Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1870-01-15
Mark Twain's idea of a Good Letter.

Ihc most useful and interesting letters
we get here from home are are from chill
drcn seven or eight years old. This ispet-
rifed truth. Happily they have got moth
ing else to talk about but home, and neigh
bors and familics-things their bettcrs
think unworthy Of transmission thousan Is
of miles. They write simply and natural
ly and without strain for effect They
seldom deal in abstraction Or honilics.
Consequently their epistlcs are brief; but
treating as they do of familiar scenes and
persons, always entertaining. Now, there
fore, if you would learn the art of letter.
writing let child teach you. have pre-
served letter from little girl eight years
od-prcscrved it as curiosity, because it
was the only letter l ever got from the
States that had any information in it. 1t
ran thus: ....
ST. LOUIS, 1869.
"Uncle Mark, if YOU was here l could
tell you about Moses in the bulrushes
again, know it better now. Mr.. Sewer
by broke his head falling off a horse. lie
was riding on Sunday. Margaret, that's
the maid Margaret, has taken all the spit
toons, and sIop buckets and old jugs ont of
your room, because she says she don't
think you're coming home any more you
been gone so long Sissy Mclilroy's moth
er has got another littlc, ,baby. She has
them all the time. 1t has got little blue
eyes, like Mr.. Swinley that boards there
aud looks just like him. l have got new
doll, but Jhonny Anderson pulled one of its
legs out. Miss Dooscnbcrry was here to-
day; l gave her your picture, but she said
she didn't want it. My cat has got more
kittens-oh you can't think-twicc as
many as Lottic Be!den's. And there's one,
such sweet buff one with short tail, and
named it for you. ....-..
All them's got names now-Gcn. Grant,
and Halleck, and Moses, and Margaret,
and Deuteronomy, and Capt, Scmms, and
Exodus, and Lcviticus, and Horace Gree
ly-all named but one, and | am saving it
because the one named for you's been
sick all the time since, and l reckon it'll
die. 1t appears to have been mighty
rough on the short tailed kitten naming it
for mel wonder how the reserved vic
tim will stand it, Uncle Mark, l do be-
lieve Hattie Caldwell likes you, and know
she thinks you are pretty, because | heard
her say nothing could hurt your good
looks-nothiug at all-shc said, even if
you were to have the smallpox ever so
bad, you would be just as good looking as
you were before. And my ma says she's
ever SO smart. [Very.] No more this
time, because General Grant and Moses is
fighting. ANNIE"
This child treads on my toes in every
other seutcuce, with perfect looselcss, but
in the simplicity of her time of life, she
don't know it. .... . .-
consider that model lcttcr-an cmi-
,,ently readable and entertaining letter, and
as said before, it contains more matter of
interest and real information than any let
ter l ever received from the East. had
rather hear about the cats at home aud
their truly remarkable names than listen
to lot Of stuff about people l am not ac-
auainted with, or read The Evil Effects
of the Intoxicating Bowl" illustrated on
the back with the picture of ragged
sealawag peltins away right and left in
the midst of his family circle with q junk
bottle.