Higher Lessons in English Part 89

68. The Story of Ruth.

69. Clouds.

70. A Country Store.

71. Timepieces.

72. Bulls and Bears.

73. Bore.

74. Our Sunday School.

75. The Making of Beer.

76. Autumn's Colors.

77. The Watched Pot Never Boils.

78. The Mission of Birds.

79. Parasites.

80. Well-begun is Half-done.

81. The Tides.

82. The Schoolmaster in "The Deserted Village."

83. A Day on a Trout Stream.

84. A St.i.tch in Time Saves Nine.

85. Of What Use are Flowers?

86. A Descent in a Diving Bell.

LESSON 166.

LETTER-WRITING.

Letters need special treatment. In writing a letter there are five things to consider--The Heading, The Introduction, The Body of the Letter, The Conclusion, and The Superscription.

THE HEADING.

+Parts+.--The Heading consists of the name of the +Place+ at which the letter is written, and the +Date+. If you write from a city, give the door-number, the name of the street, the name of the city, and the name of the state. If you are at a Hotel or a School or any other well-known Inst.i.tution, its name may take the place of the door-number and the name of the street; as may also the number of your post-office box. If you write from a village or other country place, give your post-office address, the name of the county, and that of the state.

The Date consists of the month, the day of the month, and the year.

+How Written+.--Begin the Heading about an inch and a half from the top of the page--on the first ruled line of commercial note. If the letter occupies but a few lines of a single page, you may begin the Heading lower down. Begin the first line of the Heading a little to the left of the middle of the page. If it occupies more than one line, the second line should begin farther to the right than the first, and the third farther to the right than the second.

The door-number, the day of month, and the year are written in figures; the rest, in words. Bach important word begins with a capital letter, each item is set off by the comma, and the whole closes with a period.

+Direction+.--_Study what has teen said, and write the following headings according to these models:_--

1. Ripton, Addison Co., Vt., July 10, 1895.

2. 250 Broadway, N. T., June 6, 1890.

3. Saco, Me., Feb. 25, 1887.

4. Polytechnic Inst.i.tute, Brooklyn, N. Y., May 3, 1888.

1. ann arbor 5 July 1820 michigan 2. champlain co clinton n y jan 14 1800 3. p o box 2678 1860 oct 19 chicago 4. philadelphia 670 1858 chestnut st 16 apr 5. saint nicholas new york 1 hotel nov 1855

THE INTRODUCTION.

+Parts+.--The Introduction consists of the +Address+--the Name, the t.i.tle, and the Place of Business or Residence of the one addressed--and the +Salutation+. t.i.tles of respect and courtesy should appear in the Address.

Prefix _Mr._ to a man's name, _Messrs._ to the names of several gentlemen; _Master_ to the name of a young lad; _Miss_ to that of an unmarried lady; _Mrs._ to that of a married lady; _Misses_ to the names of several young ladies; and _Mesdames_ to those of several married or elderly ladies.

Prefix _Dr._ to the name of a physician (but never _Mr. Dr._), or write _M.D._ after it. Prefix _Rev._ to the name of a clergyman, or _Rev. Mr._ if you do not know his Christian name; _Rev. Dr._ if he is a Doctor of Divinity, or write _Rev._ before the name and _D.D._ after it. Prefix _His Excellency_ to the name of the President, [Footnote: The preferred form of addressing the President is, _To the President, Executive Mansion, Was.h.i.+ngton, D. C._; the Salutation is simply, _Mr. President._ ] and to that of a Governor or of an Amba.s.sador; _Hon._ to the name of a Cabinet Officer, a Member of Congress, a State Senator, a Law Judge, or a Mayor. If two literary or professional t.i.tles are added to a name, let them stand in the order in which they were conferred--this is the order of a few common ones: _A.M., Ph.D., D.D., LL.D._ Guard against an excessive use of t.i.tles-- the higher implies the lower.

Salutations vary with the station of the one addressed, or the writer's degree of intimacy with him. Strangers may be addressed as _Sir, Dear Sir, Rev. Sir, General, Madam_, etc.; acquaintances as _Dear Sir, Dear Madam_, etc.; friends as _My dear Sir, My dear Madam, My dear Jones_, etc.; and near relatives and other dear friends as _My dear Wife, My dear Boy, Dearest Ellen_, etc.

+How Written+.--The Address may follow the Heading, beginning on the next line, and standing on the left side of the page; or it may stand in corresponding position after the Body of the Letter and the Conclusion. If the letter is of an official character or is written to an intimate friend, the Address may appropriately be placed at the bottom of the letter; but in ordinary business letters, it should be placed at the top and as directed above. Never omit it from the letter except when the letter is written in the third person. There should be a narrow margin on the left side of the page, and the Address should begin on the marginal line. If the Address occupies more than one line, the initial words of these lines should slope to the right.

Begin the Salutation on the marginal line or a little to the right of it when the Address occupies three lines; on the marginal line or farther to the right or to the left than the second line of the Address when this occupies two lines; a little to the right of the marginal line when the Address occupies one line; on the marginal line when the Address stands below.

Every important word in the Address should begin with a capital letter. All the items of it should be set off by the comma; and, as it is an abbreviated sentence, it should close with a period. Every important word in the Salutation should begin with a capital letter, and the whole should be followed by a comma, or by a comma and a dash.

+Direction+.--Write these introductions according to the models:-- 1. Prof. March, Easton, Pa.

My dear Sir,

2. Messrs. Smith & Jones, 771 Broadway, New York City.

Gentlemen,

3. My dear Mother, When, etc.

4. Messrs. Vallette & Co., Middlebury, Vt.

Dear Sirs,

1. mr george platt burlington iowa sir 2. ma.s.s Cambridge prof James r lowell my dear friend 3. messrs ivison blakeman taylor & co gentlemen new york 4. rev brown dr the arlington Was.h.i.+ngton dear friend d c 5. col John smith dear colonel n y auburn

LESSON 167.

LETTER-WRITING--CONTINUED.

THE BODY OF THE LETTER.

+The Beginning+.--Begin the Body of the Letter at the end of the Salutation, and on the same line if the Introduction is long--in which case the comma after the Salutation should be followed by a dash,--on the line below if the Introduction is short.

+Style+.--Be perspicuous. Paragraph and punctuate as in other kinds of writing. Avoid blots, erasures, interlineations, cross lines, and all other offenses against epistolary propriety. The letter "bespeaks the man."

Letters of friends.h.i.+p should be colloquial, chatty, and familiar. Whatever is interesting to you will be interesting to your friends, however trivial it may seem to a stranger.

Business letters should be brief, and the sentences short, concise, and to the point. Repeat nothing, and omit nothing needful.

Official letters and formal notes should be more stately and ceremonious.

In formal notes the third person is generally used instead of the first and the second; there is no Introduction, no Conclusion, no Signature, only the name of the Place and the Date at the bottom, on the left side of the page, thus:--

_Mr. & Mrs. A. request the pleasure of Mr. B.'s company at a social gathering, on Tuesday evening, Nov. 15th, at eight o'clock.

32 Fifth Ave., Nov. 5_.

_Mr. B. accepts_ [Footnote: Or regrets that a previous engagement (or illness, or an unfortunate event) prevents the acceptance of ----; or regrets that on account of ---- he is unable to accept ----.] _with pleasure Mr. & Mrs. A.'s kind invitation for Tuesday evening, Nov. 15th._