Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-07-30
A FEMININE CHARM FLED.
Sigh for the Day of Model Letter
Writing.

me sSdgeS rdtntT IMAM I'D" lfHSlHss H'"09
letters that prevailed Of yore. Scores Of
notes are bundled off IN a single day by
the girl who Is Tin the swim" and yet.
according 10 a shrewd observer. fond OF
drawing comparisons. this popular young
person writes very Indifferent notes. far
inferior, If testimony may be believed.
to the dainty productions Of her mother
and grandmother
Just look at these notes" said dame
Of the old school the other day. dis
playing a batch of missives which she
had received in acknowledgment Of
dinner invitation. "They are literally
scrawIed and either suG and constrained.
or rambling and nlegible. Every one Of
them sent by girls just out Of the school
room. too: debulantes whom ! got t0Seth-
or Informally last winter for the sake
OF seeing their fresh faces and hearing
them chat
Nobody bothers nowadays" she went
on. tie write pretty. graceful note,
perfect in composition. az well as In CHI
Biography. Nobody has time. Everything
is rushed through pell mel. ana
the fine finish and delicacy that we ustd
10 consider so requisite I'm anything mat
emanated from a feminine hand a. voted
all. Then the handwriting of the pres
ent day is absolutely characterless. II Is
alike. round. Uniformed. and masculine
looking. and this vertical style that Cd
tains Just at present, and when VIII Dc
the fashion for the next generation OF
girls. is no better The tall girl the
short girl. the bright. and the stupid
girl. all write the same hand. ! protest
against a system II training you may
term il. which turns out all its pupils IKE
so many duplicates from the same
machine.
"A few Of these notes are well *
dressed" she added. selecting some from
the pile. but the majority are innocent
of any attempt in that direction. ! think
that with all our modern improvements
I'm schooling and training the old-time
painstaking goyeTness and precepiress
and the quiet home discipline was the
best. Facility OF expression and readi-
ness Of diction should receive particular
attention in a schools curriculum, and
were a teacher practice-notes on every
Imaginable subject should be frequently
written"
SOME LETTERS TO ANSWER.
In view Of this criticism from one able
To read the signs Of the times. II does not
seem likely that this generation Will
produce a Nine. Sevigne who, writing
letters from the pure delight Of chron-
icing the social news and chat around
her. with no thought of publication,
wrote them So charmingly. 50 delightfully."-,
that they have perpetuated her fame.
The old-fashiCnod letter. carefully COM
posed and neatly written, without blot
or correction. covering innumerahle psscs
Of paper. broad and deep. and
so vOlumnOus that the recipient
l.. a l.fa TF.I
has become obsolete I've got some let
tcrs To- answer" says the modern woman,
and down she sits, and dashes on
half dozen illusions I'm the time that her
mother would have given 10 one. She
tells what gown she IS having made.
If the friend be intimate, speaks OF the
general health Of the family, Of what
moves they expect 20 make in the near
future, alludes incidentally 70 the wealth
er. and signs her name at the
end with more interest and en-
thusiasm than anything else she has
written. The letter writer Of other days
felt IL her bounlen duty To put little
of herself in her letters a little Of her
own feelings. thoughts, and ideas, about
current topics. When she had chronlclcd
such news ds there was to tell she drifted
into mOral1ng and mOralizcd all over
the remaining extra pages she had elected
- fl a plan u procedure that was
little tires0me. II must be admitted, how
ever, much of character and carncsiness
of purpose it might have conveyed 10
the reader This edrnestness II purpose
IS lamentably lacking in modern life ac-
cording to the ideas Of the old-school
above mentioned.
LIMITED VISITS.
Questionable people nowadays seldom
invite folks visit them for me pure
and simple enjoyment OF IN -ir society,
she declares. There is always some ute
riOr motive for the invitation. In the old
times in Virginia and among the PATRONS
of the Hudson. when simplicity and gen
uine hospitality obtain q. a note Of lnVi-
tatiOn read. You must come IN June ana
spend the summer setting forth the in
duCenents at length. An invitation 10 q
country house at the present time reads,
Can YOU not come % M on the II o clock
train OF the 9th and remain until the l3thY
The number OF entertainments on hand ia
amended that the guest may bring the
correct number % gowns, and lower down
Is added. 'Nhen | know that you are COM
Ing | Will ask Mr.. S0-and-SO 10 meet you.
1t Is quite on the cards that the guest Is
q wealthy widow OF no particular con-
nections. whom Mr. So-and-SO. being i'm
pecunlOus but Of good family. would De
likely 10 please. After the match Is made
tn hostess would bee in the good graces
OF both parties. Children alone escape the
each other without affectatlOn or duplicity.
1 do not want II 90 10 your party. thank
vOu.' little golden-hair wrote not long ago
i'm response 10 an invitation from one or
her kindergarten companions, ana when
a lady. who had spent an entire after
noon in trying to answer a dilident enid,
asked her on taking leave II sha would
not ike 10 come back TO see her soon
again. the demure little face expressed no
pleasure and the childish lips said simply,
NO. ma'am not soon When | see chill
dren like that IL seems a pity that they
should have 10 become artificial like the
There are lots Of changes in note
writing" added Dame Critic. I'm my
day formal note always began: Mrs
Brown presents her compliments To Mr.
tones and so on. Nobody ever pre-
sents compliments now. at least not in
writing. and | am told that To put pres
ent' or addressed on an envelope Is 10
stamp oneself as way out OF date. Even
m "A gentleman condescends 10 deliver a
personal note one may not put kind
mss ~ ' favored by kind attrn-
tion Of or any Of those little amenities
formerly appended. Some Of US Will
have 10 20 to school again. but not TO
learn penmanship or composition
Relics of Nelson.
The relics OF Lord Nelson, recently
cold I'm London. were offered 10 the Brit
ish Government some time ago for
s25 oo0 The offer was refused. but the
government afterwards bought in some or
The relics. Including The orders and decOra-
lions worn by the hero of the Nile at
the moment he was killed on the deck OF
his shin. the Victory. But the gold
80 hits cold boxes containing the