In the first place, then, whatever the object and style of
a letter may be, and to whomsoever it may be written, it
must always be dated — the name of the place from which,
and the day of the week and month upon which it is writ-
ten, being placed in the upper right hand corner of your
sheet of paper. Give it plenty of room, and if the letter is
of special importance, add in figures the date of the year as
well. A little lower down, and upon the left side, write the
name of the person you are addressing, always with a
proper prefix ; to a stranger, " Dear Sir," or " Dear Madam ;"
82 ON HABITS AND MANNERS
to a friend, whatever your taste and affection may dictate.
Directly below this, and again a little to the right, the body
of your letter should begin. This should be broken into
paragraphs, should be written in perfectly straight lines (it
is best to accustom yourself to use unruled paper), and should
be so arranged as not to close either at the extreme top or
bottom of your sheet, as this always gives an awkward look,
and by a little care can be avoided, while you must specially
avoid making blots and erasures.
Having completed your letter, you have still the envel-
ope to address, and this requires quite as much attention as
the letter itself, for, as you know, it is only by means of a
legible and correct address that your letter can reach its des-
tination. Begin somewhat above the middle of your envel-
ope and close to the left hand corner, with the plainly writ-
ten name of the person, giving any title which may belong
to him or her. Follow this a little lower down and further
to the right w;th, if it is to go to a city, the street and nur^*
ber ; if it is to go to any institution, office, society, etc., with
the requisite a.ldress of such place or society, writing, in all
cases, after this (again lower down and more to the right)
the name of the village or city, closing with the name of the
State. *Vheii there is no number, street, or special address,
the name of the village or town follows directly after the
name of the person, and in cases where the place is little
ON HABITS AND MANNERS 83
known it is best to put between its name and the name of
the State, the name of the county in which it is situated.
The following is a properly written note with envelope
appended :
Hampton, March 9, 1875.
My dear Uncle : —
I arrived here last night and write at once in
order that you may know of my safety and feel no further anxiety
about me.
I have a very pleasant room and am sure I shall be happy here,
provided I can keep up with my classes, which I certainly mean to
do, if it can be done by hard work. Of course I am a little home*
sick at first, and everything seems strange to me, but I expected that,
so do not feel discouraged.
I hope you will write to me often, and do not forget to give my
love to Jennie and Tom.
It is time for me to go to school, and I am going to begin my
education by learning to be punctual, so the rest of my news must
wait until my next letter. Hoping to hear from you soon, I am,
^ Your affectionate Niece,
Sarah Thompson.
Mr. James Thompson,
Care of Mr. Charles Lee,
18 William St.
Raleigh,
North Carolina.
There are so many different ways of prefacing your sig-
nature that it is impossible and, indeed, unnecessary to enu-
84 ON HABITS AND MANNERS
Page 36
Presented as published in 1888. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
In the first place, then, whatever the object and style of a letter may be, and to whomsoever it may be written, it must always be dated — the name of the place from which, and the day of the week and month upon which it is written, being placed in the upper right hand corner of your sheet of paper. Give it plenty of room, and if the letter is of special importance, add in figures the date of the year as well. A little lower down, and upon the left side, write the name of the person you are addressing, always with a proper prefix ; to a stranger, " Dear Sir," or " Dear Madam ;"
to a friend, whatever your taste and affection may dictate. Directly below this, and again a little to the right, the body of your letter should begin. This should be broken into paragraphs, should be written in perfectly straight lines (it is best to accustom yourself to use unruled paper), and should be so arranged as not to close either at the extreme top or bottom of your sheet, as this always gives an awkward look, and by a little care can be avoided, while you must specially avoid making blots and erasures.
Having completed your letter, you have still the envelope to address, and this requires quite as much attention as the letter itself, for, as you know, it is only by means of a legible and correct address that your letter can reach its destination. Begin somewhat above the middle of your envelope and close to the left hand corner, with the plainly written name of the person, giving any title which may belong to him or her. Follow this a little lower down and further to the right with, if it is to go to a city, the street and number ; if it is to go to any institution, office, society, etc., with the requisite a.ldress of such place or society, writing, in all cases, after this (again lower down and more to the right) the name of the village or city, closing with the name of the State. When there is no number, street, or special address, the name of the village or town follows directly after the name of the person, and in cases where the place is little
known it is best to put between its name and the name of the State, the name of the county in which it is situated.
The following is a properly written note with envelope appended :
Hampton, March 9, 1875.
My dear Uncle : —
I arrived here last night and write at once in order that you may know of my safety and feel no further anxiety about me.
I have a very pleasant room and am sure I shall be happy here, provided I can keep up with my classes, which I certainly mean to do, if it can be done by hard work. Of course I am a little home* sick at first, and everything seems strange to me, but I expected that, so do not feel discouraged.
I hope you will write to me often, and do not forget to give my love to Jennie and Tom.
It is time for me to go to school, and I am going to begin my education by learning to be punctual, so the rest of my news must wait until my next letter. Hoping to hear from you soon, I am, ^ Your affectionate Niece,
Sarah Thompson.
Mr. James Thompson, Care of Mr. Charles Lee,
18 William St.
Raleigh,
North Carolina.
There are so many different ways of prefacing your signature that it is impossible and, indeed, unnecessary to enu-