there is no subject to warm or interest these, constraint appears; and hence, those letters of mere compliment, congratulation, or affected condolence, which have cost the authors most labor in composing, and which, for that reason, they perhaps consider as their masterpieces, never fail of being the most disagreeable and insipid to the readers. Carelessness.-It ought, at the same time, to be remembered, that the ease and simplicity which I have recommended in epistolary correspondence, are not to be understood as importing entire carelessness. In writing to the most intimate friend, a certain degree of attention, both to the subject and the style, is requisite and becoming. It is no more than we owe both to ourselves and to the friend with whom we correspond. A slovenly and negligent manner of writing is a disobliging mark of want of respect. Special Directions. - All that needs to be said in the way of special directions refers to the form of a letter. Custom has prescribed certain forms for this species of composition, and these forms for the most part are founded either in practical convenience or in social propriety. The Form. The points in the form of a letter requiring attention are the Heading, the Address, the Subscription, and the Superscription. 1. The Heading. The first thing to be observed in writing a letter is the date or heading. This includes two points, namely, the place where, and the time when, the letter is written. Both these points require attention: 1. The Place. In beginning a letter, we put, first of all, at the top of the page, the place at which the letter purports to be written. In this heading, all those particulars should be given which will be needed for addressing the reply. Street and Number.-If the letter comes from a city, it is well for the heading to give the street and number, as well as the name of the city. These items are usually arranged in the following order: The number of the house, the name of the street, the name of the city; thus, 1828, Pine Street, Philadelphia. State. If the city is a very large one, like New York or Philadelphia, there will be no necessity for adding the name of the State. But in all ordinary cases the name of the State should be added; thus, Easton, Pennsylvania. Contractions. If the name of the State is contracted, care should be taken to make the contraction in such a way that what is meant for one State cannot be mistaken for another; thus, Md. (Maryland) and Me. (Maine), Vt. (Vermont) and Va (Virginia), in careless manuscript, are often confounded. New York and New Jersey should always be written out in full. N. Y. and N. J. are so much alike in manuscript that hundreds of letters every year go to Trenton, New York, that are meant for Trenton, New Jersey. County. If the town is quite small, and especially if it is at some distance from the place to which the letter is going, the name of the County should be added. This enables one's correspondent to address his reply in such a way as almost to insure its safe delivery. Sometimes a letter is written from a place where there is no post-office,- -some small outlying settlement near the post-town. In such a case, if the writer wishes to designate this small place, he should be careful to add the posttown also; thus, Dutch Neck, near Bridgeton, Cumberland County, New Jersey. Reason for Particularity. A correspondent, in replying to a letter, naturally casts his eye to the heading to see how his reply shall be addressed. In the forms given above he has all the particulars required for addressing this part of his envelope, and in exactly the order needed. Why Important. These are small matters apparently, and it may seem like trifling to dwell upon them, but the amount of trouble and loss occasioned by inattention to them is inconceivable by those not familiar with the subject. 2. The Time. It is important in every kind of letter, but especially in business letters, to denote the time of writing, that is, to register the month, the day of the month, and the year. This date is the second thing to be given. It likewise is put at the top of the page, and immediately after the name of the place, and the particulars are given in the order just named; thus, January 28, 1870. Form of Heading. Whether the heading should all be in one line, or whether it should be broken into two lines, the words expressing the place being in one line, and those expressing the time in another, is a mere matter of fancy. It is, in fact, a question of penmanship. If the heading is long, it is often broken into two lines; if short, it is generally given in one: thus, Bursonville, Bucks Co., Penna., Date at the Bottom. - Some letter-writers have a fancy for putting the time and place at the bottom of the letter instead of the top, but the custom is not to be recommended. The practical conveniences of the ordinary method are so great that every one engaged in business ought to feel bound to conform to it. 2. The Address. The Military Form. - In a letter addressed by one military man to another, an exact form is prescribed by law. The person written to is addressed at the beginning of the letter simply by his title, as General, Captain, Corporal, Private, or whatever it may be, and without his name. Then, at the end of the letter, on the line below the signature of the writer, the name of the person addressed is given, with his full official title, and his location, just as it is to be on the envelope: thus, HEADQUARTERS, MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI, IN THE FIELD, Manchester, VA., May 9, 1865. GENERAL: I have joined my army at Manchester, opposite Richmond, and await your orders General Wilson telegraphs, through General Schofield, for hay and forage for 20,000 animals, to be sent up the Savannah River to Augusta. Under Secretary Stanton's newspaper orders, taking Wilson substantially from my command, I wish you would give the orders necessary for the case. W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General Commanding. LIEUT.-GENERAL U. S. GRANT, Commander-in-Chief, Ordinary Letters. This form, prescribed in the military service, is a good basis for the rules which should guide us in ordinary letters. The Beginning. We begin our letters with Sir, Dear Sir, My Dear Sir, Rev. Sir, My Dear Dr. Smith, My Dear Lizzie, &c., &c., according to the relations of respect, intimacy, or affection existing between us and the one addressed. Between relatives and intimate friends these addresses may properly enough often assume a very familiar style, and may afford the opportunity for expressing tender affection and endearment, as well as for playfulness and fun. The Close. At the close of the letter, it is well, in all ordinary cases, to give the proper address with some formality. The address thus given at the bottom should be the same that is placed on the envelope. It is a safeguard against the letter going at any time by mistake into the wrong hands. The envelope is often lost or destroyed. The letter, therefore, should be self-identifying independently of the envelope. Identification Important. zies" in the Directory, but There may be twenty thousand "Lizthere is only one "My Dear Lizzie" to the writer, and that is "Miss Elizabeth Smith, 423 Street, Philadelphia." Where there is in the letter nothing to identify clearly both the writer and the one written to, there is an appearance of something anonymous and clandestine. A proper respect, therefore, for the person addressed, particularly if the person is a lady, requires the formal recognition implied by giving in full, at the close of the letter, the proper name and address, whatever terms of badinage or of endearment may have preceded it. Indeed, the more free and easy the first address and the body of the letter are, the more propriety there is in this formal recognition and identification at the close. Business Letters. In writing business letters, the military rule above described is often reversed, the full address. being placed at the beginning, instead of at the end; thus, Messrs. Robert Carter & Brothers, Broadway, New York; Dear Sirs: This method has many advantages, and in letters on business is to be commended. In letters of courtesy or affection, the other method is preferable. 3. The Subscription. In closing a letter, the writer subscribes his name with more or less fulness, and in such terms of respect or affection as the circumstances may seem to warrant. Terms vary. - These terms, like those of the address, vary of course according to the varying relations of the parties, so that no general rule for them can be given. Business letters very commonly close with "Your obedient servant,” or, if it be a firm, "Your obedient servants." Initials. Many persons, in subscribing their name, have a fancy for giving only the initials of their first, or given name; thus, R. E. Jones, J. M. Smith. No one can determine from these signatures whether the writer is Reuben or Rebecca, James or Juliet, and the person addressed, who is often a stranger, is at a loss whether to send his reply to Mr. Jones or Miss Jones, to Mr. Smith or Miss Smith. In signing one's name to a letter, or to any other document, it is advisable that the name should always be so written as to show whether the writer is a man or a woman. This is particularly important in addressing a letter to a stranger. Married Women and Widows. 3.- A married woman or a widow, in writing to a stranger, should also prefix Mrs. to her name. A married woman generally gives, with the Mrs., the first name of her husband, so long as he lives, but drops it after his death; thus, Yours truly, Mrs. William Southcote; Yours truly, Mrs. Joanna Southcote. Supposing both these to be written by the same person, we infer from the former that the writer is Mr. Southcote's wife; from the latter, that she is his widow. Terms of Endearment. The particular terms of endearment used in the subscription to letters of love and friendship, will vary, of course, with the fancy of the writers. In general it may be remarked, however, that "loving" is a better word than "affectionate," especially between kin. Arrangement. — The arrangement of the subscription, as of the address and the heading, is a matter of penmanship rather than of composition. Still, it may not be amiss to observe that the terms of respect or affection usually occupy a line by themselves, sometimes two lines, and the name of the writer occupies another line; thus, Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, John G. Smith. Examples. The following addresses and subscriptions have been copied from writers of good standing, and may serve as models, according to circumstances: My Dear Mr. Jebb, Most truly yours, Alexander Knox. My Dear Sir, Affectionately yours, John M. Mason. My Dear God-child, Your unseen God-father and friend, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. My Dear Sir William, Yours very sincerely, Hannah More. My Dear Moore, Yours ever, and most affectionately, Byron. |