Dear Longfellow, Elmwood, May 3, 1876. Will you dine with me on Saturday at six? I have a Baltimore friend coming, and depend on you. I had such a pleasure yesterday that I should like to share it with you to whom I owed it. J. R. Osgood & Co. sent me a copy of your Household Edition to show me what it was, as they propose one of me. I had been reading over with dismay my own poems to weed out the misprints, and was awfully disheartened to find how bad they (the poems) were. Then I took up your book to see what the type was, and before I knew it I had been reading two hours or more. I never wondered at your popularity, nor thought it wicked in you; but if I had wondered, I should no longer, for you sang me out of all my worries. To be sure they came back when I opened my own book again but that was no fault of yours. If not Saturday, will you say Sunday? My friend is a Mrs. —, and a very nice person indeed. Yours always, J. R. L. 520. Address and date. In the informal personal letter the address of the writer and the date of the composition are usually put at the top of the letter, at the right (as in § 519). They may also be put at the bottom of the letter, at the left (for the business letter see § 536; for the punctuation, see § 528): Dear Longfellow, Will you dine with me on Saturday at six? I have a Baltimore friend coming, and depend on you. If not Saturday, will you say Sunday? My friend is a Mrs. and a very nice person indeed. Elmwood, May 3, 1876. Yours always, J. R. L. 521. Salutation. The salutation of a letter should be what the writer would naturally say to the person to whom he is writing, with Dear or My dear before it (for the punctuation, see § 527; for Dear and My dear, see § 544): 1. Dear Mother, Dear Frank, Dear Polly, Dear Boy. 2. Dear Mr. Brown, Dear Miss Brown, Dear Mr. President (§ 545). 3. My dear Archbishop, Dear Father Reed, Dear Sister Superior (§ 545). NOTE 1. Observe that dear does not take a capital letter unless it begins the salutation. NOTE 2. The word Friend, as a common salutation for letters, is improper. It should be used between intimate friends only; even then it should be restricted to acts involving their friendship: 'Dear old Friend, I am a thousand times obliged to you', etc. The conclusion, too, should be in harmony with the thought: 'Most gratefully yours', 'Gratefully and affectionately yours', or the like. (Not Yours sincerely'.) 522. First paragraph. The first paragraph of a letter should have the same indention as the following paragraphs, and no more. 523. Body of letter. A letter should be as easy and natural in expression as if the writer were talking to the person to whom he is writing. 524. Conclusion. The conclusion of a letter should be in harmony with the salutation (§§ 544, 545); if the conclusion consists of not more than three or four short words, it should begin a little to the right of the middle of the page (as in Lowell's letter, § 519; compare Lincoln's letter to Mrs. Bixby, § 531); for the capitalization, see § 425: With love, With love to all, Affectionately yours, Yours always, Sincerely yours, Faithfully yours, Ever sincerely yours, Yours most sincerely, Ever faithfully yours, Most affectionately yours. NOTE. Observe that only the first word of the conclusion begins with a capital letter (see § 425). For the punctuation, see § 528. 525. Envelope and paper; stamp. As much pains should be taken with the envelope of a letter as with the letter itself, that the recipient may be pleased with the courtesy of his correspondent. The Post-Office Department says, "Do not Mise Dorothy Warner, Chicago, Mimoin The Reverend Lee Scott, care of French and son, abbreviate or use lead pencil." See § 529. The stamp should be placed neatly (not upside down or at an angle) in the upper right-hand corner of the envelope. The paper used for the personal (or friendly) letter should be white (the ink being black), of the same quality and style as the envelope. It should be a folded sheet of four pages, 2 2 1 which will fit the envelope when folded once more from side to side. The letter should be placed in the envelope with the transverse fold (1) at the bottom of the envelope, and the back of the letter (2) next to the back of the envelope; thus, when the recipient opens the envelope with a paper knife, and takes out the letter, he will open the letter right side up. 526. Cards. If the letter or note is written on a card that matches the envelope, the card should be inserted in the envelope with the top of the card at the top of the envelope, and the face of the card toward the back of the envelope. 527. Punctuation after salutation. The proper mark of punctuation after the salutation in a letter is the comma; for the salutation is in the nominative of address (§ 471). The comma has been in use for hundreds of years; the colon and other marks of punctuation recently coming into practice in the United States are illogical American innovations. The salutation, like any other nominative of address, should be read with the rising inflection. This brings the writer and the recipient face to face, as it were, and their letters will grow in courtesy. NOTE. The salutation in a letter is now usually placed above the body of the letter, to catch the eye of the reader, the following word being capitalized. In the reprinting of letters space is sometimes saved either by omitting the salutation or by putting it at the beginning of the first line of the body of the letter, a dash sometimes being added to the comma, rather unreasonably, to separate the salutation from what follows. It is surprising with what frequency and seeming carelessness American editors, in quoting letters from English literature, change the original comma to some other mark of punctuation. 528. Omission of punctuation in address, etc. The omission of punctuation in the address (whether in the letter or on the envelope) and in the conclusion, as sometimes seen, is less to be recommended. It is not in general use; it is not in harmony with the rest of the letter; it might seem to indicate haste, and hence a lack of courtesy. See § 529. NOTE. Partial punctuation in the address or elsewhere should be avoided; it is likely to give the impression that the writer would omit it all if he could. For example, write Yours sincerely, Bob.' (Do not omit the period after Bob; it ends the sentence. See § 347.) 529. Abbreviations. Most abbreviations are not used in literature, but are confined to mathematical and similar scientific books, dictionaries, tables, memoranda, footnotes, and the like. Good taste avoids them in both personal and business correspondence, for they not only look badly, but give the impression of haste, and hence of a lack of courtesy. See $543. Do not abbreviate the names of states, cities, towns, streets, months, and days of the week. For numbers, see §§ 127-131. Do not abbreviate such titles as Captain, Doctor, Esquire, General, Governor, the Honorable (§ 417), President, Principal, Professor, and the Reverend (see honorable, § 417). The abbreviated titles Mr., Mrs., Messrs. (= Messieurs, §§ 423, 544, 1), Mmes (= Mesdames, §§ 423, 544, II, III), Jr., and Sr., and such abbreviations as A. B., D. D., M. D., LL. D., Ph.D., are correct when used with proper names (but see § 544, I, N. 1); in connected writing, however, Messrs., Mmes, Jr., and Sr. should not be abbreviated (Messieurs, Mesdames, Junior, Senior): 1. "Quite so", said Doctor Parker Peps. - DICKENS. 2. The Right Honorable William Buffy. - DICKENS. 3. The Reverend Josiah Cargill. Scott. 4. Wilkins Micawber, Esquire, presented himself. - DICKENS. 5. Messrs. Fraser and Fraser. I dined with him at Messieurs Dillys. BOSWELL. 6. Mmes Scott and Brown. Mesdames Scott and Brown were patronesses. 7. Tom Brown, Jr., Treasurer. 'Pray come in', said M. Pocket, Junior. - DICKENS. 8. He has received his bachelor's degree (not his 'A. B.'). NOTE. The abbreviations of titles, such as A.B., D.D., Litt.D., LL. D., are not spaced between the letters. The title Esquire is used loosely in the United States; it is given to Federal and state officials not entitled to 'Honorable' (§ 545, IV-VI), lawyers, justices of the peace, and leading men who have no other title. The abbreviation Co. (= Company) should be used if it is the form adopted by the firm : Longmans, Green & Co. See § 466, A, 4. |