The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-05-07
How We Sign Our Letters.

There is just as much character expressed in
the signature of letter as in its contents, says
the New York Recorder.
Take the society girl. She has her letter
paper, with its distinctive perfume, its peculiar
tint, her own way Of having her address colored
and engraved, and when it comes to ending her
note or letter she has unique signature which
she does not Ike TO have copied. even if imita-
ton Is the sincerest lattery.
How do sign my letters'" said one of the
girs the other day. "Well, I'll tell you, 4" aud she
iedhed forward confdentIahy. 81 always put
AS ever Now, isn't that a nice signature!
u isn't conventional, like Sincerely yours or
Very trGly yours or just Sincerely or any of
those meaningless words which nine people out
OF ten tack to the end of their letters. Now,
AS ever looks as II il meant a great deal.
III the note is TO a stranger it means that
an Just as nice after long acquaintance as
am at hrst-and that is a lot to expect of any
one nowadays, when everything is in the store
windows and nothing inside. If the letter is to
an OLD frieni, it means that absence has not
maze any difference in my feelings. If it is to
a man whom am interested IN, he will think
u means great deal more than it does, and yet
ne can't crticise it for being too pronounced /;
IN fact, have never yet made the acquaintance
OF signature which was so pleasantly delusive
means nothinRm
OF course, as the girl said nine out of ten
people do sign their letters with the much
aouseo very sincerely etc, but that does not
destroy the theory; It only shows that nine
people out of ten are conventional and follow
the beaten path. and don't they?
Then there is the business letter. This is
necessarily formal aud precise as business
methods, but even here you will find originality
There is one man of my acquaintance who is al
ways reAdy-busy man as he is-to lend hand,
10 greet every one with pleasant word and a
smile, to aid struggling genius. His signature
is Cordially yours, and it just expresses the
man. AS usual thing in business, when a letter
Is sgne1 Respectfully" or Respectfully
yours, it means that the writer has asked a
FAVOR; after it is granted then the usual signat-
ure can again be adopted.
And the love letters. As the adiectives Of en-
ddearment in the English language are painfully
limited, so the signatures must necessarily be
also. Considering the fact that so many people
are engaged in the business of making love
tnere is remarkable sameness 10 their efforts
however, once 10 while even lover is original
There is Frenchman who immortalized nim-
SELF by signing his letters to his sweetheart
Comme-fdes," which translated meant
faithful O1des) at the end as (comme) at the
beginning. A very pretty conceit, even though
the enigma had to be explained before his be-
loved comprehended its subtle meaning,
Then there are the letters from parents to
children and from children to parents, and
from schoomates to each other, in many of
which may be found some little personal pleas
ing word How many times do we all receive
letters whose signatures disappoint u.s. and how
many times we ourselves forget the little finish
ing touch, which is like the varnish to the pict-
ure. the trosting TO the cake