Letters to strangers should not be written familiarly, although the ordinary formula is retained at the beginning. "Dear Sir," or "Dear Madam," "Dear Mr., Mrs., or Miss," are always correct, while you may sign yourself, "Respect- fully," or "Very respectfully yours," "Truly," or "Very truly yours," "Faithfully yours," "Sincerely yours," or by a variety of forms. In using postal cards you should remember that you are at the mercy of the public, so to speak, and should therefore write nothing that you are unwilling all the world should read. Telegrams should be as concise as possible, the ordi- nary forms of address and signature being omitted, and merely the name and telegraphic address given. It is good practice to occasionally write telegrams upon imaginary bus- iness, in order to learn how much information may be given and received within the compass of ten words. ON HABITS AND MANNERS Sj It is, both in society and in business, your duty to an- swer letters fully and promptly, reading them carefully and making full acknowledgment of their contents. In writing, as in talking to friends, you can of course allow yourself much more liberty, but at the same time must always obey the rules which have been given in respect to dates, addresses, etc., and must be careful to keep your lines straight, your paper clean, and your whole letter, from the date at the beginning to the stamp on the envelope, neat and accurate. You will find, moreover, as you begin to attempt letter writing, that you can never learn to write correctly or com- pose easily, except by constant practice, and whether or no you get such practice will depend mainly upon your own conscientiousness and energy. Paper, pens and ink, are within the reach of almost all of you, and if you will make a point of using them carefully and frequently you will find that the bugbears of letter writing will soon disappear, and that which to many of you is now a task, will not only become a pleasure to yourselves but will enable you to give pleasure to others. 88 ON HABITS AND MANNERS CHAPTER XIV. MINOR MORALS. The Christian law is, as I have said before, so closely interwoven with the whole fabric of modern civilization that many of our daily habits, and much of our social life, may be said to come properly under the head of minor morals. That is, there are many forms which people of refinement observe in their intercourse with each other, which are not only matters of etiquette, but also come under the jurisdic- tion of the moral law, and are of more importance, both to individuals and to society, than any mere ceremonies can be. It is, of course, often very difficult to decide just when and how oar habits or our manners cease to be "right" and " wrong,/" and begin to be merely "proper'' and "improper," and I think it is quite certain that we have all of us much to learn in respect to that morality which is the foundation of society. Therefore I hope that you will be glad to study a little for yourselves, and to gain a clearer comprehension of the value of truth and honor and honesty and purity in the details of life, even when those details are, as is often the case, of the homeliest and roughest description.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Letters to strangers should not be written familiarly, although the ordinary formula is retained at the beginning. "Dear Sir," or "Dear Madam," "Dear Mr., Mrs., or Miss," are always correct, while you may sign yourself, "Respectfully," or "Very respectfully yours," "Truly," or "Very truly yours," "Faithfully yours," "Sincerely yours," or by a variety of forms. In using postal cards you should remember that you are at the mercy of the public, so to speak, and should therefore write nothing that you are unwilling all the world should read. Telegrams should be as concise as possible, the ordinary forms of address and signature being omitted, and merely the name and telegraphic address given. It is good practice to occasionally write telegrams upon imaginary business, in order to learn how much information may be given and received within the compass of ten words. It is, both in society and in business, your duty to answer letters fully and promptly, reading them carefully and making full acknowledgment of their contents. In writing, as in talking to friends, you can of course allow yourself much more liberty, but at the same time must always obey the rules which have been given in respect to dates, addresses, etc., and must be careful to keep your lines straight, your paper clean, and your whole letter, from the date at the beginning to the stamp on the envelope, neat and accurate. You will find, moreover, as you begin to attempt letter writing, that you can never learn to write correctly or compose easily, except by constant practice, and whether or no you get such practice will depend mainly upon your own conscientiousness and energy. Paper, pens and ink, are within the reach of almost all of you, and if you will make a point of using them carefully and frequently you will find that the bugbears of letter writing will soon disappear, and that which to many of you is now a task, will not only become a pleasure to yourselves but will enable you to give pleasure to others. CHAPTER XIV. MINOR MORALS. The Christian law is, as I have said before, so closely interwoven with the whole fabric of modern civilization that many of our daily habits, and much of our social life, may be said to come properly under the head of minor morals. That is, there are many forms which people of refinement observe in their intercourse with each other, which are not only matters of etiquette, but also come under the jurisdiction of the moral law, and are of more importance, both to individuals and to society, than any mere ceremonies can be. It is, of course, often very difficult to decide just when and how oar habits or our manners cease to be "right" and " wrong,/" and begin to be merely "proper'' and "improper," and I think it is quite certain that we have all of us much to learn in respect to that morality which is the foundation of society. Therefore I hope that you will be glad to study a little for yourselves, and to gain a clearer comprehension of the value of truth and honor and honesty and purity in the details of life, even when those details are, as is often the case, of the homeliest and roughest description.

On habits and manners