions for such telegrams:

Christmas greetings

Once again it is Christmas time and our wish is that
it may bring you joy and happiness.

Would that I could be with you to share with you
your Christmas joy. May the day be a happy one for
you and yours.

A Merry Christmas to all the dear ones at home.

Birthday messages

May all your birthdays and all the days that lie be-
tween them be happy ones.

Birthday greetings. May each passing year dimin-
ish care and bring new joys.

All join in best wishes for a very happy birthday
and many years of health and prosperity.

Wedding congratulations

Heartiest congratulations. We wish you many years
of happiness.

I greatly regret that I cannot be with you to-day.
Congratulations and every good wish for your hap-
piness.

Let an old family friend send her love and congratu-
lations to the bride and groom.

Messages on the birth of a child

We rejoice with you in the happiness that has come
into your lives. Love to mother and son.

I am delighted to hear the news. Hearty congratu-
lations.168 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

Messages of condolence

My sincere and heartfelt sympathy.

I have just heard of your great affliction. Let me
send to you my heartfelt sympathy.

We realize that nothing we can say can lighten the
burden of your grief but we want you to know that our
deepest sympathy is with you in the hour of your af-
fliction.

To a graduate

We are thinking of you to-day. Every success in
life be yours and hearty congratulations upon your
graduation.

I regret that I cannot be with you to-day to see you
take your new honors. Sincerest congratulations.

Congratulatory messages to a public man

Congratulations on your victory; a hard fight, well
won by the best man.

You fought a good fight in a good cause. Heartiest
congratulations on your splendid success.

Have heard the good news. Congratulations on your
success so well deserved.

Have read your address. I wish I might tell you
personally how fine I consider it. Congratulations.

Heartiest congratulations on your splendid speech
of last night. Everybody is praising it.

From these examples appropriate messages for
Thanksgiving, Easter and the New Year will suggest
themselves.

A few things to be noted in the examples given arePOSTAL INFORMATION 169

that they read smoothly when the punctuation is
omitted. Each sentence is complete. They vary in
length, the point being to express the idea simply but
effectively. The curse of the ten word limit has be-
fallen many a telegram and marred its efficiency. An
extra word costs only a few cents. Say what you have
to say simply but clearly.XI

CHILDREN'S LETTERS

THE children's letter is one to which too little
importance is given. Many parents are "too
busy to bother." Fortunately, letter writing
is being taught in the schools, even in the lower grades,
as a part of composition, English, and grammar.

Children should be encouraged to write letters. I
have seen this accomplished by the simple expedient of
appealing to self-interest. The majority of children,
as well as many grown-ups, write only the letters which
they feel it is to their advantage to write. I have
known children to become very fond of writing letters
to grandmothers and grandfathers and distant uncles
and aunts just before Christmas and just before a
birthday. Very early in the letter will occur the state-
ment, "I shall be ten years old on the tenth of July,
and I want a baseball and a bat," or "I hope you will
come to see us soon." This is natural and childlike,
and the wise parent will let Junior send his letter to
Uncle Bill uncensored. Too much censoring is apt
to result in a great falling off in production, or the
letters produced may prove as inane and insipid and
as lacking in originality as some of the censored films
we see.

Small children can often be encouraged to write let-
ters to absent relatives and friends by the gift of at-
tractive children's stationery. Having writing paper

170CHILDREN'S LETTERS

they will want to use it. Larger children will like a
box of regular letter paper like mother or dad uses.
When a child desires to write a letter, assist him in
every way possible. Have writing material conven-
ient and a handy-sized dictionary on the desk. Help him
to look up the words he does not know how to spell,
and as his patience diminishes increase the assistance
as needed. In other words, if letter writing is made
as pleasant and as interesting as possible in youth, it
will not prove so boring and so dreaded in after life.
Often the memory of letters they were forced to write
when children and which they dreaded and finally
loathed exerts a potent influence all through life.

Children should be taught to acknowledge all gifts
received. If the gift is one they enjoyed, the matter
will not be so difficult, but if one the child did not like,
then tact, diplomacy and persuasion, backed by firm-
ness, may be necessary. By pointing out that if he
writes and tells auntie some things he wanted but did
not receive she will at least know what he likes, a
letter to auntie usually follows. All children are nat-
urally selfish. It is only education and training that
makes them otherwise. It has been said that all of us
are savages by instinct and gentlemen by education.
If that be true it is well to recognize the fact and act
accordingly. To write letters of thanks and acknowl-
edgment is the act of the true gentleman. We can not
begin too early to acquire the habit.

If it is important for children to write letters of
thanks, it is equally important for the grown-ups to
answer these letters. Auntie or uncle or grandfather
usually accepts the child's letter as a matter of course
and thinks of it as just a thank-you letter which the
child ought to write to show his appreciation of the172 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

gift sent, but to the child, failure to answer his letters
is as serious a breach of good manners as failure to
acknowledge a gift appears to the grown person.

To receive a letter is a significant event in the life
of the average child. Few letters come their way, and
the majority of those few are merely notes inclosed
in a letter to their father or mother and not addressed
to them. Send the children's letters direct to them.
The pleasure given is worth far more than the cost of
the extra time and stamp.

I would divide children's letters into several classes:
those they write to one another, those they write to
grown-ups, and last, also least, invitations to children's
parties. A fourth class should be included, the letters
grown-ups write to children.

First Principles.—Before the child begins a letter
he should be told or reminded that the city and state
should head the letter, and the day of the month and
the year should appear beneath it. Often children are
more careful to write the proper heading than their
parents. They should also be impressed with the im-
portance of sufficient margin and told that paragraphs
are used to express a new thought, a period is placed
at the end of each sentence and each new sentence
begins with a capital letter. These few simple rules
suffice for the beginning. Let him make a rough draft
of his letter, perhaps in pencil, correct glaring mistakes
and then have him copy it neatly with ink, impressing
him with the importance of neatness of appearance.

The typewriter has proved a most valuable aid. In
order to be allowed to use the typewriter, the child will
write to relatives he had not thought of since their
last gift. If he writes the first draft on the typewriter
enthusiasm may wane before copying time has arrivedCHILDREN'S LETTERS	17s

and the question arises, shall he send it as it is or be
made to copy it. The wise parent knows what mis-
takes to overlook, what allowances to make. If per-
fection is required before the child is allowed to send
his letter, grandmothers may be great-grandmothers,
before the letter is dispatched.

Personally I enjoy children's letters before they are
copied. A child can be very individual in his mistakes
and I have known much originality and ingenuity
shown in spelling. The perfect letter from a child
isn't his—it is mother's or father's or teacher's, but it
isn't the child's own creation. When it has been copied
until all mistakes are corrected, one feels that the orig-
inal bloom has been lost. Some standard, however,
should be set. The child should be made to take a
certain pride in the appearance of his letter and be
made to feel ashamed to send a letter filled with mis-
spelled words.

These are merely suggestions. One can not give
any fixed rules. The child should be taught a few
essentials, and then learn to write letters by actually
writing them.

If he can be encouraged to write to friends of his
own age, to cousins, known or unknown, to playmates
who go away for a visit, to his brothers and sisters
when he is visiting, there will be more individuality in
his letter writing. He will write more freely to a child
of his own age than to a grown person.

Letters Written by Children.—If one could spend
the next year collecting letters from children, set them
down here exactly as written, and then analyze them,
a most interesting chapter might be written. But here
are a few children's letters that happen to be at hand.
Let us glance over them sympathetically in order to174 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

learn something about the kind of letters children
write, before we attempt to teach them letter writing.

(From an eight-year-old girl to her aunt.)

(Written originally on the typewriter and transcribed
practically as written.)

Why dont you come to see us any more I want to
see you so bad I can hardly wait for you to come down
to see us. I can write on the typewriter fast now.
Write to me soon and tell me how you are getting
aloung. I am takeing swimming lesson. I can duck
and float on my face and my back by my self. I can
lay on my back and kick my legs. And I can do my
arms a surtein way and feet together. Aunt Mary and
her famly went west and Aunt Mary brought Mother
a. case with white power in the bottom and red power
in the top and she brought little sister and me a little
Indian lady and a little pare of Indians shoses and
brought baby Brother a boat that the Indians use it is
not a big boat it is just a toy boat a little boat that a
doll could get in. Little brother can laugh out loud.
She brought sister a little Indian man and she brought
me a little Indian lady.

The misspelled words are very natural mistakes.
The punctuation is fair for her age. Apostrophes
proved too much for her and so did commas. If I were
to have her copy this letter, I should not tell her about
commas and apostrophes until she had learned about
them in school, but would concentrate on the mis-
spelled words and suggest that the letter would look
much better if divided into paragraphs. She observed
margins and used periods, which are frequently omitted
by grown-ups as well as by children. She also usedCHILDREN'S LETTERS	175

the name of the city and state at the top but not the
date, which she probably did not know. As she left
sufficient room this could have been added later.

(From a nine-year-old girl to her cousin the same age.)
Dear Margaret,

Do you go swimming. I have just come from swim-
ming.

Can you swim. I can swim a little but not much. They
gave a lawn-party so they could get money to keep the
swimming pool open next year. Laura Marie and I
went. It was last night we got a lot of things. We
will soon have to go back to scool. Are you going to
School.

I am going to the forth grade and Marie is going to
the fith and Laura is going to the sixth. What grade
are you going to. Write to me soon. Much love.

This was the first copy of the letter. I looked it
over and remarked: "Do you know how to make a
question mark or have they taught you how to use them
at school ?" "Oh, yes," was the answer. "Let me
have the letter, for I asked lots of questions and left
off all the question marks."

"You also misspelled several words," was my next
comment. "See if you can find them; and you omitted
the name of the city in which you live."

I returned the letter to her and she read it over care-
fully. "What a dumb-bell I am!" she exclaimed,
"spelling fourth f-o-r-t-h." But I had to help her with
"fifth." In a few moments she returned the letter to me
correct except for two commas which were missing.
All the question marks, however, were in the proper
place. The result was a letter as nearly correct as to176 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

form and appearance as nine out of ten that one re-
ceives. The point of all this is that correct letter
writing, for children as well as for grown-ups, consists
in taking pains, and the earlier they begin the better.

(A letter from a ten-year-old to her grandmother.)

My dear grandmother,

I passed to the fifth Grade. All of us had a good
time friday. How are you getting along. I wish you
were up here. I am lonesome for you.

I will have to be closing my letter now.

Much love and kisses for all the family.

Please do not forget to answer this letter.

The way children capitalize is revealing. To this
child the fifth "Grade" was much more important than
"friday." Fridays are a weekly occurrence, while pass-
ing to the fifth "Grade" occurs only once in her life-
time. The tendency to capitalize words we wish to
emphasize or which seem important to us is surprisingly
common.

Children are taught at school that the first word in
a sentence should begin with a capital, and that days
of the week, the month, names of persons, countries,
cities, streets, oceans, rivers and ships also begin with
a capital, and in general proper nouns and words used
as names and adjectives and other words derived from
proper names are capitalized. It remains for the
teacher or parent to point out in specific cases words that
should not be capitalized. The tendency to-day is to
discourage the use of capitals and when in doubt to use
the small letter.

Points of form, expression and style should not be
overlooked in the child's letter. A child can not writeCHILDREN'S LETTERS

a brilliant letter, but should be expected to write a.
correct one.

Here is a letter from a child of nine that was prac-
tically correct as to form. She used margins but no
paragraphs. Where one person will use paragraphs in
profusion, another ignores them entirely.

New York
Sept. ii, 19—

Dear Aunty:

I am in four B yesterday I was in four A and this,
morning I was promoted into four B. I like one of
the books that you sent me more than the others because
it has so many nice things in it. The baby is very cute.
Mary is writing a letter to you also. I went up to
Connecticut for the week end. We went up in the
auto. It took us all most all day. I had a very good
time up there. I just love school.

One delightful thing about real children's letters, the
kind they actually write, is their naturalness and their
newsiness.

Thank-you Letters.—The most common of child-
hood letters is probably the letter of thanks for a
Christmas or birthday gift. Here is an original
"thank-you letter" from a child of twelve to her grand-
mother.

"We received the box and I the letter. The pink
dress fits me very well and the cape fits me too. I love
the cape best of anything I got for my birthday."

She then enumerates other things she received and
closes characteristically, "I am tired now and must say
goodbye. Please write to me."178 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

It is almost pathetic how frequently this plea "Please
write to me" appears in every child's letter, and behind
it is a childlike faith that perhaps some day the plea
will be answered.

Replies to Children's Letters.—I can not empha-
size too strongly the importance of replying to chil-
dren's letters. Here is where many adults are at fault.
How can they expect the children to write the letters
they should in acknowledgment of letters and gifts
received, if their letters and little gifts are ignored?

Here is a characteristic letter from Abraham Lincoln,
who took the time and trouble to acknowledge letters
from his little friends and acquaintances. His example
should be followed:

My dear little Miss:

Your very agreeable letter of the 15th is received.
I regret the necessity of saying I have no daughter.
I have three sons—one seventeen, one nine and one
seven years of age. They with their mother constitute
my whole family. As to the whiskers, having never
worn any do you not think people would call it a piece
of silly affectation if I were to begin now?

Your very sincere well-wisher,

A. Lincoln.

Anff not only did he reply to her letter but he
answered it. He did not dismiss her letter and the ques-
tions it contained with "it's just a child's letter filled
with silly questions."

Courtesy demands that all questions asked in a letter
be answered in the reply. A child understands even
less than a grown person why his questions are ignored.

In writing to children, write of things in which they
will be interested. A child enjoys a travel letter ifCHILDREN'S LETTERS	179

simply told. He does not care for lengthy descriptions
of churches, and pictures and works of art, but he likes
to hear about other children and their activities, things
one sees on the streets, anything unusual or distinctive.
An account of a humorous incident that occurred yes-
terday will interest the child more than a general de-
scription of more important happenings of the week.

Children's Invitations.—The writing of the invi-
tation to children's parties has been left till last, because
the writing of letters seems so much the more impor-
tant, and this is a book on correspondence, not on
etiquette.

Attractive cards of invitation specially prepared for
children's parties, on which the place and date are to
be filled in, can be secured at almost any stationer's,
but often the informal note is written.

If the child can write, let him first compose a speci-
men note, and then write and address the rest. In this
way he secures his first lessons in social correspond-
ence. As soon as the letters are dispatched, he will
begin to expect an answer and from his own experi-
ence will learn that the early reply is appreciated.

Children, strange to say, like a touch of formality.
To receive invitations that look and read like invita-
tions to a grown-up party pleases and impresses. Note
paper or correspondence cards may be used and the
following wording employed:

Miss Marie Summers
invites you to her birthday party
on Thursday, June the third,

from three to six o'clock
Please reply

But the informal note is often used.i8o ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

Dear Katherine,

Won't you come to my party on Thursday after-
noon of this week from three to six o'clock? Mother
says I may invite ten of my friends and I do want you
to come. Can you?

Sincerely yours,

Marie Summers.

In answer to the first invitation the reply should read:

Miss Katherine Jones
accepts with pleasure
Miss Marie Summers's
kind invitation for
Thursday, June the third,

from three to six o'clock

And to the second:

Dear Marie :

Mother says I may come to your party on Thursday
afternoon. I am so excited that I can hardly wait and
I know I shall be there promptly at three o'clock.
Thank you for asking me.

Very sincerely yours,

Katherine Jones.

These invitations are appropriate for younger chil-
dren. When the child is too young to write the invi-
tations, the mother writes the note in the name of the
child or addresses it to the child's mother, who replies
in kind.

For older children, members of the "younger set,"
engraved or written invitations following the style for
adult parties are used for formal affairs. Often theseCHILDREN'S LETTERS	181

"younger set" dances are most elaborate and the utmost
formality prevails not only in the style and wording
of the invitations, but in all the appointments.

Children's parties are usually either quite formal or
very informal. In the latter case, invitations are given
by word of mouth or by telephone and so answered,
but the formal invitation requires the formal reply in
the third person. The informal note requires the in-
formal personal note in reply.

For the formal invitation the following is recom-
mended :

Miss Dorothy Drake
requests the pleasure of
Mr. Arthur Ormsby's
company at a dance
on Friday, November the fifteenth,

at seven o'clock

The usual hours for children's dances are from seven
until nine, from eight until eleven, and from eight-
thirty until twelve, according to the ages of the children.

Mr. or Master Ormsby (he is usually addressed as
master until he is twelve or over) should acknowledge
the invitation promptly, using the third person.

Mr. Arthur Ormsby regrets that absence from the
city prevents his accepting Miss Dorothy Drake's kind
invitation to her dance Friday, November the fifteenth.

More often the acceptance or regret follows the form
as well as the wording of the invitation.

I recommend the formal invitation for the children's
party. That does not mean that the party itself must
be large or elaborate. It does mean, however, that the182 ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

little hostess as well as the young guests should follow
prescribed social forms. The earlier the knowledge is
acquired, the easier it is to learn.

Birthday Parties.—To use or not to use the words
"birthday party" in the invitation is a mooted question.
Parents generally are inclined to frown upon it and
children to insist upon it. The child is usually so
thrilled with the fact that he is having a birthday party
that he tells all of his young friends and wants the fact
announced in the invitation. There is no reason why
it should not be mentioned. The point is made that
mentioning it suggests that one should bring a gift,
but if the child who is invited discovers that it is a
birthday party he will insist on taking a present whether
it is mentioned in the invitation or not. If it is not
mentioned, James may neglect to take a present to Mary
and feel very bad about it when he discovers that the
majority of children knew it was a birthday party and
acted accordingly.

There are usually only two motives for giving parties
for young children—birthdays and young visitors.
Sometimes a Thanksgiving or Hallowe'en party is
given when the reason for it is plain. If it is a birthday
party be frank about it. This, of course, applies to
children.

In General.—In general, rules for correspondence
by and to children follow the same general rule as letter
writing for adults.

I should like to make a plea that children be taught
early the few general principles here mentioned as to
form and general appearance, and that they be encour-
aged to write letters by every means possible. The
ability to express one's thoughts on paper is a valuable
asset.CHILDREN'S LETTERS	183

Letter writing, like anything else, if mastered early
in life, is not difficult. It requires care. It can be
learned. When a few simple principles are mastered,
it becomes pleasurable, and often proves profitable.
The child feels a thrill over the receipt of a letter that
custom has made stale to the man or woman of affairs.
Therefore, I urge again, that we write more frequently
to children, that we try to put ourselves in their mental
attitude when writing, and that always we answer their
letters to us.

The child who early learns to write a good letter
finds himself with valuable equipment which will prove
useful to him in his business and social relations, and
in every walk of life.

THE ENDETIQUETTE FOR EVERYBODY

By Laura Thornborough

IT is now generally recognized that one's standing in the
community, in business, in club circles, and in every walk
of life is profoundly affected by one's behavior. There is a
right and wrong way to do everything—writing letters,
introducing friends, entering public places, dining out, walk-
ing on the street, etc. This friendly book answers all such
questions, clearly, interestingly and authoritatively.

Size 5% x 7% inches. Bound in Cloth.

SCHOOL PLAYS FOR ALL OCCASIONS

By Madalene D. Barmim

As the title indicates, this book presents a series of original
plays suitable for acting in school or at home on Christmas
Day, New Year's Day, Lincoln's Birthday, and other holi-
days throughout the year. The plays are short and simple
and easily presented, and the book as a whole will fill a
long-felt want.

Size 51/4 x 7% inches. Bound in Cloth•

BIRTHDAY HOROSCOPES

By Dr. J. R. Phelps

This book predicts the future by means of Astrology—the
science of the stars. For an evening's entertainment it is a
novelty that you will be quick to appreciate. If conversation
lags, read aloud one or two of the horoscopes, and you'll be
busy the rest of the evening.

Size 5 x 714 inches. Bound in Paper and Cloth*

BARSE & HOPKINS
NEW YORK, N. Y.	NEWARK, N. J.This book is a preservation facsimile produced for
the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
It is made in compliance with copyright law
and produced on acid-free archival

60# book weight paper
which meets the requirements of
ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (permanence of paper).

Preservation facsimile printing and binding
by

Northern Micrographics
Brookhaven Bindery
La Crosse, Wisconsin
2017