How to Speak and Write Correctly, Joseph Devlin [books to read fiction txt] 📗

to teach, and those which give accounts of the daily happenings on the stage of life, in other words, news letters.

Letters of friendship are the most common and their style and form depend upon the degree of relationship and intimacy existing between the writers and those addressed. Between relatives and intimate friends the beginning and end may be in the most familiar form of conversation, either affectionate or playful. They should, however, never overstep the boundaries of decency and propriety, for it is well to remember that, unlike conversation, which only is heard by the ears for which it is intended, written words may come under eyes other than those for whom they were designed. Therefore, it is well never to write anything which the world may not read without detriment to your character or your instincts. You can be joyful, playful, jocose, give vent to your feelings, but never stoop to low language and, above all, to language savoring in the slightest degree of moral impropriety.

Business letters are of the utmost importance on account of the interests involved. The business character of a man or of a firm is often judged by the correspondence. On many occasions letters instead of developing trade and business interests and gaining clientele, predispose people unfavorably towards those whom they are designed to benefit. Ambiguous, slip-shod language is a detriment to success. Business letters should be clear, concise, to the point and, above all, honest, giving no wrong impressions or holding out any inducements that cannot be fulfilled. In business letters, just as in business conduct, honesty is always the best policy.

Official letters are mostly always formal. They should possess clearness, brevity and dignity of tone to impress the receivers with the proper respect for the national laws and institutions.

Letters designed to teach or didactic letters are in a class all by themselves. They are simply literature in the form of letters and are employed by some of the best writers to give their thoughts and ideas a greater emphasis. The most conspicuous example of this kind of composition is the book on Etiquette by Lord Chesterfield, which took the form of a series of letters to his son.

News letters are accounts of world happenings and descriptions of ceremonies and events sent into the newspapers. Some of the best authors of our time are newspaper men who write in an easy flowing style which is most readable, full of humor and fancy and which carries one along with breathless interest from beginning to end.

The principal parts of a letter are (1) the heading or introduction; (2) the body or substance of the letter; (3) the subscription or closing expression and signature; (4) the address or direction on the envelope. For the body of a letter no forms or rules can be laid down as it altogether depends on the nature of the letter and the relationship between the writer and the person addressed.

There are certain rules which govern the other three features and which custom has sanctioned. Every one should be acquainted with these rules.

 

THE HEADING

The Heading has three parts, viz., the name of the place, the date of writing and the designation of the person or persons addressed; thus:

73 New Street, Newark, N. J., February 1st, 1910. Messr. Ginn and Co., New York Gentlemen:

The name of the place should never be omitted; in cities, street and number should always be given, and except when the city is large and very conspicuous, so that there can be no question as to its identity with another of the same or similar name, the abbreviation of the State should be appended, as in the above, Newark, N. J. There is another Newark in the State of Ohio. Owing to failure to comply with this rule many letters go astray. The date should be on every letter, especially business letters. The date should never be put at the bottom in a business letter, but in friendly letters this may be done. The designation of the person or persons addressed differs according to the relations of the correspondents. Letters of friendship may begin in many ways according to the degrees of friendship or intimacy. Thus:

My dear Wife: My dear Husband: My dear Friend: My darling Mother: My dearest Love: Dear Aunt: Dear Uncle: Dear George: etc.

To mark a lesser degree of intimacy such formal designations as the following may be employed:

Dear Sir: My dear Sir: Dear Mr. Smith: Dear Madam: etc.

For clergymen who have the degree of Doctor of Divinity, the designation is as follows:

Rev. Alban Johnson, D. D. My dear Sir: or Rev. and dear Sir: or more familiarly Dear Dr. Johnson:

Bishops of the Roman and Anglican Communions are addressed as Right Reverend.

The Rt. Rev., the Bishop of Long Island. or The Rt. Rev. Frederick Burgess, Bishop of Long Island. Rt. Rev. and dear Sir:

Archbishops of the Roman Church are addressed as Most Reverend and Cardinals as Eminence. Thus:

The Most Rev. Archbishop Katzer. Most Rev. and dear Sir:

His Eminence, James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore. May it please your Eminence:

The title of the Governor of a State or territory and of the President of the United States is Excellency. However, Honorable is more commonly applied to Governors:—

His Excellency, William Howard Taft, President of the United States.

Sir:—

His Excellency, Charles Evans Hughes, Governor of the State of New York.

Sir:—

Honorable Franklin Fort, Governor of New Jersey.

Sir:—

The general salutation for Officers of the Army and Navy is Sir. The rank and station should be indicated in full at the head of the letter, thus:

General Joseph Thompson, Commanding the Seventh Infantry.

Sir:

Rear Admiral Robert Atkinson, Commanding the Atlantic Squadron.

Sir:

The title of officers of the Civil Government is Honorable and they are addressed as Sir.

Hon. Nelson Duncan, Senator from Ohio.

Sir:

Hon. Norman Wingfield, Secretary of the Treasury.

Sir:

Hon. Rupert Gresham, Mayor of New York.

Sir:

Presidents and Professors of Colleges and Universities are generally addressed as Sir or Dear Sir.

Professor Ferguson Jenks, President of ………. University.

Sir: or Dear Sir:

Presidents of Societies and Associations are treated as business men and addressed as Sir or Dear Sir.

Mr. Joseph Banks, President of the Night Owls.

Dear Sir: or Sir:

Doctors of Medicine are addressed as Sir: My dear Sir: Dear Sir: and more familiarly My dear Dr: or Dear Dr: as

Ryerson Pitkin, M. D. Sir: Dear Sir: My dear Dr:

Ordinary people with no degrees or titles are addressed as Mr. and Mrs. and are designed Dear Sir: Dear Madam: and an unmarried woman of any age is addressed on the envelope as Miss So-and-so, but always designed in the letter as

Dear Madam:

The plural of Mr. as in addressing a firm is Messrs, and the corresponding salutation is Dear Sirs: or Gentlemen:

In England Esq. is used for Mr. as a mark of slight superiority and in this country it is sometimes used, but it is practically obsolete. Custom is against it and American sentiment as well. If it is used it should be only applied to lawyers and justices of the peace.

 

SUBSCRIPTION

The Subscription or ending of a letter consists of the term of respect or affection and the signature. The term depends upon the relation of the person addressed. Letters of friendship can close with such expressions as:

Yours lovingly, Yours affectionately, Devotedly yours, Ever yours, etc.

as between husbands and wives or between lovers. Such gushing terminations as Your Own Darling, Your own Dovey and other pet and silly endings should be avoided, as they denote shallowness. Love can be strongly expressed without dipping into the nonsensical and the farcical.

Formal expressions of Subscription are:

Yours Sincerely, Yours truly, Respectfully yours,

and the like, and these may be varied to denote the exact bearing or attitude the writer wishes to assume to the person addressed: as,

Very sincerely yours, Very respectfully yours, With deep respect yours, Yours very truly, etc.

Such elaborate endings as

“In the meantime with the highest respect, I am yours to command,” “I have the honor to be, Sir, Your humble Servant,” “With great expression of esteem, I am Sincerely yours,” “Believe me, my dear Sir, Ever faithfully yours,”

are condemned as savoring too much of affectation.

It is better to finish formal letters without any such qualifying remarks. If you are writing to Mr. Ryan to tell him that you have a house for sale, after describing the house and stating the terms simply sign yourself

Your obedient Servant Yours very truly, Yours with respect, James Wilson.

Don’t say you have the honor to be anything or ask him to believe anything, all you want to tell him is that you have a house for sale and that you are sincere, or hold him in respect as a prospective customer.

Don’t abbreviate the signature as: Y’rs Resp’fly and always make your sex obvious. Write plainly

Yours truly, John Field

and not J. Field, so that the person to whom you send it may not take you for Jane Field.

It is always best to write the first name in full. Married women should prefix Mrs. to their names, as

Very sincerely yours, Mrs. Theodore Watson.

If you are sending a letter acknowledging a compliment or some kindness done you may say, Yours gratefully, or Yours very gratefully, in proportion to the act of kindness received.

It is not customary to sign letters of degrees or titles after your name, except you are a lord, earl or duke and only known by the title, but as we have no such titles in America it is unnecessary to bring this matter into consideration. Don’t sign yourself,

Sincerely yours, Obadiah Jackson, M.A. or L.L. D.

If you’re an M. A. or an L.L. D. people generally know it without your sounding your own trumpet. Many people, and especially clergymen, are fond of flaunting after their names degrees they have received honoris causa, that is, degrees as a mark of honor, without examination. Such degrees should be kept in the background. Many a deadhead has these degrees which he could never have earned by brain work.

Married women whose husbands are alive may sign the husband’s name with the prefix Mrs: thus,

Yours sincerely, Mrs. William Southey.

but when the husband is dead the signature should be—

Yours sincerely, Mrs. Sarah Southey.

So when we receive a letter from a woman we are enabled to tell whether she has a husband living or is a widow. A woman separated from her husband but not a divorcee should not sign his name.

 

ADDRESS

The address of a letter consists of the name, the title and the residence.

Mr. Hugh Black, 112 Southgate Street, Altoona, Pa.

Intimate friends have often familiar names for each other, such as pet names, nicknames, etc., which they use in the freedom of conversation, but such names should never, under any circumstances, appear on the envelope. The subscription on the envelope should be always written with propriety and correctness and as if penned by an entire stranger. The only difficulty in the envelope inscription is the title. Every man is entitled to Mr. and every lady to Mrs. and every unmarried lady to Miss. Even a boy is entitled to Master. When more than one is addressed the title is Messrs. Mesdames is sometimes written of women. If the person addressed has a title it is courteous to use it, but titles never must be duplicated. Thus,