The comet. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1877-1882, 1879-03-29
A SHORT LECTURE ON LETTER
WRITING.
BY PHILos CoMETosE.


BY PHILos CoMETosE.
I FIRSTLY: Letters should be writer
with a pen and ink, not with dim pencil
) great deal of profanity in this worl'
is caused by letters written with n dim pen
Gil. In the interest of religion and jus
equilibration of the human temper 1 in
woke all men and women, and especial,
school girls, who write letters to use al
honest steel pen and clear black ink. "My
pen is bad, my ink is pale, etc., may have
done well enough for the sentimentality Of
a defunct age, but it is out of date. now
and should always be omitted. The ex>
preston itself was flat and insipid at the
beginning, and it ought never to have q
foundation in fact. II the pen is bad
throw it away and get a good one; and if
the ink is pale don't use it. Get a good
article of ink.
SECONDLY: This once popular exordium
to letter, to-wit: 81 seat myself and take
my pen in hand to inform you that Johny
has got the whooping caugh and the old
woman is poorly, hoping that these few lines
may find you enjoying the same blessings
is not the style now. You may safely leave
to the vivid imagination of your correspon-
dent the realization of the fact that you
were seated and had your pen in your hand,
instead of in your toes, when you wrote to
him. There are few things in this life
that may be taken for granted. Among
them is the supposition that when a man or
a woman writes letter he or she does the
work in sitting posture, and if the letter
is written with pen it is safe to presume
the writer has taken it in his hand The
minute description of the manner in which
the achievement is begun is not really nec>
essary, as everybody is supposed to be
familiar with the m0dus opera',di of begins
ming letter.
THIRDLY. Don't write across your pages.
1t would be rude in a man to tax a friend
with checkered manuscript. 1t would be
rude in a school girl too if she did not
enjoy an epistolary license. But if your
correspondent is worth writing to at all, he
is entitled to enough paper for the entire
without crosses or confu>
sion. A postscript should be added always
to the letters of school girls. There is no
other way for them to get comfortably
over the delightful task of writing letter;
but for grown people believe the plan of
finishing what you have to say before you
get to the postscript is just as good if not |
o little better.
FoURTHLY: Write legibly. Don't un-
dertake to initiate DR.. Greeley, or Aleck
or General Georges chirography. |
Pothooks and Choctaw crooks and Chinese
are not always the marks of
genius or greatness. A genius has an inherit
ID constitutional right to be a damphool,
md great man may be partially excused for
1reek penmanship. But that is not what's
he matter with you. You should write
plainly so that the average graduate can
ead it without translation. There may be
Inspiration in the genius and profundity in
he great man to compensate somewhat for
he loss of time in deciphering their wri-
ings. But how can you expect to get for-
d Jeness if you doom friend to half
lour's hard study over three pages of
Vretched writing, who only finds few
at last, when if you had
written it plainly he could have absorbed it
lmost at glance?
FIFTHLY: Don't leave out words. Re
member that there is an intimate connec-
ion between words and sense. 1t is not
lways safe to rely on the reader to supply
be missing word. He might prove to be
s indifferent as you do, and let the poor
sitter go without the word. If you under
tand English Grammar endeavor to utilize
he knowledge in your private correspon-
ence as well as in your prepared stump !
peeches. Write grammatically and punctu-
te correctly if you know how. Spell ac- ,
Ordins to Webster; and when a difference
( opinion arises between you and Mr..
Webster it is in good taste and generally 9
le best plan to let DIR. Webster have his ,
ay, not necessarily because he knows
lore than you, but as matter of courtesy
, him, inasmuch as he sets himself up for
and you don't. The orthog-
iphy of a word is a small matter to you,
Mt Webster has a reputation to sustain, and
slicacy would prompt you to avoid an }
sue with him if there is any possible t
ay. :
S1rHLr: If you divide your composi> 4
on into paragraphs or sections, make t
lem distinct by unmistakable indentations a
I'd numbers. Don't leave this for the I
ader. He is almost certain not to do it A
ght 1t may be assumed that the man s
ho writes a letter knows better than any c
Ddy else what he wants to say. And he =
ould say just exactly that and quit. Elo- o
fence is beautiful thing, but it is most