The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-02-07
SKILL IN LETTER WRITING.
A Rare Accomplishment In this Hurry
skHrry Age.


SkHrry Age.
Who takes time nowadays to write a
letter?
OF scrnppy documents, which mas
querade as such. we have many, but
the old-tImeS "epIstIe" with its palms.
taking chlrography. its wealth of anec-
d9te and It's lengthy expression OF opln-
ion, on men and manners, is a thing Of
the past.
The decay Of the gentle art is greatly
to be deplored, as 1t means n positive
loss to posterity. Where win future
historians find the intimate details of
daily life OF the last quarter OF the nine
teenth century? Where will they find
trustworthy accounts Of fashions IN
sleeves or comments on Mr.. So.and-Sos
acandalous behavior at Mrs. Grundy's
dancing class?
oh, for a Fanny Burney, or Madame
dc Lavigne!
But these details written, who would
take time to read them2 Alas! only
the future historian, we fear.
But. though the long, cosby letter
has gone out OF fashion, need Its sue
cessor be quite 80 unworthy Need u
be quite SO inky, scrawly and scrnppy
Need Il bear the visible mark Of haste
in every line? Who does not know the
pleasure OF receiving well-written,
well-worded letter? And. after all, no
where do we find n Burer guage TO a
woman's education, and, even breeding.
than In her letters
The graceful note. with Its clear
handwriting. wide margin and well
finished sentences Is q positive delight
delight but too seldom experienced.
The letter OF the average woman Is q
horror: u hastily scrubbed word on a
visiting card does duty as q note. ana
a page or two. covered with almost
Illegible helroglyphics-two words to q
line--is supposed to represent letter!
But even these imperfect servants
are better than that lin-de-siecle abom-
lnGtion "a typewriter letter = than
which there Is no surer barrier TO social
correspondence. There Is absolutely no
personal note in such letter.
Fancy the enOrmIty OF sending a
type.WrItten lOve-letter-a crime or
which the nineteenth century lover Is
often guilty. One cannot picture even n
new woman caring for such a letter
one cannot imagine even the most sen
timental maiden reading and re-read-
ing such q missive: much less preserv-
ing 1t among her treasures-its proper
place Is the waste basket, to which, be
sure, It is promptly consigned.
And fancy, too, the enormity OF dc
tating love-letter-or. worse stIll, the
stenographer's train OF thought as she
takes down the burning words-nnd
later the RFdor OF the signing swain as
he SlHnces over the blue-lcttsred sheet
before he adlxes his signature.
And then. what must be the feelings
OF the recipient OF this soulful CONF
munlcation? the sweetheart who re-
allies that a neutrality-suspicious. even
falrer than herSelE-has had the felicity
OF hearing the endearing eplthets at
first hand! Truly the typewriter
love-letter is the very apotheosls OF I'm
de steele romance. Women have ever
been the accomplished letter-writers OF
the worid-with, here and there. 1t may
be. n Horace wnlpoIc--so to them must
we look for a revival OF the dying art
though the old lengthy epistle will
never again be popular, the short letter,
....e the short story. may be brought to
perfection, and can be made as distinct
I've a feature OF this age as was the
lengthy discourse OF the seventeenth
century. when letter-wrlting was re-
garded as anart, not as q burdensoH1e
necessity.