Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-04-25
The proorieties Of L:f..1

test Of breeding, or at any rate OF
knowledge of the nicer proprietles OF
life. is in the proper wording Of notes
.nd letters, and especially of the little
hillets exchanged daily among society
neonle. Every lady and gentleman Is
apxnectcd to know the rules of spelling
and Grammar; but even where these
oro annarently familiar, there are GER
tain small signs which betray tho
noy;ce. One of these leaps to sight
when one opens a note ana mas nm
| self addressed by some acquaintance ~
..Mrs. Smith or ''Mr. Jones, some
norant soul who is fearful of compro-
missing his dignity bytoo muclltam'ilar-
ity, and so falls into the error OF ao-
dressing an acquaintance as If ne was
sending an order to the butcher around
the corner. Since it is the fashion IN
America. as we'll as in Pals, to initiate
Enoland-and where, indeed, could
we find a better model?-it might be
we'll to do it at once, without waiting
for two or three wears until the Angli'
cism reaches all through the North. In
the mother country an order to a grocer
or butcher or any tradesman is con-
veved in the third person: ''Mr. Jones
viii oblige Mrs. Esmond by sending
five pounds of butter" Or 'Mrs. Es-
mond requests Mr.. Jones to send her
five pounds of butter" If the lady
wished to write q note to some one In
her own position, but not a personal
acquaintance, she would begin ''Dear
Mr.. Smith" But if she were writing
to an acquaintance in her own rank OF
life she would inevitably begin, "My
dear MIR. Smith, the possessive pro.
noun or the pronominal adjective, call
it what you choose, but the ''My' in
such cases means. like the "Yours
truly" of a business letter, nothing
more. A New Orleans lady had occa-
sion to write a letter of invitation, anG
being q lady and we'll versed in the
ways of the world, she hegan q note
"My Dear MIR. Blank" Fancy her dis
may when the answer came and she
foundherself accosted Us "Mrs. Brown"
Did the man mean to rebuke her un-
due familiarity? Did he fear she was
growing too fond of him? or did he
simply mean to avow his own stupidity
and incapacity for taking the hints he
might have cleaned from the phrasing
of the lady's letter?
1t was the misfortune of a very DIS
Greet maiden. one who had been ac-
customed all her lie to the of
society, to spend some months in 4
small interior town of the South. At
ter she had been for several weeks in
the place, it came to her ears that she
was considered q rather improper
young person-onc tonight be called
'fast." Upon investigation she found
the idea came from the notes she wrote
to polite young men who sent her flow
ers, invitations. etc, in which notes she,
of course, addressed them as "My
Dear Mr.. So-and so" Finally one adj
mirer bolder than the rest, remonstrat-
ed, begged to know why she didn't be-
gin her notes ''A1r. Blank?" ':And so
| should" responded she, eff l wished
to order a new pair OF shoes from my
boot-maker." Whereupon the young
man exclaimed: "Of course [ under.
stand! hut Others will be sure to mis-
Judge you!' And to this day the young
lady is probably remembered rs very
giddy girl.
Now that we have literary classes of
all kinds, why doesn't some one form q
class for the study of higher grammar,
rhetoric and letter-writing? The sue
cess OF such a class is problematica],
but the need of it is unquestionable.
1t is not con to receive q note
which begins in the first person and
ends in the third: notes that stamp
their writers as badly educated and ig-
norant of the English language, as well
as of social amenities.-N. D. Times
Democrat.