The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1907-12-06
The Six Sins 81 Letter Writing.

b Six Sins OF Letter Writing.
81 wish, said Miladi, .sthat you
would give me some practical sug-
gestion about the signature of notes
and the proper way to begin, and
note-writing in general
AS a beginning, / told Miladi that
there are six mistakes that mark the
~unaccustomed letter-writer. The
first of these is the use of ruled pa
per. No n who has advanced be-
yond the primer age should need
lines. The second is the capitaliza-
ton OF all three words in the salu-
tation, which properly reads my
dear Sir" and not MY Dear Sir. ;"
The only words to be capitalized are
the first one and the name, or the
word that takes the place of the
name, as in my own dear little
Marian" Dear Madam" Capitals
are a frightful temptation to the un-
accustomed correspondent. 1t some
times takes as much strength of
mind to forgo a capital as to turn
down a right bower.
Have you ever, as a girl, received
a letter from some shy adorer who
hesitated to address the object of
his devotion with the familiarity of
Dear Mary" and, therefore, com
promised on Dear T'riend?" Oh,
that every shy young man in the
land might learn that to address a
girl as friend" is to imply an in
timacy which is not suggested by
the conventional Dear Mary or
Dear Miss Brown" Even more
safely formal is my dear Mary
though in England our usage is re-
versed, and 'My dear is considered
more intimate than Dear" Dear
Madam and Dear Sir" are to be
used only in writing business letters
to strangers.
A third major error is to Gin
dent" the sa~lutation. 1t should be-
gin at the same distance from the
margin as does the body of the let
Ter, not a half inch or so to the
right, like the title of an essay.
Fourthly, avoid using abbrevi-
atoms, as Tues" Jan" dept"
and particularly avoid them in the
formal closing; for "Aff. yrs" is a
relic of thesGeorgian age and is OBJ
solete in the twentieth century.
"Affectionately yours" like fond
ly,' "devotedly" and s'lovingly,
should, Of course, be reversed for in
Inmates. CORDIALLY yours is often
used between friendly acquaintance.
Faithfully yours carries a little
more Difference. Sincerely yours
is the accepted form for mere ac-
quaintanees; Yours truly" the bust
ness form only. Most" and very
and always" give an added touch
OF courtesy. Yours may open or
close the formula. but should never
be omitted. Most sincerely yours
and Yours very sincerely are both
accepted; but VERY sincerely can
not be too empifatically condemned.
A fifth pitfall is the use of IL S
title in the signature. To sign Miss
Mary Elizabeth Brown" or MRS.
John III. Thompson" is a more Sc
rious faux pas than to inquire after
the health Of a deceased or divorced
husband. An unmarried woman
signs her name only, and il she must
emphasize her single state, she can
write "Miss, 'ssbut in parentheses, boa
fore her signature. The married
woman signs her name, Caroline
Thompson and, II necessary, adds
below In parentheses, MRS. John II.
Thompson. Even in writing to
strangers and employees, a oma
should never sign Miss or "Mrs.
II she wishes to claim social recog.
milton. In a note the date with the
day of the month spelled out and
the year expressed in fgures-"Aug-
ust eighteenth, 1907,s.--is written
after the signature; but a letter, UNI
less very informal, reserves IT'S
space atSthe end for the name of tao
reciipient, and the date is written at
ter the address al tho beginning.
The sixth difficulty is that Of aa-
dressing the letter. a wife or widow
sheu9dl be addressed by her married
tltles not BY her signature: Mrs.
sIslln j Thompson NOT .sMrs. Caro-
$50 Tsholnpaon,a Shs II lot to be.
addressed by her husbands title;
ssns' farla, iass not recognize Mrs.
Capt. Sigsbees or tthe Rev. .Irs.
Parkhurst In addressing a man,
Mr.. o. DIR. may be used before.
the name. IS the corresponding
D." or LII. D." after It,.
With equal propriety; but the use OF,
both sMr. and Esq" both ID,
and 7. paints the lily and gilds
refined gold.--Delineator,