The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-05-16
Girls Letters.

VINO UOWuuu1b WIND iCttcIoI We
all dash off hasty notes, or hurriedly
scribble postal card, under pressure
Of immediate necessity, but tho sepis-
tolary art" so dear to our grand
mothers, Is becoming extinct.
II was not long ago that postage was
so high that letters were luxury rather
than the necessity they are now. The
arrival Of one was looked upon as
great event, and to destroy was little
short Of sacrilege. II was worth while
to spend some time and pains on let
ter which would be read and re-read,
and perhaps handed down for the ben.
eft 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 a smattering of reconcile
science, and who have dipped into the
grammars OF one or more OF the an
cient and half dozen of the modern
languages, are still unable to write q
letter in their own tongue, that in ar
rangement and choice Of words might
not disgrace properly taught child of
twelve. Especially the distinction be-
tween the third and first person is
often so hazy that formal note begun
in one is finished 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 trlling or important matters
that this Is worth remembering. II
they should happen to be kept for any
length of time, the date would add
materially to their interest.
Many persons seem to think 1t 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 resem-
BILE puzzle the more piquantly inter-
esting they will be. 1t is hard to tell
why sentence commenced at the bot
tom of one page should not be contin-
ned at the top of the next, instead of
rushing wildly off at tangent, and be
found at last written crosswisc, in the
very last place a person would look
for it,
Tho girl who really answers a letter
is no common correspondent. We have
all groaned with mild evaporation
over letter supposed to be reply to
one of our own, but which took moi
the smallest notice of our modest com.
munication, even in the cursory men,
ton of its arrival, left all our questions
unanswered, and, with curious ingen.
uity, omitted every scrap of informa.
ton Oh tie subjects that most inter.
ested Us.
The best time to answer letter,
when 1t is possible, is Immediately after
first reading it. So many things rush
into ones mind that cannot be recalled
afterward. Very few people have the
requisite leisure to do this, Us in ordin-
airy cases it involves brisk cerrespon-
dence; but it should not be put of
longer than necessary.
People who are travelling abroad are
very apt to make their home letters
too much like gu'e books. Descrip-
tions OF .c.y aal famous places are
usual ous. 1t is the little things
that .. raining; droll adven-
ture, 4 nrity in dress or speech
anythn A1ch especially strikes thu
write, will be certain to be giver
wildly, and will add color and interes
to her lct,r".
The full me should be signed, sc
that should he letter miscarry, it may
be returned through the Dead-Lettel
Office. which would be impossible il
the only clue were Lulu OF Katie. y
The School Supplement.