American citizen., 1881-10-22
Girls Letters.

Who nowadays writes letters? We
all dash off hasty notes, or hurr;edly
scribble postal-card, under pressure
of Immediate necessity, but the "epis-
tolary art, SO dear to our grandfnothers,
is becoming extinct.
1t is not long since postage was SO
high that letters were luxury. rather
than the necessity that they are now.
The arrival of one was looked upon as
great event, and to DESTROY one was
little short of sacrilege. 1t was worth
while to spend some time and pains on
letter which would be read and re-
read. and perhaps handed down for the
benefit of posterity.
The disjointed productions that pass
for letters in these degenerate modern
days would have shocked an educated
girl of the last century. There is no
reason why girls who can speak French
and German should not be able to write
English. Many young ladies who have
had smattering of recondite science,
and have dipped into the grammars of
one or more of the ancient and half a
dozen of the modern languages, are
still unable to write a letter in their
own tongue, that in arrangement and
choice of words might not disgrace a
properly taught child of twelve. Es-
pecially, the distinction between the
third and first person is often SO hazy
that formal note begun in one is fin
ished in the other!
A good correspondent begins her
letter by writing her address and the
full date plainly at the top of the page.
Letters are so often referred to as evil
dence in trihing or important matters
that this is worth remembering. If
they should happen to be kept for any
length of time, the date would add ma
terially to their interest.
Many persons seem to think it is an
insult to the intelligence of their
friends to write straightforward from
page to page in the natural manner,
and that the more their letters re-
semble q puzzle the more piquantly in
teresting they will be. 1t is hard to
tell why sentence commenced at the
bottom of one page should not be con-
tinued at the top of the next, instead
of rushing wildly of at a tangent. and
being found at last written crosswise,
in the very last place a person would
look for it.
The girl who really answers letter
is no common correspondent. We
have all groaned with mild exaspera-
tion over a letter supposed to be a re-
ply to one of our own, but which took
not the smallest notice of our modest
communication. even in cursory men,
ton of its arrival, left all our questions
unanswered. and with curious in
genuity, omitted every scrap of in
formation on the subjects that most in
terested us.
The best time to answer a letter,
when it is possible, is Immediately after
first reading it. So many things rush
into one $ mind that cannot be recalled
afterward. Very few people have the
requisite leisure to do this, as. in
ordinary cases, it involves a rather
brisk correspondence; but it should
not be put off longer than necessary.
In keeping up a regular correspon-
dence with friends at a distance. it is a
good plan to jot down at night little
pieces of news. or anything of interest
that has occurred during the day. This
journal can be used in writing the let
ter: nothing will be forgotten. and there
will be less danger of repetition.
People who are travelling abroad are |
very apt to make their home letters too
mucn like guide-books. Descriptions |
of scenery and famous places are gen.
orally tedious. 1t is the little things |
that are entertaining; droll adventure, |
peculiaritv in dress or speech, any |
thing which especially strikes the |
writer, will be certain to be given Wv
idly, and will add color and interest to |
her letter.
The full name should be signed, so
that should the letter miscarry, it may |
be returned through the DeadLetter |
Office, which would be impossible il |
the only clew were Lulu or katie"
E. X. Scoru, la Scrtbner's Magazine.