ship, that what one writes to another may by accident or otherwise be read by those to whom it has not been addressed. It is wise, therefore, never to write anything that might be misinterpreted, or that might, if preserved, be likely to give trouble either to the writer or to others. It is not the great events that make a personal letter interesting, so much as it is the incidents of every-day life; and therefore anything that would be of interest in conversation would be of like interest if embodied in a letter. Letters of Courtesy include Invitations, Acceptances ind Regrets, Letters of Congratulation, of Condolence, of Introduction, and of Recommendation. All of these are closely related to letters of friendship, but they are more formal in style. Letters of friendship may be written at any time as impulse or habit may dictate, but letters of courtesy are demanded on particular cccasions according to the customs of society. Business Letters include two kinds-Personal and Official. A Personal business letter is one on personal or private usiness. Among personal business letters are included the leters of merchants, manufacturers, bankers, professional men, and others in connection with their business, either as individuals or as business firms. An Official business letter is one written either by a public officer or to him, on business pertaining to his office. Official business letters include the correspondence of the various officials of a city, state, or nation, together with heads of departments and officers of the army and the navy. PUBLIC LETTERS. Public Letters embrace news letters intended for publication, and essays and reports addressed to some person or persons. News Letters are communications to newspaper containing accounts of local incidents, persons, and places. Sometimes they deal but slightly with local matters, and give more particularly incidents of travel and observations on places and the manners and customs of inhabitants. Frequently a writer publishes a letter addressed to some prominent person criticising his opinions or his actions, or putting to him a number of formal questions with the view of securing a published reply. This is usually called an open letter. THE DIVISIONS OF A LETTER. In writing letters the most important things to be considered are 1. The Heading; 2. The Introduction; 3. The Body of the Letter; 4. The Conclusion; 5. The Superscription. The mechanical part of a letter should not be neglected. The appearance of a letter frequently exercises more influence than the sentiment it contains; this is especially true in letters of courtesy. THE HEADING. The Heading of a letter consists of the name of the place at which the letter was written, and the date when it was written. When the letter is written from a large city, the name of the place should include the door-number, the name of the street, and the name of the city; all of which should occupy the first line of the heading, and the date the second line. Thus: 1020 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Nov. 20, 1886. Where one does not care to have his residence known or is not permanently located, the post-office box number may be given instead of the door-number, as follows: Box 1255, Philadelphia, Pa., If the letter be written from the country or from a village or small town, the county as well as the State should be mentioned; as, Avondale, Chester Co., Pa., Nov, 26, 1886. If the letter be written from a prominent hotel, a boarding-school, or other institution, the name of the hotel or institution should occupy the first line of the heading, in which case the heading may occupy three lines, as follows: New Jersey Normal School, Trenton, N. J., Oct. 6, 1887. Figures are employed only for the door-number, the day of the month, the year, and the number of the postoffice box. When the heading is short, it usually occupies tut one line, as follows: Lancaster, Pa., Aug. 6, 1887. When the heading occupies more than one line, the lines following the first should each begin a little farther to the right than the one preceding, as in the foregoing examples. The first line of the heading should begin about an inch and a half from the top of the page, and a little to the left of the middle of the page. Every important part of the heading should begin with a capital letter. A period should follow every abbreviation, and the parts should be separated by commas. A period should be placed also at the end of the heading. The Date consists of the month, the day of the month, and the year. The day of the month is separated from the year by a comma. (See the foregoing examples.) It is not necessary to write the forms 1st, 7th, 23d, etc.; the figures 1, 7, 23, etc., may be used instead. Thus: Newark, Gel., Feb. 2, 1887. Should the forms 1st, 2d, 15th, etc., be used, no period must be placed after them, as they are not abbreviations. Note that the proper forms of the ordinals ending in 2 and 3 are 2d, 3d, 22d, 23d. By some writers the date is placed at the close of the letter. In such cases it begins near the left edge of the page, on the line next below that on which the signature is placed. In such cases also the name of the person to whom the letter is written must appear in the introduction. Business-men and clerks sometimes use figures to indicate the number of the month, but it is permissible only in business letters. EXERCISE. Write the following headings correctly, punctuating them as they should be in a letter: 1. Pa West Chester June 9 1878 2. 66 Broadway New York Apr 16 1847 3. Princeton College of New Jersey N J Apr 14 1886 4. Oct 16 Baltimore Md 170 Calvert St 5. 23 Milk st Boston Nov 6 1864 6. 264 La Salle St Chicago Nov 15 1886 7. State Normal School Castine Me Oct 6 1887 8. Custom House Philadelphia Sept 6 1885 9. 742 Broadway New York Dec 4 1887 10. Camden N J Oct 6 1885 11. 159 Wabash Ave Chicago Feb 16 1887 12. Write the heading of a letter dated from your own home THE INTRODUCTION. The Introduction consists of the formal address and the salutation. The formal address varies with the style of the letter written. It consists of the name, the title, and the place of business or the residence of the person addressed. In some cases the name and the title alone are used as the address. While this is not objectionable in social letters, it is not the best form for business letters, as there would be no way of ascertaining the ownership |