r
r

HAND-BOOKS Ji'UR HO.llfE IJIIPROVEJJ1ENT.-No. 1 ..

IIO

../

~v

TO vVRITE:

A POCKET l\1ANUAL
OF

C!tnnt~nsitinn

\

anh Jetter-OOtriting;
EM BR ACING

llIN'N ON PK!'\)IA~RJIIP A:iD '.HIE C HOICE OF 'VHtTI !liG MATl~ nL\LS ; PRACTfCAJ·
Jt ULF..8 FOR

,.

LlTEH.AHY

NF.WSPAPRlt

·nll-.l•: CTIONS

COMPOSI'l'IQN

\\pltITlNG
}~OH.

'W RITING

rnrF.NDSHlP, ANil

LOVF~ ,

I~

ca:S"EHAL,

l'fl OOF - C() H.J~J.;(;TlNO

ANI>

1.1.!:TTERS

()F

ASD

JN

F.P TSTOLARY

l'AHTJC U L\Tt;

Ill l~ I NF.~5,

ANI'

A!'D

REL :lTION S HtP,

JLT. USTRATE D ll\ KtDtEHOUS EXA'.\TPLES

OF GENUINE EPISTLES, FROM TUE Pf:Ns 01'

nm

BEST WRITERS .

TO WIIICll ARE ADDED

FOirns FOR LET11ERS OP INTRODUCTION, NOTES, CARDS,
ETO., AND A

<!J:ollectfon of '.fj)oetfcal <!ll.uotntrons.

1'bose who began to write themecl ves men, but thought It no shame to leRrn.-l'ell.

N t l1l Yo t' lt :
FOvVLER AND \VELLS , PUBLISHERS,
No. 308 BROADWAY.
LONDON: WILLIAM IIoRSELL,

l
H2 Washington-st. f
nos ToN:

1857.

402 Oxfor<l StreeL

Pun.A DEI.PrrtA:
{ No. 2:H Arch·slreet.

- --

- --··.
\

"\

\,

r n E li1
•NT l!:R.E D , ACCO!tD!NO TO ACT OF CO NGRESS, IN TBi!! YXAR

1856,

BY

FOWLEH A.ND WELLS,
(11'

THE

CLERK'S

OFFI C E

OF

TB E

DIST!tlC1'

COO HT

OF

TD E

6l'ATKS FOlt THE S OOTBE!t N DISTEtl C T OF NEW YOHK: .

D.ATU'.R A ~•D 110111rnTs,

Stercotypera,
!Ol 'Vil!lam Street, New York.

UNIT.B:D

A

cE.

ETTER \.VRITERS," comprising merely
collections of formal, vapid, and puerile
epistles, made to measure and intended to
be copied or imitated, are, perhaps, ·well
enough in their place; but they are snfficiently numerous, and we have not been
ambitious to add to their unmber. Onr aim, in
preparing this little book, has been a higher one.
vYe have endeavored to keep in view the wants of
a class of young people, of both sexes, who are not
satisfied with such helps-who do not desire to be
saved from the necessity of study and thought;
bnt who will be grateful for a little guidance in
their studies, and for such instructions as will aid
them in thinking for themselves and in giving their
thoughts expression.

If our success, in this en-

I

\
(
IV

PREF.ACE.

deavor, has been eqnal to the good-will with which
we have labored, we are satisfied.

C 0 N T ENT S.

"\Ve claim little on the score of originality, having aimed at usefulness rather than novelty; but
\\·hat we have borrowed from others has, in most
cases, been re-written, and so modified as to preclude formal credit.
We are, however, happy
to acknowledge our indebtedness, for valuable
thoughts and hints, to J ardine's "Principles of
English Composition," N cwrnan's "Rhetoric,"
Fowler's "English Grammar," Parker's "Aids to
English Compo sition," "J,etter Writing Simplified," \Vilson's "Treatise on Punctuation," Mrs.
Hale's "Dictionary of Poetical Quotations," "The
Treasnry of Knowledge," and various other works.
"\Vi th the hope that it may prove useful to those
for whose benefit it has been prepared, and meet
with the measure of success it may deserve, the
work is now, without further words, submitted to
the public.

!.-WRITING MATERIALS.
'fhe Stationery of the Ancients-Facts about Pap er- Choice of Mate rial~Pap er Ennilopes-Pens-Ink-S ealing-Wax, e tc.. . . ......... ... ... . Pago T

IL-PENMANSHIP AND POSITION.
Yarinu~

Meth odR-TTanrl-wrilin g-How to Impro ve - Anecd ote of Horn er~ Gr<'r.>·
lcy- l'o3ition in "''{riting: the Ri ght and the Wron g Illustrated - Habits. l 2

JII.-LITERARY COi\'IPOS!'l'ION IN GENERAL.
Id eas taken for Granted- Words-Word-Making-Ru les for Spelling- Cnpitnl
L ct.tcrs - Iiul es for th e Use of Capi tal L etters - Choice of Words - An glo-Saxon
- Sentenccs- Cl carn ess-S tre11gth-U11ity-1Iarn10n y-I'aragrnph s- Meth od
-l'unctuat.i on-Rnles of Punctnntion - 1\Iisccllan co us llints - Naturnln cssJ,ong Sentences-Tautology-Adjectives - Figures of Speech- Fi gures of
Arithmetic - Contractions-Reading-Last, but not L east, Practice .. . ... 1G

IV.--EPISTOLAilY WRITING.
A Qu esti on-Matter and l\fannor - Talkin g on Paper- Vul gari sms-First
Thoughts- L etters of Women- Individuality-Cheerfuln ess - Forms of Letters- Date-Complimentary Address- F olding-S up erscription-SealingEtiquette of L etter-Writing -Titles, and h ow to apply them. . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

v.-BUSINESS LETTimS.
Style- Answering Business Letters- F olding and Filing-Copying-Ord cr~­
Orders for Books- Ord ers for N ewspapers :md Mn gnzlnes- Ord crs for Mcreh:mdise-Co nsignm e nts -Acco unt.s -Askin~ a Favor: how to do it- Business Introduction - Letter of Credit- R ecommendation - Answer to an
Advertisement-Requesting 11 Loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

VI.-F AMILY LETTERS .
.A.way from Home - To the Absent-Style of Family Letters-Examples- Lord
Collingwood to bis Daughter on Lef.ter-Writin g- Lord Chesterfi eld to his Bon
-What to Write About-John Tiandolph to his Neph ew- Corrections - Hint.,
on Composition-Herb ert to his Moth er-A Home Picture-G Ion C. Haven to
his Son - Good Counsel-Josephin e to Ilortens e-II enry Bartlett to his
Moth er - Mrs. Bartl ett to her Bon-Mary Ilart.lett to h er Brother-Honorabl e
"'Villiam Wirt to bis Daughter- Matilda Dawson to her Father-Honorable
William Wirt to his Wife-Condolence- Sir Thomas Munro to his Wife Ileauty of Childhood-Margaret Fuller to h er Sister-Sir Humphrey Davy to
his Mother-Love and Duty-Dr. Franklin to bis Wife-Margaret Fuller's
Last Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Vl

CONT EN TS.

VII. -LE'rTEll S OF FllIENDSIIlP.
Bcnt.imcnt, and St.y\c-Ji:xa mplcs-Dr. J ohnson t.o Mrs. Thrnlc - Olc\ Fri..-nds
tlic Best-" J,. R L." to Murie-A Female :r..ob inso n Crusoe-Afri can Const
Scenery-Robert Burns to :Mrs. D unl op- Th e l'oeL's Situation and l'rosp ec l~
- Alb ert Parkes to l1 is T eacher-Ernest Singleman to a F ri end - An Id ea l
W oman D esc ribed - Mabel lo Ellen- Lord Byron to the Countess of* * * *
-IIonornhl e William Wirt to Judge Curr . .... . . ... .. . . .... .. ....... . .. . !JO

JIOvV TO vV RITE.

VIII .-LOVE LETTERS.
Th e H eart nn<l lh e P en -Moral Conrn ge-" A Faintltenrt,'' etc.-J,et th e H eart
f3prnk - l!ohcrt Burns lo " Clarin 11a"-" Clarinda" lo Robert Ilnrns - l\ li•s
Ca rp enter lo Sir 'Walter Scott-Sir Hi chard Steele to Mi ssSeurl ock-- Lol'c nn•l
B11sin css- Jfo11ry J!ossw cll to Fanny Jfnrl.l cy- A Sad J,esso n- S ho11 l1l JI 11 .~­
band nnd Wife be of th e same Agc? - U neq unl Match es-A di rect Q11C•• lion
-]<n 1rn y Hartl ey lo Jl enry Ross wcll- H cart. 8t111ly-Confrssion-Napol con
to J osrphi11 e - C11pid nnd Mars-:Edgar t.o Winnifred - Influ ence of LoveIlcttina Brentano to Goeth e- Loui s to Nelly- Marriage- Rev. John Newto n
to his Wife- Bertran<\ to Mildrcd-Declnrntion of L ove-J\[il<lrcd to Bcrlrnn 1\
- Acceptance-Ell en Travis to James Carson - Addresses D eclined .. .. . 1"6

I.
WRITING nIATERIAl1S.
'V!th

r\

good pen nnd hlack Ink , wrft c do wn ror m1, on cl ea r whit e pape r, yo ur beet thought.

and m os t "rolnriblc

fo c t ~.- 1'he

l-1.lil1J r.

1.-'l'HE STATIONERY OF TIIE ANCIENTS.

IX.-LETTEllS OF INTJlODUC'l'ION.
W ord s of C:111 lion - Etiq11 etl e of Intro<luction-Exurnpl cs-J ohn r. Cnrran to
Mr. P<'rry- 1\Ir. Jinrl.wcll to l\fr. ·w cntworlh-Ilonornble J ohn Rand olph to
T . D. Dudley-Mr. H end erson to Mr. Clift .. .. . ..... . .... .. .. .. ... . . ... 126

.rrr---._JJ

HE e arli es t atte mpts of m e n to pr ese rve th eir
kn ow leJge and ha nd do wn to pos te ri ty a hi s tory
of th e ir tim es, may morn prop e rly be called cn-

X. -NOTES AND CARDS.

rrravirw
th a n writincr,
as tlie m aterials e mploy e d
b
0

R emnrk s - Examples - Invitutions- Congratulations-Thanks- Ackn ow\e<l gm ent of n Cnll -Card s . . . ....... . .. . ............. . . .... ... . ....... . .... 12!1

b

w e re pillars and tabl es of ston e, an<l pla.tes of

XI.-MISCELLANEOU.3 LETTEHS.

the so fter m etals .

R emn.rks-J,arly J\fnry W ortley l\font.n~ne to a Vricnd-A Turkish LoYc-J,ctler
- T en Lnngunges Spok en in One Family- Dr. I<ranklin to Mrs. Thnmns- A
Rebelli on ? or only a R evolution ?-J<~nnui, Cause nnd Curc - Il cUina l:lrcn·
tnn o to Goethe's l\foth er- Trnv clin g in Male Atti rc-Skepin g Ont-Doorsl\(argn ret Full er to h er Brother - Mrs. Chil e! ton Frie n1l-Nc w Year's Dny in
New York- Josephin e to Madame Cam pan - E . J . toM. E. r. - H ow to Ge t
the Dy8pcpsln, nnd how t.o Cure it- Mnrm onl.c\ to the Dnke de Choiscul-M.
De La Uruy erc to the Count de Bussi-Dr. Franklin to l\fr. Strahan . .... 133

In some countri es, pi eces of

wooJ , cove r e d with a thin coati ng of wax, were afte rward used, an<l the lette rs forrncll by me ans ot" a bo<lkin
of iron , calle J a stylus.

Parchments , pre pared from the

skins of animals, succeede<l, and are s till use <l for some
purposes, on account of th e ir gr eat durnbilit.y .

XII.-WRITING FOll THE PRESS.
Th ought anrl Style-Use and Abuse of Ncwspnpcrs-Short Articles-P acking
One's T hnughts-Corrccling and Copyin g-Hnnd-writing-General Ilintsl' roo l~Ucading - S p cci m c n Proof-Sh eets . ... . . . ..... ... . . . .. . .. .. . .... . 148

U.-FACTS ABOUT PAPER.

Paper, the most convenient of all m ate rials yet discovxm.-POETICAL QUOTATIONS.
Blushing· - A m'ction - Jl r nut.y- Fid elity- Wife-Ch ildb ood-Constnncy-A hse nce-R igotry- Birlh-B revil.y-The Co'}uettc-Courage-Courlship-Cnstom-Dreams-Evenlng-Love .......• ... .. . ....... . .......... ... . ... . 154

ereJ, was fir st made about five hundred years ago.

I

It

takes its name from the papyrus, a r ee d-lik e plant founc.i

8

How

TO

-WRITE.

vVnITING

9

M ATEU I A LS.

rn Egypt, from wl1i ch it was manufacture d by th e ancients .

l. P upcr.

A g r eat variety of mate rial s h a ve since bee n use d in its
fabri catio n.

It h as bee n mad e of the inte rior b a rk or

C hoose paper of a smooth and somewhat glossy sur-

tre es , of the bamboo, of as bes tos, of cotton a nd lin e n

face.

rngs, of straw, of \'ari ous g rasses , of th e lrn s k s of lmlian

e n tir e ly unfit to be written upon .

co rn, a nd ma ny oth e r sub s tan ces.

The m ate rial mos t

Hough anc.l spongy pap er should be a voided, as

In writing for the press, foolscap is generally u se d,
though, when yo ur a rti cle is short, and is to be sent by

cxte r1 s i1' ely employ ed at. p rese nt is cotto n rags.

The b1 :st pap e r i n our m arkets h as th e sta lllp of

mail, le tte r pap e r will be found. mo re convenient.

Some

Europ e an m a nufa cture upon it., thou gh th e a rlicl e thus

writ e rs procu re p ape r ruled les s c losely than ustrnl, to

lab clc 1l is , i11 m :rn .y cases, made in this countrv.
,,

allow 111ore ro om for inte rlincatiun s .

Some

Oth e rs 1nitc ollly

\V e prefer to lea1·c a broad 111:irgin

Am e ri can pap e r is in n o way in fe rior to th e best Engli s h

on alLcrnal.e lin es .

and Fnrneh fabrics; bn t br can se th e forcirrn
ariick h :l( !
0

on th e le ft-h an d s id e of ou r s h eet, on whi ch to note our

acquired a r ep utation a mong us before ours had r eac hed

co rrcct.1on s an1l alt.i: ral.ions.

its prese nt pe rfect ion , some o f o ur m;i,nufo. cturnrs have

For letters, use the best whi te lette r paper, e ither rul erl

If yo u can wri te straightly, eve n ly , a nd u11i-

r eso rt ed to fal s e lab els in onl cr to meet the dcmanrls of

or plain.

those fa st idiou s people fur 1rh um hom e-made things arc

forrnly, without lin es , the u11rul cd is bes t.

n eve r goo d e no ugh.

choose p a pe r made fur Llie purpose, and of the finest qual-

Th e nam e is e 1·ery thin g with

th e m, and the word "London'' or "P a ri s," on tbc corner

itv.

of th e sheet, ca uses the pen

dered pap e r of any ki11d , J(1r o rd in:uy purpPses.

to run

smoothly over

For notrs,

Ne1·cr mak e us e of g ilt-edged , e mbo ssed, or bor-

lt is desirable, as a matt er of convenience as well as

pap e r marle, p erhap~, ;it Dalston or I ,Pe.

economy, to buy paper by th e rC'am; hut in case you do
so, be c a reful tu try a sample before pur chas in g.

lll.-CUOICE OF MATERIALS.

The se le c tion of your writing materials is a matte r of
some importance.

Th ese, wheth er of Am e rican or of

2. Envelopes.
Env e lopes should be purchase d with your letter p aper,

foreign manufactur e, shouhl always be of the best quality.

and of corresponding size.

It is g e n e rally poor economy to us e infe rior articl es ,

and of a smooth surface, exce pt for bu sin es s purpos es-

b ecause they can be pro c ure <l at a lower pric e.

They should be pl a in, white,

Th e

in which cas e, brown or buff-colore<l on es are ap propriate .

diffe r e nc e in real value is almost always greater than tho

For inclosing manuscript to be sent to publi sh er s, enve-

diffe rence in cost.

lopes of a large r and stronger kind m ay be procured. .
l ,,,

I
I

- - - - -.. . . .
·· ~ -

-·--A----·-- · tf~~

II 0 w

10

. . . . ..-.. .

T 0

·~--..·~

WRITING

\V H I T E •

11

MATERIALS.

a convenient vessel, and shake it well four or five tunes a
3. Pens.

day for ten or twelve days, after which it may be strained

In the matter of pens, we can hanlly give any direc·
tions beyond the general rule, already laid down in

off for use; though it will improve by remaining still longer
on the ingredients.

reference to other articles-use none but good ones.
5. Sealing Wax, Paper Cutters, etc.

Quill pens are now nearly obsolete; but there are still

If kept well
me nded, non e arc better. Many us e go ld pen s exclusively. \Ve prefer, all things considered, a good steel pen.

so me persons who will use no other.

Gentlemen or<linarily use red s ealing-wax ; blue, yellow, amber, flecked with gold, a nd other pretty varieties,
are used by the ladies, and sometimes in writing to them.
White is appropriated to wedding occasions, and black

4 . Ink.

is used for sealing letters of condolence, and notes an-

Use black ink-the best and blackest of black ink.

All

nouncing the death of a friend.

With the wax you want

other inks are entirely unfit to be us e d for ordinary pur-

a seal with an appropriate motto or device.

poses, an<l should be espec ially avoided in writing for the
press, as they are utter abominations in the ey es of

with self-sealing envelopes, or. a vial of prepared gum ,
you need use wax only where conside rable formality is

c.ditors, publishers, and pri11ters

required.

Many a goo<l newspa-

per article has gone und er the tabl e unread (and very

However,

Wafers are now seldom us.e el, and ought to be

properly, too), because written with diluted, faded, or

thrown aside altogether.
Always have a good paper-cutter at hand when writing.

mwldy ink, and half illegible.

The best ones are made of i''ory, plain, thin, and per-

Goo<l ink can generally be procured almost anywhere

fectly straight, except being rounded at the ends .

Paper

in the country, and few persons probably will care to

knives, made of horn and bone, are nearly useless ; and

manufacture it for themselves; still, as this may some-

those of mother-of-pearl, though very pretty, are scarcely

tim es be conveniently and economically done, we ap-

more valuable.

pend an
}fiilt llterfpe.

A good and durable black ink may be made by the
following directions : To one quart of water add three
ounces of the dark-colored, rough-skinned Aleppo galls,
coarsely powder ed, and of rasped logwood, green vitriol,
and gum -arabic, one ounce each.

Put this mixture into

\
I

How

12

TO

p

··WRITE.

EN M A N S II_! P

A ND

p0

SI T I 0 N•

13

It does not fall within the scope of this little book to
teach penmanship. We can only drop a hint or two.
If you write a cramped, irregular, and illcgihle hand,

II.

the sooner you set about reforming it the better.

Go to

some good teacher of penmanship, if one can be found in

PENDIANSHIP AND POSITION.

your neighborhood, and take a few lessons, with the strong

Scripts m :met-\Vrltlug endures.

resolution to improve ; but if no teacher is at hand, never
I.-YARIOUS METHODS OF WRITING.

mind: set about the task without one.

/,,,__ ·~HE Hebrews, Arabians, and Assyrians wrote
from right to left.

The Phcenicians wrote at one

time from right to left, then from left to right,

w

v

alternately.

The Greeks at first adopted the

same method, but afterward, finding it more

convenient to write from left to right, this became afterward their practice; in which they have been
followed by all European nations.

The Chinese and

Japanese write per.pendicularly, from top to bottom.
II.-HAND-WRITING.

Form

your letters clearly, distinctly, symmetrically, and. with a
uniform slope or angle, and make your lines straight and
even; and your manuscript will look well and be easily
read. The more graceful the curves and the smoother
the lines, the better;

but these Inst qualities are not

essential.
Some great men write most villainous scrawls, but this
circumstance certainly does not add to their greatness ;
much less does it furnish an excuse for those who resemwntrng.

Horace Greeley, an uncommonly talented man,

use of his eyes and his right hand, can write whatever

all agree, writes an uncommonly execrable hand ; as the

hand he pleases."

following a.necdote will show :
The editor of the Chambersburg (Pa.) Repository and

This is hardly true.

Hand-writing

indicatei character, and corresponds with it; and, however
great our powers of imitation, must al ways possess more
or less strongly marked individual traits. It is no more
to be expected or desired tha.t we all shall write alike,

lYhig, having received a copy, in manuscript, of .an agricultural address delivered by Mr. Greeley, thus narrates

But it is

his experience with it:
"We immediately went to work to decipher the ten

true that every one, with the use of eyes and baud, may

pages before us, and with the aid of a magnifying-glass,

write well-write a free, regular, and graceful hand-

three dictionaries, several agricultural periodicals, a his-

than that we all shall look alike or act alike .

fi.

Try it and see.

ble them in nothing, except in the badness of their hand-

Lord Chesterfield says that "every man who has the

'Ir
'\1!

will vanish before resolute effort..

All <lifficnlties

write legibly, at all events.

14

IIow To "\VRITE.

PEN l\I AN S II I P

Ji. N D

p

0 S I TI 0 N •

15

tory of eminent agriculturists, a standard work on Chem-

crookeJ and ungraceful position so common among the

istry, another on Hydraulics, a large street committee,

"slaves of the desk," become permanently bent and round

several Know-Nothings, and our compositor on unintelli-

shoul<lered, and are particularly liable to diseases of the

gib le copy, we mastered the first three lines in the first

lu11gs.

Ba<l habits are easily acquired; so are goo<l

half day.

habits.

If you do not acquire the latter, you will the

We were happy within the first hour to ascer-

tain when we had the manuscript right side up-for it

It

form er. Which will you choose?
Sit erect; rest both arms equally on the desk or table;

is now in the hands of a competent committee, to decide
in what language it is written, and if it is ascertained that
it is neither Hebrew nor Greek, we must infer that it was

lay your paper on your open portfolio or on the table,
slightly to the right, and at right angles with the side at
which you sit; dip your pen carefully, so as to make no

inten<le<l for English, and shall proceed to decipher it."

slovenly blots; carry your hand steadily and firmly, but
as lightly as may be, and you will gire clear, beautiful,

looks about as much like writing one way as another.

III.-POSITION IN WRITING.

happy thoughts, if you have them, a fitting chirographic
exp ression.

Look at the foregoing cut.

It tells the story

far more satisfactorily than our written words.

A bad position in writing is as destructive to beauty of
form , as it is to health

Persons who write much in the

Hi

How

TO

\V RI TE.

LIT

\'c nture

to

]':g

Al~ y

C

0 l\l I' <l

claim perfection

111

i)

IT I 0 N" .

this

Tli erE; is always something tu lea rn.

17

accomplishnwnl .

If we

were at

lib -

erty to adopt and apply, at once, the p11onetic sys!cm, in

III.

which e very simple single sound is represented by a

LI'rERARY COMPOSITION IN GENEJtAI1.

simple single sign, spelling would be no longe r difficult.

Tho voice HIC'B from ti
.
11
-11 I It
ie ps to mrngte wllh the winds, to he Jost without nn echo to the
'
"
i (' l
conveyed . 'Yrlltl!n d ow 11 1 It mf\y co utlnue eo11n1tl11 g ou, ns from n. tnan >et

thou gl1t

tongu e, throu g h nll lim e Mflt!Aklng sllll lo t'
I
'
.io co mmon h eart or rnn.n like Homer or lo the con

11 c Icn cc llk c l'nul. - n~.

c.

l"cm·la.

'

•

This is the true system, and will in due time be unircrcan in the old way, for bad spelling is rightly considered
a great Llemish in a pie ce of writing.

I.- IDEAS.

l

~{h E

~J~[ ~~' ho. sktll look into this .li~tl e book for instruc~
~ t1011 111 the art of compos1t10n, has thouolits and

\'-ft. J;);"'"D',
<.~ )"UY

~

. .
0
fe e lmgs to express, facts to state, arguments to

advance, ,r,easons to urge-in a word, something

to say.

1 o those who have not, our teachings

will Le of Ho use.
nothing.

If you have nothing to say, say

We can not furnish ideas.

We aspire simply

to aitl the. young writer in molding into available shape,
and clotlung rn fittirw
1 dy
o Ianauage
o
, those he m ay area
possess.
II.-WORDS.

1. Spelling.
.Spelling is word-making.

II erc arc some

bri e f Lut co mpreh e nsive rul es, which the young \Hiter

will presume that every young man or woman

You learned something of

will do well to commit. to me mory.
1~ nils

for .,SpcllfnlJ.

1. \Vords of one syllable ending in/, l, or s, preceded by a single vowel,
double the final consonant; ns, staff, mill, pass ; excl'pt if, of, a -''> (In s, ha.9,
teas, yeR, i s, hiR, this, 118, thus.
2. Words ending in nny other comonant ex.cept/, l, nrnl .s, do not douhle tliri
final Jette r; except add, odd, e.ub , e(!(], inn, err, p1trr, unit, lm.?z, nm\ some
prop er nnrn es.
3. 'Vords of one syllnblc, und wonl a accented on the Inst syllnble, wh en they
ellll with a single consonant., preceded by a single vowel, doubl e the final co11sona nt before nn ndditionnl syllnbl e beginning with n vowel; ns 1·011, 1·ob/J e,.;
v e1·111it, p erm.itt-in(J; but ro finnl, bein g equivnlent to k s, is nn exception, aml is
n ever doubled.
4. A finnl consonant, wh en not preceded by a si ngle vow(•.!, or wh en the accent is not on the Inst syllabic, shou ld remain single b efore nn r..dditi onnl syllable; as toif., toiUn(J; visit, visited. L nnd 8 nrc often doubled, in violation of
thi s rul e, when the nccent is not on the last syllable; ns travel, t,.avelle1·; bins,

Dut there are more than a hundre d thou.

uio s.%d. It is better to write tl'((Vele1· nntl bia8ed.
5. Primitive words ending in ll reje ct one l before le.~8 :mil ly; as skill,
.~.(· illes8 ; .full, .fully: but words endin g in any other double letter, prese rve it

sanJ words in the English language, anJ vou can nclt

double before these terminations; as fi·ee, freely; ca.reless, mrelessness; odd,

reasonably be expected to know the orthogra.phy of th e m

oddly.
6. The final e of a prlmilive word is generally omitted before an additional
termination beginning with a vowel; as rate, ratable; force, forcible: but

tl11s long ago, from the spelling-book.
good speller.

all.

Perhaps you are a

No man or woman, h owc r e r well etluco.ted, will

I'

sally r ece ived; meanwhile, we must spell as well as wc
f

I

!1
i

I
l

I
I

!i
l

I

/

JI·
lrl

•!.

18

How

To

\V1nTIL

L1TERAn.Y

19

Oo111POSITION.

word s e nding in ce and (le re tain the e before aUe and ous ,· as p eace, pea,·l'Jo
o/Jle ; o •ttra (fe , outN1ge011s.

:Eulcs for tbe

7. 'rhe final e of a primitive word is generall y r etain ed before nn rnl rlilional
termination beginning with a consonant; as pale, palene88: but wh en th e e is
pre ceded by a vow el it is someti mes omi tted; ns t1·110, trnly : nnrl somcl.imcs
rct:iin crl ; as shoe, 8hoeless.

~lse

of @:11pftal 11.ettn:.t;.

1. Tho first word of every distinct sentence must begin with a capital IC'tter.
2. All proper names and titl es of otlico or h onor, and nil app ellations of Deity
mu st begin with cap ital letters ; as J<.lm. es, Judg e I 'arker, the Snpl'eme B ein (!.
3. Adjectives derived from prop er names must begin with enpit:tl letters ; ns

8. The fin al y of a primitive word, wh en preceded by n conson nnt., is changer!
inf o i before an additional t.crmination; as me1-ry, merrily : but hcfore a Yowel
1110 !f is not chan ged ; as 1Jalley, va!J.eys, and not vallics, as frequ ently written;
and before ing the y is r etained to preYent the dou!Jling of the i; ns vity,

G1 ·cci an, Roma n, Newtonian.

4. The n ames of the m onths and of th e days of th e week must beg in w ith
cap ital letters.
o. The prin cipal words in the titles of books, magazin es, and n e w Rpap e r~
mu st begin with ca pital letters ; as Co1n/i e'B Constitntion rif Na n , P ittnmn's
Jlfo nt!dy J/11 (/ U.,ine, Dfe llln8truted.
tl. Th e flr sf. word of an e xample, a direct quotation, or a <1 istin ct speech must
begin with a capitul letter; as, Emerso n says : "The 111.id-worlcl is vest."
7. Th e name of an objec t p crsonlfl l'.d, and con vey ing a strictly indivi dual
Irle:•., ·sh ould begin with a capital letter; as,

pityi11 (f.
!J. Compounds gen erally refa in the orth ography of the simpl e words of whi ch
they are composed; as all-wise, blue-eyed.

You may make these rul es good ltclp s ; but the orthography of the E ngli sh language is attended with so
much unc e rta inty and perpl exity, that no rul es , how ever
carefully framed an d well studi ed, will enabl e y ou to dis-

8. EYery line in poetry mu st beg in with a capit.al letter.
9. Th e word s I and 0 must alwnys be capital letters.
10. Other words of particular importance, anti sucll as denote the principal
e11bjeet of di scourse, may begin wi th capital letters.

p e nse with observation, re ading ( which fam ii iariz es one
with the f orms of word s ), and fr eque nt · re fe rence to t.hc
diction a ry, whi c h should always li e at your e lbow whil e
writing.

3. Choice of

\V ebste r's "Am e rican Dictionary of th e En gli sh

Language," unabridged edition, is the bes t; but if this is

·w ards .

Use simple, famili ar Anglo-S axon words,

111

prefe renc e

beyond your means, a smaller and cheape r on e will serve

to those of Latin and French origin.

your purpose .

fin er and more hi gh-sounding, but the former are stron ge r

But have it always at hand, and apply to

it in all doubtful cases.

I

2 . Capital L ett ers.
The misuse of capital letters is almost as great a
blemish in written or printed words as barl spelling.
Fortunately, the rul es for . th e ir proper use are few and
plain, and may be easily remembered.

To leave our

readers no excuse on this point, we insert the m here :

I
'

r

I

The latter may seem

and more expressive, and yon will be able to set forth
more cle arly in th e m wh:1t you have to say.

If your

th ought is a g reat one, simpl e words will well befit it;
and if it is trifling or commonplace, your grand phnses
will only make it seem ridi culous.

Father, mother, broth-

er, sister, home, happiness, haaven; sun, moon, stars, hg ht,
heat; to sit, to stand, to go, to run, to staggf!r, are AngloSaxon wor<l.s ; as are most of thos e used to express ha~

~-~~~~
.,.....,~ ~!~

-.

~ .

'

;,r::~:l·

,,,..

-~

.,,..

~·~~

-"\,.-•• _ts;;er.-~•-.:..~

.

•••

~

. ~~ µ~

•

~·-

'"" ..

r.-' ..~t-~·r

.. ,,. .. '1

~-~ --~- · --

-

.,,_;:,,,::;-~~----~

-

20

H

0

w

T0

\V l~ I T E .

LrT EI?.AR Y

m consi s ts th e differ e nce?

and dea r to us.

tlie way tltey put their words together !

\:Ve may say in Latin-English, "Felicity

Mu ch of it. plainly, li es

And ma rk th e

an;Jrd to purchase th em, and have tim e for th eir study ,

W e recommend tu th ose who can

move ment of' tb e followin g lin es from Byron's" Dt..:struc-

" Goold Brown's

ti on of Scn11acl1erib,'' in which ne arly all th e wonls a re
A 11glo- Sa xon :

"Parker's Aicl s to English Composition,''" Karn es' El e-

Gra mm a r," " Newman's

Rh etoric,"

ments of C riticism,'' and last but not leas t in real us efulness, " How to Talk : A Pock et Manual of Conversa-

!··i

n amed will come within the reach of all, and its cone mbraces only bri e f rules and hints, but th ese will, we
trust, be found useful.

unl ess absolut ely n ecessary, and, above all, low expresA man is known almost as well by
Choose

Th e first rc'}ui s ite of a good sentence 1s clearness.
Aim, th e n, fir s t of all, to pu t your w ords together so that
th ey may truly represent your i<l ea, and nothin g mor e .
Make yourself und ers toocl, if you do nothing else ; and
let there be no vagu eness about your state ments .

III.-SENTENCES.

vVords ri ghtly arran ge d, form phrases, claus es , and

It is im-

porLrnt to know how to arrange them ri ghtly.

The

a country ne wspap er us es

m a inly the same noun s, adj ectives, verbs, and connectives of which are composed the charming sketches of
Irving and Ik Marvel.

Our plan in this book

1. Clearness.

Avoid equivoc al and ambiguous words, te chnical terms,

for

'l

The last

but th e Anglo-Saxon should furnish the staple of our common writin g and talk.

awkwardest sc ribbl er

'i

'!l

of "Hand Books for Home Improve ment."
tents can be eas ily ma s tered.

se nte nc es , and beco me th e vehicle of thou ght.

I

ii,j

course have th e ir place and use, a nd can not be le ft out,

th e words h e uses as by th e company he kee ps.
both from among th e best.

,il

tion and D ebate," which will follow this in the s eri es

Th e French and L atin cleme nts of our lan gua ge oi

sions or vul ga ri s ms.

-

Sentence-making is taught in works on grammar, rh etoric, and composition.

1''or th e Angel of Death spread his wings on the bl ast,
And brea th ed in the fa ce of the foe as be passed ; ·
And the eyes of th e sleep ers waxed deadly and chill,
And th eir h earts bent but once, and forever Jay still.

--

in

atte mls virtu e ," but" Well-being aris es from well <luin g"Saxon-En glish, is a far bette r wording of th e sa me i<l ea.
strength, express ive ness, and maj estic

-

21

CoMPOSIT I ON .

bitu al action s a nd desig nate persons and objects familiar

--

-

How different the r esult ! Where•

Every

sentence should not only convey a meaning, but a dis-

tinct and definite meaning.

You may fail in this point, •

either throu gh a bad choice of words or a wrong arrangem ent of them

De careful, then, to s elec t w ords which,

used in th eir proper sense, will express exactly th e id e a
you intencl ; and not to use the same word in different
senses in the same conn ection.

1·
I

ii

+

t

I

t
I

.£2

II 0 w

T 0

\.V

H,

LITERARY Co:MPOSITION .

I TE .

to l e ss e n the for c e of their com1wsition.

In reference to arrangement, the goo<l Dr. Blair has the

23

The followin g

following capital rule , of which you can make yourself

rnl e s, judiciously applied, will enabl0'- yQ!:!_ to avoid most

master in thre e minutes, and which will be of service to

of them :

you as lo11g as you live an<l write English:

J111lcs of Qtonstrurtfon.

Ruu~ .--Words and members of a sentence, closely

related to each other, shoul<l be place<l as near each other
as possible, that their mutual r<?lation may clearly appear.
This rul e is frequently violated, particularly in the use

uf pronouns and adverbs, which are prone to get astray in
badly mariage<l sentences; but which are never misplaced
without involvi11g the idea intend e d to be conveyed in
more or

less obscurity.

See " How

to

Talk," and

" Park e r's A ids,'' for illwstrations.

2. Strength.

i
!

iI
I

It is not

vVe wish to make an

inipre ss ion--to infiuence-to move the reader.

So we

mu s t make our sente nces not only clear, but strong.
To make a strong wagon, the wheelwright takes har<l,

3. A n; id th e separati o n of th e p rep os ition fru1n til e 11uu11 wl.i e l1 it gov e rn s.

4. Avoi1l condn<ling your se.ntcncc with nn adve rb, pr c p o ~ili o n , or oth er
jw~ig-nifl c ant

fl.

~trike

word.

out nil words wl!ich add nothiug to th e sense.

The last rul e is by no m e ans th e lea s t 111 i1nporb11c e .
The young write r'::> s entence s , lik e youn g tree s , ge n e rally

l

ornam e nts uf styl e .

r

th e y a r c mere cxcr escc n ces and inc urn br;.in ce s , and s lrnu ld

I

N ext in importance to cl e arness is strength.
e nough that w e are uncl e rstoo<l.

I

I. I'lace th e prin cipal words it1 your se nten ce wh cro th ey will mako tho
m ost s triking impression.
2. NcYer allow a weaker a ssertion or arg ument to follow a stronger on e.

II
I

admit a good d eal of pruniug.

\Vonl s m e t-i ·ly a re no

If lh ey conv ey no de e is in; m ea nin g ,

be un s paringly cut off, in r e vi s ing, wl1 e rc ve r they l1ave
unfortunately been p e rlllitted to attach th e mselves.

3 . Unity.
A s e ntence, though, like the liurn<ln body, compos er! of

tough-Jibred timber and puts it together with firm, well-

parts h a ving distinct functions in tlt e gen e ra l econo1u y,

fitting mortise and tenon.

:,;houl<l, like the latte r, make upo11 the mind tlt e illlpre s -

In a like manner strong sen-

t e nc e s are made of strong words, strongly put together.
\Ve have saicl something of strong words, in speaking of

II

the An glo-Saxon element of our language.

\

A strong

To be stron g, a

s e nte nce mu s t be c lear, compa ct, and symm e trical.

Un-

pra c tic e d write rs fall into a variety of errors, which tend

Lack of unity arise s, often e r th<J.n othe rwi se , fr om
crowding toge ther, in a sentence, ideas so slightly connected that they admit being <lividcd into two or more

construction implies such an arrangement of words as will

ex lii1)it tlte sense to the best advantag e.

sion of a single object.

I'

I

I
l

senten c es.

Shun this fault, even :it the ri~;], of making

too many short sentenc e s; and us e as few pare nthetical
expressions as possible.

How

2-l:

TO

L

..WRITE.

4. llarmony.

I T E J{ A l~ y

0

'

0

J;I

l' ()

f)

25

I T I 0 1'i .

"parts;" but letters, s l1orl es say s , an<l ne wsp ::i. pcr and

Sense shoultl never be sacrificed to sound ; yet bar·

ma gazine articles, only occasi onally have these divisi ons

mony 1s by no mea11s an unimportant quality in literary

formally marked.

composition.

somewhat methodical divi s ion.

To promote it, avoid han;h-sounding words

and discordant combinations, blend as far as possible long

This book is an example of close an<l
\V e

h ave hop ecl, by

making the subj e ct of each chapter and s ection a distinct

and short syllables, and pay particular attention to the

head, to enable the rea<l er to readily find any rul e , direc-

closing cadence.

tion, or remark he may seek, without refe rence to an

vVhatever is easy to the organs of

i:;peech, is pleasant to the ear.

Such words as wrong-

ind e x.
VI.-- METIIOD

ltcadcdncss, unsucccssful11css, cursorily, summarily, pcnmp-

"Method overcomes all difficulties."

torincss, lwlil!J, sillil!J, lou;lily, should be aYoi<le<l.

Dut, wheth er formally state<l or not, every essay, cli:sIV.- PAI:AGRAPHS

course, story, letter, or other piece of writin g, of any con-

One or more sente nces form a paragraph.

Paragraphs

siderable length, has its natural divisions or heads-its

are not mere arbitrary divisions of a piece of wrilmg, as

distinct but related parts, a proper arrangement of which

some seem to suppose , but, like sentences, mark natural

is in the highest degree important.

pauses or breaks in the discourse.

Still, it is not easy to

construct clear, ::>trong, compact, harmonious se11tenc es

by down rules for forming them.

Some writers make

fewer and longer ones than others.

It is safer for the

young writer, as a ge neral rul e , to make them short.

Th e mere ability to

does not constitute one a goo<l writer .
Ha,·ing a subject-one about which you know somet!ting
of c'Ourse, the next thing is, to think it into sltape.

Until

A quotation of any con siderable lengtl1, when in the

you have acquired clear ideas, not only @f its parts taken

direct form, and following a colon, should be made a dis-

separately, but of their relation and consequent arrange-

tinct paragraph; as should each distinct speech in a dia-

ment, it is vain to expect to write clearly, or in any way

logue or colloquy.
The first line of e ach paragraph should begin about an
inch farth er from the left-hand margin of your paper than
the oth er Jines .

satisfactorily upon it.
vVe will suppose you are to write an article for a. newspaper.

You have several facts to state, or several argu-

ments to present.
V.-SECTIONS AND CHAPTERS.

Books and other long pieces of writing are generally
divided into sections and chapters, and sometimes into

Consider what these distinct points

are, and unless you are sure that you can retain them all,
in their proper order, in your memory, proceed to set them
<lown on a slip of paper, as they occur to you.
2

A single

26

IIow

TO

L

\VRITE.

I T r; I~ A R Y

0

0 111 I' 0 S I T I 0 N .

27

word will often be sufficient to indicate to your mind the
point for wliich it sta lld s .

VIT.-PUNCTUATION.

Now <l elenu iu e the 11alural or

log ica l order of the se divisions and number them accord-

Correct puncluali on, tl10ug l1 very rare, 1s very import-

in g ly, and yon hav e a plan, in outlin e , of your composition,

ant.

a11rl can set ..yomsrlf undrrstanrlinrrh·
ab nut writinrr
it.
b"'
0

cl0arly involves grnrnrnatical nrn r , as the falsr cnllnr:itinn

Jn plannmg or laying out your work, you will of course
exercise your own task and jurlgrncnt.
sity ex is ts in method as in style.

The same dircr-

Th e following ge n e ra l

direct ions may, howev e r, be profitably borne in mind:

1. Each di,·ision should h a ve a direct and obvious
bearing upon the general purpos e of th e pi ece .
~. Each

division should be ind e pe nd ent of all the

others, not including any thi11g in cluded in another.

The omission or misusfl of points, in writing, as

of won.ls docs; and as inevitably iuvohes the writer's
irle;1!-1 in ohscurity.

In punctuation, as rn spelling, th e re is som e div e rsity
in the practice of writers and printers .

Tlte following

rules have been condensed, with a few slight mo<lifi cations, from "W ilson's ex~ellent work on Engli s h Punctuation .*

We have endeavored to exemplify them in the

pointing of this bo6lc

3. All the di\•isions, taken toge th e r, should include the
whole subject-or the whole ide a of your pi e ce.

'vV c can hardly lay too much stress upon th e foregoing
dir ections .

Th e b es t facts and thou ghts fail to make

their prop e r impres s ion if pr esented in a jumbl e; a nd the
diflicult.y yo u will experience in p rese nting them will be
in proportion to &he confusion in which they exist in your
own mind.

Adopt the course we have indi cate d, and

you will be surprised at the ease and effecti11 eness with
which you will write.

N ext to a lack of id eas, want of

method is th e greatest difliculty with which the young
writer has to contencl.

11emember that

"Order is Heaven's first law;"

and that it makes all the diffe r e nce between chaos and a
beautiful creation.

l" ulcs of

~u 1tctuatfo1t.

1. T!te Comma. [,]
1. Two words, of the same part of ~ r cec h nn<l in the snmc construc.tion, if
used without a conj un ctio n between th em, arc separated from each other by a
comma; as," We arcfcrufully, iconderfully made."
2. In a seri es of words, all of the same part of 8p ccclt, a comma is inserted
between each particular and that which follows it; as," Industry, lw11c ~ty,
nm! temperance are esse ntial to happiness."
3. ·words and phrases in apposition, unl ess closely connected, shoul1l ~c n c r­
ally be separated from each other, and from what follows, by a comma; ns,
" 'l7ie t~cin sisters, l'iety oncl I'oetry, nre wont to dw ell together."
4. Contrasted words and phrases must be separated by commas; ns, "False
delicacy is o:ffectation, .not politeness."
5. No point is admissible between the subject or nominative aud the predicate; except in cases where perspicuity, or the intervention of some other rule
absolutely requires one.
6. A comma should be put befor e a relative clause, when it is cxplanaf,ory
• .A. 'Treati se on English Punctuation. By John Wilson. Boston: Crosby,
Nichols & Company. For snlc by Fowler & 'Velis, New York.

II o w

23

T

o \V lt. 1 ·r E .

LIT E RARY

Oo MPO S ITI O N.

2 !)

of the :rntece dent, or presents nn additional thought; as," Study nature, whoB•

another, th ey sh oulJ be separated by a sem icolon; ns, "Stone.s gro'w ; 'l:e']ekz·

lrtws and 7>Jie.11omenri a.r e. all d rqil?t fo f•r,.•fi11 (1. "

ble.s arow and li ve ; a" imals rvow, live, a ncl.f'eel."

1. PnrenU1etienl phrases and clauses should bo separated from tho context by

commas; as, "Ilooks, r e(Jard1•d me1·ely as a (J1·atijication, arc worth more
than nil th e luxuri es of carlh."
8. Expressi ons in direc t address are separated from tho rest of the sentence

4. A semicolon sh ould gen erally be placed bct1vccn two or more p nrl s or a
ecntcncc, when th csci parts, or any of th em, nre divid ed by commns into
emnll cr portions; as, " The n oblest prophets and apostl es hav e been chilJrcn
ohCO; lisping the speech, laughing the laugh, thinking the llt o n ~ h t, of

by commas ; as, ";Jfy siste-r, a brother's lo,•o is thine still."
9. Adj ectival, participial, adverbial, and absolute phrases must bo sr paratcd
from the rest of tho sentence by commas; as," Cradled in the camp, Nap oleon
was the darling of the army." " On the other han d, let not th e imai;inalion be

boyh ood."
5. .A scmic"lon is put b efore a .~. vi.~., namely, or that is, when t.b cy prrcr do
an cx nmpl e, or nn enu meration of p arti culars ; ns, "Many words ar c •J i!Ter cnlly
~p oll ed

in En glish; ns, inquire, enquire.

11n~rivcrna l" l e. "'

10. A tran sp nscc d or in ve r ted phra se sh oul cl bP. se t off by a comma fr om tho
r est of th e sen ten ce ; as, " Of alt our senaes, sight is the most p erfect and doli ghtful."
11. Two clanscs, on e depending on the other, are separated by a comma; as,

" Weal.th fa

0.(110

real use, 1111less it be well employed."

12. Two or more phrases or clanscs, in tho same construction, are separated
by commas from the rest of the sentence; as, "Re(Jret f or the past, (J ri ef at tl10
present, a nd mw:iety re.opeetin(J the future, arc plagues which affect the gen·
erality of men."
13. Wh ere a verb is understood, Its pince should generally be supplied by n
comma; ns, "A wise man seeks to shine in himself; a fo ol, [seeks] to outshine
others.
14. A short quotation, n ot in th e direct form, sh ould be separated by a
comma fr om the clause which precedes it; as, "There is much In !J10 proverb,

' Without pains, no (fains.'"

2 . Tlte Semicolon. [;]
1. When two clauses, the one p erfect in itself and tho other added as a
matter of inference, are united by f or, biit, and, or nn eqninlent word, th ey
aro separated by a semicolon; as, "Economy is no disgrace; f or it is better to
Jim on a little than to outlive a great d eal."
2. A seri es of expressions, having a common depend ence, if they are either
lai cl down ns distinct propositions, or are or a compound nature, should g cncrnlly be separated from each other by a semicolon; as, "Philosophers assert
that Nature is unlimited in h er operations; that she has inexhaustible treasures
In reserve; that knowledge will always be progressive; and that all future
generations will continue to make discoveries, of which we have not the
slightest Idea."
S. When several short sentences, slightly connected in sense, foll ow one

3. 'l'/i c Colon. [:]
1. Th e colnn ~honlcl be pu t nftn a clause whic h is complete in it •Plf. but is
follow ed without a conjunction, by some remarks, inference, or illustrati on;
11s, "Virtu e is too lovely nnd useful to be imm ersed in n cell: th e world is Il er

eph ere of action.
2 "Wh en a sentence consists of two m emb ers whi ch are united by a conjun c ·
tiotl or adv erb, nnd either of them is divided into clauses by semicol ons, n colon
sbo~ld be use d before tho conn ectin g word; as," As w e p erce iv e th e shntl ow
to hnve m oved along the dial, but did n ot sec it moving; nnd it npp cn rs th a t
the grass h ns grown , thou gh nobody ever saw it grow: so th e nrlntnces wo
mnkc in knowledge, as they consist of such minute steps, nre p erceivabl e onl y
by the distance."
3. A colon shonld be pla ced before a quotati on, a sp eech, a course of rcnsnnlng, or a ep cc ill cati on of parli cnlnrs, wh en formally introduced; ns, " Th e
words, Jlicrnlly tr:mslnted, wer e these : ' 77Le 1l'inds r·om·ed and the rains.fell,
when the p oor white m an, f aint and 1oeary, came and tat 1mder ow · tree."

4. The Period. [.]
1. When n sentence Is complete in itself, and is neither conn ected w ilh what
follows, n or of nn interrogatory or exclamatory nature, its terminati on is
marked with a period; ns, Truth is the basis of every virtu e.
2. A p eriod must be u sed after every abbreviated word; ns" Geo. .iJiarsh.,
Jlf.D.''

5. Interrogation and Exclamation. [? !]
1. The mnrk of interrogation is placed nt the termination of ever y qu eR ti on;
as, "Are there not seasons of spring in the moral 'll'orld? and is not th e prcsenl
one of them ?"

I

30

1I 0

W T O

L

·w R ITE.

2.. The m ark of exclr..mnt.i on is pnt nflcl' int.erj ecti ons ; nfter expressions in
direct nd<lrcss, when emphatic ; nnd aft er expressions den otin g strong em otion; as, "Oh! yon nro wound ed;" "This, 0 m en of .A.thens! my dnty
prompted me to represent to yon;" "Alas, my noble b oy! that thou shon\d st
d ie !"

I T E l! A ]~

31

3 Th e quotati on m arks arn us-od lo di stinguish n wo rd , phrase, or p nssa~e
.
" " Soc rates said 'I believe th at th e soul is
tal• en from an•>l her author; a .~ ,
>

im mortal.'"

9. T!t e Caret; marks of Ellip sis; marks of R ef erence.

[A

6. Parentheses and Brackets. [ ( ) ]
1. Parentheses should ine\ose only those words which brenk the unity of th e
sPntcnce into which they nre thrown, and which mny therefore b e omitted
without injury to its sense or its constructi on; as, "I hnvo seen charity (If
charity it may be called) insult with an nir of pity."
2. Ilrnck ets nrc used to in close word s, phrases, or scnt.enecs intend ed to snpply an omi ssion , rectify n mi stake, or cxplnin something which precedes or
follows; ns, "The captain hnd several m en died [who died] in the ship."

c 0 ;.1 p 0 s I T I 0 N •

y

uu

* t :j:]

l . T he caret is used, only in writin g, to sh ow th nt a word or letter was
er th e line·, as, " Disnp poin tnccitlc ntall y omille<l , and has been p 1nee d ov
nrc

.

.

,,

m cnts often bl essings in <l1 sgu1 sc.

T·;, e marks of ellipsis inili catc th e omission of letters inn woril or woruR in
.
" E * * * * rc·l11m c1l lo hrr [ri cncl s a h eart-broken t:;ir l."
n sentence, as, ~
.
" 'V
3. Th e marks of r eferen ce d ircr.t th o rna tlcr to nolP.s in th e margi n; as,
o
2

.

are indebted to Fowler's Grammar* for many valuable h ints."

1. The dash should be used where t.110 senten ce breaks off abruptly, and th o
subject is changed; as, " Was th ere ever n bold er cnptnin or n m ore valiant
bnnd? Wns th ere cvcr-bnt I scorn to honst.. "
2. Wh ere n long or si g nificant pauso is require<!, tho dash may prop erly be
Introdu ced ; as, "Tile good woman was allowed by ev erybody, except h er
hn sbnnd, to be n very sw cct-tcmpcrc<l lad y-wh cn not in liqu or. "
3. Th e 1laslt sh ould he used b efo re a phrase or clnuso in which th e id ea of
th e clause n ext preceding it is repented in a different fo rm , to rend er it clearer
or m ore emphatic- to impress it upon the mind; nnd also where m erely n
word or phrase is rep eated or echoed; ns, "Our own n ature is th e first nnd
neares t of all realiti es- th e corner-stone of the entire fabric of truth;" "You
sp eak lik e a boy-like a boy who thinks thnt the old, gnarl ed oak cnn be
twi sted as ensily as the youn g saplin g."

8 . T/1c A postrophe ; the Hyph en; tlte Quotation Marks .

['

-"

1. Th e npostrophe is used to distinguish
<lcn otc th e omission of n letter or letters;
th e letter."
2. Th e hyph r n is used, in writing and
p l1tc<! d in on e line and th o remaindor in
eti t.ucn t par t.~ of compound and deri Ya ti vc
m orn ."

VIII.-~I SCELLAN EOUS IU~TS.

-~

1. Na turalness.
Hul es and sp e cifi c cli rn ction s a r e use ful

111

th e ir place s,

and th e refor e we h a ve giv e n y ou a f'e w of th e m; but, at
th e best, t.h ey but irnp crf'ec tl y interpr et Natur e's un e rrin g

l

of onler, and a re fallibl e and s ubj ec t to p e rpl exin g
If yon can 1·113 k e ,_,oursc> lf m as te r of the
e:-. c~ p t io11 s .
tWS

principl es which und e rli e th e m , you m ay f'.Jr ge t th e. rul es
as s oon as you pl e ase .

Till yo u can clo this , you will finrl

th e m use ful, proviJ eJ you <lo n ot allow th e m to e nslaw:
you. St riv e to b e corre ct and methodical , but not stiff and

"]

formal.

th e possessive case of nouns, and to
ns "Brown's Grammar;" "f'·l'e go t

Do not, therefor e, aim at any s et or spe cial phr aseolop:v.

printing, where a part of n word is
th e next; and also to join the conwords; as," The incens~-vrea thiu g

m ent of your own styl e, and not for th e acqui sition of

All writin g , to b e sa ti sfactory, mu st be n atur al.

Imitate no mod el.

4'

j

II

7. Th e D aslt. [-]

Study good authors for th e imp ro ve-

Th e Enilish Langua~e, in its Elements nnd Forms. By W. C. Fowler.

32

L

How To \V:aITE.

theirs. \Vhat is natural in th em, may be co11strained and
lalHJreJ in yuu. Be yourself-be natural.

r T :E :n f.. :n Y

C0

::\I

r os1TroN •

03

Jigl ll f"ul, mos t c>: qu isi le, or u1us t. s plc11 tlid , you c<i n no
longe r e xpress the d1il'crcn cc, in degre e of gramleur,
beauty, and so forth. between differe nt objects.

2 . Long S entences.

5. Figures of Sp eech .

Unpracticed writers should avoid long sentences. They

Comparisons, metaphors, and other figures of speech,

are not easily managed, and are apt to get involved or entangled. A violation of this rule is the source of much
of the inelegant and ungrammatical writing with which

when correctly used, add much to the beauty of a literary
composition; btit the young writer should use them cau-

~e meet.

tiously am] wilh good jutlgrnent.

A writer commences a sentence, without hav-

mg . the whole clearly fixed in his mind , 'and go es on
adclrng clause after clause, loosely Jinked together with
" buts'' an d " an d s, " ti·1 1, at last, instead of havina ex-

pressed his thought., he has involved it in utter

A broken metaphor

may disfigure a wliole essay.

6. Figures of Arithmetic.

obsc~rity.

Numbers, except dates and sums of money, shoul<l gen-

In legal docum ents, sums
of mon e y should be expressed in words, and sometimes in
both wor<ls and figur es. N e ver write, " I have be en in

e rally be expressed in wor<ls.
3 . Tautology.

A void the repe t t"t·ton o f t h e same sense rn different
words, as well as the needless repetition of the same
words.

this town 3 days;" nor, "There are 25 pear trees in my
father's orchard."

For instance, do not say, " The nefarious wick-

edness of his conduct," because that would be the same
as saying," The extremely wicked wickedness"
, etc . ,. nor,
"\Ve returned back again;" for "\\·e returned," fully
expresses .Jvour meanina
b "

7. Contractions.

Never use the character &, except in the titles of firms;
as, Smith <j- Jones, an<l even there the word and, writt en
out in full, looks better. Contractions in general are to be

4. Adjectives.

avoided.

their use, hardly compensates for the mutilated appear-

Young writers are prone to use adjectives too lavishly

'.1'.1d

tu put _to_o many of them in the superlative degree.

l ~tes~ qualifying or describing words lose force by multi-

The economy of tim e and space secured by

I

ance of the words and the liability to error involved.

I

Don't, can't, isn't, and other contractions of the same

phcation ; and if you make every thing you describe the

class, are allowable in familiar letters and where familiar

grandest., sublirn r st, most beautif1il, rnost lovely, most de-

conversation is quoted, but not in any g raver style.
2*

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rt y \V n. I T I N

35

G•

8. Reading.
You may learn much by reading good authors, ·with
partict'.lar reference to style.

IV.

Read slowly and carefully,

obsen'ing constantly what kind of words are used, and
how they are put together.
whose style pleases you.

EPI811 0LARY WRITING.

Choose for study writers

\i\T e can hanlly advise on this

Le tt ers. by open on e's

b reedl n ~,

culture, taat e, ancl allllJty.-..A.noA.

J.. letter, timely writ, 14 a. rivet to the chnln of atrec tlon.-Tupper.

point, because tastes and capacities differ, and the style
best adapted to serve th e purpose of one might be studied
with
but litlle ad \' an tage by another • Jr-v ina , C ooper,
::>

1.-A QUESTION.

~]JOU purpose to write a le tter.

0

• I~

I rescott, Bancroft., Emerson, Poe, Ik Marvel, and the
author of "the Putiphar Papers," among American writers, are well worthy of study, fur their style; but, we
repeat, bDware of imitating the se authors, or anybody
else. Have a style., as well as a coat, of your own.

~

IJ

vVhy?

Because

you have something which it is necessary to communicate to an absent perso n, you would doubt-

lc. ss ceply, were you at our elhow ; for, if this were
not the case, you would have no occasion to write.
The question, however, is not an idle one, since
persons do often write lette rs wh en they have real! y

f>. Last, but not Least.

nothing to communicate.

But n e ither our rules, direc tions, and Iiints, nor the

that they communicate nothing; but having something to

f'>tu<ly of grammar and rh etoric, nor the reading of good
authors, nor all these together, will make you a good
writer without perseve1·ing practice.

The result ve ry naturally is,

say, you need only to be instructed how to say it.
11.-MATTER .AJ.'<'D MANNER.

Writing is a great

and noble art, and, like all other arts, requires time and

If you have carefully read our r emarks on Literary

It is cheaply purchased at the

Composition in G eneral, you are prepared to profit by the

labor for its acquisition.

ex~ense of years of study an<l practice .

If you have
not, you will do well to turn to the preceding chapter at

few addition1l hints we are about to offer.

Biit you may

write all your lifetime, an<l continue to improve to the

once.
Letters should of course vary in style with the subjects

last; though your style, like your hand-writing, is liable
to g~ow worse, instead of better, if you allow yourself to
fall mto neglige nt and careless habits.
above all, WRITE.

Study, read, and,

I

on which they treat, and the circumstances under which
they are written.

Ease, grace, freedom, vivacity, sim-

3(3

.
How To 'VVRITE.

Er1sToLA.RY

·vvRrTI NG .

., ....

._,

'

plicity, an<l naturalness, howe ver, are important, if not

of men, because more frank, artless, and un stu<li cd-in a

essential, qualities, in every species of epistolary writing.
Letter writing is talking on paper; but we must talk on

word, more natiiral.
Tlw greatest charm of a letter is its individualit !/ ·

pnper more carefully and elegantly than most of us are
accustomed to talk with the voice. In common conver-

The best lctters-t.he dearest, tl1e most cherished by th e

sation, redundancies, ungrammatical constructions, and

writer t.rnly pours out his soul upon his paper-·writes

and inelegant expressions, if they do not pass unobserv ed

hims elf down just as he is in the moo<l of th e hour.

and uncriticise<l, may at least be excused and soon for-

ask of our friend not only his own thoughts and feelings,

gotten; but in a letter they remain permrrnent witnesses

but his own style-his own proper exp refi sio n of them.

against us.

So, while laboring to culLivate a fr ee, easv,

\Ve rightly expect from him such a letter as no one else

~o

could possibly write, because no one else has just the same

and li\'ely style, be carerul to shun every approach

receiver, are the most natural olles-those in which the
\Ve

If spoken vulgarisms are ba<l, what
shall we say of such expressions deliberately put upon
paper an<l s en t to 011e's friend ? Think of the letter you
are writing, as a recor<l which may be preserved by your
fri ends long after Jvou hav e ceased to be amonrrt::> them ·'
and commit nothing to the permanence of ink and paper
which can possibly throw a shade upon your memory.

mental organization, or stands in precisely the same relation to us. Du not,, therefor e, construe any thing we

The ease, freedom, and sprightliness we inculcate do

best, generally, to r e frain from writing when in a gloomy or

colloquial vulgarity.

not exclude method, or encourage negligence.

True free-

dom is always consistent with law and order.

Do not

allow your ease to degen e rate into carelessness, nor your
simplicity into nonsense .
\Vhen your head is clear and your heart warm, and

have said, or may say, in a w ay to make it inculcate
s uch a slavish adherence to arbitrary rul es and forms
as shall suppress or imp ede one's natural manner of utterance.
Write yourself down in the mood of the hour ; but it is
clesponding state of mind. Stri \'e to throw a spirit of cheerfuln ess over all your correspondence.

Do not allow a

morbid craving for sympathy, to induc e you to inflict upon
vour friend a long history of petty tnub1es or vexations.

A letter

shoulJ be a storehouse of bright anJ happy

your feelings are enlisted in the cause which your pen is

thoughts, and not the ward of a hospital, filled with pain

advocating or defending, your first thoughts and first

ancl comp1ainings.

words are generally the best,

which we may freely throw ourselves upon the bosom

Put them down as they

There are occasions, howev er, on

The

of a near and dear friend, sob out the Jeep sorrow

letters of women are generally nw-re agreeable than those

which sw ell~ our hearts, an<i' ask anJ receive, by let ter,

rise, lest while you question them, they vanish.

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EI' I S T 0 LA R Y

\V RI TIN G •

39

'I' he <late is a matt e r of no little importanc e , parlicu

all the sympathy and consolation that mere written words
are capable of conveying.

arly in business lette rs , an<l you can not be too careful

As a general rul e, short le tters are better than lor.g

to state it correctly and fully.

If you write in a city , you

ones; though we have often received le tters filling sev-

should gen e rally mention the stree t and number, as in th e

eral sh ee ts, and wished th e m longer.

foregoing example.

Say all that re-

In writing from any place e x cept a

large ci ty, like New York, Philadelphia, Boston, or New

r1u1res to be said, but nothing more.

Orleans, you should alway s me nti on the State, and genIII.-FORMS.

erally the county, as th ere are, unfortunately, many post-

An ordinary, co rrectly writte n lette r, in the first person,
cn1brac es tl1 c foll o wing parti c ulars : 1. Th e <late.
complimentary address.

3. The body of the letter.
5. The signature-.

Th e complim e ntary closing.
address.

oflices of the sa me nam e in the United States.

2. The

~En g li s h Jette r write rs gc11 c rall y

put the day before th e
month, in dating a letter ; as 27t/i July , in stead of July

4.

6. The

27th.

The different parts g e nerally stand as in the

e rable, but custom, in this country, favorn the laLter.

followin g e xa mple :

The complimentary address should be placed a littl e

rn .1,.1

7i7

MURRAY STREET,

Nmv Yoxx:,

low e r than the date, and n ear th e right-h a nd side of the

J uly 29tli, 1856.

GJmp l;m ' nt-11·y ..4ddre.~.!. )

Sm:

The form e r is the natural a rran ge ment, and pref-

shee t. In writing to a ge ntle man with whom you are slight-

flfody of t11e L ertrr.]

Your fay or of the 21st inst. was placed in my hands yestcrdn.y by our common friend Mr. Wm. Beechwood, and I take the
earliest opportunity to r eply.
From what ;\[r. Beechwood says of you and your .amiable family,
I am sure that nothing could be pleasanter to myself and wife,
th : rn to become your neighbors, in the event of our removal to the
coun try ; and I sh:tll take advan tage of the first day or two of
leisure I ca.n commaml, to accept your kiml invitation, :i,nd look at
th e estate which your fri end offers for sale. In the mean time,
shoultl you visit tho city, please do me the favor to become my

ly or n ot at all acquainted, address him simply as" Sir ."
"R es pected Sir," is obsole te.

"Dear Sir," is used in ad-

dressing one with whom you are on familiar terms .

" .My

d ear Sir," implies a still higher d egree of intim acy or
fri endship.

A m arri ed lady, not a r elativ e , is addres se d

as "Mad a m," or "Dear Madam," according to the deg ree
of intimacy ; and an unmarri ed lady as " Mi~s," " D ea r
Mi ss,"" D ear Elle n," and so forth.

In writing to a mer-

cantile firm, or any numb e r of p e rso ns assoc iated in a

{Cmn.p linv.ntm·u cl-isinq. J

committee , board of trustees , or oth e r body, the address is,

With great r espect,
Yours truly,
Mr.

r.1,1Jrm. ]

" Gent lemen."
Having writte n "Sir," or "Madam," as th e case may

[Siynnltt,...]

HENRY WILLIAMI.

W1LUAM APrr.EGATP-,

~ I ;

1 ':

b e, at the h ca<l of ym1r le tter, <lo not rep ea t it, and espe·

.Jlfaisevillc, N. J.

(

'
',.,
·1 "

•• w•

a

ZWJL»•

• ..,....

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A 1~

r

-Y\!

.1~ I T I N

o.

4- 1

cially avoi<l commencing Lhe bo<ly of your le tter wi th the

This form has ad \•antagcs which th e man of busine ss

sa me term ; but com e at once to the subject in ha1HJ.
\V e h a l'e h eard an anec<lote of a speaker who alway s

will rc a<l'i.Jy appr e ciate.
Th e r];li.tc is often placed at the c lof' o of th e l eller

wi sh c<l "to make a few remarks before speaking."

Exc e pt in businc s s letters, this i'3 rp1ito

e xa mpl e is not commende<l.

IIi s

Do not, we pray you, say,

" I ta ke my pen in hand," or "I take up my p en to inform
you,'' and so forth, a s this pie ce of information is entirely
gratuitous and uncall e <l for.
you have to say.

B egin at on ce to say what

1

all owahh~.

Note s

aml formal le tters are gen e rally thus da te d.
Fold your lette rs in th e simplest way, a nd always £nclose

tltem in an envelope.

All fanciful folding is in bad taste.

The supe rscri1:> tio11 should be writte n in a plain, distinct hand, so that th e r e shall b e no li ab ility to mistake

Th e phrases, " Your humble se rvant," and " Your mos t

in r e fer e nce to th e p e rso n or place for w hi ch it is

o be <li e nt servant,'' <lo not flow with a good grace from a

design ed.

r epubli ca n p e n.

tl1 e envelope, thus :

The y are mea nin g les s forms to us, what-

Commence a trifle to the le ft of the c e nte r of

ever th ey may have been to thos e who originated them,
centuries ago, and may as well be altoge th e r r ej ected .
"Res pec tfully yours," and "Yours with g rea t res pec t,"
11/fR

are be tte r phrases, and imply all that ne e d be said.

N KWA !i.K ,

Th e address is sometimes placed at the hea<l of the

Lickino C'ow1f;y,

lette r, in s tead of the foot; as,
fllr.

J3R OWH SMlTil ,

Ohio.

If you seal with wax, <lo it ne atly and handsomely,

'VILLIAM APPLEGATE,

.l'l'Iaisev'ille, .N. J.

properly melting your w a x, dropping it in th e ri ght place,

SIR:

and making a clear impression npon it \vith your seal.

In letters of business this 1s the preferable

form

But self-sealing envelopes, or a littl e pr epar e d g um, are

Some business m en have lately adopted the plan of put

more convenient, and it is only on form al le tte rs th at wax

tin g th e nam e of the writer, as well as of the person ad

is suppos ed to be re quired .

dre sse d, at th e head of the letter; as,

gives a beauty and a security to a l e tter whi ch nothin g

A hand so me seal, how ever,

Plse c an, and, while it r e m ains unbroken, see m s to thro w
Hr::NRT WILLIAMS ,

To W:r.r.

:rn air of superior sanctity ov e r th e contents.
.l'l'Iaiscvill'e, .N'. J.

SIR:

L e tters

A P PLEGATE,

which are to be sent to vrry warm climate s can not, howevP-r be safely seale d with w nx, as it is li abl e to b e melted

i
42

llow

TO

VVRITE.

I
I

EP

I ST 0 L A R Y

"\V R

I TI N G.

43

I

by th e h ea t of the atmosphere, especially if it be not of
th e bes t quality.
lV.-ETIQUETTE OF J,ETTER WRITIXG.

As a g e ne ral rul e , every le tte r, unless considered disr espec..:Lful or in sulting, and re turn ed accordingly, r equires

a r eply.

It is as nec essary to answer, when written to,

a~ .wh e n spoken to.
vility.

Neglige nce, in this respect, is inci-

L e tte rs of busin ess and courtesy, and lett ers from

I

I

upon lh e re ceiver, l1 es id es bei ng <liHicult Lo read a11d liaLl e

to be rnisu11d 0rstood .
" L e t ev e ry e xprnssion

111

F e rr ey , "have an a ir of civility.
c omp~ im e nts

unne cessary .

your le tter," says P ey reThis ": ill r en der affected

Too many persons are pi~i.ite,

in ord \ r to avoid bei ng civil.''

It is\ thou ght impolite, and it ce rtainly looks slovenly
and m ea n, to write on a single leaf of paper.

Use a

ladi es, unl ess in a regular correspondence, and there is

whole sh ee t, eve n though you write but thr ee lines.

an und e rs tanding in refe rence to the matter, should be
an s w e r e d imm ediately.

Paper is made of various sizes to m ee t all require me nts .

In writing busin ess letters, how eve r, cons id erati ons of

ln re plying to a lette r yo11 ha\'e rece ive d, firs t ack now ledge its r ec eption, and then tak e up, in th eir onfor, all the

economy may e x c use a tl e parture from thi s rule .

points wltich require atte ntio n, befor e mak in g any addi-

when it is known, or may fairly ue pres um ecl, th at the

ti onal r e ma rks that m:1y see m to be r eq uired.

p e rson to whom you are writing is familiar with th e la n-

Two persons sl1oul<l n e ve r wri te in the sa me lette r
are v e1y
· - 111
· 1·.1ma,e
1
· J
I
'
unl ess both
. .
\Vtt l t 1C correspondent.
Ind ee d , it is bette r tu avoid th e prac ti ce in all cases .

French and othe r foreign phrases shouhl be us ed only

guage; and th e thought can be mor e bri e fly and strikingly
presented by th ei r use.

·wh e n use d, th ey should be un-

' Vh e re ceremony is requir ed, comm ence your l e tter

derlined.
L e tters fill e d with apolog ies for d elay in writin g, for

a littl e above th e middl e of th e first page, a nd if you can

writing hastily or badly, or fur n egli ge n ce of any kind,

not c lose it on that page without c rowdin g the lin es , or

are not very interesting.

If you must m ak e apologies, do

placing the si g nature too n ea r the bottom, carry it over

it briefly and frankly, and have don e with it, but it is

to the n ext ; but to look w ell, there s hould be two or

better to avoid the occasi'on for them.

th ree lin es, at leas t, preceding the complimentary closing,
011 th e n ex t pa ge .
II y ou ham found it nec essary, in writing a le tter, to

As far as possible , avoill postscripts.

Th ey generally

e mbrace, simply, some information which you have carelessly omitted to ins e rt in its prope r place.

d isfigure it with num e rous interlineations and erasures,

A letter of introduction or r ecomm endation shoultl ne ve r

you s lrn ultl a lw ays make a fair copy to send, as th e orig-

b e sealed, when given or sent to the p erson who is to be

inal \•.rou!J inevitably make an unfavorable impression

the bearer, as he ought to know the conte nts.

,.
.J'.,

I

~:.

'

DusrNESB

44

]_[ O W

T O

\V n

L1i:Tr.ERB.

45

IT E.

V.-TITLES.

Titles are not recognized by law in this country, and

v.

are rather out of keeping with our plain republicanism ;
neverth eless, we use them, and quite lavishly too. They
should be used in the superscription of a lette r wh ere
courtesy or customary usage requires it, and, parti cularlv,
where their omission would be likely to give offens~.
The tille Esquire, however, has become so common that
it has ceas ed to be a mark of particular respect, and it is
bet_t~r,

generally, to use plain Mr. instead, except when
wn~mg to persons of the legal profession.
By all means,
nvo1d putting a handle on both ends of a name, by writing

Mr . Jolin Smith, E sq. vVe prefer, in writing to intimate
friend_s and to tho se who we know do not esteem titles,
to onut even the Mr., and allow the simple name to stand
by itself.
The title Honorable is generally given, by courtesy, to
the Vice President of the U11ited States; to the Lieute~ant Governor of a State ; to Senators and Representatives of the United States ; to State Senators ; to judges
of all the courts ; to the mayor of a city; to the heads
of the various executive departments of the General Gover_nment, etc. His Excellency is the title generally applied to the President of the United States, the Governor
of a State, :rnd to an Amuassador of the United States.
It is considered more respectful, and certainly looks
he lte r, to write any title made use of in full; not contrncting, ns is often done, Honorable into Hon., and Commv·
<lore into Com.

BUSINESS LETTERS.
Th e Orl5 t thlug necef\Ba.ry In wtHlng Jetten or bu si ness ts e :xtreme por~plf: uttr.

E<,·t:ry pMA•

c-rnph 1:1 l1 ould be so clear llild unnmblguons tbt\t the dullest fellow In th e worl<l ml\y n ot bo ahle

to mistake it, nor be obliged to read lt twice in order to undcrst.nnd tt.-Cluste1:flrM.

I/

l

~

!.-STYLE.

o/ letters of business, unless you write so as to be

'

',,

not enough that repeated perusals .and close

' l'. I

<;~~ attention, on the part of your correspondent, shall
~ at last give him a clew to your meaning. It should
1:J

),

understood, you write to no purpose; and it is

be perceived at a glance.

Aim, then, first of all, to

make your words express clearly the idea you intend, and
nothing more. The one important thing is the fact or
thought you wish to state ; and nothing should be allowed
to interfere with its clear expression. Figures of speech
are out of place, and figures of arithmetic alone allowable.
A kind of simple elegance, the highest beauty attainable
in a busintss style, will result from the very plainness
and severity we recommend.
Brevity, in the highest degree consistent with clearness, is an essential quality in a good business letter.
Nothing that is necessary to a full understanding of the
transaction about which you are writing, should be omitted ; but the particulars should be concisely stated, and
not a syllable added that is foreign to the matter in hand.

~ '

:.

ij ""

. ~['. ~

-

4:6

II 0 w

T0

\V H, I

T

]j; •

BUSINESS

LETTERS.

47

\Yuste of words here is also a waste of your time ant.I that

By a strict attention to these few brief directions, com·

It is a very common fault to say
much that is entirely irrele\·ant. We h ave before us a
lette r of business, covering nearly two large folios, the
only essential particular in ·which is compris ed in the last
paragraph, consisting of only six lines.
An extensirn
correspond ence generally cures one of this fault, anrl com pels economy of words and time alik e.

monplace as th ey rnay seem, you will avoid the many

of your correspondent.

IL-GENERAL IIINT8.

\'exatious errors and delays which their n eglect will in·
e vitably entai l.
III.-EXAMPLES AND REMARKS.

'l.i

1. Orders.

Orders should be
~pct:i l y

10

the high es t deg ree

explicit.

cxadly wliat you desire, on what terms, and

especially how you wish it sent; and if the execution of

All letters of business shou ld be promptly answered.
Punctuality is a cardinal virtue in a business man. If,

your order <lepcnd upon any contingency, give your cor-

from th~ nature of the case, a full reply can not be given at

respondent full directions how to ad und er any change
of cir<:umstances that may be contemplated.

<~nee, still acknowledge the receipt of your correspondent's
favor, and promise the complete statement in due time.

2. Orders for B oo ks.

In answering business lette rs, you should he careful to
name the <late, anJ, in as few words as possible, the subj ect of the letter to which yours is a reply.
D. Ilr.owN,
Boston,
I~ec'd D ec. 5, '5G.
Ans. " 5, '56.

All business letters received should be

In ord ering books, it is ne <:essary to give correctly the
title of the work
nam e .

de~ired,

general ly including the author's

It is not enough to say, " 1 Voyage Round the

carefully folded and indorse<l with the name

·world," for your booksell er may have on his she lves

of the writer, and the date of their recep-

three or four works with this leading title; but if you

tion and of their answer, and placed at once

write, " 1 A Lady's Voyage Roun<l the World, by Mad-

on file.

Tape will do to tie up your pack-

ame Ida Pfeiffer,'' there will be no liability to mistake.

ages of folded letters with, but the lndiurubber bands manufactured for the purpose
are better.

The name of the author alone may sometimes be us ed, in

Your own business letters, when im-

stance, you write, "Send me Mr. Fowler's work on

portant, should always be copied, eithe r

Education," there is a possibility, at l east, that you will

hy hand or by means of a copying press
and thus preserved for future reference.

'·

;

place of the title of his work; as "Shakspeare,'' "Byron,''
but gene:-ally this is not sufficiently expli cit..

If, fur ·in-

not get the book you want, since there may be more than
one Mr. Fowler who has written on Education ; but if you

II 0 w

48

T0

\V R I T E.

designate the work as, " E<l ucation Com pl etc, by 0. S.
Fowler," the ambiguity vanishes. Jn case there are
several editions of the same work, differing in matter or
in form, he careful to state which you prefer.

FoWLEil

Some-

remarks, and give the reader a clearer idea than could be

It will be observed that the term lllessrs. is omitted, in
this example, before Fowler and Wells. It is objected
that the usual form involves an unnecessary repetition of
equivalent terms as, Messrs.-an abbreviation of the
French worcl JJfessieurs, signifies gentlemen. vVe are
inclined to favor the foregoing innovation, but give also
the old form.

otherwise conveyed, of the ordinary forms of the documents of which we haYe been speaking:
nee. 7' 1856.

& Co.,
.1Yew York.

GENTLEIIIEN:

I inclose $10, (ten dollars) Broadway
Bank, New York, for which please forward meJ. Arnold's Hist. of Dome ... .... .. . ... .. ... . .... $3
I Youmans' Clnss -Ilook of Chemistry... .. ........
I Hist. of Civilization, by M. Guizot . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
I Surennc's French Dictiona.ry (a, bridged cJ.) . . . . . I
I Le Nouveau Testa,ment par J. F. Ostervrtn1 . . . . . .
2 Marshall's Ilook of Oratory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
I Literature and Art, by l\I. Fuller (Fowler & Wells) I
1 Hiawatha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I

Dec. 10th, 185G.

our account. \Ve shall want 200 copies of " How to
Talk," which plPase send us as soon as issuecl.
~,
Respectfully yours,
\
DoNE IlROWN & Co.

book ordered may be put up in various styles; as," paper

CLEVELAND, OHIO,

llo sTO N ,

WELLS.

Please seu<l us, by Adams and Co.'s
Express, 100 copies of" How to W rit.e," and charge to

covers,"" muslin," "muslin gilt," etc.
The following examples will serve to illustrate our

APPLETON

&

GENTLEM E N:

times it is necessary to specify the binding also, as the

Messrs. D.

49

D l' s I .N E s f3 L E T T E It s .

PurNCETON,

Messrs.

DERBY

&

N. J., Se.pt. 27th, 1856.

JACKSON,

.New York

00
75
00
00

GENTLEIIIEN:

The inclosed two dollars will pay, I
think, for 1 copy of Mass ey's Poems, and 1 copy Roget's
Thesaurus of English Words, (Boston edi tion ,) which
please send by express, and oblige,

25
00

Yours with much respect,

00

WILLIAM ALLEN.

00

RosELAND, .MAnQUETTE

$10 00
FowLER

Send by the United States Express, directed to me,
care of James Wilson & Co., Cleveland, Ohio.
Respectfully yours,

Co.,

W1e.,

& W ELL s,
August 15th, 185G.
308 Broadway, .New York .

GEJ\"TLEMEN:

I inclose 63 cts. in postage stamps,
for which please send me by mail, prepaid, a copy of

CHARLES CASH.

J

3

I

,

I

; I

~

;' Ijj
How

50

TO

DD S INESS

\VRrTE. ·

"Aims an<l Ai<ls for Girls and Young Wom en," ly Rev.

encc

G. S. \Veaver, in paper coYers.

blund ers committed..
JULIA KEENE.

Commend us to Miss Julia l\.ccne allll to all the young
There it is,

all in five lines, an<l y et not an essential particular is
oniilt.ed.
fluous.

Any thing bcyoud this would have been snperl\foss rs. Fowler and W ell s know where Mi ss

Julia K ee ne r esides, what she de sires, and how to se nJ
it; and having received the pric e of the book, will forwar<l it by the first mail.

If Miss Julia had des ire<l to

tell the publishe rs that she had read Mr. \V eaver's
prev10us work, "Hopes and H elps fur the Young of Both
Sexes," and h a<l been much pleased 'vith its earn est
appeals and wise couns els; that she believes such works
are ex erting a great and elevating influenc e upon Am erican youth ; and that she is very grateful to them for
publis hing and circulating such excellent books, there
would c e rtainly have been no .harm in doing so; but she
would, in that case, have taken anoth er le af of h er paper
for th e purpose, not mixin g up such irrelevant matter with
th e l egitimate purpose of her letter.

3. Orders for New spapers and Magazin es.

,:j

I

so much carelessness exhibited and so many
Th e consequenc es are less disas-

I

I

source , are neither fe w nor small.

!

They may all be eas ily

I

avoiclc<l, an<l we are about to tell you, in a few word s ,
liow.

!iI

vVhen you sit down to order a newspaper or magazine,
con s i<lcr :

rl

l. What is th e name of the publication you desire.

I

l

It

is not sufficient, in every case, to say, "Pl ease s e n<l me
your paper," for several papers may be issued from the
sam e offic e .

vVlwt paper?

2. \Vhen you wish your subscription to comm enc e .
Do you want the paper from the commencem ent of the
current volume, from the present time, or from-when?
3. For what length of time you purpose to subscribe.

;

.

mine this; but it should also be stated, to show that you
fully understand the terms.
4. \Vhere you wish it s ent.

vVhat is your address ?

You write " Gre envill e ," perhaps, at the head of your
letter.

Everybody, of course, knows where Greenville is,

for th ere are nearly as many Greenvilles as th er e are
States in the Union ; but the publisher may wish to know

li sh ers, inclosing subscriptions for ne..,vspap ers an<l maga-

Al ways mention the State, and, exc ept in the case of

It see ms a very simple matter, an<l, in fact, really

large cities and important towns, the county also ; as,
" Greenville, Greene Co., Tenn."

That tells the whole

I

,,

The amount of mon ey inclosed should, it is true, deter-

to which particular Greenville you de!:lire your paper sent.

is so ; but in no other department of business correspond

'I

tion s, but tbe delays and vexations of which th ey are the

EY e rybo<ly has occasion to write to editors and pubzmes.

.1

51

trn11 s 1.lian they would be in forger comm ercial tran sac-

Very respectfully yours,

ladie s who write such epistles as the last.

IS

LETTERS.

1'

'~

'

'"

How

52

TO

BUSINESS

"'WRITE.

Tb is last particular may be embraced in the date;
but if you do not gi,·e it fully and distinctly there, be care·
ful tu du so in the body of your letter.
5. Your own name . :Str:ingc as it may seem, some

the top this time.

story.

53

LETTEH.S.

The ord e r might quite as easily harn

been correctly written at firs t, in som e thing like th e fol·
lo wing terms :
RoCKVJLl.E, ADAMS

correspondents actually neglect to sign their letters; Mr. ·

Fowu:n &

Jones , for instance, expecting, perhaps, that the publisher

Co.,

01110,

J\l"o t'. 6th , 18GG.

WELLS.

GENTLEMEN:

may not do; leaving Mr . Jones to wonder why his paper

I inclose two dollars, for which pl e ase
send me Life Illustrated one year, commencing with this

Llo cs not come.

week's issue.

will recognize his handwriting, which very possibly he

6. The inclos ure.
Jo business on

110

Atldress me as above, and oblige ,
Re sp e ctfully y ours,

The cash should in all cases accom-

pany th e ord e r for a ncw!'OpapPr or magazine .
other terms nowadays.

'

JAll-IES Cr.AnK.

Puhli~hers

Do not forget

A few more examples und1..r this head may be useful.

to put. th e mon e y iu your letter.

·we do not insist upon a ny arbitrary forms, but simply

·w ith these simple dire ctions before you, or in your

that the essential particula rs be bri efly expressed.

memory, you certainly will 11ot write such a letter as the
ZAN E SVILL E , ~IusKINGUJII

following:
H,ocKVIJ,LE (no Stotc l,

l\Ir.

Co.,

OHIO,

December 14th 1856.

Nov. 6, 1856.

Messrs.

]forroR :

FowLER

&

WELI.s.

GENTLEMF:N :

I write for you to send me your valuable and

Inclosed you will find $5 (five <lollars),

interesting paper, to this place, and inclose two dollars, to

for which please send (according to your publishetl terms)

p:iy for it.

three copi c'l of Life Illustrated, for one year, eomrn1rncing

Send immediately.

[No nnme.]

with Jan . 1st, 1857.

Now all that " Mr. Editor'' can do is to lay the letter

James Walters, Zanesville, Ohio, 1 copy.
Paul Harland, Putnam,
"
"
Miss Clara Wilson, Maysville, Ky., "

care fully aside antl wait till he hears again from the
write r, who in the rnean time will go ev ery day to the
post-oJiice antl inquire for his expectetl paper, and finally
get ve xctl, and perhaps angry, and write a very indignant
Perhaps he will put his

name at the bottom of his letter, and his full address at

'

\'i
I ,I'
,1

" 'j

I '

I

Hoping to be able to send you a larger list, in the course

letter to " Mr. Editor," demanding why he has neglected
to sen(l the publication ordered.

Address them as follows:

j

of a few days, I remain,
Respectfully yours,
ANDREW WALKER.

I
!

;
•

!t
5±

II 0 w

\.V R

T 0

13USIN E SS

I TE•

Co., GA.,
Sept. 9th, 1806.

ATHENS, CLARKE

Messrs. Dix &

EDWARDS,

It is as nec essa ry to mentioa

your former r es idence as your present one.

Please send the Schoolfellow, com·
mcncing with the first number of Vol. VIII.(for l 856), to
Miss Virginia Holmes, at this place.

I inclose one

year's subscription ($1).

should have written thus:
ll1CHLAND,

Rusn Co.,

IND.,

w'V"ov. 27th, 1850.

TnoMAS IlnowN,

SIR:

MARY HOLMES.

PORTLAND, OREGON,

Mr. ~1rnth

Publisher dA!he Ohio Farmer.

Very respectfully,

FowJ.F.R &

Smith, an<l r es iding in as many different places . H ow is
h e to know which William Smith has r e u10\·eJ. tu Eicl1lan<l, Rush Co., In<l.?

..New York.
GENTLF.lltF.N:

GG

LETTERS.

Dec. 1st, 1856.

WELLS.

GENTLEMEN:

Having remov cJ from Fairview, Guernsey
Co., Ohio, to this place, pl ease be kind e nough to cltnnge
the Jirection of the Farmer accordingly, anJ oblige
Yours resp ectfully,

Inclosed is one gold dollar to renew

WILLIAJII SMITH

my subscription to the P!trenological Journal, which expires with the present month.

4. Orders for Merchandise.

Yours truly,
p ETER

PIONEER.

The general principles we hav e illustrated, m thei r
bearing upon the book anJ perioLlical bu s in ess, mny bB

Subscribers sometimes change their residence, and
wish t.h e direction of their papers changed accordingly.
Mr. Smith having taken up l1is residence in Richland,
!lush Co., Ind., writes to the publisher of the O!tio Farmer:

readily applieJ to any other branch. W e n eed not rest.ale
them. A few examples of or<lers fur merch:rn<lise in
general will suffice.
1.!ANc1-rnsn:n,

"Sir-Having removed to this place, I wish the Farmer
sent here for the future."

He signs his letter in due form,

N. II., .liug. 10, 18GG.

CAsH CusTOMF.H, Jn.,

& Co.,
JYew York.

'fo JAMES WILSON

with his name in full, " William Smith," and thinks the
matter se ttl ed in a busiuess-like way.

But the Farmer

GENTLEMEN:

He neglected to state where

My friends Williams & Andrews speak

he l1:1d r c1110\'ctl from, and th erefore wrote to no purpose :

so highly of your honorable and liberal manner of doing

for th e publi sh er of the Farmer has, we venture to say,

business, that I am induced to send you an order for such

lrnlf-a-dozen subscribers bearing the name of William

goods as I require in your line.

do cs not come to Richland .

56

How

To

\YRITE.

BusINEss

I buy for cash, and shall expect good articles and your
lowest prices .

57

LETTER S .

l\'Icssrs. Hope & Co., or \Vashburn & Cook, of your

You will oblige me by sending samples of your goods,

city, can give you any information you may r equire in
refe rence to my character an<l standing as a m erchant.

with the prices marked, that I may be able to order understandingly. With great respect,

It is t.hrongh the representations of Mr. ·w ashburn, of the
latter firm, that I have been induced to offer you my cor-

Yours truly,

respo11tl e11c e.
Should you decline to fill the order, please aclvise me

CASH CUSTOMER, JR.

imme<liately, that I may sencl it elsewhere; as I am in

NEw YonK, .llugust 12th, 1856.
Mr.

pressing want of the goolb.

CAsH CusTOMER, JR.

Very respectfully,

Sm:

J,

In reply to y~rnr favor of the 10th inst., we
have to inform you that samples of our goods, with the
WM. DuN s111unE

The figures are the lowest at

which the goods can be furnished.

I

We hope that both

named in your note.

KEYPORT,

Please forward to me one barrel of

the first quality and two barrels of second quality. I will
forward my check for the amount on receipt of the in·

Respectfully yours,

&

The samples of sugar, which you kindly

s'ent me, are entirely satisfactory, and also the prices

Should yon favor us with your orders, you may rely on
being promptly and faithfully served.

STEELE, MERCER

& Co.,
.New York.

GENTLEMEN:

/

the quality of the articles and the price will prove satisfactory.

JAMES WILSON

JENKS,

PouGHKEEPsrn, N. Y., Oct. 8th, 18G6.

price marked on each, will be forwarded by Adams &
Co.'s Express to-morrow.

0. Il.

voice.

& Co.

With much respect,
Yours truly,

N. J., Sept. Ist, 1856.

MARK MANLY.

Co.,
•(,'

.,Yew York.

;'

5. Consignments .

GENTLEMEN:

Herewith you should find an order for
an assortment of goods in your line.

Should you see fit

to fill it, please ship per steamer Keyport, from the foot of
Murray Street., North River, and draw upon me at 6 months

'

The farmer and manufacturer often have occasion to
send the products of their industry and skill to an agent or
commission merchant to be sold.

The article or articles

sent at a given time form a consignment.

3*

An invoice

01

' .

i;
58

How

J3usrNESS

TO · VVRITE.

specification of the baoo<ls sent should eitl1er accompany
or prece<le. Every one shoul<l know how to make out
this paper in proper form. We give examples :
PHALANX,
DREW

&

N. J., .11.ug. Isl, 1856.

GENTLEMEN:

vVe have shipped to you this day,
per steamer Ocean vVa ve,
6 bbls. Potatoes, 1st quality (marked D. & F., N. Y.).

"
"
"
"
"

"
"

"
"

cc

"

cc

"

"

"

The potatoes, you will perceive, are of a better quality
than our last shipment, and will, doubtless, command
higher prices. The turneps are not first quality, the
drouth having injured th em, but owing to the scarcity
will, we hope, bring a fair price. The drouth continues
here, and the crop of early potatoes is very light. We
shall send no more, at present, unless prices advance.
Very respectfully yours,
BROWN

&

JoNxs.

You should not fail to keep your agents well informed
in reference to the state of the crops in your vicinity,
and other circumstances within your knowledge, which
are likely to affect the market; they, in return, will ad-

\

·'11

far as possible, of important changes.
I

HERKIMER,

N. Y., .11.ug. IO, 18GG.

·!

WILLIAMs & SoN,
50 B1·oad Street, .New York

I

!
We have this day shipped to you by

85 Barclay Street, .New York.

'~

.I

vise you of the fluctuations of prices, and, in advance, as

GENTLEMEN:

FRENCH,

2 ..
"
2d
"
Butter Squashes,
1 "
Ruta Baga Turneps,
2 "
4 crates Tomatoes,
IO baskets Apples,

59

LETTERS.

railway to Albany, thence by People's Line of Steamboats, 100 (one hundred) boxes Cheese, madrnd W. &
S., N. Y., which we wish you to sell for us on your usual

I

I

11:
r

I

terms.
We have been induced to make this consignment, by the
representations made to us of the prompt and honorable
manner in which your business transactions are cenducted.
Hoping that your account sales will be such as to warrant us in making further shipments to you, we remain,
Very truly yours,

No. 50

CAsEINE

& Co.

NEw

YoRK,

BROAD STREET,

.11.ugiist 15th, 1856.

CAsEINE & Co.,

Herkimer, .N. Y.
GEl tTLEMEN :

Inclosed please find account sales
of the 100 boxes Cheese received from you on the 12th
inst., which we trust will prove entirely satisfactory.
You may draw on us at the customary date for the
amount due you.
Hoping to receive further consignments, we remain,
With great respect, yours truly,
WILLIAMS

& SoN.

60

JI O W

T O

vV R I T E.

DusINESB

6. Accounts.

LETTERS.

G1

chases or otherwise, be careful to arrange the business in

A single example of the class of letters (semi-annually

such a way as to giv-e him as little trouble as possible,

so abundant) inclosing accounts current, with the reply,
will suffice :

and, above all, incloso a sufficient amount to cover every

It is quite enough to command your
friend's time, without taxing his pocket.

possible expense.

BosToN, l\IAss., July 10, 18GG.

Mr.

JAMES GREY.
HAVERSTRAW,

Sm:

Your attention is respectfully called to the
inclosed statement of account, showing a balance rn our
favor

of

seventy-five

dollars

and sixty-three

cents

($75 G3).

By the terms of sale, t11is account is now past clue.
will, we trust, receive early attention.

It

R espectfully yours,
WM. H. Coox:. & SoN.
NASHUA, N.

H., July 12, 1856.

FRIEND

N. Y., Oct. 7, lSGG.

CARTER :

I trust that your friendship will excuse the liberty I take in asking you to make two or three
purchases for me, not in the lin e of your legitimate business. I annex a list of articles of which I am in imm ediate need, and which I shall not be able to procure 111
time unless you assist me, my business being such at
present that I can not leave homP . Will yon attPnrl to
the matter for me ? I need hardly assure you that I shall
i/e ready and happy to reciprocate the farnr whenever an

~pportunity offers.

WM. H. CooK & SoN,

I inclose a check to cover the amount
[of the purchases requirecl. With the kindest regards to

Boston.
GENTLEMEN:

Your favor of the 10th inst., covering
statement of account, is before me. On examination, I

your family, believe me,

As ever,
Your friend,
J. II. DAMON.

find the account correct, and have the pleasure to inclose
8. Introduction.

a check for the amount, for which please send a receipt,
and oblige,
Yours truly,
JAMES GREY.

7. Requesting a Favor.

If you have occasion to ask a friend m the city to
execute any little commissions, in the way of making pur·

LoNDON, 4th .fl.ugust, 1856.

l\Iessrs. NAPIER & SoN,

New York.

.

...

GENTLEMEN :

Our highly and respectable friends,

'

J ?·
\t '
''!

Messrs. Roquet & Favell, of this city, having requested

1 · ,·

J'.i

an introduction to a New York Honse, to which they are

'

i•!1

.)1
.~f

,,

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~:
f~.

62

How

To WRITE.

Busi.NESS

desirous of intrusting the s e ttlement of some affairs of

one more competent or faithful.

r efe r th em to you, well convinced that we can not more

vVith sincere esteem,

effectually serve them, tlrnn by soliciting your best influe11ce a nd exertions in their behalf. ur
vv e arc, e t c.,

9 . A J,tfll'I
i\I c~srs. A8HTo:v &

&

63

of another workman, l am sme you will not readily find

considerable delicacy and importance, we b~g ·leave to

REID

LETTERFL

To Mr.

Cu11ns .

r AUL RANDA.LI,,

Your friend,
Hum·r CARrENTER.
Philadelphia, Pa.
. i

l 1. An j l nswrr to rm

cf Crrdit.

.111lt-rrlis e111 r nf.

NEw YonK, June Gth, 185G.

Srn:

CLARKE,

i observe in the Tim es of this morning your

London.

a<lvtirtis e ment for a clerk; and <le s iring a situation in th at

GENTLEMEN:

I take the lib e rty of opening a credit
with you in favor of the bea rer, Mr. "William Tracy. Be

capacity, take the liberty to reply.

pl ease d to advance him any sum he may require to the

years, and trust I possess the experience as well as the

extent of five hundred pounds sterling, either against his

other qualifications you require.

I have been en11;aged in business rn this city for two

I beg to refer you to M essrs. Vellours, Satin & Co.,

r ece ipt, or his draft on me to your order, as may be most
agreeable to yourselves.

I remain,

Pine Sf.reet, for any information you m ay r equire in r e ference to my character and bu si ne ss qualifications .

With much respect,

Thes e

ge11dernen have been long and intimate ly acquainted with

Truly yours,

me, and can speak from personal knowledge.

JAMES POPE.

Should you des ire an intervi e w, a line a<ldresserl to me

I 0. Recommendation.
IlRoOKLYN,

J\ly

DEAR

at Mrs. Thimble's, 99 Cottage Plac e, will rec e i \'e prompt
Jlfa.11 4th, 185G.

attention.

Sm:

Very respect.fully yours,
CHARLES How EL r ..

Mr. "E. Il. M.," Times Office, JV'ew York.

Permit me respectfully to recommend to your fa,•orable notice the bearer of this, Mr.
Henry Dupont.

12. Requesting a Loan.

He has been in my employment for

three years, and has proved himself an industrious, hone1it, and honora'Jle young man.

Should you be in need

8incerely hoping that the reader may never have occa-

i

sioIJ. to know how much pain it costs to writn an ep is tl e

'i '
,1,

It ,

61

How

TO

F

1N°RITE.

A l\I I L

y L

]~ T T E ]~

s'

65

lil~ e the following; and that if, unfortunately, h e shoul<l, he

will rece ive a kind and favorable reply, and finally r epay
promptly, and with fitting thanks, the sum borrowed, we
therewith close the chapter :
BROOKLYN,

VI.

June 2d, 1856.
"A lette r I A lett er, Wlllle t A letter from hom o!"

FRIEND BENSON :

I have the misfortune at this time

1.-AWAY FROM HOME.

t o b ~ .111 great ne ed of a small amount of mon ey, whi ch I
find

1t

F you are fur from the hallowed hearthstone, where

difficult to raise, an<l have, with great reluctance,

concluded to presume so far on your friendship as to a!:l k
of you the loan of fifty dollars, if you can, without inconve ni ence, :;;pare that amount for a month.
Do not, as I fea r yo ur kind and generous heart may
prompt yo u to do, incommode you rself to oblige me ; for
whatever may be the result of this application, I shall not
doubt your willingness to serve me as far as is consistent
with other duties and obligations.

Be kind enough to let

me hear from you soon, and believe me,

your h eart's best treasures are garnered, your
~

thoughts and feelings naturally turn thith e rward.

~f

Let them flow ~rcely fr~m yom pen. Gi_ve all
i'J your warm affe ct10ns th e ir natural exp ress10n m
words.

Perhaps yon are in the rni<l st of new and

interesting seenes .

Enable your fri ends at home to par-

ticipate in the pleasure they give yon, by desc ribing in a
simple, straightforward, and Ii ve ly mann er wlwt you see ,
h ear, and feel.

Tell your story mu ch as you would orally,

were your correspondent at your side, makin g , as it we re,

Very truly yours,
II. Il.

NORTH

a word-picture of the scenes before you, and putting into
it the squirrel as well as the mountain-little things as
well as great.
11.-TO THE ABSENT.

In writing from home to an absent member of th e family, you naturally relate the little incidents of your dom estic life-the boyish feats of Charli e, th e winning ways
and wonderful performances of baby N elly, and even, perhaps, the achievements of the dog Rov e r, as well as dis cuss
family affairs of graver import.

Thes e little touche5 are

-·-~------

66

How

To

FAMIL Y

\VRITE.

what give life to the home-picture. The farth er we are
remo\'
ed from them, tTrn higher these little tl un
. gs nse
. in
.
.
importance. To the absent, nothing that relates to home
and hom e scenes and fri en<ls is trivial or uninteresting.

Collrngwood to his

67

LETTERS.

daughter.

The hints on letter·

writ!ng, which it contains, are admirable . R ead it as if
it came from your own dear fath er, and he ed its admonitions accor<lingly.

Its style, though a little quaint, and

11ot remarkable for brilliancy or liveliness, is clear, simIII.-STYLE.

ple, and chaste.

In family letters we also give expr ess i.on to our sym-

OCEAN, AT :MALTA,

p~thy in the joys and sorrows of our relatives, ask and

February 5, 180\J.

How out of

I rec eived your letter, my dearest chil<l, arnl it macle

place and chi llin g, then, are the cold formality and cere-

me very happy to find that you and clear Mary we re well,

g ive counsel, admonish, entreat, encourage.

~10111ou s preciseness sometimes observed in such epistles!

fh c fr ee, easy, un co nstrained mann er which we have
r ecommended for letters in general is particularly <l esirn ble here . \Vri te carefull y an<l correctly always, a n<l j [
grace fully an<l elegantly, all the bette r; but avoid a s tiff,
pedantic, and affected style, and a too ambitious phraseology.

pleasur e I hav e, amiJ my toi l;; anrl troubles, is in th e

ters, mos t of which are from th e pens of persons distingui sh e<l alike for greatness of intellect and goodness of
The

hints already thrown out will enable you to study with
pl eas ur e and profit tlt e admirabl e examples which follow:

p~ctation of finding you impru\'ecl iu k110wl edge , ancl. tktt
the tm<l erstan<l.ing which it h as pl eased Guel to give y ou
both has bee n cultivate<l. with ca re and assiduity.

*

W e ca n not <lo better than to commence with the folinstructive lette r from

*

*

*

'*

No sportsman ever hits a partri<lge withont aiming at

It is the

will never attain it; but frequent attempts wil l rn nke it
easy.

Never, therefore, d0 anything with i11Jill(: re11 cc.

Whether it be to mend a rent in your garment, or fi11i sh
the most delicate piece of art, endeavor to do it as perfe ctly as it is possible.
When you write a letter, give it your greatest rnr r ,
it.

and

*

that it m11y be as perfect in all its parts as you can mnlrn

1. Loni Collingwood to !tis Dauglzter.

lowin g affectionate

c>X-

same thing in every art; unless you aim at p erf'ectiu n, you

\ Ve wi ll now lay befor e you a few ge nuine fami ly let-

\V c can not g ive set rul es or forms h ere.

The greatest

it, ancl skill is acquired by repeated atte mpts.

IV.-E:XAhlPLES.

li eart.

and taking pains wilh your eJucation .

Lord

L et the subject be sense, expressed in the m o: t

plain, intelligible, and elegant manner of whi ch you nre
capable.

If, in a familiar epistle, y ou should be playful

'. l,
1°'1
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"I

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68

How

To

·wRITE.

FAMILY

LETTER S .

G9

2. Lord Chester.field lo his Son.

and jocular, guard carefully that your wit be not sharp, so
as to give pain to any person; and before you write a

This letter, from the pen of th e elegant and accom-

sentence, examine it, even the words of which it is com·

pli ::;hed Lord Chesterfield, is on the same topic as the

posed, that there be nothing vulgar or inelegant in th e m.

foregoing ; but " line upon line and precept upon pre·
cept" may be profitably given, especially when enforced

H~member, my _dear, that your letter •is the picture of your
m111d, and those whose minds are a compound of folly,
non se ns e, and impertinence, are to blame to exhibit them

by exa mpl es like these :
D EAR

Bov:

to the contempt of the world, or the pity of their friends.

Your letters, except when upon a given

To write a letter with n egligence, without proper stops,

subject, are excee<lingly laconi c, an<l neither answer my

with crooked lin es , and great flourishing dash es, is inelegant. It_argues either gn'\at ignorance of what is proper,

<l e8 ir cs , nor the purpose of lelte rs; which shoulcl he famil iar conversations between ahsmit. fri e n<ls . As I <lesire

or great unpud enc e toward the person to whom it is ad-

to live with you upon the footing of an intimate friend,

It makes no

an<l not of a parent, I could wish that your letters gave

amends to a<l<l an apology for having scrawled a sheet of

me more p articul ar account of yourself, an<l of your lesse r

pap.er, of bad pens, for you should mend them ; or want

transac t.ions.

of tune, for nothing is more important to you, or to which

In that case,
you would naturally mention the inciden ts of the day, as
wh e re you ha<l been, whom you h ad seen, what you
thou ght of them, etc. Do this in your le tters : acquaint
me sometimes with your studies, sometim es with your
div ersions; tell me of any n e w persons and characters
that you me et with in company, and add your own obs ervations upon the m ; in short, let me see more of you
in your letters. How do you go on with Lord Pulteney ;
and how does he ga on at L eipzig? Has he learn in g,
has he parts, has he application ? Is he good or illnatured ? In short, what is he ; at least, what do you
think of him? You may tell me without r ese rY e, for I
promise secrecy. You are now of an ago that I am de·

dres se d, ancl is consequently di srespec tful.

your time can more prope rly be devoted.
I think I can know the character of a lady pretty nearly
by her handwriting.

The dashers are all impudent, how-

C\'er th ey may conceal it from themselves or others, and
the scribblers flatter themselves with a vain hope, that,
as their letter can not be read, it may be mistaken for
sense.
I am very anxious to come to England, for I have lately
bee n unwell .

The greates t happiness which I expec t

th ere, is to find tliat my dear girls have been assiduous in
the ir learning.
May God Almighty bless you, my beloved little Sarah,
and sweet Mary too.

When you write to me, suppose yourself

conversing fr eely with me, by the fir es id e.

'i
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!

i

70

II 0 w

s1rous

oi

;l

·w- R I 'f E .

71

.) ,
I'!

beginning a confidential correspond e ncn with

you would adcli-cfls your lett e rs-I m ean those which Dr.

ii ;

my

Haller rer1uires yon to write weekly-to some one of your

!: '

'f 0

F Ai\IILY

yo.u '. and, as I shall, on my part, writ.e you very fre e (y

opm1on upon men and things , which I should oft.e n be
very unwilling that anybody but you or Mr. H a rte s houlrl
sec; so, on your part, if you write me without r ese rve,

Jr yon
have ever look e d into the le tters of Madame Jc Sc vi 011 ,~
b
v'
you may dnpend upon n1y inviolable secrecy.

LETTERS.

It would take o!f from them the
air of s tiffn ess which now characterizes them. If Buona
he would n ever have introduc etl it with,

"I beg lea ve to

my so11s, that I make ve ry fre e with your pe rforman ces ;

spondence; and yet I hope, an<l beli eve, that th ey did not

but do not let this tli sco urage you.

love one another better than we do.

just as you think th.em, an<l. th ey will be easy; and any

ment; how you pass your evenings, when at home, and
where you pass them wh e n abroarl.

shoot nearly a month earlier than u s ual.

3. John Randolph, of Roanuke, to liis Ncph.r.:u'.
l\f Y

JJEAR T1u::onoRE :

ilIZARRE,

Sept. 11, J.80G.

Pres ent my respects

to Dr. Haller, and
tell him I will be obliged to him t.o pro.
cure you shirts, handkerchiefs, and such other things as
you may stand in need of.

.\Ve do not say " scarcely notliing"
, but any th·.ing.
Give my love to Buona, and tell him that I shall forward
his letter to his brother immediately · but t ell hi·m I
'
, n so,
that a "tolerable long letter" is intolerable English.

Ho

should have used the adverb (tolerably) instead of the adjective.

!·

The partridges are so forward that we have b eg un to
Carlo is an

I wish that, instead of a fictitious correspondent.
-

not so good for finding game.

l wish you were with me,

my son~, to enjoy the sport.

Your skill, my d ear Th e o-

dore, would make amends for my clumsiness, and d ear

I thank you for your letter
which I received post before last.

'

excellent dog for bringing birds afte r they are shot, but

'I:

'

13uona would hold Minik en, who now run s away from
uncle wheneve r she has an opportunity.

Dut, thank God,

my children, you are more profitably engaged.
alone reconcil e s me to the loss of your society.

This

I hope

to see you both about the last of this month.
Moth e r has had an agtt'e, and Sally very sore fingers.
Your friend and kinsman,
JOHN RANDOLPH.

p. S. Do not make a flourish under my name in the
superscription of your letters.

It is not customary to

i~
I

l'Vrite your l etters

in acc uracv which creeps in may be aftcrw a nl corrected.

!

''•
''

You see ,

you are now reading, either by way of study or amu se -

*

~
I

wait upon you;" an awk,vard e xord.ium, which even Mr.

observed the ease, freedom, and friendshi r of that corre-

*

i ;~

had been describing Richmond. to his mother or myself,

Expectation, of Norfolk, would not approve.

*

II

fri e nd s or acquaintance.

to her daughte r, Madame de Grignan, you must 1iav 0

Tell me what books

·i

!I

i

do so.
I ~

:j

'l

d

72

FAI\IILY

I got a letter to-night from rifr. Dyran; h e. and my
littl e go<lson are well, but Mrs. D. h as the fever.

L .rnT T ERS.

73

raphy. She is on th e left side of tlte table. There, in
the background, is s ilent Jo se ph, with his slate, now

l\tly <lear Buona, this is your birtliday ; you are now

making a mark, and th en biting his lip, or scratching his

entering on your tw elfth year. May you see many happy
returns of this anniversary. The success of my wi:sh

he ad to see if the /algebraic expression may not ham
hi(ld c n in ei th er of tho se places. George is in the
kitch e n tink ering his skates. or contriving a trap for that

will mate rially <l epend, my cl1il<l, on the t1se which you
make of th e prese11t time.

old offender, the rat, whos e cunning has so long brought
mortification upon all his boastin gs.

I can now hear his

4. H erbert, at College, to !tis Afotlwr.

hamm er and his whistl e-th at peculiar sucking sort of

Th e followin g is a charming specimen of family correspondence. You will see , at a glance, that it was not

whistle whi ch indi cates a puzzl ed state of brain. Little
William and H enry are in bed, and if you will step to the
bedroom door, you will barely h ear the m breathe. And

" mad e to measure," but is a real le tter from a young man
with a clear head and a warm heart.

---

1\Iy

C OLLE GE,

Tuesday Rvcni11g.

D E AR l\foTHER:

Though I am now sitting with
my back toward you, yet I love you none the less ; and
what is quite as strange, I can see you just as plainly as
if I stood pe eping in upon you. I can sec you all just as
you sit around the table .

Tell me if I do not see you?

There is moth er on the right of the table with her knitting, and a book open before her ; an<l anon she glances

I

I .

I

:. j~ II ' .
;

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now mother has stopped, and is absent and thou ghtful,
and my h eart tells me she is thinking of he r only absent
child.
Yuu have been even kind er than I expected or you
promised. I did not expect to h ear from you till to-morrow, at earliest; but as I was walking to-day, one of my
classmates cried, "A bundle for you at th e stage-otlice !"
I was soon in my room with it. Out came my knife, and,
forgetting all your good advice about "strings and fragments," the bundle soon open ed its very heart to me ; and

h
I

it proved a warm heart too, for there were the stockings

her eye from th e work on the paper to that on her nee-

(they are on my feet now-that is, one pair of th e m), and

dles; now counts the stitches, and then puts her eye on

there were the flannels, and the bosoms, and the gloves,

the book and starts off for anoth er round.

There is Mary,

and the pincushion from Louise, and th e needl e-book from

looking wise and sewing with all her might; now and

Sarah, and the paper from Mary, and th e letters and love

th en stopping to give Sarah and Louise a lift in their

from all of you.

lessons-trying to initiate them in the mysteries of geog-

ters and love.

Thanks to you all for the bundle, letOne corner of my eye is now moistened,
4

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i:

74

How

TO

"'\VnrTE.

FAMILY

while I say, "Thanks to ye all, gnde folks."

I mu st not

be fool enough to say-you will imagine bette r .han I can

forg et to rn r ntion the appl es- " the six apples, one from
each," and the brautiful littl e loaf of cairn.

say it.

The apples I

I need not say write, for I know that you will.

have sme ll ed of, and the cairn nibbled a little, ancl pronounced it to be in the finest taste.
Now a worrl about your letters.

to you all, and much too.

well.

Your affectionate son,

I can not say much,
5. Glen C. Haven, M.D.,. to his Son.

I am glad the spectacles fitted rnolhcr's eyes so
You wonder how I hit it.

Love

HERBERT.

for I have only read mot.her"s three times, and Mary's
twice.

75

LETTERS.

J\'.Iy SoN:

To-d~'y, you, like those before you, pass

\Vhy, have I not bA en

told from babyhoocl that I huve my mother's eyes?

Now,

if I have moth e r's eyes, what is plainer than that I can

from the quiet and sechrity of liome into th e \Vorld-the
gr eat world, the wick ed world -the struggling, striving,

pi ck out glasses tl1at will suit them?

chaffering, trafficking world-whose go<llin ess is ga i11,

I am glad, too, that

and with whom success is virtue.

the new book is a favorite.
I suppose the pond is all frozen over, and th e sk a tin g

You go forth into the mart of life alone.

Your parenb::,

I know it is foolish; but if moth e r a nd I\Iary had

your brother and sister, are le ft behind, anJ you ca rry

skated as many "m oony" nights as I have, th ey would

nothing with you but a good education, good prin c ipl es,

sigh, not at the tlwught, but at the fact that my skating

extraordinary purity of pers onal habits , and excellent

good.

days arc over.
l am warm , well, and com!'nrtah! P;

abilities, conjoined with and fortified by good he<dlh
WP.

all stmly, and

dull fe llows , like myself, have to confess that they study
liard.

vVe have no genius to help us.

good fellow.

My chum is a

I

He now sits in yonder corner, his feet

Thus you go, my son.
Do you think your case a hard one ?

yourself with others, whose p arents bring ri ch h;ixe giYen
to them splendid outritE?. in cash or creflit., in bank stoc k or
broad acres?

seems to have all run out of his heels into his heaJ, fur

cleared by one's own ax e-blow s arc the plac es \\·here grain

I hav e got it framed, and th ere it hangs-the picture of
my fath e r!

I never lo ok up without seeing it, and I never

I
I

On reflection, it will be found that fields

grows and grass ripens for him .

one has helpe<l to score are his surest shelter.

\Vool

grown in his own sheepfold, and woven urider the click
of his own shuttle, makes the warmest covering for his

that I am her eldest son.

back, as surely as they give forth signs of his own

I

I

''·

"'

;I

Hous es whos e timb e rs

see it without thinking that my mother is a widow and
What more I think I will not

·,~

Do you comp:iro

poised upon the stove in such a way that the tlullness
he is fast asleep.

,.
1,

I

. II

.,
"

H
independence.

0

w

T0

\,V RITE

F

.

In fine, my clear boy, whatever is yours

maste rs.

is yours by a higher and nobler law than that of inher-

work .

itance.

you.

do not commence life rich.

Rich es, like intellectual or

heart culture , are divinely ordained to those who work
for them.

rL

Y

L

E T T E

77

n s.

you som e beautiful patterns, and from the mos t cel ebrate d

as the r es ult or product of the labor of your bo<ly or br:i.in,,

Let no n e rvous en e rgy be wasted in r egr ets tn at you

A J\I

S e n<l me, from time to tim e , spec im e ns of your
I hopA that. Madam Camp:rn is well

pl1~ as A 1l

with

R egard her as a second mother, and p;i,y th e clo sest

attention to every thing she may say to you.

Embr ace

h e r te n<l erly for me, my beloved child.
\Vrite Lu me ofte11.

I

H is a lou g ti1ue si11ce I ha ve li ea. nl

\Vhen otherwise possessed, they g ~n e rally arc

from you.

Lov e your molh er as sh e love s you ; y ou \Yill

Be willing to have wealth, like all else

adore her.

Adieu, my clear little Hortense.

foolishly use<l.

which you possess under God, come to you as the growth
of honest industry, good judgment, and prudent economy.
GLEN c. HA VEN.

'embraces you, and loves you with h e r whol e h eart.
Jo ~E PHI N E D oN .Al'A RT E .

P. S. I embrace Emilie.

6. Josephine to Hortense.
l\IANTUA,

Your mother

Love h e r always tend e rly.

7. Henry Bartlett to !tis Mother.
.Jl-Iarcli 6, 1707.

I am very well, my dear Horte nse. For six days I
have had no fever. I was a little si ck at Bologna; more-

H e re is a manly and ch ee rful epi stl e from ;i, s on at
school, follow e<l by hi s moth er's re ply, and a ve ry pr e tLy
lette r from his sis ter.

0\'Cr, I am woary of Italy, notwithstanding all the f~tcs
th ey girn m e, and the flattering welcome which I re ~eive
from the inhabitants of this beautiful country.

I can not

CLINTON,

l\ly

N. Y. , Jun e 15, 1856.

DEAR :MOTHER:

Knowing that y ou will be anx-

accustom myself to be separated for so long a time from

ious to hear from me, I avail my se lf of th e earlie s t oppor-

I feel the need of pressing them

tunity to relieve your loving, motherly heart of any little

my beloved chil<lren.
to my heart .

I have, however, reason to hope that that

moment is not far <listant, and t.hat thought contributes
much to restore me from my recent sickness.

anxieties which may <listurb it on my account .

I arrived here safely; and, as I was obliged to commence my studies at once, I have been too bu sy to be

At the first favorable opportunity I will sen<l you a

homesi ck or sad.

I am now getting accustom ed to my

charming necklace, after the antique, with corresponding

school duties, and find my tasks easier th a n th ey s ee med

earrings and bracelets.

at first.

Apply yourself, I pray you, to drawing.

I will hring

' I

I like my teachers, and particularly Prores~tir Delton

i

'.

.

'.

······-----------""*'·..-~--·
78

lI O W

who is Ye ry kin<l to me.
already a favorite of his.

1'

o vV R

I T J~ •

FAMILY

I think I may boast of being

I have also found some pleasant

companions among my classmates.

Am I not fortunate?

But I have not forgotten your advice about the choice of
my frien<ls.

I s l1all soon begin to feel quite at home here, though I

I am proud

your studies .

<levelup and c ultiv ate, an<l !hat t.h e fin est in te ll ect a11cl th e

h o llligl1L :>ou n outstrip me; but he loves play, and thinks
the sc hool-room a prison; an<l I be lieve he is more than

bes t eJucati on will avail l1ttfo withn11t li r.alth of body allll

h alf right, too.

boy, but also play.

vital force to g ive th e m e f1i c ie ucy.

It was the ir noble athletic gam e s which gave the

our lesso ns faithfully.

youth of anci en t Gre e ce th e s tr ength, gr1ce, ' and manly
b eauty for which th e y w e re distinguish ed.
B e careful of your h ealth.

Do not al low any thing to

in terfo re with your daily b .lth, and, above all, acquir e no

B11t I

but for a single hour! but you shall see how bravely I

irre brrular h abits of eatincr,
or drinking-,
or sleepin g .
b
~

can bea r tlii s absence till vacation.

did not inten<l to read you a lecture; I tru s t you · do not

You will write oft.en

will you not? and father, and Mary, and Jamie?

'

Love to

all, and a large share for yourself, my dear, good mother,
from

Your affectionate son,
HENRY.

8. Mrs. Bartlett to lter Son.
kr Ho:r.rn, June 19th, lSGG.
l'IIY DF.AR

IloY:

It was kind and thoughtful in you
to write so soon, for you were right in supposing that we
should feel a little anxious about you.

We are so glad to

~

I

N e gl ec t uot th e games prop er to

youth.

How I wish I could see you all, if it were

.· ~' 1·

S lllll y, th e n, rny c1 ca r

hav e our own way about it, provi<l e<l, of course, we master

an<l amusing?

I:

You are uaLurally sLuJiuu s an d ambitious ,

ularly, and beg inning to love his books. If he would study,

as gre at a romp as ever? and little Winnie as playful

i,,!

of it.
I ne e d not exhort you, my d ear H e nry, to dili ge 11 ce m

Do not forget that you have a bDll y as well as a mind to

Is Mildred

''I,

.J: '

I hope Jamie is going to school reg-

Has Mary commenced h e r mu sic lessons?

.

;

i11 believing that my clear boy will pro ve hims e lf worll1y

and thcrn for e mor e like ly to e rr in th e opposi te clire c;Liou.

H e re we stu<ly in our own rooms, and

' t ,:

You m ay w ell

be proud of Professor B e lton's fri e ndship .

sadly miss rny <lear father, mother, brother, and sisters.
liow are you all?

'· -

79

LETTERS.

know that you are contentetl aTlll h appy.

·-

n ee d one.

' l
!:' .·

Forgi ve my anxious solicitude; but <lo ta ke

care of yours elf.
Jamie goes to school regularly, but loves his sports
better than his books.

He learns a great <l e al, how-

''
.'I

ever, in spite of his aversion to continuous application.

He will do well, but r equires a different training

from that which suffices in your case.
Mildred misses you in h e r outtloor rompings , aml often
wishes brother Harry would come hom e .
you more than I can t ell.

We all · mis s

Mary will write soon, anJ will

..

,,

j.

i . ~I

li!i
,I

1..

------------...------------ -·- ·-·
How

SU

TO

give an account of herself.

FAMILY

\YnITE.

Your father is very busy, as

usual, but will also write soon.

Your affectionate mother

'

and hopes you wi ll think it pretty.
Do not fail to write soon. With much love, in whic11
Your affectionate sister,
all join, I am, as ever,

9. Mary Bartlett to ltcr Brother.
CLOVERFIELD,

l\'1ARY.

N. J., June 29th, 1856.

10. Honorable 1Villiam ·wirt to his Daughter.

DEAR BROTHER HARRY:

I am afraid that you are
a li~tle vexed with me for not writing sooner; but my
music lessons and my sewing talrn so much of my time
that I have leisure for scarcely any thing else.
I
take two lessons a week, and am obliged to practice a
great deal. I l ikc music, bnt find rnv " exercises" verv
tiresom e.
Cousin Callie was here last week . She has barown to
be a tall, elegant girl; you would hardly know her. She
has a fine education, too. Roger Perham has returned
from college, and, they say, is to enter Dr. Henderson's
office as a student. Only think of Roger as boctor
Perham!
Jamie and I are to go to the singing-school at the
,·illage, which commences next week. How I wish you
were here to go with us! Little Sis grows prettier and
more winning every <lay. It was a bright thought to call
h er \Vinnie. She can not und erstand why they keep
•

hrother Harry away so long .

Mil<lrc<l sends the inclose<l book-mark, which

she h as mad e with great labor and wonderful patience,

CLARA HANSON-BARTLETT.

MY

like gralllmar or the multiplication-table a whit better
than of' oltl.

All send their lo ve.

81

LETTERS.

J

James is making a des-

perate effort to speak for himself, and I will only say that
he likes to play with the girls as well as ever, and don't

William \Virt was a learned, talentc<l, and distingui sheJ
man, but see how si mpl y, uuaffcctedly, yet charmingly,
he writes to his Llatwhter
Laura:
0
II"
BAJ,TI.J.\IORE,

You

wrote

me

a

.11.pril 18, 1822.

11ntif'nl lette r,

equally honorable to your head and heart, for which I
thank you; and when I grow to be a light-hearted, ligl1theade<l, happy, thoughtl ess young girl, I will give you a
quid pro quo. As it is, you must take such a letter as a
man of s ense can write, although it has bee n remarked,
that the more sensible the man, the more dull his letter.
Don't ask me by whom remarked, or I shall refer you,
with J e nkins on , in the Vicar of ·W akefield, to Sanconiathon, l\'Ianetho, and Berosus.
This puts me in mind of the card of impressions from
the pencil seals, which I intended to inclose last mail, for
you, to your mother, but forgot.

Lo! here they are;

these are the best I can find in Baltimore.

I have

marked them according to my taste ; but exercise your

4*

!~

..

. 1j
'

82

II 0 w

T 0

\Y R

FAMILY

I T E •

83

LETT ERS .

qualify me to take th e superintend e nce of yo ur hous eho l<l,

S'.1all I bring you a Spanish g ui tar of G iles' choosing?

great <leli ght to r epay in offic es of love and duty lli e affec-

Can you be certa in that you will stick to it ?

And some

Th ere a1:e thre e n ec klac es th at te mpt me- a beautiful
mo ck e merald, a s till more beautiful mo ck ruby with pearl,
and a still most bea utiful of real topaz-what say you?
"W ill you have either of th e scarfs <l escr ib e<l to your
Th ey are very

fashtonable and beautiful. Any of th ose wreaths and
flowers ? C o n s uIt your d ear molrn
l r; always cons ult her,
always re s pect h er. Thi s is th e only way to make yourself resp ectable and love ly .
you happy.

God bless you, and m ake

Your afTectionate fath e r

au<l the charge of rny lillle broth ers.

peared especiall y to ad a pt h e r advice to me in r efe rence
to the responsible pos ition I am shortly to occupy.
You will, I know, bear with mu ch that is d efic ient in
me ; le t me assure you my ea rn est e n.<leavors shall not be
wanting to manifest, by atte ntion to youl' co mforts, my
sense of your pate rnal care.
Your affectionate <laughter,
l\IATILDA D AWSON.

12. Ho1wrablc l-Villiam "l-Vi rt to his l-Vife.*

'

BALTIM ORE,

*

*

4th Oct., 1839.

D EA R FATHER:

How shall I ex press to you my
thanks for yo ur generous r emem brance of me on my birthday?

The gift itself was scarcely more valu a bie than

the kind and d elicate mann er of its co nveya nce.

To

possess a portrait of my belov ed and lam e nted mother has
lon g bee n an object of des ire .
as a great treasur e .

*

*

*

December 27th, 1824.

*

*

The imag<; of your pensive face is on my h eart, and con-

11. lJJatilda D awson to lter Father.
BRIGHTO.'l,

It will afford me

My kin<l and consid erate governess ha s ap-

W.M:. WrnT.

MY

l!
.ii '.

tionate an<l d evo ted kindn ess with which you have watched
over me .

What say you ?

mot~cr, an<l which-Lh e blue or black?

I!,
'• f

own exc lu sively, a nd choose for yourse lf, if eith er of th e m
please yo11.

mu sic for the Spanish g uitar ?

I,

De assured I shall valu e it

tinually before my eyes .

f\fay th e Fath er of Mercies ~up­

port you, and pour into yo ur bosom the rich consolations
of his grace, and prese rv e and strengthen yo u for y~ur
family!

What can we <lo, if you suffer yourself to srnk

und e l' th e sorrow that afllicts you 1 L et us bear up, and en-

'! '

<lea vor to fulfill our <l uty to our smvi ving childr en; let us not
overcast the morning of th eir lives with un availing gloom,
by exhibiting to them, continually, the picture of despa.i r.
Trouble comes soon e nou gh, whatever w e do to avert it;

I can n ot hop e to fill the vacant place in our once complete dome s tic circl e ; but I do tru s t that the valuable instructions I am receivin~ here will in some measure

• Written on the death of their eldest son Robert, who died at Havre, France,
In September,

18~.l4.

.,';'I

I

-

-

•

•

.....-

~

•·•-

...... ' -... _ 2- ......,

. -#
r. _,..._,,

-

~-;:,a:,.,1,~·

84:

FAMILY

85

LETTERS.

l'

1,

Ii
an<l the somber side of life will early enough show itself

i

rng down his face, crying with fear and parn, aml his
I

to them without any haste on our part to <lraw aside thn

li!"e uncertain.

curtain.

present to me, whenever I think of this house.

Let them be unusually gay an<l happy as long

His image, in that situation, is always
I walke1\

as they can ; an<l let us rather promote than dissipate the

out this morning at daylight.

pleasing illusions of hope and fancy.

Let us entleavor to

so11's new road, which is now made hard with grav el as

show religion to them in a cheering light ; the hopes and

far as the place where it divides; but on reaching this

promises it sets before us ; the patience and resignation

point, instead of turning to the left, as we used to do, I

which it inspires under affiiction; the peace and serenity

continued along the main branch to the little tank, and

which it spreads around us; the joyful ns~mrancc wil11

there halted a few moments to aLl111irc the viow of the

which it gilds even the night of deatli.

<lista11t hills.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

May God bless you, and breathe into yonr bosom peace
and cheerful resignation.
W.W.

13. Sir Thomas Munro to his Wife.
GurnnY, INDIA., .flpril, 1826.

We came here last night for the first time since you

I followed Captain Wat-

I turned toward the gar<le11, where I al-

ways found you, and Kamen trotting before you, except
when he stayed behind to examine some ant-hole.

How

delightful it was to see him walking, or running, or stopping, to endeavor to explain something with his hands to
help his language!

How easy, and artless, and beautiful

are all the motions of a child !
is graceful.

Every thing that he does

All his little ways are endearing, and they

went away ; Colonel Carpac and I drove out together.

are the arms which Nature has given him for his pro-

w· e

tection, because they make everybody feel an attachment

alighted at the old place, near the well.

It was

J have lost his society just at the time when it
It was his tottering walk, his helpless-

nearly dark, and we passed through the garden without

for him.

finding you.

most interesting.

We had nobody in the evening but Captain

Watson, which I was glad of.

He has got the floor cov-..

ness, an<l unconsciousness, that I liked.

By the time I

ered with new mats, which smell like hay; but. they are

see him again he will have lost all these qualities ; he

of no use, when those for whom they were intended are

will know how to behave himself; he will have acquired

gone.

some knowledge of the world, and will not be half so

The cause which occasions the desertion of this

house gives every thing about it a melancholy appear-

engaging as he 1s now.

ance.

never change.

I dislike to enter Kamen's room.

I never pass it

without thinking of that sad night when I saw him lying
in Rosa's lap, with leeches on his head, the tears stream-

' '

I almost wish that he would

!"
!'

SG

H ow

TO

F A:H IL Y

W R IT E .

Hol\rn , J111u 19th, 1849.

As £ ,·c was at fiirs t , I suppose e very moth er is de·
I iglitod
. by th e birth o f a man-cliilrl. Th ere is hope th at
he will CU ll']U cr more e vil anti effe ct more good th an is
<' xprctcd from girl s. Thi s preju dice in favor of man does
lll> t see m to be destroy ed by h is short-com in rrs for ages
~ rn
I
b
•
, I , cac I mother hopes to fin d in hers an E rn n. nu el.
s liould like Ycry mu ch lo sec your c hil dren, but hardly
r ca~1 z e l e \· cr s hall ; th e journ ey home se ems so long, so
d101 c11lt., allll so expens ive. I should rea ll y like to lie
dow n here allll sleep my wa y into another sph ere of C:l•
i ~l e n c r, if I could tak e with rn e one or tw o th at love and
11 ne1l me, and was sure of a guod have n fo r them on the
other s id e.
~·:

*

87

one of th e few to whom God has gi\'e ll a spirit carry ing

11. Atar!!are
t F11 ller Ossoz·
' Sister.
~
i to 11cr

*

L ETTERS .

•

I 5 . Sir H 11111pl1rey Davy to his Mothe r.
H oT WF.LLs, November 19, 1800.
J\'[y DEA R JlloTll E TI :

H ad I bel ieved th at my !!ilence
of si x wee ks would have girn n you a mome nt's un eaai11 rss , I s houl d have wri 1tcn lon(T" ago., bt1t I I1a1•0 been
. of expe rimenting,
.in iny f·,11.on·t e pursuit
.- ,'"
.much. enw1rred
a nd ITl endea rnr111 g tu amuse two of my fri en1h who hare
spent some days at th e in stitute . On e of th em is your
quon da m lodge r, GrPgory Walt, who des ired to be kindJ1
rc mc111 br rcd to yo u and th e fa mil y ; the oth er you hue
hearJ me speak of : his name is Thompson , nnd he ii

th em above th e co mm on thin gs of thi s world .
_Acce pt my affectionate tha11ks fo r yo ur prese nts .
have rece ived them all, and have made goocl use of them
all. S everal t imes has a supper on the mar in aded pilchards made me recoll ect fo rm er tim es , when I sat opposite to yo u, my dear mother, eating uf the sa me delic ious
fo od, and talkin g of fu ture unkn ow n things. Li llie did I
th en think of my prese nt s itua tio n, or of th e mode in
wh ich l am, and am to be co nn ecletl with th e worl d.
Littl e did I th en t hink tha t I should ev er be so long
absent fr om the pl ace of my birth as to feel such longi ngs
as I now feel fo r visitin g it again.
I shall see , with hea rlfeH pleasure, the t ime approach-

ing wh en I shall aga in beholtl my fi rst home ; when I
·shall endeavo r to re pay some of the debts of gratitude I
owe
visi t
with
half

to yo u, to th e doctor, and lo my au11 ls . My next
shall not be so short a one as my last. I will slay
yo u at least tw o or three months . You h ave let
yo ur house ; have you a bedroo m reserved fo r me,

11.nd a Ji llie roo m fo r a laborato ry l

Whi ch part have you

let 1
W hen I come Lu P enzance, [ will settl e all about John;
till then I should lik e fo r h im to learn French and L atin
with IVlr . D ugnrt.

The ex pense of thi s, or any other part

of his edu cation , I shall be glad to defr ay. D o not, by
nny means, put him wi th Mr. Corylon . The paints I h ave
long procured ; ancl if there is no vessel in the course of a
week, they shall be sent off by the wagon.

\

1I

j

"

SD

E A 111 1 L y LE T TE n s ·
will write to Kitty in the c ou rse of next month .
a m g la<l to hear that G rac e is betto r.
wi th a ffect ion to li er.

lte rnernh cr me

l h ave nut yet see n l\rr. Griffin.

An y one who h as lately see n my fri end s, I shall be glad
lo sec.

All in th e way of prog ress goes o n nobl y.

l\Jy health

was n eve r bette r than s ince I le ft Corn wall last.
be ve ry glad to hear fr om y ou soon.

I shall

Yo u hav e a hundred

s ubj ec ts to write abo ut i11te rcsti11 g lo me; I can only
write o f my s e lf.

Rc111e111'Jer m e wi th a ffec tion lo all my

think
t an<l say what sltoul1l be <l one to you.
omen , '
t
x11e ct
o
I won
't t.ell y ou ti·ia t \Ve 'are all well, nor t.1ia we
. e,
l
.
,
(l<ll
e
of
the
w
eek,
n
or
will
.l sc m
. to ret urn about the 111
r<l Of n ews-th atrs poz .
you a wo
[' I' t y
i\'I du ty to moth e r, love lo childr e n , an<l tu l\' iss >C s '
J y
. 0. tc
l am yo ur lo ring hu. banJ,
and Gracey, etc.,
n. FnANKLIN.
•
. l

Jll l

P . S . I h ave scratclied out lite lo1Ji11g words, b e in g wri ~
. ot I 1cn .s angry.
in· haste by mistak e , w I1 0 11 I ;·01g

fri end s (pa r tic ul nrly the d oc tor), rn y a un ts a nd uncles.
L ove to Kitty, Gracr, 13etsy, and John. Farewell, my
dea r mot he r .
I a 111 your affectin11 ate so n,
If.

EA STON,

DAVY.

.Nov . 13th , liGO.

wrote to you, a few cl ay s !ince,
by a s p ec ial 111 cs sc nge r, a 11d inclos e<l lette rs fo r all our
wir es a nd sweeth earts, expecti ng to h e ar fr o m you by hie
r etu rn , a11cl to h ave th e n orth e rn ne wspap ers and English
lette rs pe r tho pac ket; but he is ju st now r e turn ed with·
ou t a sc rap for poor us; so l h ad a goo d mind no t to write
f.o yon by thi s opportunity; but I neve r ca n be ill-natured
e 11ou gli , e ve n wh e n th rre is th e mos t occas io n .

F1.on <:1'CF:, Jtfay 14, 1850.
D EA R JlfoTHF.R :

I G. Dr. F'ra11klin to his Wife.
JI[ Y DF:A R C.:11 IL D:

17. _7\largarcl F· tt 11er O sso/i's last Letter.

The ntca·

s1 •11 g •!r says he le ft the lette rs at yo ur h ouse , an<l saw you
afrnward at l\fr. Duehc's, an<l told y on wh en he would go,

. ve l sllall be welcome
l will l1c I 1e
'th my treasu res - my husband a nd chil (l. lF.or.1 m e, I
w1
' I Should a11y thing nnu cr our
long so much to see ) ou .
.
e who
.
rth think of your J augh te r ,~s on
me etm g up on ea '
d l
duty and who always
· l d at least to 0 rn r
'
always w1 s ie '
'
. d
<l to di scorn r
ch e ri sh ed y ou, according as h er mm ope ne
excell ence.
l fi t t my
oo to my brothers ; am ir s ' o
Give dear 1ove, t '
t E ll
·
.
· s ter's love .o '.. en '
eldest, faithful fri en d, Eugene ' a s1.
r co usi n E.
lov e to a II m kind ' grood aunts, aml (o my d ca

Y

God bl ess th em!
.
tl
, t
h II be abl e lo p ass so me t11n e toge ir r ' ) 0 '
I h ope w e s a
l
,. -HF.RF. an<l
.
in thi s world. But I. f G u d decr ees ot ie n1 isc
HERE AFTE R,

and that he lod ged at Hon ey's, n ex t doo r to you, and yol
you <li<l nut write; so let Goorly Smith gi1·a one more just

my de arest m oth er,
.
.
Yonr lnv tn g cl111J,
l\I A R <'A RF.T .

I

\

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90

11 Q W

'j'

Q

~JT
l'f RITE.

LETTEns

oF

91

Fn1ENDSUJP.

'i

I

acl1mts.

You will neve r bes tc w any share of yo ur goorl

will o n one who cl ese rves be tte r.

VII.
I1ET1'ERS
0111~

longest, love best.

single blast of coldn ess , be e xtin g ui sh ed; but that fond-

OFI FRIENDSIIJP

n ess, which l ength of time has co11n cctcd with nwny c ir-

{lf th o lll Ql! f lun oce nt. nnd exquhtte
•
fr 1L 111l.-.1lrm tcwmc r 11.
plc1tsu r ei1 of this 11fo b th a t of hell rln"'

" r·
•om •n •bttnt

RIEN

DSHIP impli es co nfid e nce
11 eart to yo ur rr· , d .
·
Open your
ic u Jn your Je tt
I
co ncea lm e nts
•.
l.
_ e rs.
·la1·e no
· 1 rust 11111 as '\'..'.) tru s ted
y
h
· } ou e xpect tu be
.
uu a 1·e commo n fri e nd
uial tastes, read tl1e sa me bool·s
<l
s
11·
I
' • an enJ11v s 1
.1r P cas urC's . d I
, rn·
.
' ,rn t ic rnfore l1 a l'
t opics of interest o n h . l
.
e a th ousn n<l
w IC 1 lo write t
l
arc inte res ted i11 l .
I
o eac I other. You
ll S r a us, h opes f, .
11re s. You . rm11athiz e . I. . ' ears, s uccesses, fail·
·
·
Ill ll S JllJS
d .
No w o nd e r that le tters r ,...
. an Ill h is sorrows.
o 11 e 11d sh ip 1 l
.
·
' I' l C ll \Vfllfcn in the
t ru n spirit uf frif'. ntJ~·J11p
-whc 11 fra I.
IJC a rt , are so c hannin '
n '• srnce re, a nd full of

an~ con~e·

Tl

g.

1c sty le of le tters of fri e 111l sh i J s h
. .
that of fa111il y lc ttns - fr e<'
I
ou ld be similar to
., easy and un
t .
as co rrec t, gra ce ful
I I
'
co ns rain ed , but
• ant c cgant a s may be .
ll.-EXAllIPLES.

DP.All i'lfAJJAM:

n!fc nli tH1 a 111 ! ti·i d
. I

m e a great part

To

cause, is hourly r e viv ed by accidental r ecoll e ction s.

those that have liv ed lon g togeth e r , e very thing h ea rt!
and every thing see n r ecall s some pleas ure com1111111i cntccl
or some benefit confe rred; some petty cp1arrel, or so111 c
slight endear ment.

Esteem of great pow e r s, or amiabl e

qualities n e wly discovered, m ay embroider a <lay or a
we ek, but a friendship of twenty years is i11lc rwovc 11 with
the texture of life.

A friend may be ofte n found ancl lost,

but an old fri encl never can be fouml , am! nature h as provid ed that he can not easily be lost .
I h ave not forgott e n the Davc nants, thou gh they s ee m

I began ve ry e arly lo te ll th e m
I am sorry
to h e ar of their building. I ha ve always warn c <l tho se

to have forgotten me.

what they h ave commonly found to be tru e.

whom I love d against that mo<l e of oslcntatitrns wa s te.
You seem to m e ntion Lord Kil1nurry as a strange r .
\Ve were at his hous e in Cheshir e, and h e one day din ed

1· Dr. J ulinson to 1• ·rrs.
n :
Tlirale.
Sin ce yo u hav

cums tanc es and occas ion s, thoug h it may for a while be
suppressed by disgust or resentment, wiLh or witho11t a

!.- SENTIMENT AND STYLE.

~~

Those that ha1Je /01Jcd

A s u<ld e n blaze o f kind11 ess may, hy a

.
e written with th e

c rn css uf ancient f
f ti
im e, your lett e rs give
o
ie pleasure which a Iife of solitude

with Sir Lynch.

What h e t ell s of th e e pi gra111 is not

tru e, but pe rhaps lie does not kn ow it to be fal se .
not you rememb e r how he r ejo iced in ha ving

11 0

Do

pa rk?

he could not disoblige his n eighbors by se n<ling them no
venison.

\

92

JI 0

W

T0

\\TR IT E .

Th e frr rJ11 cnc}' of d ca ti. 1, to th ose who I k
. .
the le is ure of Arc a I"· .
oo upon 1t in
.
' t 1a, Is very dre adful
\V
wh at it s hould te ach us. I t
.
c all kn ow
I
' e us all be dilige nt tu learn.
,u cy P urter lrns lost her brother.
But whom I have lo~t
- Ict me not now re member,
.,
L et not

you~~oss

be added to the mournful catalogue
nte soon ngain to,
·
Madam, your, e tc.,
SAM'L J OHNSON

2 · "L. E. L. ," to Marie.
J\Jy

IJ EAR E"T ]\[ARIE:

b .
I ca n not but write t
ri c f accuu11t how I e nact ti
o you a
C.
ie part of a feminin e Ilohin
111 soc. I mus t say, in it se lf th e
. .
.
son
'
rior t.u ::i ll I . .1
place IS mfin1te ly supe•
I .
c 1 er urea meJ of Tl
i11g, the room s exce ll e nt .I do1en etas! o Is a fin e bu iJJ.
0
f
·
s uffe r from heat ·
in sects th cr
.
'
, e arc e w or none and I
h e alth. Tl
I'
,,
a m 111 e xc e ll e11t
ic so itutle, except an
.
.
absolu te · fr om
occas IOnal dl!lner, is
.
5 eve11 HI t 1le mornin g till
'
seven , wh en
we din e , I neve r see Mr M· I
• ac ean, anJ rarely an
esc
1 . \V e w ere wel
db·
.
. yone
co me
Y a series of di
.
I am glad are ove r fi 't .
nn e rs , which
' or I Is very awkward t b I
lady. Still the g r t J·· d
.
o o t le only
'
ea "" ness with whi c h I h
bee11
t rea tc d 'Incl th e ve ry I
ave
p casant mannrrs of many of th e
g<' nl 1c111 e 11 , make me feel it 'as· l'ttl
1 · e as possibl
I
ll«•c 1' we h acl a ri s it f
C
. .
,
e.
Ja ~ t
·
rorn
apta1n Cas t!
f h
l'rlacl rs . IJi s t • .
'
'
e , o t c old
.
s ory I S i·c ry me lan cholj'
He 11.
ll
·
a s marri ccl, s ix
1111rn is hC' fore he l ft E 11 1
br.;1 utif11l i\1i s sr.s
.
c
~ 1? and, to one of thn
Il1JJ, S ir John Hill's da ughter, and s h~

ui<:'U JUSt as he rece ived orders to return home.

\V e also

bad a Yi s it from Colonel Il osch, th e Dutch go vern or, a
111ust ge nll emanlike man.

I h ave n ot yet fe lt th e want

I do not wi sh to form ne w fri end s ,

of soc iety th e least.

;ind ne ver do es a day pass with out thinking mos t a ffc c·
ti onate ly of my old ones.
round ed by the sea.

On thr ee s id es we arc sur·

I like th e perpetual dash on th e

r ocks; one wave after anoth er co mes up, and is forev e r
<las he d in pi eces , lik e human hopes, that can onl y s well
to be <lisappointed; as w e advanc e , up s prin g the sh inin g
fr oth of Jove or h ope, " a moment white, and gone foreve r."

The land vi e w, with its cocoa arnl p rilm tre es ,

is very s triking; it is like a sce ne in th e .i l rabirm Nights.
Of a ni ght, the be auty is 1·e ry re markabl e ; th e sea is of
a si lvery purple , and the moo n des e n •c s a ll that has been
said in h er favor.

I h a ve only once bee n out of th e fort

by day li ght, and th e n was deli ghted.

The salt lake s

w e re fir st dyed a de e p crimson by the setting sun , and as
we r eturn ed th ey seemed a faint viol e t in the twili ght,
jus t broken by a thousand sta rs, whil e before us w as the
red be acon light.

The chan ce of se ndin g this lette r is a

very sudd en one, and I should h ave ventured to write to
G eneral Fazen, to whom l beg th e very kind est reg~rd s .
D earest, do not forg et m e.

Pray write to m0, "Mrs.

G eorge Maclea n, Cape Coast Castle, ca re of Messrs.
F orster &
Street."

Smith, 5 N e w City Chambers, Bishopsgate

Write about yours elf ; nothin g else half so
Your affe ctionate,
much interests me.
L. E. MACLEA1".

~---

94

H ow

To

- -- -------L ETTEI~S

·wRITE.

OF

FRIE N DSHIP.

95

aml to mu se by th e s talely tow e r s or venerabl e ruin s, on ce

3. R obert Burns to Jl!rs • D U// l op.
J\fADAM:

Utopia n th oughts .

.
I r ead yo ur le tter wi th water
.
y eyes. A
liitl e, 1·e ry littl e whil e ago I I d
, '
Ja sc arc e u fri e n l b t th
stuhborn f)rirl e of 11iy own bo so m · no 1
0
1· . C II
patronized , be fri e nd e d b , .
' v w . am< 1s t1n g ui s h e<l,
" II
.
.
) you. , our lri e nclly ach ice-I
"' not g 1ve it t he co ld n um e of
.
.
1 I
I
c ri t1c1s 111 - I r <'c e1 re
w it h re 1·e re 11 ce
.
ia ve m a1 e so me sm · ll It
.
what I be fore h · d
u
a c rntio 11 111
' 1 p ril! f.e d.
I h ave t h e ad ·
f
VC' rv J. J .
f .
VI CC 0
s ome
tl ' II( I C IO US ri c11tls a lll O Jl "'<T th e l'1t e 1.a t'1 h e re · l t · h
ie m I s om c t.im cs fi11d it r
' rn wit
. .
iccessary to c lai m th e rivil o
of tl11rik1n g fur mysC' lf
'J'J·ie noble Ea rl of G I P · e,.,o
·
wh o m I O\\' e more th · t
· e n ca 1rn , to
. .
.
.m . o a 11y man, d ocs m e th e h ono r of
g 1v111g· me hi s st r ictu res.' hi .~ hi n ts, wi·111 r esp e ct lo impro~ri e l y o r i11d e lica cy , I foll ow impl icit.Ir.

1 o u k111dl y i11 ln rest y·ou '.se If 111
. m y fu ture vi e ws and
pros p ec ts ; lli c rc I ca n g ire yo u n o li g ht.
Dnrk

th e h o nor ed abod es of h e r h eroes.

:l !

It is all

'\\'n! chn0!, ere th e infant ~nm

1Vns roll er! tngc lh cr, or Jrnd tried his beams
Alhwnrl th e g loo m profonnrt .

The a pp e lla tion o f a Scott is h bard . b • r
.
.d
t
is ) ia r my hr g h est
pri e ; o co n ti 1111 0 to d ese rv e it 15
.
t ion .
·
.
' '
my m ost e xalte d a mhiScott1s h th e mes and Sc tt' I
I co uld \\'i s h to sing I' I
o I~ I s tory arc t.h e th e me s
. .
.
iav e no <car e r aim th an to ha1•e
it Ill my pow e r, unplag ued with th e ro ulin e of b .
for which, Il ea Ye n know I
.
11 s111ess,
s,
am unli t e nourrh to mak
.
I
.
e
1s
urr
}.
pd
g
ri
th
b
'
"
I ·
magcs
rough Ca le d onia · l 0 5 1·t
fields o f J
b tI
' '
on the
ier a t cs ; to wand e r o n th e banl·s
' of her r·1vers

]J ut th ese are a ll

1 hal' e Jalli eu long e nough wi th li fe ;
1 h ave a fund , ag e d moth e r to

' ti s tim e to b e in ea rn e st.

care fur, and so m e oth e r b oso m ti c s pe rh aps erp1 a lly le nde r.

·whN e th e indiv idu a l o nl y s uO 't •rs b y the co nse-

qu e n c:e s o f his own t.h oug h tlessn ess , ind ole 11 cc, o r fu ll y ,
h e may be exc usabl e ; n ay, s hi11in g ab iliti es a nd so 111e of
the n obl e r 1'irtu es ma y 11 all" san c tify a 11 ne dl cs s ch arncte r;
but w h e r e God and nature h a ve i11trus tc d th e happ in ess
o f oth e r s to hi s ca re -wh e re th e trust is sac r ed aml th e
ti e s a r e d e a r, that m a n mu s t b e far g one in s elfis hn ess , or
stran ge ly los t to r e fl e ction, whom th ese c onn ect io n s will
not r ouse to e x e rtion .
I g ues s t.hat I s h a ll c lea r t w o o r three lrnmlre <l p oun ds

by m y auth ors hip ; with tli:1t s um I in te nd , so far a s I
m ay be said lo h a ve a ny in te11tion, to return to my ol1l
ac qu a intan c e , th e pl ow; a nd if I ca n m ee t wi th a le a se by
whi c h I c an liv e , to com me n ce fa rm e r.

I do n o t in l!!11<l

to g iv e up po etrY ; b e in g hrnd t.o lab or sec ur es m e ind e p e n d e n c e , and th e Mus e s arc my ch ie f, l1a \'C so m e ti mes
bee n my only, e njoy m e n t .

lf m y pr actice second my

resol11 tio n , I ~h a ll have prin c ipa ll y at h ea rt th e s e ri ous

bu ~ in ess of li fe ; but whil e followin g m y pl ow, o r buil<lin g up my sho ck s, I sh all c a s t ~ le is ur ely gl an c e to
th at dcur-t.hat only featur e o f my ch aracte r, whi ch gave
me th e n otice of my country, an d th e p atron age o f a
Wall ace.
Thus, hon oretl Madam, l have gi ve n y ou th e b a rd , hi'

06

How

To

W1i rTE .

LETTF.l! S

situati on, and his 1·1ews,
·
·
11a l1vc
as lh('y are 111

FJt I ENDS IIIP.

!l7

I know th at your lime is prec iou s ,

of your fri e nd sh ip.

bosom.

OF

n11d always \m il e mploye <l , hut I hop e you will find ti1110
H. B.

lo write occasiona ll y to
Your grateful fri e nd, and former pupil,

4. Albert Parkes to !tis 'l'eacltc r .

ALUF:RT

NF.w Yont<, Srpt. 10, lil66.

Mr.

S1LAS

K 11 owing that you will lie glnd lo
hear of any good fortune that befalls m e, I hasten to tell
you that [ hav e at last got an excell e nt s itu ation lo leara
th e mac hi11i st's trad e.
'
ti. t I I
·
•e 1'1
iarc goo d mec hanical talent.
Soo11 aftf·r f cam e fo the c ity , ! had mv h ead
. d
t i\r
.
,
exa min e
'Y I r. l·u\\"l c r, th e phre nologist, who, thou g h ho had
You a lways told

11

uer r r ser11 me befo re, toltl m e th e same thing.

Is it no&

1\1.

W1LL1 s,

JI.

PAHKEA.

Eatonton, ,\: J.

5. Ernest Sin_r1 lein an lo a Frie nd.
\\'11.i.ow DAu:, J1111 e 14th, 11354.
l\[y DEAR Fnnmn:

Your le tt e r of th e :ll~t ult. found

me too busy to reply at 011ce, as l fe lt a stro n ~ impuls e to
do, but nut too bu sy to e nj oy and a pprec ia te its contents .
Marriage has improved yon , [ ack no wl edge-you wbo
were good e nou gh alr ead y.

Will it tlo th e sa me fur m e

wond erful ho w these phrenol ogists ca n tell so mu ch about

-m e, a n obdurate old bac helor, co nfirm ed in my h a bit s -

on e by .1u~l p11 lli 11g th e ir ha11d s on hi s h ea<] 1

nut. always good onC's-a11<l, I fea r , a li tt le so m e,] in

see m e d to k11 ow me lielter than

Mr. Fowler

I know my se lf ; and, be-

sulcs , h e ga1·e me a great dea l of goo d advice.

llut [

was goi11g lo I.e ll you abo ut my situation.
\V e.il , [ have as good a" boss"
as I COLI !·'u WI.Sh 1ror, and
'
work 111 a la rge sho11 wh er e tl iere are a great m a ny young
m e n and boys employed . I lik e th e work, and l e~ rn very
eas il y, fh ey te ll me.

te rnp c r ?

You think so.

You propose it as the cure fur

"all the ills that Oesh is h e ir tu."

W e ll , 1 am but too

willin g to be li eve that. you a re ri g ht.

I am hard lo pl ease, you say; and yo u very pc rtin r nt.ly
dt•maml what ri g ht I ha1·e , who am confessed ly far from
perfectio n, to as k for all tiiat is good an<l beautiful in th e
wom an who shall beco rn e my wife .

I mi ght re ph·, I

I have adm ittan ce to th e Apprentice s' L 1'IJrary, amI can
I out any book I I
tarn
1i ease ,. an d 1i\I r. Bord en-that's tho
name of Ill). "boss" I
·
.

S(\ ek in li er wh a t is lac kin g in my self; but I do not Junk

las given m e ti c kets to seve ral lec-

Shall I d esc ri be h e r, as I sc1e h e r no w, in my miml's eye?

I think ofte n of }'O ur kind adv1'c e. as w e II as your

In th e fir st pl ace , as the fu11n1lati on of ll'lia le ver else is

-

tures .

.

fur p a1J ec tion.

My "Id ea l" is only a tl'Oman, after all.

I h ope I s hall lie able to

good and lovely, my Id ea l ·w om an ha s a ll' ell-tleveloped

show you that I am not wholly unworthy of your care and

phys ical system, p erfect in all its parts, and symmetrica l

patrnnt lab ors as my teach er .

5

I

D'3

H ow

TO

IV 1nTE.

L E TT ERS

OF

FRIENDSH I P .

i 11 a ll it s pro port ions ; a nd s he is not asli arnf •cl , lwca us o

very free i11 thought and fee lin g, but uses h er fr eedom as

I

I

S he doei; not throw p ea rl ~ befo re sw in e ,

fi ii n li:i s al so in te ll ec t am\ affections, to be tol !l or to re-

n ot ab usi ng it.

111 Pm b1• r th at. s he has a body-a body, which, t hough hut

but k ee ps fo r those who ca n 11ml e rstaml and a ppreciate

a ta be rna c le of c lay , is th e temple nf the evcr-livi11g soul,

the m, h er fr eest and deepes t th oughts and h olies t feel-

and far too holy to be pollu te d or abus ed .

in gs.
Her r eli g ion, what sh all I say of it?

' \ ,'

S he realizes,

too, that th e true destin y of woman is to be wife and

She is like a

mnth.r·r, ancl go vern s herself, i11 h er phys ic al tra ining, ac-

goo d deacon, of whom I h ave read , wh o, wh en aske1l by

cordingly.

on e who did n ot know him-one of the li y poc ritieal

She never atte mpts lo i111pro1·e h er sh ape or

co mpl exio n by means of any of th o fashionabl e arts .

She

z ealots who abo und in some com muni ties-if h e h ad "got

llrr. sses with taste and wilh rega rd to health, but does not

reli gion," r~pli e d, "Non e to spea k of'"

affect 111111 ccessa ry s in gularity .

spea k of, only to live- to adorn and mak e h oly all h e r

She h as a sou111l intell e ct., culli valcd, lik e h er body, in
har111on y ll'ith natur e.

S h e know s 111u ch th at is lea rn ed

S h e h as none to

w orks and ways.
My Ideal is trul y a wom an in heart a nd soul as w e ll as

from books , and m.11.cli. tit.at is no/. £n books; but sh e ne l'e r

in form, and not a semi· masc ulin e Am azon.

dreams th al she has" fini s he d her e dncatio11'' beca use she

that woman has no n eed to push a111\ e lbow h e r way,

She know s

has left sc hool, or that s he shall ev1·r fini s h it., for that
m allc r.

"Wh en throu gh nll crowds
She melts like quicksilver."

S he is learned in all the myste ri es of t.he kitchen

and I.he lau1 11lry, an d has the who le abstruse sc ie nce of
h ouse k ee pin g al her linge rs' 0111\ s; a nd a ll this dues not

She h as a warm, true h ea rt, which sh e will not barter

vul g ariz e or de g rade h er in lter ow n esti mat ion, anrl

for wealth or position, a nd w ill give only in e xchan ge for

s h ould no t in that o f others .

one as warm and tru e as h er o wn .

Sh e is as prou 1l o f h e r s kill

in coo kin g as in mu s ic or bota ny.

S he br ings n one of

th e du st of t.he ki t.c hc n in to the pa rl or .

H e who sh all win h er

love shall ne ver lac k th e s unn y smil e , th e swee t ki ss, the

She is at hom e

warm caress to welcome hi s ret urn fr om hi s l abors.

as w ell as be low s tairs, aud is 11 ut less polite, re fin ed,

Iforne, wh e re she is the ministering spirit, will be (at

and poliRh ecl in hrr mann e rs because ~ lt c knows how to

leas t it will not b e h er fault if it is not) very n ear to

W·Hk , a11d is not ashamed lo mak e practical ap pli cation of

HEAVE N .

1h e re

h e .· knowl edge .

Sh e loves Nature with all a child 's en-

thu ·iasm, a111\ Art with all a woman 's feeling.

Ilirds,

fl o w ers , mu s ic, poe try , pai11ting, are h e r <lei ight.

She i~

Have I , my df'ar fri end , describ ed an an gel or a hum an

If I h ave, wo is me 1 But su ch a woman
is something bett er than an angel -at leas t for hum an uses.

impossibili ty?

I

100

How

To

·w1nTE.

J\ 111 I 'nir lhy lo call such a being wife?
"
*
·1'
¥'
*
s 1\·f' r. U11t

L ETT E 1:

I dare not an-

\\. ith th e kind est regards to your lo1·e ly and loving wife,
re1nai11,
Truly your fri e11rl,
EnN E•T.

G. .Mabel to Ellen.
P1-1tLA nt: L P111A,

Oct. IO, I 8uG.

l\Jy DF.AR ELLEN:

I arn "e ngaged !" I ha1·e been
lryi11g fu r l1 alf an honr lo hit up on so me deli cate nnd
inJirPct "«1y of t<dl i11 g yo u what I have at last so ulnntly
a11il alirnplly exprr•sst•d. It is just :.t s well so , is it 11 ut !
Yon know the fact; «11'1, as I ha 1•e concea led nothing
frorn yon, rny dear friend, you can read ily guPss who is
th e claring 111a11 who has 1111J erlakcn to n1ak e me happy
for li fe? Well, Willi e is in te lli ge nt, well cdu e:ited, honorabl e, 111a11ly, am! ki111l-heartcd, and loves 111 c. I loi·o
11 i111. H e is poor, and so am I. A mercenary mamma
would shak e her head, if 11othing more, at such a match;
uut my moth er, dea r, good soul , when I t.old her of
\ Vi lli e's proposa l, loo ked 11p from her se wi11g and sa id, in
a se ri 1J 11s to11e,
" Du you lo ve h irn, Mabel?"
11

11
11

Yes, moth er," I replied, 11 I love him."
J\ nrl arc yo11 sure that he lo1·es you?"

Yes," I rPpli c<I ngain, "very sure, dea r mother."
" That is en<J11gh," said she; lovo each other 11lw11y1
the s ame , and God bless you both!"

a o F F n r END s JI IP.

101

w· as not that good in hC'r ?

His pove rty is no obj ection
in h er eyes. Il e is i11du striou s aml enf!rgetic, and can
easily secu re a comrortable lil"in g. I s11 't tha.t enough?
You sha ll see in what style we can liv e, on a small income . But I anticipate.
I k11ow th at you will rejoice in my good furlu11 c (I shall
persist in thinking it such) and rny happ i11 ess. I wa11t
. you to see my dear \Villie, and love him hirn, too-yes , I
will not erase th e word-love him, but not just as I do!
We are to be married abo ut Chri stl!la s . You will co rn o
to the wedding, or course, tho.ugh it will be quite a private
affair, with no unn ece ssa ry di splay about it.
I arn very bu sy, as yo u ca n eas il y conce ive; so pard on
me ir I write uridly an1l rather hurri ed ly. l\luthcr am!
Fanny se 11d th eir lo\' e. \Vri tc soon tu
Your a!Tectionale friend,
!II A n F.L
l\Iiss

C LA n F. .

E1.1.EN Hor.M F.~,

B1·ookly11~ L. I.
7 . Lord Byron to th e Countess of"' r, "' "'
A1,nANY,

Or love>"&, 1814.

D F.A R LA.DY • • • • :

Your recoll ectio11 and invit atio n
clb me great honor; but I am goi11g to "be mn.rric1l, an1l
ca11't come." My intend ed is two hundred mil es off, and
th e moment my busi11ess here is arranged, I must set o!T
in a great hurry to be happy. Miss Milbank e is the gondnatured person who has und ertak en me, nrnl of course I
am very much in love , and as silly as all s in gle gent le men

102
mu st be

llow To
in

WRITE.

that sc n!i1n c11tal situ ation.

L ETTERS

pla ce, I don 't exactly kn o w.

One can be sure or

11 otl1i11 g; but at present there see ms to be nu other int er·
rnp tiu n to thi s inte ntion , which seems as mutual ns pos.
sihl e , and now no sec r et, thoug h I did not t ell fir st, nnd
all our r ela ti o ns are cong ratulat in g away to right and left,
in th e must fatiguing manner.
She is ni ece to Lady

J\Ic ll io urn e, a nd co usi n tu L ady Co wp er, and others or
your :1cri11 ai nla nce , a nd has

110

fau lt, e xcept be in g a great

d ea l loo good fur me, and that I must pardo n, if nobody
els e s hou ld .

It mi g ht lrnv e hec n tw o y e ars ag o, a nd, if it

had , w ould hav e saved me a world of troubl e.

S he has

<'mploy crl the interval in rn fu si ng aboi1t ha lf-a-dozen of
111y p a r ticu lar fri Pud s (a s s he did me once , by the way),
and ha s la ke n me at last; fc1r whic h I am ve ry much
ol d ig, ·d to lwr.

wi s h it was all w ell

hu s tl e, a nd t he re is

110

on~ r,

for I halo

ma rrying with out so me; and

lll!!n, I lllu s t not. marry in a black coat, th ey tell me , and
I ca n't bea r a blue one.

Pray fo rg i1·e me for sc ribbling all th is no nsense.

You

know I must be se ri ous a ll the r est of my li fe , and this
is a partin g pi ece of bnflirn nC' ry, whi c h I write with tears
i11 111y Pycs, e xp ecting to be agitated.
B r. li e \' c me most seriously and sin ce rely your ob li ge d
tj•·

s JI

103

I I' .

8. Ho11orablc TYm. iYirt to Judge Carr.
J3~nF O llU, I·'A ., •1riw11
<> st

It depends p arlly up on la w.

You, p e rh a ps, know the lady .

N D

I li a 1•c bee n ac.

cP pf c,l th r. sc thre e w ee ks, but when the eve nt will tnke
y c rs , who arc neve r in a hurry.

F Jt I E

OF

mt,
DYRON.

10,

18~2. .

. r ; but, " bo1111s uliI ple ad guilty, my J.ear · Chcvaiic
do dormitat I I omerus, "'" ,vo11 kn o w . 1,
"'
*

quan

*

'k

"'

'k

'"

*

.

· •,1 "'rroocl Ch n sf . e of mon.11 g 1·1
',o
My wife stood. tl1 e ul1gu cl • t d h c lp111ate, fur which
0
ff tion ute and. e i c
d
ti un an an a ec
. 1 lw rcafte r 1 S h e
,
d bl e ss h 1:r both h e re ,lil t
m ay the Lor
·
.
I . J. to leave us, aml
.
.
most sensibly, wh e n ) •OU i.1
.
m1 sscd yo u
'
. l
. ' f your co n1111 g. J.lu t
1 Id th e k1m n css u
fe lt., as s h e s rnu '
. .
ti. l yo n a re sa fe at \1om ee nough of this. vVe rejoi ce . iu
II
1y
hom
e
.
May
God
bl
ess
yo
u
a
.
)·utir l1ap py, }l ap l
I
,,1 as at
.1 furlni oht yes t.en ay. ;11 ' '
.
\ Ve ha ve bee n here '
. t ts
W c1 ln cs tl ay
. "'
011
. cl
ose to stri 1 o111 c u .
prcsc 11t arJ,· 1sc 'prnp .
ti " S li a 1111 0111l a lc S prin gs ;
.
I·
e
sb·11l
go liy 11,
.
I
n e xt..
· tllln' "' · ·'
.
I . 1 '!'h e re is, 111 m y
I I meet yon t 1c 1e.
wo11Jr.l that w e Cv ll l
.
n· •( . n 111y s clf- lilti c jf
J.
·11i11ion-an J·1ul gi 11"
"' by its c i:c s " I · ,
l t 11e l 1·r
I v
1. ff ne e betw ec11 tli ,a.t w·tf"
' r a 11 1l t >I S; a111
11 b
~.ll J l I ere
. . . . f thi s pl ac e , W O ii L C
'f th rn be a ny m fa, o1 o
fe r e nc e, 1
e ·
·
. the ·irti cle of h e a lth ,
, '
t balanc eLI, eve n Ill
more than coun e r.
f I ' h eart ancl mi111l , a11d th e
.
. lJOV!11CTII. 0
l IC
by the s up e rior e r ;
. .
I · ·Ii I sho uld d e.alion of t h e s p1r1ls, w ll c
I
consequ e11t e du cor
.
. I
PraY ca n yo u
u· a fortnight w1! I yo u .
, '
ri ve fr om spen ing
J.
me :t few days? l
J. mee t u s , an s pare
n ot run down an
cl · I 1 ou t thi s day w ee k .
.
II ·t to S h anno n a e aJ
thi11k we shn ge
.
1 't .. ·rnd. meet us lll peril
1~ with a C• 111 ' '
l\ic e t u s, a t a e ve11 , ,
I . ·c low:inl ol1l :i gCT, a 111l
- -- -so n, if yo u C a n·, fur as I nL v.rnc ,

'°

.
• Sometimcs

C\l·en

t11 c "O
O•l Homer node.
0

---·--104

How

the tim e of

Ill)"

..-..., . , .

---~-·--------1111!

TO

L r. TTEitS

W R rTr; .

fi11al se paration fru111 Vir !,;·i 11i a rlr a ws ni gh,

my affoctin11s cling witlr 111orc anxi ous and j ea lous te11af'ily
to e ve ryb ody and e vrry thin g th at h ave bor n e nd eared to
me in th at Sta te.

Th ere are perso ns, a11d thin gs, and

sce nes, in old Virginia, of whom and whi ch I ca n not
think, in co nn ection with th e thought of a-fin al se paration,
without fee lings th at overcome my manh ood. I fe el as
if th e ga me of life were up with me- as if eve ry thing
like th e joy of the heart had peri shed . I fee l a cold c hill
at. the th ought of go ing a mong comparative stra nge rs.
'l11 e re arc few, I fea r, th ere that lo1·c me out. of 111y own
famil y; hut thrrc is, at least, one-H. T ., a nali ve of
En gla nrl , \\'ho ea111 c to thi s cotmlry in ea rl y yout h. a111l
was i11ti1J1a te with Colonel Gamble's fami ly from that time
to th is.

H e is a wa rm-lr ca rte rl, amiabl e, most cxcc ll <' nt

111a11, a111J is, I beli e1·r, s in cere ly attac hed to Ill e.

OF

:Fn1l':N D R 1ITI'.

105

. en t s, rrc
t• fanrn ' rslahli slt my farnil~· in
· l y ex perim
b
aga in , r
f'.
ls in Vir,,ini a once a year,
l
visit my n e rn
°
·
imlcpcni p, nce, · .
d with th e m co ntim1 al ly ;
and in th e mean t11ne, corr es pon
<l .
cly
an s 111 ce r
' . d
. .
. l·ie d ' rcsi1ectccl,
time cl1st1ncr111s
,
<l
an ' m ue
' . o
fi <l t. e to learn ~omrth in g
a fe w-perhaps m im
mourn ed by
bl t say wi lh ll orn cc,
· e., so as to be a e .o ' '
th at may 5urv1v
l
. 1 1 . I t· l·e my lea\'e , icgThis is ch eer ing; and . w1l 1clt11 s{ ·11 ·'.:, to whi ch l\hs.
.
l i·e to yo ur wife au c It ' re '
g1ng my o
1 ·~ and lo in clud e yours elf.
'Wirt asks leave to add ie 1 , '
'll he. ii" if I can .
" I am well i so I ' , ·. '
.
· , n - love to
If this should fiml Coalter with yo 11'. ~11 c l y Wh ere
.
11
ts to Ilc nr y I nck er.
him ; aml gi1·e it., at a e v e n ~·
mc.rnbe r me kindl y to
ray re
.
d how is poor Holmes?
I
Your fri end eve r ,
an
l1im . God bless you.
w~f. WrnT.

"N on omnis 1nori ar."

Ilut cn• n

5*

lr c is nut a lawye r ; neve r attend ed the comts of Fluvanna
with ITi f'; co uld ne1•pr rec ite G ray's bard ; did 1101. gro w
up in ti re co 1111mrni catio11 of th e same profess ional h•Jpes,
fears, tri11111ph s, a11rJ di s ;rppo in tmr nts; in sl1 ort, had 11nt
inte rmin gled and inte rtwin ed all the sh oots, vin es, tc mlrils
of rec ip roca l affec tio n for more th an a <Jnartc r of a ce ntury,
until wn wr rc, in a 111 casur c, alm ost inc orp orated and
id c11lifi r rJ , and a SC' paration bec nlllcs not merely a di sengagc mC'11t of lrran chC's , but the ririn g of th e trunk, an1l n
s plittin g opc11 of th e heart.
Now, 011 th e rc H• rs e (fur what is th e use of b1ooding
011ly 01·rr mel anc holy 1·ie ws) , l go to Jl alt.imnrc-dc \'llfe
mvs clf lo m~- profr. ~ si11n, st11rly law nllll C'lnquc nce 01·e1

/

10G

11
~ OW

TO

1VRITE .

L ovE

107

L ETT E R S .

but " nauseo us notes uf co mplim e nt," as M is8. E dge worth
trul y s :tys , " a re e pi s tl es d cg raclin g to th ose wh o write
tl1 e 111 , and equ all y degradin g to t.!t ose to wh om th ey arc

VIII.

wri tten ."
IL- EXAMl'J, ES.
'T\vn s Ln"c , n o d o ubt , wh o k11 o w11 nil 11.r t111 ,
TI J w hic h t o TCl\Ch 1tn d CO n 1J11e r h f'n TtA

'fhl\t tl n1 t t he ll t t or w r l : ln g t1u 1•·ht

'

T o e11•t1 ,·1·11 In Ill a m c i;hcs ctt11g l:t. '
From the Frt m:h .

I.- TIIE HEART AN D THE I'EN.

~
~ ET

tli e h ea rt s pca l·' .'" p e rm1.t I ,o ve tu use the
pen, and h e will foal }1is o wn word s
cl Ii
In Ili c bc l . I
arr
orm s.
01 Cc presc 11cc )'O il may 0J11s Ji and
I
. ' '
s tamm er, a ncl final!)' be
f:
. 1 ti
.
cn mc t 11mb ; but having
uun u 1e co11 rctrre t
·t
'o
o wrr e , yo u will be abl e to
say all that dem and s to b . 'd
'O
.
c s,u -to te ll your love
'
) ur hop es, yo ur fea rs , with flu e ncy a n I I
in cr Ii
d ti
l e oq uenc c.
II a v" uun
le co urag e, we Sa)' . fo r .t
.
.
h·
'
1 r e<]tnrcs we 0
a rg her degree of thi s qu a lity to w 't
.'
pin e,
ri e, or r eply to, 11
d ecla ra tio n of lov
e, than to s end or acce1
, 1t "" e t11 a II cnge lo
t
l
m or a comba t. B ut "
f: .
l ady ;" a nd
a a rnt h ea rt ll Cl'e r won a fair

~

u Ile c ilhcr fen. rs h is fhtc roo mu ch
Or l1 l!t dcscrl! nre l'.l m:iJJ,
'

Who d nr~s not put It lo the touch
'
To "·Jn or lose II nil.•

"Le t th e h eart s peak ' " B
. .
.
e s ure t 1iat it rs t ir e l1eart
d
n ot a m er e fa11 cy or whim of th h d
' an
writing with s i11 ce ri t a1HI
e ea . Fo r tir e r est,
tery or verbal
y '
ea rn es tn ess , an d without fl atextravagan c e, yo u can hardly
f:
go ar wrong;

And wh ere sh all we find exa mpl es ?

O ur pl an e m-

brac es n one bu t ge nuin e le tte rs ; a nd ge nuin e lorn-l ette rs
s eldo m m eet the p ub li c eye.

The re is so methin g in th em

too sacr ed ly private to be exposed to th e gnze of th e un sy mpathizing wo rld ; still, w e fi nd a fe w of th e m o n th e
p rrges of e p is tol ary li te ra tur e .

Vo/ e h ave not be en able to

select so great a vari e ty a s we co uld h nve des ired, a nd
those pres ented m ay not be mode ls for yo u, dea r re nd e r;
but th ey are ltea rty a nd e arn est, a nd will s erve , at leas t,
to sho w h o w others hav e th o ug ht, fe lt, ancl writte n und e r
the inspiration of th e e nn obling a11d bea ut ify ing s e ntim e nt

of love .
I . R obert B urns to Clarinda.
Tuesday E venin g .

That you hav e faults , my C la rind a, l ne ver doubte d ;
but I kn e w not wh e re th ey ex isted ; and Saturd ay ni g ht
m ade m e more in the <l ark th an e 1re r .

0 C larin da

I

wiry

'w o uld you wound my so ul by hintin g th at last n ight mu s t
h ave lesse ned my opini on of you !

Tru e, I was behi111l

th e sce nes wi th yo u ; but wh at cli<l I see ?

A boso m

glo wing with h onor and be ne vole nce, a mind enn obled by
ge niu s, in fo rm ed an d r e fin ed by e du cati on and re fl ec ti on,
and exalted by native re li g ion, genuin e as in th e clime s

·''
108

How

To \\TRITE.

gloriou.~ melting-~

of h ea1·e n ; a h ea rt form ed for all th e

Th ese I sa w.

uf fric11tlship, lul'c, and pity.

I saw tho

noblest i111111ortal so ul creation eve r show ed rn e .

I look e d lo11g, my dear C lari11da, for your lett e r ; nnd
nm vexed that you are complainin g .

I l1av e not caug l1t

you so far wrong, as i11 your idea that th e inte rcourse you
may hav e with on e friend hurts you, beca us e you can not
t ell every tittl e of it to a not her.

\Vhy ha1•e so i11j11rious

a s uspicion of a good God, Clari11da, as to think th at

friend ship and lov e , on th e sacred principles uf truth,
hon or, and r eli g io11, can be a11y thing e ls e tha11 ohjPcts of
hi s divin e approbnl io11?
I l1 a1"c me ntioned, in some of 111y former scrawls, Saturday eve nin g next.
cvemng.

Oh

1

Do allow Ill e to wnit on you that

Illy a 11gel, l1uw soo n w e

wh e n can we me et again?
inte rval with tea rful ey1's .
knowin g you sooner

1

mu ~ t

part' ancl

I look forward lo 'the te rrible
What hawi I not los t by not

I fP a r th at my acquaintance with

you is too s hort to make th:it lasting impress io n on yo ur
heart I could wi s h .

2. Clarinda to Robert Burns.

*

*

TVrdnesrlay JJior11i11g,

*

*

Sylvander, I fancy you nnd Vulcan a re intimates.

* Hc

hns lent you a key which opens C lar inda's heart nt
pleasure, shows you what is there, and enables you to
adapt yourself to erery foeling.

I believe I shall gire

L0v

E

L ET T}; ] ~ s '

10!)

too mu c•] J. I• ,. ~.If •\".
. .
t you
Your Ie lt er.s arc
'
over writrng o
. .
I l lik e Sy il·antl"r, . t .1c
f • b l red Ill ; b11 t It ar
'
..
way, alas . ! ~ cc g
. I.
.f h e li ar\ a ln c 11tl th "t
"I should lllcl 11m, 1
world befo re m e ,
.
h l
and "that would
t II him to writ e as e c oes, '
loved me, e ·
h Ii t le tte r writer l ere r
woo me. " Serious!)' , you arc t e irs
kn e w .
w or F ri·c1 ay I s hall he l1a ppy to sec
Eithe r to-morro
f bc inrr alon P., or at
o
.
S l d y I am n ot sure o
you. On a ur a
C
to !Pa ir you
I . l you'll come.
ome
'
h ome. Say w 11c 1 . l
l our less liable tu intruchoose ; bl1t eight wtl l >e an t
sions .
You are a consummate flatter
. .e r ; re all y my cheeks
.
d
'
Our
fli
g
hts
of
L1ncy. l think yo u sec
glow while I rerr )
·t d yo alon e arc
11
I lik e it. If l grow a ffe@ te<l or conce1 e '
to blam e.
.
t 0 f ;·ours I .can
pars
S'ylvan<l e r, some most interes ting
I
th part
t
on a t prcs e n t · l clarc not thin;. on e cl. .r .
not e n e r up
'
both arc orde re 1or
. -on. the interval ; but I a m sure
mg
our good.
.
L t.
impressions
.'" Your key mi g ht hav eI shown
t l '
" as rng
. lover·poe t ..tillI n iy fri e nd , w 1:-i la;'
S
you better.
ay, my.
.
.
Wh e n you use your
1
l h e termty will f'lH.
next mont 1 , t e
l I t ·on find [ am half as
'
age too mu c t, cs )
k ey, don t rumm,
.
.
If
Fare w ell! Sylr
l
.
the
"tender·' as yours e . l '
eat a 100 111
gr
.
for I am already sen ec,,
vu nder. I may sign, ·
You r fri e nd,
CLARINDA.

llO

How

To IV nrTE .

3. Aliss Carpe nter to Sir TV lt

a er

colt.

r
I
lJucmbrr 10.
e i cvc t nt my I tr
.
.
,
c ers g 11•c yo u ouly
e } ou e xpress , I sho11!J I
d ea rest Scott ti t l I
a mos t thi 11 k, my
' ia
s 10uld get ve r fi011
mero lv to ind z
.
Y
tl of wr iti ng
I
•
u .g e yo u-that IS say inrr a
J I
wp e yo u ar c s e11 s 1bJ c {' ti
. b ' goo l cal.
'
o
ie co mpl1 m t I
lI o11 t expec t I s l ll . I
e11
pa y yo u and
ia
.1 ways be so p
tt '
'
Yo u may de end •
.
' ·
re Y oe ha ve d .
p
o n m e , my deare st (-'
ea rly a <lay as I
. . ·1 I
, . i 1e 11cJ , for fixing as
.
puss 1 > y can ; a 11d if it h ·1
q111te sn 500 11 as }'ou . ·I
· ppe ns nut to be
.
WL !S 1• }'OIL llll!St not !
.
.
It is ve ry unlu cky
.
) C a11 g ry with mo .
yo u a1 c suc h a bad I
am 110 bd.tcr I h · JI
10use kecp e r as I
·
s ,1 try.
'
I hoJJe tu ]Hive v ery soo n ti
.
a11d of tr. lli11u yo u I
ie pl c.1s ure of see in" you
•
b
JOw n1u ch I love y·uu . b
.b
'
firs t fort 11 ight ,
.
' ut I wish tho
\\ as ove r. With a ll Ill I
of p re tty thi11gs , adieu.
y ovc, a 11d that sort
If I cou ld rr.ally b

Jia lf th e pl cas ur

CHARLOTT,£,

4 · Sir Ricltard Steele
to lJfiss Scurlock .
llf ADAM:

111

J_,ovE L wr T ERS .
S

Septe111bc1· 25th, liGl.

It is the hard es t th i
.
in love, a11d yet atte d '- .
ng Jn the worIJ to be •
n uUSllless. As ~
~ peak l.o m e finll me out.
I
or m e , all that
' anl
mu s t luck
I
ot I•er people will J
"t r
myse f up or
.
.
o I ior me. A entl
'
~
crnan askcJ me
t l11 s m orr 11 n., .. \VI t
"' '
ia n e ws fr om H 0 I
s wc r cil , " S he i
. . .
land ?" and I ans cxqu1 s1tely handso me" A
to ku o w wh e n I I ti b
.
nuth e r desired
Ja
cc n last at \ Vindsor
I rep 1·10 d
·

' S h e d esig ns to go with m e."

Prylh cc, all ow me at

leas t to ki ss your hand before th e appoi nte d day, that my
minJ m ay b e in so me co mpos ure.

M ethink s I

wri te a volume to yo u, but all tl1 e lang uage

0 11

conlJ

the ea rth

wo11ld fa il in say in g how mu ch, a nd w it h what di s in te r-

I am e ver you rs, e tc.

estcJ passion,

5. H enry Ross wcll to F ann y llartley.
NF. w Yo nK, Jlfoy JG, 18G4.
MY DEAR FANNY :

l le ft yo 11 , two 1lays ago, with
th e shado w of doubt a nJ sad nes s whi ch h ad fall e n 11pon
my spirit fr om your swe e t, Sall fa ce s till re sting upon m e ;
but Hope whi s perP.d that yo ur prom ised lette r woulJ dispe l it, and bring th e s un s hin e ha c k to my hea rt.
l etter came , at last, only to dee pen t.h c sh adow.
is n ot your fault.

Th e

U11t t hi s

Fee lin g as yo u di <l, yo u co uld not, in

ju stice to yourself, h ave wr itten oth e rwis e ; am! from the
bottom of my heart, I thank you for th e fr an kl y s pok en
words which hav e g ive n me so mu c h p:tin .

I h ave r ead y our letter many times. It see ms a li tUe
confu sed and contradictory; but I think I co mpreh end the
fee lin ~s which dictate d it.

You h ave learned a sad lesson, Fanny , in lea rnin g" to
distru st all m en ;" a nd the soo ne r yo u unl e arn it, th e better.

You shall y et tru s t me, though you m ay n ot lov e me ;

and believe me wh en I tell you that, bad as th e world
is--cl eceitful as some men ar e (and , alas

1

so me women,

too), th ere yet exist m any tru e , since re , and loyal he arts

.

-~~·----·--·---------

--...---- - ---·-.
"

112

L o vE L ETTE r:. s.

H o w To IV1i nE.

i\fost I suffe r Fanni· b , . _
I ?
'
.. ' e c .iu ~c s om e me n Ila l'C pro rCtl

You fea r that I would "gro w wea ry of yo u, as a c1riltl

r

1a SC

of a pre tty toy."

I th ought th e l]U csti
·- o11 of l ]'I {]'erence of .

If yo n we re only a doll, l 1111d oulrt d!y

s hould; but you ar c s omct.hin g 111nre .

bet wee n us . but s i
ti
.
.
.1ge was s r, l!Jerl
'
nee icre is still a doub t o .
.
I am glad you refe r to it.
. n } Our mmd,

You ha ve in lcll ed

and affections, both of wh ic h will co ut inu e to ex pand 1n
bea uty , affording a pe rp etu al charm.
"I car e not,'' yo u add, ••so long as I am s ur e of yo ur
lo ve ." "Wh at docs thi s me nn 1 Is the re al doubt, afte r

It is n ot tru e that " the IHI S·I.J,tn ( I a nd wi.fe I Id I
8
t I1c s am e nae " All I .
.
·
1ou >e of
" ·
P 1y s10!ng1sts so l"ir . I
agree in say illg that th h l ·
'
' .is · a111 aware,
e us >.ind s houl I [
y ears th e e ld e r . a . 1 II h . .
( le se ve ral y enrs
'' nr a P ys10logists kn o w th at ti
11umu cr of ,.- e a rs one I rn s ltr
. ctl is not
·
1e
or rn al uri ly of dc1· elr '
t
ru e meas ure of age
,
>p .11 c11., o11 e perso n br, in g rea lly old er
;it t11·c.11fy th a11 anot her at !hirf\.- . I
ft
'
do 11 ot beli e r e it ,·.
o en, rf c r cr ' Jl roiie r ior
r
"
a n old ma n to
ma rry a yonng
wom;i n, or vice vrrs I
a , iec nuse , as a rrc ne r I I
th ey can uot love enc l fl
"
a rn r, at l e~s t,
lol' c . If l
,, 1 o ie r as hu s ba nd anrl wife should
I
.
arn a 11 old ma n (whi c h LI
ha1·e not y e t h
t
.
' rou g 1 th1rty-fil'e, I
cg un o rr, al1ze ) I <lo not I . J'
IO\·c me · for .
'
JC ie vc you can
.
'
) ou arc hy no in ca ns an " old 11.0
"
in one thin g f·
.
man .
But
' an11) ' your !tcart is old er ti
.
.
lea rn ed to distru ~t
I. t
.
1a 11 min e : it hn~
• ' w u c ' m111 e h .is not
I I1 1
my fai th i 11 love
'·
"
a · 0 not los t
·
0 r lfl wo man thoun h ]l
I
.
e ver bl ess me.
'
"'
er l a p s nc1thrr mny

nll, wh e ther I lorn you? nnd th at, too, aft er I h ave told
you th at I tl o, in plain wortls 1

I can not bear to be d·is -

tru sted, my dea r Fann y . Y our <loubts w rong me a11tl
g iv e me pain . My s impl e wonl h as ne ver bee n qu esti oned, that I a m aw are of, in all my inte rco urse wi th
th e worlcl.

You mus t not doubt it.

\Vh c n 1 say, as I do

now, wi thout rese rv ati on or doubt., Fann y, J lovr. :;011 !
th ese s impl e word s mf'.a n all th :tt my ri ch hc;i rt ca n _g i1•e
or yo urs ca n ask ; a ml l can not rln rn yse lf tl1 c i11ju s t i c 1~
to re itera te profess ions a11J asse ve rati ons .

No oath co uhl

aJJ for ce to th ose wnnls.
I mus t love wi th my wl1 ole heart., or not a t a ll ; and l
can acc~ pt., in r eturn , nothi11 g short of t11 c co mpl ete love
aml trust of a woman 's hea rt.

lf y ou ca n not lol' O rn e

wholly and unr ese rv e dly, pray te ll me so wifh that. nohl c

You " sec and
matc hes." y
cs,
me from ad cl '
' rn g
cas es rcfr rrcd to

hrnr of so
· ma ir y llll Cl]llal and 1111hnppy
as who dnc~ iiot? r,
I I
_, od ~a i·e you nn1l
.o t 1e 11u111hc r 1 Tl . .
.
i
I I
.
I C lllrljuahty in the
s su e I t iat it prcc lud I
out lo1·c th e re can b
I
.
. cs ot•r, nnd with.
e 11 0 iapprn cs s in th e marrhrr
t1on. Is not this th
·h I
.
, oe r<'l:ie " o c matter m ti1
•
nntsh111I ?
'
c compa ss of a

fr ankn ess whi ch 1 so much admire in yo11, am! I w ill go
my way
If I have made a mi s take in lo vi11 g you, th at is
no r eason why you should confirm if., arr cl thu s m ake it
fatal to us both.
Is not th e whole matte r s umrn P(l up in thi s s in gle l]ll OStion, which I now put !.o you in all o; irr cni tv a ml p;im r,s l.ness: Fanny, do you lo ve me?

I

D o nf1 t p11zzlf' ~-o ur lir:iin

I~
114

How

To

J, 0 v E

·wRrTE.

with anyboJ.r's t 1l eori e s or
. eri.e nce 1 t
e xp
your own ; but tr . t
I
.
- 10 cwen with
0 so r e !hr s on e
)
bl
,, .
:iii will be cle" b r
pro ern . I his solved
•.•r c1ore you
y
'
lrnow your own I
t" ' , .
uu say that yo u " do not
JCar .
1 he n stuJ it
I
.
.
.
little assi s tan ce · ti
Y ·
can give you
Ill
iat study. bes ide I l .
hanll y n eed " t
I
'
s, t llllk you will
•
a
e ae ler.
{

L ET T E ]~

s.

115

Th e fooli sh doubts whit;\1 so wron ge d you cli<l, ut th e
sam e tim e , cru el injus tic e to my own l1 cart; for th ey were
most.ly th e doubts of others, infused into my tnind, rath er
than my own . Ilut th ey ure all gone now .
I do not w ond e r thut you thi11k my lette r so me wh at

In that, it truly rc prc sc11te d

co11fused und c ontra<liclory.

1f you love me not-if your Il eart r e tu
th
rn s
at answer
t.o your qu es tioninus t II
b '
c me so ·
d ·f
a little, lea rn as suo
. ' an I you love me nnly
'
· n as possible to I
lmt " ' h e ther you I .
'
ove m e none at all·
ove me or not writ t 0
'
and that ~oon
' . e
me once more,
-very soon.

th e stute of min<l und e r which it was written.

:'>till believing ' d ear I', annj· that \VI
' '
ien we tr I
d
u y un erSt an cl cac h othe r all .11 b .
' ' wi
e ri ght, I r e main

of the wealth of love you h a ve giv e n me ), and wh at I

I put cl ea rly on paper what was ull confus io11 i11 my own
mind?
But my h ead 1s cl e ur now, and my h eart is free from
<loubt, di stru st, or feur (save a fear that l am not worthy
now write

In love a nd 11ope,'

l\J AP L F. FI E LD,

and ea rn es t as your own

C ir c11111 sta11 ces (whi ch you

lesson which it will glad ly unl earn.
I have made my heart a st\lll y si nce I las t wrot e.

G. Fanny I!,a7·tlcy to llcnry Rosswell.
liirnny:

truthful

shall know some tim e) h aYe taught m y u11wi\lin g h eart the

.Maplrfield, .il {a~.•.

DEA R

as

ful , but I do not think I um.

FANNY HARTLEY,

l\h-

is

h e art.
l am afraid that you will think m e naturally <li slrust·

Your de vote d,
Miss

Uow cuultl

h a\'e read it through and throu g h, ruHl I fi111\ it writt e n u\I

.Afny lif11, 1854.

Y cs, 1-I r. nry, I love y o1t with ull
t.he stren gth and dev otion o f th e .first love of a worn a n "s
h ea rt; and I trust you as unr eserveclly as you p,;u 1 cl ns irc.

over with lo ve for you.

Your lct! Pr w
.
US rP CC l\'eU on)y
t, \\"O hours ago lJ [ f
' II
ca n not r es t t iII I I . .
.
It has made me s 11d l t I .
r,11 e r Ppl1ed lo it.
'
.
' iu rappy ( ll10u gl
I pernaps that's a
I rlll e paradoxical) for ' t I
.
..
'
1
1as shown me tw 1 .
a Onct. dcqily my C I'
o t 11ngs which
ee 111gs-that I h:wc .
given you pain,
anti that you do truly l
.
ove me . Pardon
cl
fo r th c first. for th I t I
me, ca r Henry
'
e as ' !OW shall I find
'
and bl ess you?
words to thank

Is your heurt satisfied?

My h e urt was re ally yours lon!j

ago , but they h ad succecde<l in perplexing it with douh ts
and fea rs, which would otherwise n eve r huvc found a
plac e in it.

It n eeded but your lust letter , so e vi<l entl y

truthful an<l earnest, to put th e m forev e r to res t.
0 how I wish I could see you to-ni ght, with no shad ow

I

,

116

110 w

o n y o ur hro w !

TO

J~ 0

w · RITE.

Lo ok i11 to n 1y eyes !

s had o w th e re -

Th e re 1s n 11

vE

11'7

LETT E R G .

rulor e<l you y e t more and m ore .

Thi s ' pron's th e nwx i111

oi" Jlruycre , that" ]or e COlll CS all of a s udtf c 11 ," lo be i"uJ se .

. ·1·I.

..1: '

Every thing in nature has it s own co ur sr , a nrl d iffe rl' 11l

"Nothing but the skies and thee."

1 lllLJSt s ay goo d. -11ig li.t.

Write very soon , a 11d , i11 the
. t l1e
m ea n Lim e, let thy h ea rt r es t rn
full ass urnn ce that I alll

T ltinc own
FANNY .

7. Napoleon to Joscpltinc.
llIAn ~11now , Juli/ Ii 17 0G 0 '
I h ave rccr. i vcd your I tt
·
'
, o clock P . . ll.
fill I
l
e e r, my ad orabl e fri e nd
It has
1 Cl my H~ art with ·
· ~
.1°Y · I am g rate ful to
trouble you h are bl·c n t
. I
you or the
' ' · o sc11t 111 c th e r
[ I
you are be tte r to-d· ,
I
I C W R.
iop n that
,t\.
a rn s ure th t
I
ercd
I ..
' .
a yo1 1 1al'e rrcn 1·. t you
.
I
.
b l
. e ,u 11 cs tl y de s ire Ll i.1
s v1 uld rid e o11 l1 nrsr. a c '; it c an not fail to hc11 e lit v o n
Si11. cc I le ft )·o n 11 iave bee n cu11
. stn
. n tl , d
l1app11i C'Ss is to I>
) . e pressc rl. J\fr
e ll C<i r y on . ln cessa utJ,. I]" .
."
my mr111o ry , ·o ur
.
,
I' e o1·cr 111
,
ca 1 r sse ~, you r tc·u
.
. .
so lic ilud p
Tl
l
"' s , ) o ur afl cct 1011ato
··
ic c iarm s of th e ·
kindle COi r
II
.
lll COrnpar:ih le .Jos rphino
I 11111 a y a burrnn g a11d a I0 ' .·
.
h e art.
\Vh
f·
.!!; 'in g flam e 1r1 my
e n , IBe fr o m a ll so li cit ud e
11 I
.
care s h a ll I l •
, a
'
rn .J.11
J e to p ass all rn . r
. l1 1arass 111g
o nl y to ]o r .
.
Y llll e wit you , ha1·ing
e) on, and lo th111k only of th e I
.
saYi11g and o f
iapp1n css of s o
.
.
rol'111
g
1t
lo
YOU?
•
' '
>
1
I will se nd ·
·
. .
) on your horse', lint I hope you will soon
.J-"111 me . I thou g ht that [ lol' r d
you m o nths a rro hut
s1 ne e rny srparation from yo u I feel that I 1 . " '
·
' ·
0\ c you n
tb ousan<l-fold more.
Each day si nce I knew _you h al'c I

dt'g ree s of growth .
A h ! I e ntre at y ou to p e rmit m e lo sec so m e o f you r
fault s .

De

less beautiful, le ss gracious, less affect ion ate,

less good; espec ially b e not over-a n xio us, a n<l no\·c r
w ee p.

Your tears rob m e of reaso 11 , a11 <l inflam e m y

blood.

B eli e ve me, it is not in m y pow e r to hal' e a s in g le

th ought which is n ot of th ee, or a wish I co nl<l not revea l
to th ee .
Seek r e pose.

Quickly r e- establi s h your h ea lth.

Co me

am\ j o in m e , that at lea st, b e fore d e ath , \Y e may b e able to
say," We w e re many days h appy."

A thou s and ki sses ,

an<l one ev e n t o Fortuna, notwith stancli11 g l1i s s pite fuln ess.

lloN .\PARTll'..

VrmoNA, ./\"ovrmbcr Ot!i , 17\JG .

I arri,•e <l at Verona <l ay b e fore yesterday, my d e ares t
lov e.

Th ou gh fati g ne <l , I

p e r ed, and love you
my horse.

am

a lways

\•rry w e ll , mu ch
p ass io11 :1te ly .

pros-

I mount

I embrace you a thou s and tim e s.
BoNAPAnTr:.

V E RO NA,

.l\ovcm ber 24 , 17\JG •

hope ve ry soon, my sw ee t lov e, to be in your a rm s .
love you mos t pa ssionately.
courier.

All goe s well.

I write t.o Paris by this

vVurmscr was b e ate n y este rday

,,

I

I
1

i' !

''

11 8

How To \V nn.E .

und e r Mantua .

LovE

There is nothing wan tP,d hy you r hu 9.

119

LETTERS.

pow e r l1idd e n in th e de pth s of my be i11 g whi ch no i11Hue nce, save t.h e w ;um rnys of th e s un of Jo ve, co uhl c aus e

ba nd bu t th e love o f .J ose phin e i11 order to be happy.
IlONAPA RTF:.

to sp rin g in to life.

You s hall see th at l :tm right in this.

You are "proud of me,'' as l am , you say, in o ne o f yo ur

8. Edgar to l Vinniji·cd.

de ar lette rs .

Yo u ~ h a ll yet sec what 1 am , Inst in th e

DnooKLYN, .;lf''.'I 28, 1804.
· e? \Vli ,•.. I
\ Vhc re are J~·ou, at this h o.ur, 1Iea re s t 'v
' 1nni
doin g ·1 wh a t thi11ki11g 1 Arc you out in th e wood s, with

li"ht
,, o f wh a t J. s it.all he.

~he

for one s mil e of pro ud a ppro val. o r on e warm ki ~s of love

111

from the lips of he r I love, tha n for the hi gh est ni ch e in

songs of birds in your ear, an1l lo vin g tlwug hl s of me
yo ur heart ?·

·
I want y·ou he re J· us·· t no w , my b eaut 1/'ul
onf', O how
mu c h! Wi th
l
]
111 y ica1 upon yo ur bosom, how quietly
happy I would be I \Ve ll, this j oy the f'utur e r ese n cs fur
m e.

I ca n wait; fo r yo ur love bl esses m e, c 1•e n now,

If y ou bi1\ me win the laur e l

wre ath to bincl upon my brow, it s h a ll be 1l ono; thou g h I
care litil e for th e world's applause, a nd 1n>11l •I g il' e 1nore

th e t e mple o f Fame .
Can we find th o pl ace on I.he woodland hill -s i1l o wh e re
I fir st sa id , "I love thee?"

Certa inl y we ca n . I ca n
go directly to it with m y eye s blimlfo\tl e d 1 I can find

though so ma ny weary mil es st r etc h betwee n us.

again a ny ancl eve ry pl:tce where I have 011 ce hce 11 with

Ye s, d <>a r g irl , my l'.ivc sltall ha vc power fo r good ove r
your life, as yo urs has ove r min e
\"e
l
t
11 ccr no mourn
·
'
over" Ideals" not quite r ea li ze d in eac h other, sinco wo

yo u .

l1a ve po wer lo m.aka caclt. otltcr wl1at tc" wislt .

Ho

them , ant.I all for your sake !
I h ave a tlwu sa ncl thin gs to ta lk abou t, with you, d ear-

m a kes hi s tru e votaries youn g a nd bra vc ;1111 J Jm·e ly ri·cr-

est, but I s!'e pl a inl y that I 1nu st. pos tpone th em !.ill a noth er

morc

day.

Do v ou not

kn ow, \Vinni e, that Lo1·c is al111o s t o111nipntc n;?

I

Beneath hi s ge nial i11flur11cr. sn 11I a nd hody nlik o

ex pa nd. Th ose who do nnt fer! th ese i11flu c' ncc s , rl o not
vr,
love, though th ey may· think tl1 c 1• do
1
11 , m y. ow n rl en r
J
•
love, .· hall cl c '.·clup, e xpand, blossom like th e ;ose- grow

Do yo u not think th ere is some lov e- 11w g ie in tlrn.t?
O tho se d ea r olu wo od land s ' th osf' hill-past ures 1 t.ho se

fl owe ry m c a1lows ' th ose d ea r brooklets! h ow I love

S h a ll I get th a t. long le t.l er from yon on Tuc' s cl ay?

Do n ot fail me .

nnd bring m e in clue time to your a rrn s.
Eve r thi ne,
Eon An.

111 beautv o f fa ce, :u11I form , a11cl sou l, hPnrath my lo1·ing
")'CS I

Good ange ls k ee p you, my ow n W inni e,

IJo you uot alrea dy feel nrw po wrrs within you

P. S. A pretty littl e rin g , wi th settings of ga rn e t nncl

aspira(io 11~ hef!C'r

p earl , tempted me ju st now in n s hop window, and I in-

-mH! evc lnp r d
h opes of life?

ca pahilit.irs,

h ig h r r

I have lo ng bc <'n conscio us of g;r ms of

close it.

Will my d e ar little Winni e acce pt it?

.'

'
11·
1

ii· 1'''
;l'l

120

II 0 w

T0

\V H

I TE.

LovE

LETTERS.

121

purpos ed will that often, from th e conversation of the mo-

B ettina Brentan o to Goethe.

m e nt, I am borne away to your feet, then scat my sP lf on
th e groun.d and lay rny head i11 your lap, or press you r

CAHSF:I,, .lfay ];)th, 1$07.

"Dear, dear daugh ter 1 call me fur al l tlays, for all

h a nd to rny lips, or stand by your sitle am! tit row rny arms

wll(llc futur e tim e, by th at u11c 11arn c, whi c h r mbrares my

nbout your n ec k; and it is long before I fi11d a pos ili o11 in

lr appin ess. My so n is thy fri e nd, thy brolh e r, who s urely
loves t hee."

answer which [ mak e m yse lf in your nam e I pron oun ce

Suclt wunl::; do cs Go dlw's 111 uthcr write to 111 n !
right s t!o thc·y give nrc?

Whnt

A dam within rny lt ea rt lrns,

89

it were , brokrn np-a cl1il1l of man , alone 011 a rock, s ur-

which I re.rnai11 .

Then I chatte r at my ('ase; but th e

llelibe rately: "My chi l1l 1 my d ear, good g irl! swee t
h eart!"

Yes, thus dues it sound to me from out that mys-

t erious hour in which I beli eved mys e lf conveyed by spirits

rn11mlcd by rn s hi11 g slo rru s, 1111 ce rtain uf" itso lf, wav e ring

tu a noth e r world ; ancl wh e n l think I.hat eve n so it miglrt

h e re a111l tlrerc lik e th e thorns and th istles aro und it-

i;o trncl from your lips, if I re ally stood be fore you, then I

s 11ch a111 1-suc lr [ was beforn [ kn ew rny rn as lr, r.

tre mble with joy and lon gi ng.

No\\'

0 how many hundre d

I turn lik e th e s 111rflow c r to him, and can prove to him, by

times <lo we dre<tm, a nd our dr eam s forete ll better than will

the co un lena11cr, g lowing with hi s bea ms, that lt c hn s
pi e rce d me. 0 Gu el 1 tl are [ ? and am I n ot all too bold t

eve r happe n to us!

Som e tim es, too, I am p e tulant and

want.on, and prize that. man as happy wlro is so be-

re late lrow the glorious friend-

101,ed ; then yo u smile and assent to it with fri e ndly

l i11ess with wlrich y ou rn et m e 11 uw ex ub erates my lrcart

ge11eros ity.
I wish I could finish my letter with a look into your

A111l what s lrall I tlr e 11

1

- a ll other li fe at once re pressed? !r ow I mu s t eve r yearn
to ward that tim e wlt e n I fir s t fe lt myse lf u;rll?
avails nol hi11 g-the worcls of your mot h e r .

A ll this

I a11 1 far from

ey es ; th e re would I quickly draw out a pardon for my
boldn ess, a nd in close it.

I should th e n not be anxious

m a king claims on that whi ch her goodness des tin es for

about my childish pratlle, whi ch is yet for me so much in

me ; but these word s ha1'e dazzled me, and I must nt

earnest.

least sati s fy th e longing to let you know with what a

'luick haste; the postman trumpets its arri va l with full

mi g hty powC'r lm e turns me, at every moment, toward
you.

enthusiasm in the ai r, as if he triumphantly as k ed, "What

Nor llare I h e sitate to resign mre lf to a fee ling which

a ncl finds the in fantine prattle of a si lly, unimportant chilcl.

It is carried to it.s d estiua.tion m a ny miles in

<lo I bring?"

And now Goethe breaks open h is lette r,

0 you w e ll know how ove r-

bursts from my h ea rt like a young seed in sp ring.

Shall I still ask for g iveness?

was to be so, and the seed was hid in me.

j oyed, how full of sweet fee ling the heart often is, though

It
It is not my

I

G

122

JI ow

w RITII.

TO

LOVE

123

LETTERS.

c: hildi ::;h lips ca n nut fi11d th e word , sc1t rc e ly th e lone , I'>

I fu ld yon in my arms and ki ss you again and again,

girn it birth.

as I s ay once more g ood-nig ht , s wee t wife.'
B E TTINE IJn E NTANO,

Lout•.

11. Rev. John Newton to his vVife.

10. Louis to N elly.

CLAP HA M,
AT H oME,

*

*

*

*

JYovnnber 14 , 1856.

*

*

*

Only two Su nd ays more, de ar N e ll y, am! one of th r rn I

l hope, but don't feel sure of
any thing in this matte r, except that I shall be there at tl1~
wedding!
hope to s pe nd with you!

I lun g fur th e happy day!

No r eg re t, or fear, ur mis-

giving min gles with my joy, in view of our marriage ; but,

0 Nelly! how much of my future happin ess de pe nds upon
ll e lp me , dearest
one, tu be in all thin gs worthy uf you . L et not a thought
of the futur e sadden you, but let us hoth think se riou sly
of th e un tri e d life befor e us; let us see how truly and
yu u- how mu ch of you rs upon me !

h ea rtily we ca n de 1•ote ourse lv es tu eac h other, and to the
cause of hum an prog ress.

We will s tud y to make each

othe r bette r and happi er, day by day, as we grow up into
more pe rfec t m:lllh ood and womanh ood lov ingly together.

has united our hea rts , and I trust th e union will subs ist
to e te rnity.

12. B ertrand lo Mildred.

\Ve are ne ither of us perfect (I am far from it., I assure
you'), a nd shall <loubtless hnve occas ion to bear nnd

2 J11/y, 1772.

If it were 11ot to my deares t M., I cou ld not write so
soon after d inn e r. But th ough my bell y is full and my
he ad e mpty, I mus t tell yon th at I had ve ry qui et, agree
abl e company in th e coach , and a pl easant rid e lo Deptford , wh ere I mounted a horse my dear Mr. T -- had
s e nt fo r me, which brought me safe ly hither.
I am always a littl e awkward without you, and every
room where yuu are not prese nt looks unfurnish ed. It is
not a "humble s erv ant" who says this, but a husband,
and he says it nut in what is call ee! the honeymoo n, but
in the twenty-third y ear after marriage. Nor do I spea k
it to my own prai se, but to th e prai se of our good Lord,
who, by hi s blessing, has end ea red us to eac h other. He

GLENWOOD,

S"ept. 17th, 1856.

DEAR MILDR ED:

We will kindly and patiently strive to correct

You will hardly be surprised at

the faults of each other, and-but I did not intend to

th e contents of this note, si nce you must have long he e n

lecture you !

aware (thou gh I have neve r be for e

forbear.

*

*

*

Dearest love, good-night.

*
Dream of me!

*

Dream that

dare d to put. the

thourrht
into words) that I love you! I have so rn etim es
0
vr 1lure d t 0 h ope that your own heart has confessed, in

124:

How

TO

secre t, a kiml rocl feeling .

\VuI TE.

L

But four h as min g led with

111 y our gooclness and b ea uty, you s ee m so far

hop e.

abov e m e th at I hardl y clare to do mor e than love you
secre tl y a nd in s il e nc e .
\V c have ~p e nt many hC!.ppy hours tog e th e r, Mildred, as

d ear, f11 miliar fri e nd s ; m ea nwhil e my f'eolings tow a rd you
ham grown to be som e thing mor e than friend s hip, and I
fo c i that it wo uld be wrong to conceal th e m longe r und e r
fri e nd s hip's gu ise .

0

125

v E L wr T E n s .

Y es, I kno w you; and kn ow in g, h o w coul<l I h e lp lovCa
lll)' Se lf worthy of . your .lo\'e , my
· ri I r11 ·1ke
'
?
I
have
cherished y our fri e nd s hip as my
n o bl e B e r t ra n <l .
.
l
i
'
vilege.
how
shall I es timate, d e ar est, the
t C<l l' CS t SOCIU pr
'
.

rn g you ?.

l

va lu e of yo ur love?
Co rn e to m e soon.
w;iy tI Jail

I am

I lon g to t e ll you, in some b etter

by m e. re written word s , h ow truly and lovi 11 gl y
Thine own
l\IILDR ED.

You know rny cha rac te r, my life, my prospects, my

vVhat says your own warm, pure h ea rt to the
May I hop e ?

lo,,c.

14. Ellen Travis to James Carson.

ea rn es t <J11 c, tioni11 gs of mine?

I

wait.,

0

how impati ently! your answer.

Let your

Sm:

In

h e art sp e ak, and min e sha ll abide by its d ecis ion .

In r e ply to yo ur polite notl of yesterday morn-

ing, I hast e n to assure you th a t I a m hi g h ly sensib le of

min g le d hop e and fe a r,
IlERTRAND.

13 . M ildred t o B ertrand.
OAKDALE COTTAGE,

l\Iy

Tu esday Evening.

.Afonday .Night, Sept, 19th.
D EA R BERTRAND:

I h ave ind ee d long known
that your fee l in gs toward me w e re something more than
m e r e s entim e nts of fri en d ship .

Your actions h a d

vcal etl what your lips had not <lared to utte r.

la fimi ee ne p ertven t sc cacher.*

re -

L'amour et

W ere you bliml, that you

coulcl n ot r ead in my r.yes the r es ponse you so ught T
Come, d e ar B e rtrand, and look into th e m again, and tell
m e what you find writte n there .
• Lovo und emoko nrc two thlng11 which can not be hidden,

the h onor you h ave do ne m e , in th e proposa b you hav e so
hand so me I y m acl c, a n <l. th a t I appr ec iate th e frank .and
,
m anlv to ne in whi ch y ou have s p ok e n of yoursel f. ], e · ti·ie, se ntim e nts whi c h you
li e 1' in• g that you arc s ·m cere Ill
e xpr ess towa rd in e, h a vin g g re a t res p ec t for you as a man
·
.
as a fri e nd 1t 1s with
and a ge ntl e man , and es tec rn11 1g you
.
'
..
r eg re t that I am compe ll e d.to give you parn, .by decl 1n1ng
. your a dd ressc s, .dn cl informincr
yo n that circum. stances
a
r e nd e r it im possible for me ever to b e m ore to y ou th a n,
as I am now,

Truly your fri e nd,
ELLF.N

Mr.

JAMES CARSON.

Tn Av1e,

12G

How

TO

L ETTERS

IVRITE.

OF

lNT:P. ODUC TIO H.

127

ne ve r be se a!P11. when g iv e n to I.h e pe rso n by whom they
are lo be pr e~c nl Pd .
11!.-EXAMPLES.

IX.

1 . Joh11 P. Curran to !lfr. P err y.

LETTERS OF INTRODUCTION.

l\I Y

1n:AR

ll tli Or·t. , 18 1G.

Fn rnrrn :

Yo u kn o w how sq uea mi s h 1 a m

" The l>en rer ts my fri e nd; l et hi m be )'Oltrll."

of in trod uc in g.

1.- WORDB OF CAUTION.

E TT ERS of introdu c lion s hould not be too fre ely
g iven.

Co nside r , first, wh e th e r you have any

claim s , e ith e r of fri e nd ship, or for c iviliti es re nde re d, 11po11 the p erson you purpose to address,
o r wh e th e r it will be for hi s inte res t to beco me

the soc i13 ty to whi c h yo u introdu ce him yo u are willing to

proud: one th at 1 kn o w him ; the seco nd , that you arc so
good as to know

1'.1closl' u in a .sc al ed e nv elop e with your caru (co ulaining
call o n you.

111

Cu RR AN.

2. Mr. H artwell to Mr. 1-Vcntwortlt.
N i: w \"oruc,

MY

uF.AR

Sm:

.1Vo1.'.

1st , 18513.

Tl1 is will i11tr0<lu cc to your acquaint-

Any atte nti on you ma y h a ve it in your pow e r to bestow
durin g his visit to C incinnati, will be g rat e rully r ec iprocate d by

Your fri e rul,
R. R II ARTW EL L.

to a ge ntl e man, it is allow a bl e to s ell(! it to him

) uur adrlress

P.

este m, and whorn I am sure you will be happy to k11ow.

~01.1 m riy tl eliv e r a letter o f introdu.c tion in person,
,,·ln c h s ee ms to us the best a nd m os t manly way ; but
IS

JoH N

anc e my friend M r. C. 1\1. Rob e r ts, fo r whom I hav e g reat
II.-J>TIQUETTE.

_w h e n it

you knnw

by g iving him thi s , as it t ell s two thin gs of whi ch l am

second, wlIClh <' r th e latte r is s uc h a one as you arc willing

he h e ld res pons ibl e.

C h arles Phillips , wlio111

alreauy; and I am pay in g a complim e nt to my ow n vanity

acq11ai11tcd with th e p e rson to be introduced ; and,
s h o ultl c la 1111 to be yo ur fri e nd, and for whose cond uct in

I do nut ma ke a ny attempt of th a t kind,

for the bea re r 1s

full) , a11u thu s g iv e him an opportunity to

If you do not, r ece iv e an answer within

thre e clays, <'ith c r by visit or an i11vita tion to visit him

'

you m ay sa ft·ly conc lml e th ri t the writer of the lette r had
uo c laims upon the perso n adurcsseil .
L e tters o f i11lrudu c tiun, ns we have 11aid before, should

l\Ir.

J AMES W ENTWO R TH.

3. Hon orable J ohn Randolph to l1Ir. T. B . Dndl"Y
Febrtta"Y 9th, 1813.

Mv

nE .~n

TH F.ononE:

Lieutenant Colonel Scott (th e

fri e nd of Mr. Watkins L e igh) will hand you thi s lette r.
His writt e n e xclusi1·ely for the purpose of giving you the

128

Jl O W

T

o "\V

R IT E .

NOTES

AND

0ARDil .

129

pl eas ure uf hi s acquai11tauce; fur which yuu must con
sid e r yourse lf u1y dl' btor.
Yours trnly,
Mr. T.

llr.AND

Dum,Ev.

JoHN ltANDOLPH oF HoANoxp;,

x.
NOTBS

4. llfr. Henderson to Mr. Clift.
L etters of introduction are so metim es writte n
third person, a~ in the following example:

111

the

Rnn ~o 11m:11l

I\

ANll

CARllS.

thing M the word lu g o f :\ fornutl no to 111 u o l hcncnth t:ie nttcnUon or a ladr

tr a &t' nll emn n. - A11011.

I.-EXA!IIPLES AND REMARKS.

LL formu l notes are wri tlo11 111 th e t.hml pe rso n;

Mr . Hende rson prese nts his complim e nts to Mr. C litl,
and fe els g reat pl eas ure in introducing to hi s noti ce the

bu t notes need 11 ot always be formal.

bearer, Mr. C harl es Shepcott.

dress in g 111tim ate friend s, w e use th e fir s t per-

From th e number of yea rs

Mr. Shepco lt ha s bee n in the employ of Mr. Hend erson,
a11d from th e inrnriably stearly and honorable ro mlnct
whi c h has nwrk cd his prog ress, Mr. Henrforso n reco m-

5l

~'~
'(§;

In ad-

son, as helter e xpress ing th e famili a rity ex is ting
boh1 oe n us.

I . I nvitations.

mends him wit.h great confiden ce , fee lin g pers uaded th at

J n vitations to a party s hould be sent out several days

h e will s turly very closely and sedulou sly th e interest of
l1is e mpl oyer.

before the tim e appointed for the party to tak e place , and

CoLN E Y H ATC H,

Jrtly 2d, 1855.

should be ans wer ed as soo n as poss ibl e afte r th e ir reception.

They are al ways s e nt in the name of the lady of

the h ouse.

H ere is an exampl e of a formal note of invi-

tati on:
Mrs. Grey presents h er co mplim e nts to J\fr. and Mrs.
'W hite , and begs the favor of their company to dinn er, on
Satu rd ay n ext, at four o'clock.
26

llIYnTLE AVENUE,

Jl:fonday.

Tho answe r might run as follows:
Mr. and Mrs. 'W hite prese nt th ei r compliments to Mrs.
Grey, and take great pl eas ure in acc epting her kind invi>ati on .
CoLUMBIA STREET,

Tuc1day Jl:fo rni11g .

5·:1c

.

130

II 0 w

T 0

N

\V RI T E.

l\lrs. Harrison requests th e pleasure of Mr. and Mrs.

T ruman 's

co mp a ny on Thursday e re ning, th e 7th inst.. ,
a t seven o'clock.
LIVINGSTON STnEr-:T,

D ec. 1st.

Dec. 2.

0

131

A It D !!.

Th ey sta11d for th e French phrase, Response,
si'l votts plait-an answer, if you please. It is better,
how eve r, wh e n an answer is particularly requ ested, to

of a note .

2. Co11grntu lations.

Mr. and Mrs. Robe rts on de sire t.o offer to Mr . and
Mrs. Barnw e ll their hMrtfelt congratulations

Or thus:

Oil

the con-

valescence of Miss Uarnw ell, and to exp ress the hope

Mr . and Mrs. Trnman regret th at it will not be in their
power tn accrpt l\f rs . Harr ison's kind in vitation for Thursday evening, the 7th inst.
12!)

A N D

ceive separate notes.
The letters R . S . V. P . are som etimes put at the end

Mr. and Mm. Trnman acce pt with pleasure Mrs. Harriso n's kind invitat.ion for Thursday e \·e11 i11g, th e 7th inst.
STn EE T,

s

say, "An an s wer will oblige."

The re ply shou ld be equally simple:

No. 13ii Hwn

0 T E

Eons or daughters, or visitors, they, if invited, should re-

Thi s is a more simple form :

No. IG

"""

HIGH STnF.ET,

th at she will speedi ly regain lie r us ual good h ealth.
14

MonToN STREET,

July 9.

3 . Thanks.

Dec. 2.

Mr. Walpole is extremely obliged to Mr. Gough for his
Mrs. Harrison may writ e to her intimate friend Miss
H ealey, familiarly thus:
Mv

DEAn

CAnnrn:

We are to have a lit tle soci11l
'.arty on Thursdn.y e Yening next, whi ch will be Yery
l!l complete without you.
broth e r with yon.
formal i1n·itation ,

a~

Pray cornc, and

brin~

tunity of contributing to so valuable a work. Mr . Walpole would have th anked Mr. Gough sooner, but he did
not know where to dir ect, till he sent Mr. Nicholls.
STRAWBERRY H1LL,

July 5, li 83.

your

IIe will not , I trust, req uire a moi:e
he knows ho is always welcome .
Truly your fri end,

.Afondn!f .Aforning.

magnificent present, and very glad to h ave had an oppor-

NELLY Fonn-HARRUOl'I'.

When an invitati on is sent to a family where there are

4. Acknowledgment of a Call .
Mr. Parker reg rets that he was absent when Mr. Martir, call ed, and hop es that Mr. Martin will name some time
wh e n it will be conv eni ent to meet him.
OAK GaovE FARM,

July 25.

I.
'

132

H ow

To

·WRITE.

L ETTERS.

M1s cE LL ANEOUB

133

5 . TYcdding Cards .
In refe re nc e t0 we dd.mg car d s, or cards preceding the
w_e rlding, so me contend that th ey should bear the nam es

XI.

of bot]'. t_h c lady and the gen tl eman, while others express
the op1111on, m whi ch we coincide, that the name of the
lady alone belongs on th e m . as

,

'

nl I S CE LLANE 0 US L E 1' T E RS•
Letters, ench M P.re mitt en by wi se men, are, or all tho word.I or men, tu mf Jn1l e mout, th•
bc11 t. - Dncon.
1. -RE~lARKB .

Miss 'VrN NIFJ E1.t.ENwooo,

following lette rs have bee n se lected with

filt 1l!umr,

great care, and mostly fr om original so ur ces ;

Tuesday Ei·e nina, at 8 o'dock,

and are believed to be un exceptionable, both in

i3 Sumf11 e1· Sfl' e.ct.

style and se ntim e nt.

They may be r ead and

re-read, with &reat profit, by th e young aspirant

The cards iss ued afte r the wedding may read thus:

after e xcell e nce in the nubl e art of epistolary
writing.
II.- EXAMPLES.

Mr. nnd Mrs. CnA.RLF.S

wABREN,

48 01·0•• Stl'ttl.

W1mm1 Er,i.-wooo.

1. Lady Mary lYortley l1fontag ue to a Friend.
P ERA,

.March 16, 0. S., 1717.

I am extremely pl eased, my dea r lady, th at you have at
length found a commission fo r me th at I can answ e r wi thout di sa ppointing your expectations ; th ough I must tell
you that it is not so easy as' pe rh aps you thi11k it; and
th at if my curiosity had not been more diligent th an any
other stranger's has e ver yet bee n, I must h ave angw e red
you with an excuse, as I was for ced to do when you
desired me to buy you a Greek slave. I have got for
you, as you desire, a Turkish love-l etter, which I have
put into a l ittle box, and ordered the captain of the Smyr-

'

1'

'. I

13l

II ow

To

W n 1 Ta.

MIBOELL.A.NEOUS

LETTERS.

135

niotc In il e lir cr it !.<J ~·011 with lltis letter. The lnialllll. .
of it is lit erally ns follow~: tho lint piece JW ___ ,,.,..,

but, alas• dear madam, I am alm ost fallen into the mis-

pull out of lite pur~e i~ n little pearl, wbicb 11

fortune so commo n to the ambitious; while they are

ca ll e1l lngi, and mu ~t he understood in

employed on distant, insignificant conquests abroad, a

FolrHt or lh e 1oansYnn are•-" 1lf"n1tw •• lht ...._,
Jou are an unblown f'Olef
I hOTo lnnr lore<! Joa. Hd ,.... lld9 . .
11 ••• pllJ on mr .,..ioet
I f•lnl ••try hoar I

,JO!"'QU1J_

l'Ariitn.

OI•• m• tom• hopt1.
I nm •I•• wllh lo•e..

f'P.A1t .

A•ur.

~hy I ~I •, on~ 1ll m7
,_I
)hf f "a !>. plMttct, llJld , _ . . , . . . . - -.1·.7'!11

A ll<>"1t.

••a.

flnlrrr m• lo l>tt rYour rrl•eb noc lo .........
nu1 my lbrtane .. ,.......
lhnrnl l b a r n l • J . . _ _ . . .

BTUW,

CLOTH.

Crs~.&vo~.

A

~f,\'J' ("'R .

Ocu .n Tn11.ZA.O . llnn'I lurn """1 ,._,
If .\In..
C'rnwu o( m1 bnd I
Grura.
Mr two •Teto I
0 0 1.D °Wt&L
I dle--qaltlJt,

And, by wny of
P1rP&L

rebellion starts up at home: I am in g reat clanger of
losing my English.

I find it is not h alf so easy lo me to
I am forc e d lo

write in it as it was a twelvemonth ago.

atudy for expressions, and mus t leave off all other languages, a nd try to l earn my mother-tongue.

Human

understanding is as much lim ited as hum a n power or

:r.n ..

Co.tt_

A

lhi•

I fancy you now are wondering at my profound learni ng;

e.ot ~ -

human strength.

The me mory can retain hut a certain

'11umber of images ; and 'tis as imposs ible for one human
creature to be perfect master of ten differe nt lan guages as

to have in pe rfect subj ection ten <lifferent kin gdoms, or lo
-fight against ten men at a tirn e. I am afraid I shall at
· lut .know n one as I should do. I li ve in a place that
nry well re presents the tow er of Babel; in Pera they
apeak Turkish, Gre e k, Hebrew, Arm e ni a n, Arabic, Per-

posL~c ript:

aian, Russian, Sclavonian, ' .Yall achian, Germa n, Dutch,

8udmeaa •MW•.

French, English, Italian, Hungarian; and, what i:; wors e ,
there are ten of th ese 1..1.nguages spoke n in m y own fam-

ily. My grooms are Arabs ; my foo tme n, Fre nc h , English,
and Germans ; my nurse, an Armenian ; my li ousernaitls,
ltussians; half-a-doze n other s e rvants, Gr ee ks; my stewcolor, no Rower, DO . . . . .

anl, an Italian ; my janizari es , Turks; so that I liv e in

feather that bu not a nfM belt. . .

• the perpetual hearing of this medle y of sou nd s, which

is

110

q11arrrl, repruach, or 1eltd
or civi lity, or
lingers.

etea

lee&• fl

o( MWI,

• .,

m.•mt·

produces a very extraordinary effect upon the people that

are burn here ; for th ey learn all these languages at th e
without knowing any of them well enough

----------------------------..~... ~.~-------------------~
136

H ow

to wr ite or rca<l in it.

TO

\ \" i:tTE.

M IS c E L

There arc r c ry few m e n, wo111cn,

L A N E 0

Darrow a t New Yor k.

us L

ET T E

l~ s .

13 7

Mr . Darrow had been from h e r

or eve n c hildre n , here, that hJ1•e 11ut th e sa m e co rnp nss

two or three mon th s, to k ee p Gol'ernor Tryon and oth e r

I know myse lf t•f ~Il l'·

Tori es company on board the Asia, one of the kin g's

<'ra l i11fo11t s of three or four years ol<l that speak lt a lia11,

ships, which l:i.y in th e harbor; and in a ll that tim e th a t

Fre nch, Greek, Turkish, an<l Russian, which last th ey ll'a rn

naughty man had not. ventured once on shore tu sec h e r.

of the ir 11nrses, who ar e generally of that country .

Our troops w ere then pouring into th e town, and s he wa s

of wo rrl s in fi1· c or s ix of th em.

This

seems a lm os t incre dibl e to yo n, aud is, in my mind, on<'!

packin g up to learn it, fearing, as sh e had a large house,

of the m ost cur ious t hin gs in this country, arul takes off

they wou ld incommode h er by qnartr.ring ullicers in it.

1·c ry 11111ch, l'ery mu c h frorn th e me ri t of our ladies who

As she appearecl i11 great perplex ity, scarce knowing

set up for s uc h e xtr aurili11ary ge niu ses , upon the cre dit of

where to go, I persuad e d h e r tu stay; a11cl I wen t to the

so me s up e rfici a l kn o wl edge of Fre nc h and Italian.

general ollicers th e n commanding th e re, and r eco mm e nd ed

As l

pr c fl' r En g li ~h to all th e rest, [ a m extremely

h e r to th e ir protection, which th ey promised and pe r-

mortili C' d at the rl a il y decay of it in my h ea d, where, l'll

forni ed.

a ss ur e you (with gri e f of heart), it is r educed to such a

pie ce o f

small 111rmher of w ords I can not reco llect a ny tolerable

fortnight, and mi ght l1arn be en so till thi s tirn c, if your

phrase to conclude this le tte r with, a11d am forced to tell

wi c ked a rm y, e ne mi es to a ll goo1l gove rnm ent, h ad nut

your la1ly s hip , very bluntly, that I arn yours, etc.

com e and driv e n m e out, I found h er s till in qui et pos -

On my return frorn Ca n<11la, wh e re I was a
;1

gol' e rnor (and I th ink a Ycry gou cl non e ) for a

session of h e r hou se.

2. Dr. Franklin to .Mrs. T/1omas.
l'An1a, February 8, li77.

You arc too early, lm.<sy, as we ll as too saucy, in

l inquiwcl how ou r peo ple had be -

hav e d to h e r; s he spoke in hi g h t e rms of the r es pec tful
attention th ey had paid h e r, and the quiet and security

I saitl I was glad of it; nr111 that,

th ey hatl procured h e r.

callin g m e rebel ; you s hould wait fur tho e 1·cnt which

if th ey had us e d her ill, I would have l11rned Tory.

will dete rmine whether it is a rebellion, or on ly a rcvo/.,.

said she ( with that pleasin g gayct.y so natural to h e r), I

ll e r c th e ladies a rc more civil; th ey call us lu

wish they had; for you mu s t know she is a 'l'orycss as w e ll

lion .

Th c 11,

ins 11rgr ns, a cha racte r that usually plcnscs them; and

as yo u, and ca n as flippantly cal l rebel.

111 el hi11ks all ullrer women who ~ m a rt, or hnvo emarled,

her; we talked affectionate ly of you am! our oth e r fri e nd s,

11111l c r th e lyra1111 y of a bail hu shn ucl, ought to bo fixed in
1·cvvlution principl es , nnd net nccunlingly.

th e 'Vilkeses, of whorn she had receiv e d no inte lli gence.

In my way to Ca nad a, last spring, I anw dear M,..,

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I drank tea. with

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I fancy you have hit upon the ri ght r easo n of your

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h e i11 ~

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11'[ISC E LLA NEOUS LETTERS .

weary o f St. Omrr's; nam ely, that you ar e out of

kmper. whi c h is the e ffec t of full living and idl e ness.

A

us off th e rond throu gh a wood, a n1l, coming.to a crossw ay, was ciuite at a loss .

Allhough onl y the commence-

111onth in Urid ewell, bea tin g h emp, upon bread and wal er,

me nt of our four w ee ks' journ ey, l was :i.nxious lest we

would give you health and s pirits, anti s ubsequ ent chtcr-

sh ouhl mi ss our way, ant.I thus co me too late to W e im ar.

ful11 ess and contentmf"!nt with every other situation.

I clamb e re d up the hi gh e s t fir, and soo n saw where th e

pres crib e that reg im en fur you, my dear, in pure good -

main road lay .
I mad e the whol e j ourney upon th e box; I had a fox-

will, without a fee.

And let me tell yon, if you do not

g et in to te mp e r, neith e r Brussels nor Li s le will suit you .

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·!<

P . S. Don't be proud of this lon g le tter.

\Vh rm we

arrived at a stage , I unh arnessed th e horses, a nd h e lped to

Adi eu, mad -ca p' and believe me ever you r affP.ctio nale
fri end and humbl e se rva nt.
B.

sk in cap, th e brush han gin g down behind.

FRA N l<t.T~.

A fit of the

gout, whi ch has co nfin ecl me fi vp, days , a nd m ade me re-

put th e fr esh on es to.

I s pok e hrok e n Ger ma n with th e

pos tillion s , as if I h ad bee n a Fren ch ma n.

At first it wa s

beautiful weath e r, as if sp rin g were co mm e nc in g, but soo n
beca me complete winte r .

\V e passed through a wood of

fu se to see company, ha s gi "en m e a littl e lim e lo trifl e ;

g iga nti c pin es and firs; all was h oa ry , s potl ess ; n ot a
soul h ad bee n befo re us ; it was pe rfec tl y white. Be -

othcrwisP. it would have hee n ve ry short.

Visitors tlnd

sides, th e moon shone on thi s tlc solatc paradi se of s il ve r

would h a Ye in te rrupted; and, pe rhaps , with Mrs.

- a deathlike stilln ess ! onl y th e wheels crea kin g fr om

l111 ~ i11 cs s

Barrow, you wi sh thry hacl.

th e fr ost.

3 . B cllinn Brentano to Goetlir.'s

*

~Mother .

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wood ; my brother-in-law r each ed m e a pi stol out of tho

I h ave tol<I ynu alrf'acly that we passc(I through the
arn1!f •s 111 mal e

tlr r~srs .

.In st hc for e th e ga te my hrother-

in-la w ma 1l c us grt nut; h o wanlrd to
C' \11thrs fi ttr 11.
1li·ll~·

~co

how our

L111l11 lookrd very \Veil, for she is 11plen•

form .. 11, n111l tho clothes w ere edmirnbly made;

H

f•> r nw , all "'~~ too lonqn nrul too long, ns i( I h od hou gh&
!11 "111 :d Tb g Fnir.

i\fy hrolher-in -hw laugh e d nt mo, and

sai ! l lo oked like n Savoyard.
1

I sat on the box, but was not at all colcl; win-

te r's fr os t stri k es s parks out of me !
As midni gh t approach e d, w e h ear t.I a wl1isll i11g in the

The postillion hnd driYen

,f'

I
f

ca rri age, and as ke d wh eth e r I h ad co ura ge to fir e , if robbers cam e 1
too soo n ."

I sai tl ," Yes."

"Only ," sa id he, " don't fir e

Lullu was in great troubl e ins ide th e carri age,

bu t I , in th e ope n a ir, w ith "pi stol cock ed and Rabe r g irt,"
numb erl ess sparkling sta rs above, and glittering tre es
arou nd, wh ich threw th ei r giant shadows across th e moo nli t way-all this made me bold on my exaHed scat.

Then

I thou ght on him-w h eth er if lie h ad me t me thus in his

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How To \VnrTE.

young days, it would nut hav e made a poetical impression
upon him, so that he would hav e written sonnets upon me,
1111! n ever hav e furrrotten
me
,,

1

-L

r.

A N E

o u r; L

s.

E TT E R

l:U

turb ed, I might think on the futur e , whi ch now approached
no near.

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I-Ie mav
. 11ow think other-

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wi s <' - h e will be elevated above a magi ca l impre ssio n:
hi g her qu aliti es - how shall I attain them-will maint:iin

1. llfargai·et Fuller Ossoli to lier Brother.

a ri ght over him-if constancy-eternal, fixed on his

RoMF., Janua.1·y 19, 1840.

thres hold, do not at last mak e him mine.

l\fy

Thus was I disposed in that clear, cohl, winter night,
durin g whi ch I fonnd no opportunity of firing off my piece

IJEAR RICHARD:

' Vith my window open , lo oking out upon St. Peter's, a11d the glor ious Italian su n

The

pouring in, I was just thinkin g of yo u; I wa s just think-

ca rriage stoppr"l-1 ran into the woo<!, ond cnlhusia11·

in g how I wished you were h ere, that we mi ght walk

-when the <lay brok e I first tl'cei,·ed permission .

tically firPd info the 1lense wildern<'sR, in honor of your
so n .

In th e mC'an timo th e nxl cfrec wn!I broken.

\Ve

follrrl a tr ee with th e hatchet whi ch we harl with u~. and
hound it. fast with rop e's; my brother th e n found th~l l
Thu~

was ,- e ry handy, and praised me.
Madgcburg.

we proceeded lo

forth a11d talk together under the influence of these mag·
nific e nt obj ects.

I was thinking of th e proclamation of

the Constitutional Assembly here, a measure car ri ed by
courageo us yo uth in tlie fac e of age, s us tain ed by th e
prejudic es of many years, th e ig noranc e of the p eople,
and th e wealth of the co untry ; yet courageous youth

At seven o'l'lock precisely th e fortress is 11h11t; we

faces n ot only these, but the mos t thr eate nin g aspect

ra111c a mmnt<' or t\\'O later, nml were ohligrd lo wa it till

of foreign pow ers , a nd dares a futur e of blood and exile

It wns not very coltl, nnd the

to achieve pri,·ileges which are our American common

seven thE> n ext morni11 g !

two in the carriage fell asleep.
snow.

Jn the night it began to

J threw my cloak Ol'C'r my hend, nnil rom11ined

qui e tly sitting on my exposed sent.

In tho mornin1t they

p<'qwrl out of tho chnise, nod there I

WM,

chnnircd into a

birthright.

I thought of the great interests whi ch may in

our country be sustained without obstacle by eve ry able
man-interests of humanity-int.cres ts of God.
I thought of the new prospec ts of wealth opened to our

snow-hrrmit' hut before they h11d limo to be thoroughly

countrymen by the acquisition of New Mexico and Cali-

frightPnril, I threw off my clunk, under cover of which (

fornia; the vast pro spects of our country every way, so

harl snt qnitc wnrm.

In Berlin I wns

AS

one blind amon1

that it is of itself a vast blessing to be born an American;

r

many men; I wns nlso absent in mind; I could take part

and

in nothing.

of so strong and generous a nature, should, if h e can

I longed always for darkness, that, uod it•

,,.

thought how impossible it is that on e like you,

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T 0

}.f I S C EL .L AN E O

wilh gifls ancl glad"ome wish es.

but pati ently persevere, be de fr au<l e cl of a rich, manifolcl,
powerful life.

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New York welcomes the n ew year in mu ch the same
st.yle lhat she does eve ry thing e lse.

She is not pron!',

as the Quakers say, "tu get into the stillness," to ex prn ss
a ny of h er e motions .

Such a hubbub as was k ept up on

the ni ght of the 3 1.s t, I n eve r h e ard .

Such a firin g out

TT E R 8 .

143

I will nut call these re-

hours, but rathe r a ga rlanding of mil esto n es 011 the way to
our Father's man s ion .

..

In N c w York they observe this festi,·al after tire old
Dt.rtch fa s hi on; ancl th e Dutch, you know , were famous
lorn rs of good eating.

Nu lady that is a lady will be out

in th e streets on th e firs t of January.

Ev e ry woman that

is " a nyb ody,'' stays at home, dr esse d in h er best, a nd by
h er s ide is a tabl e co ve red with cakes, prese rv es, wines,

Fourth

oyste rs , hot coffe e, e tc. ; and as e very gentleman is in

The con-

horr or bound to ca ll on eve ry lady whose acquainta11ce he

of the ol<l yea r, an<l s uch a firin g in of th e n ew !
o f July in lloston is nothing compared to it.

J, E

tul'llin g seaso ns notches cut in a stick, to count our prison

5. Lydia Maria C/1ild to a Frien d.
NEw YonK, Jan. lst , 1818.

U S

tir111al discharge of g un s and pist•>ls prevente d my readin g

do cs not i11tend to cut, the amount of eating and drinl(in g

or writing in peace , and r took refuge in bed j but evrry
fiv e minutes a lurid fl as h darter! athwart th e wall s fol-

dune by Ro me fa8hionable beaux mu st of course be ''e ry co ns id e rabl e .

The numb e r of ca ll s is a rnatl e.r of prid e and

If any good /hin g

boasting among ladi es , an d th e re is, of com se, cons ider-

is expr essed by that s harp voice, it li es beyond the pow er

able ri va lry i11 tire mag nifi ce nce and vari ety o f th e ea ting

lowe r! by th e hateful cras h of fir ea rms.

of my imagination to di sco 1·er it; why men should c hoose

tab les.

it fur th e utterance of joy, is more than I can toll.

and will pass away before a hi gh er ci vilization.

This custo m is e min e ntly Dutch in its characte r,

The rack et of these powder-d ev ilkins k ept me awake till
two o'clock.

voice, almost und er my window, shouting "Pa-lhcr !''
" Pa-ther !"
pistol.

Peter did not answer, and - - off went a

Upon this, Peter was fain lo put his h ead out of

th e window, and inqu ire what was wanted.
N e w Year to ye, Pa-thcr.

•

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6. J osephine to Madame Campan.

At five, I was rouser! by a stout H ibe rnian

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"A bright

Get up and ope n the door."

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Though no great obse rver or times and seasons, I dn
like the universal custom of ushering in the new year

J\I y

DEAR MADAME CAMPAN:

Wit.h my ni ece, whom
I return to yo ur charge, receive also my thanks anr.I my
reproof.

The for111 e r are du e for th e great care and

brilli a nt education which you h ave besto wed upon the
child ; th e latter for the faults whi ch your sagacity must
hav e di sco ve red, but which your indulge rrce has tol erate d.
The girl is ge ntl e, but shy; well informed, but haughty;

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1lf I S C E L LAN E 0

n I T }<; •

b le nl c1 l, but th oughtle ss ; she du es not pl ease, and take!!
no pains lo r cml er h erse lf ::ig rccable.

S he conccirrs th at

the r r putatio n 1i f he r uncl e and t.hc bran~ ry of h e r father
T eac h her, a1H! that hy the sc1·crrst

arc c vrry thin g.

U S

L

You ask me to presc ri be fo r you.

E TT E R S •

1!5

I am not a physi-

cian, anrl am no mor e familiar w it h th e law s of he alth
th a11 yon a re , or 011.ght to be.
011

They are plainly written

th e vital organism, an<l if we are ig norant of them, we

m ra ns, h nw ab solutely 1111availing nm thosr. qualiti f.'11

are w illfnlly so.

whi c h a rc n ot perso nal.

ani s m of the stellar univ ers e th a n of the s tructure of our

\V e li1·e in a n age whr rc each

But, al as ! we kn o w more of th e mec h-

is the author of his own fortunes; and if th ose w ho se rrn

own bod ies !

the State in th e fir st ranks ought to l1arc so me ntlra ntn ge!I

wi se injunction : " Know thy self!"

and e nj oy so me pri vil eges, th ey sh1J11l<l on that' ncco unl
s tr i1·e on ly to r e111lrr th c ms1·ll'(:!S mo rr hcl11H•<l nn 1l moro
u seful.

I t is so l f' I ~' hy ncling l111111 that !h r~· can h nrn

rwrnc chnn cn of rxn1~ing their i:o•ul fortunr in th o ryes
of .r·n1·y.

Of th rsc thini!~. my 1lcnr ~h•lnm<' Ca mpnn, you

How little he ed do we g i1·0 to that . old and

H e alth is th e n atural state of th e hum an system.

If

dis ease invades the vital domai n, th e r e is a consta nt
e ffort on th e p art of th e sys te m to expe l it.

In this, if

w e <lo n ot unwis ely inte r fe r e , it gr, ncrall y s ucceeds .

But

cli se::ise gene ra lly e nters the fortres s of li fe through so mo

mu s t not allow my 11ir cc to remain ignornnt, nnt! !!Uch Rre

act of treason on th e part of its ga rri s on.

th e in st ruction s whi ch in rny n11mc you should rf'pe al to

w e are th e authors of our own mi sfo rtunes in this as in

h e r co ns tant ly .

It is my pl ea sure th at

~Im

!rent

n1

eqm1!1

e ve ry on e of hr r companions, most of wh om nro bette r or
118

goo d a s herse lf, th rir only inferiority cons ist ing in nol

l1avin g re latio ns so abl e or so fortunat e .
J oor.rnou:.
7 . !-:.

J. to !tis Fricnrl M . E . P .
NF.W YORK,

MY DF.AR

J11l,112Mh, 1860.

FR1r.:-rn:

In other words,

oth e r res pects .
\Vhen ce co me , in your case, the slomachic disorders
of which you co mplain 1

Yon have a good constitution.

Th e re is no h e r ed itary predi s positio n to dyspepsia, as
th ere is in many p erso ns.

In wh at way or ways are yo u

acc ustom e<l to s in agai nst yo ur own body?

Do you sleep

in an ill-ventilated chamber, and neglect your morning bath?

nm so rry In learn, n!I I do

Do you ru sh down stairs an<l bolt, in haste, n breakfast

fr o m y our la st le tter, that you nro "not quite well, ancl

o f h ot bisc uits, or buckwh eat calms, sa turate d with but-

s11ffrr from ce rtain unmistnkablo ~ymploms of <ly sprpsi L"

ter, and wash e d down with three cups of strong coffee?

Thi s is unplra snnl ne ws; but I trust you will not ·a!low
your ailm e nts to become chronic.

Let it be your first

Do you take a cigar? but I beg your pardon, I know you
have not this si n to answer for.

Do yo u eat roast bee f,

ca re, my frien<l, to get well; an<l then sec lo it that )'OU

\\' if.h pl enty of g re asy g ravy, and othe r ·condiments, for

kerp well!

d in ne r, a11<l fini sh ofi· with plum-pudding, covered with

146

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IVRIT E .

wine sauce, and s mokin g hot 1

1II1 sc i-:i.r. ,\ NE o u s

Do you <'at hot biscuits

Do y ou exe r cise th e br rri n too mu ch , nnd tho

h odv too little?

I need not go on with th e c11 11m erali o11.

Of whi ch of th es e , or of what other lra11 sg r ess ion nre you
guilty?

Disease, like eve ry thin g e lse, has its ca use.

A scertain the cn uses of yo ur illn e ss, a 11J r e mov e th em

:llY Lonn:

I h ave been in for med that you lend nn
ear to an accu s in g voic e that sol icits my des tructio n.
You are power ful, but j11 st; I am un fo rtun ate , but inn ocent.

I pray y on h ea r me , and ho my jud ge .
I am, with profound respect, etc.

at once; this is the fir st ste p towa rd a c ur <', and will,
p erh a ps , be s uffi c ient.

Nature will do th e r es t, if not too

mu ch fett ered hy unfa vorab le co 11diti uns a lready i11<l11 ct'11.

Ui

8. J..farm o11lcl to t!tc Duke de Clw iseul.

or muffin s, and drink a cup o r tw o of strong gr ee n tea f11r
suppe r?

LETTERS.

9. M. De La B rnycrc to lite Count de Bussi.
If yo n <lid n ot co ncea l yo ur bc nc fl ls, sir, you w o.ul cl

It m ay, h oweve r, be 11 ecessa ry to abstain a lmost c 11 li rr. ly

receive my thanks soone r.

fr o m eatin g fur a lim e ; to drink ple11ty of soft wat er; to

complim ent when I say thnt the mann er in whi ch yo u

ba th e and rub yo ur se lf fr equ ently; to tak e a good den! of
m od Nate exercise in the ope n air, and to let you r brain
as well as yo ur stu 111ach res t .

co nfe rre d your r ece nt favo r, cl e rna nd s nrul rec e i\•es my
wa rm es t ac kn owledgment s .

You will h ardly be ab le to

close my lips , for I can n ot he si le nt re specting so

You kn o w my opini on of drug s ; avo id them , by nil
m e ans .

I do n ot mea n to p ay n ba re

generous an nclion.

Trust to th e rec upe rati ve pow e rs o f you r own

I a m,

·with all poss ible r es pect nnd gratilml e , etc.

system, aided by abst in e nce, ex e rc ise , and bathing, and
yon will soo n be well.

10. Dr. Franklin l o Mr. Stralta11.

When yo ur sto mac h has r ega in ed

its h ealthy tu11 e, begin to eat moil nra te ly o f pla in, wh olesome food, and , unl ess you would invi te a noth er attac k,
ca r e fully avoid the causes which have led to th e prese nt.
You h ave my presc ripti on .

Dr. Pill s bury will g iv e

PHt1.AnE1.r111A,

Mn .

You are a me mb er of Parlinment,
and one of that maj ority which h as doomed my country lo
<lest.ruction.

You hav e begun to burn our towns and

you a very difforent o ne, no <lonht, if yon nppl y to hirn .

murd er our .people .

Choose between us.

stain ed with th e blood of your r elati o ns !

In one t.hin g, nt lens!, min e 1.n11 the

ad,' a11ta ge: it coslR notl1ing.

Jong bee n fri e nds.

Hopin g to henr of y our speedy reco ,·e ry and co ntinu ed
prospe rity, I remnin,

M. E. P., N ew Orlean8.

Very truly y our friend,

E. J .

July 5th, 1775.

STRAHAN:

L oo k up on your hand s ! th ey are
Y ou an<l l h ave

You are now my e ne my , and I am
Y ours,
1J.

F nANKLtK.

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IVRI TINO

FOR

TUE

PRESS.

149

small co mpass-made as solid ag a cannon-ball, and, lik e
that proj ec til e , cut down a ll be fore it.

Short article s are

gcnernlly more effec tiv e, find mor e readers, and are more
wid ely co pi ecl than long on es .

XIL
WRITING FOR TJIE
81111.ll tiull ch ort .. n do l:'re .1 t l'J: ec utl on.

PRESS.

A rt1. rA.:;r1tph, rllhlly expnned, ,,

Pack your tlwitgltts close

together, and though your arti cle may be brief, it will have
weight,, and be more likely to mak e an impress ion.
(1nu1

"Ye who write for this busy age," says a late write r,

qU 'll •J h•r9

.ue end of the l1rnd t o the o th el'. - '-·tltl York Er,rn9tlf1t .

"speak quick ; use short sente nces; nev e r s lop the r ead·

1.-TIIOUOIIT AND BTYLR.

e r with a lon g or ambiguous word ; but let th e stream of

EVER write fur a 11 e wspa pcr or m:i gazi 11 0

th ougl1t fl ow ri g ht on, a nd mAn will drink it like water."

si1nply fur tl1e sa ke of see ing yourse lf in print,
or fur th e gratification of any merely perso11 nl
~

f~
<if

feelin g.
amusr,

IL- SOME GE NE UAL III NTS.

The ohjcct of th es e public atio ns is lo

in~lrucf, an1l e nlight e n th e public , and

Wh e n yo u hav e s aid all th at it is necessary to say, stop

not

at on ce .

to pander to, or gratify, individua l va11ity, rese nt-

Every se nten ce th at you add will detract from

th e e ffec tiveness of your article, and from its chances of
getting into print.

'
m ent, or mali ce ; tho11g h, it must be confessed, thC'y aro
sometim es pc rvrrtc1l lo these e nds.

Now go care fully over your pi ece and cut out, unspar-

F eeling q11ite sure that you hav e something to s~y thnt

in gly , eve ry word and se nt enc e th at do es not acid to the

it will ho worth while for the publi c to rea1l, set yourself

se nse, or is ir re le \'ant to the subject.

about putting it upon pape r as clearly, compactly, nn1l

and mad e s uch corrections and impro ve me nts, in phras e-

poinf e cll y as poss ibl e .

Having don e thi s,

ology and co nstruction , as may s ugges t t.h e mselv e ~ to yon,

'Vastc nn tim e arid spa ce in

m aking apologies for your lack of e ducati o11, experience,

procee cl to m ake a fair copy for th e press .

or literary s kill, in flat ter ing th e editor, or in prais in g his

perso ns, not writers by profess ion (and such we do not

"inte resting aml valu ahle paper."

address), can write well eno ugh for publication without

If you feel that tho

V ery few

going ove r th e article twic e , at least .

a po log ics or the prai se are really called for, put them, hy

In making your co py for th e press , write only on one

all m en us, into a srparato note, addressed lo the editor.

side of your paper .

Do not ass ume that becau se you have so mething im -

An exception to this rule may be

portant to communi cate, it is necessa ry lo write a long

made in favor of sho rt articlcl!, to be sent by mail , which

uticle .

by writing on both

A trem e ndous thought may bo packed into a

r

side~,

can be comprised on a 11ingl41

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sheet, am! thu s doubl e postage avoided.
be no crowding of lin es or
single pa ge

II' hat

,,f words

should fill two.

\VR
Llut there s hould

in order lo get 11pon a

L egibility s hould not be

sacrificed tu eco nomy of space or time.

I 'f I N G

F O I~

T ll E

I' .IU>S S •

151

mainJ cr in the n ext, a 11 yph e u (-)must always be plac ed
at the c nJ of the former lin e.
In reading over your co mpos ition , after it has been

\Vrite a good,

copi e d for the press, observe carefully wheth e r the i's

11lain ha11d, whatever illu strious example s of a co ntrary

ar e all clotteJ, and the t's all crosse d ; w h e th er th e words

practi ce may be quotcJ, ancl you will escape, in a great

are co rrect ly spell ed; wh eth er th e ca pital letters are

m eas ur e at leas t, from th e mortification of seei11g your

rigl1tly used ; anrl w b et.h er it is properly pun ctuated.

B e particularly careful i11 writing
proper names and foreign or teclt11ical terms.

writing, and a ll other bus in ess matte rs , s hould he ad-

articles mi sprinted.

An articl e for a news paper or magaz in e s hould be com-

Letters

relatin g

lo

s ubscr ip tion s, compe nsation for

dr essed tu th e publi sh ers, and not to th e ed itor.

If you

m e n ced by writing the title or ca ption s om e di stanc e below

hav e occasion to se nd any thing whi ch you wi s h pub-

th e top o f th e fir ~ t page, and in larger le tters than the body

li sh ed , or any note or <]u e ry for the ed itor, at the same

o f th e article.

lln1lcr thi s place your nam e, or 11 om de
plume, if e ithe r is to app ea r with th e article. If your
initials only arn to he inserled, it is bette r to place !.hem at
the end of th e communication. Commence th e first line
of each parngraph sufficiently far from th e left-hand margin of y our page to indicate clea rly your intenti on . If in
revisin g your manu sc ript yo11 .desire to mak e a paragraph
wh ere no division was originally intend ed, mar k the place
plainly with the proper sign(,-).
·when you find it n ecessa ry to e xpun ge a word or sente nce, be care ful to <lo it ejfectually with th e pen.

If you

have occas ion tu s upply an omitte d word , or to ch a nge
one word for another, write it ca re fully ju st abore th e lino
to which it belongs, and place a caret (A) below.
The letters of the same syllable must always be written in the ~ame line; and wh en a word is divid ed, by
placini one or more syllables in one line, and lh6 re·

tim e th at you write to th e publi she rs on bu siness, n ever
put both on the same lea f or your paper.
Editors can not und erta ke to return articles which
th ey dec lin e publishin g.

Th ey do this in special cases,

but a r equest tu that effect mu st accompany the mami1<cript.
lll. -PROOF READING.

Few of our rea ders may hav e occasion to read proofsheets, yet it is well fur every one tu know how to write
hi s corrections, should th e n ecess ity occur, so as to be
11ncl e rstood . by the compos itor.

Th e specimen pages

which we insert should be s tudi ed by care full y comparing
th e one on which the errors are mark ed, lin e by lin e and
word by word, with the same page in its co rrec ted form.
By this means, the meaning and us e of all the characters
arid marks made use of will be readily und e rsto od.

I
I

I

1GJ
1

H ow

TO

·wnITE ,

"\V!!IT J NG

a/

Tu o_uG n a Y)' ri cty of opm1 ons ex is t as to
t~1 c 111d 1v 1d11 a l by w f1 om th e art of print in g was 2

THO U GH

;!J

ad milling P e te r _Sc_'.w·~ff·~: to lie the pe rso 11 3 ~fa
who mvented cast m cfol types, hav in g learn ed

'~

th e art -e!=-of cutting th e letters fro m th e G utfe mbe rgst he is a lso s upp osed to ha ve been

6#

th P. firs t w lio;n g raved on copp er plates.

by'-'J o.'-" Fred.'--" Fau s tu s, .._................,
of Asc heffc n bnro·
· c·

_

hr s maste r

11 \,-'
12

Faust~

5

I

14

caslJ

in stead of

b!_r:n~ ~1t.

H e,. pri-

/that he p romi sed Il'e ter lo g ive hi m 1- · o niy
16

20

/dau_g hte r C h0 s tina in marriage

,\ promi se

jw h1 c~~1_c :_oon a~~C:~~rform e1l_::;

a,;/

Y.<6'c..?.,
·

'Y

r Dut th r re w e re A man" uiffi cu lti es a t firs t

/

l

!l

remecli~

by mixino00

a~1ibs tan ce with th e m etal which suffi c iently

0(hard e ned if/

and w~n

'PETER Sc 110 EFFE R, o f

Ge rn s h~im ,

d c~ i g n,

perceiv-

and bein g him -

self ard entl y des irou s to improve th e art, found
13

.;at.

out (by tlw g ood prol'id c nce o f God) th e

12

a/

a mat rix, that th e letters m ight easil y be sing ly

15

cast, in s tc;u[ o f be in g cut.

w/

ma.trices for the wh ole a lp habet: and whe n he

m eth od of c utting (incitlcndi) th e characters in

17

...fi.a/.

3

18

no

+

3

Th e

by J o. Fred . Faustus, of Asc heffenburg-:
ing hi s mas ter F a us t' s

if

3 0,
/ with th ese _
letters,
__ >-' there had bee n before uboJJt.
~ ith woollen or. s , the m eta l be ing too so ft 3
to suppo rt ' e fo rce of th e im press io n: bu t ..ha,/.

thi s dt;fect wa s soon
11

<""'fr6

vatdy w t mntric::i_ for th e w ho le alphabet :
Fau s t wa s so pleased w ith the co nln vaP c,

-

19

the firs t w ho e ngraved on co pp er-plates.

( hy tl1 e good p rovide nce o f G od) th e

'/ sin g ly

admittin g PETER S C HOEFFER to be the

following tes timony is prese rY ed in th P. family ,

1~ i ru1 r .~ 1rd r 11 1 i 1) lo im prov e th e arr, found
o nl

first disco ve red; yet a ll authorities co nc ur in

Gutte rnbe rgs: he is also sup posed to ha ve bee n

r/

des ign, a nd bein g him se lf

m e th od of c u tt ing (;!1r.-i:_!~!<:i)__th e ch arac ters
in a matrix, that the lc twrs mi n-ht ea sil v be

a varie ty of op1111 ons ex is t as to

lea rn ed the ar t of cutting th e le tte rs from the
7

fo ll o win g testim o n y is p rcscXPd ·i;1 the fam il y, s
9

PHE SS .

pe rson who invent ed crMl metal types, havin g

Th e /-/

10l_J >' P ete r ~_c h oe ffr r, o f G crn s he irn , perceiving

THE

the indi v idua l by whom the art of printing was

fir s t d 1sco1·r re<l ; ye t a ll au th orities co nc ur in

5Q

FOR

9

......,/

tr. 19

showed hi s

ma ~ te r

Il e pri valc•ly w l

th e letler3 eas t fro m th ese

matrices, Faus t was so pl eased with th e contrivance, that he promi ~cd P etr r to g ive him
his onl y dau ghter Christ ina in

marr iage, a

promise which he soon after pe rform ed.

But

there w ere as many diffi culti es a l firs t with
these le tte rs, as there h ad been before with

wooden one!, the m etal being too so ft to support th e forc e of the impression: but thi s defect

h

-Jtfou/Crl tf'e.j

11ta-:Jte z

~

was soon remeclieu, by mi xi ng th e m etal w ith
a substance which sufficiently hard ened it.'

t'etter-J crut/

(Im. 1/c._1c matuCc.J,

] 53

i

11
I
i

I
I

I
i

.I'·
!;

11

15!

How

TO

\VRITE.

PoETICAL

I

155

QuoTATIONB.

FIDELITY.

Oh: whnt was love mad o for, if 'tis not the same
Through joy and through torm ents, through glory nnd shame?

XIII.

.Hoo1·~.

WIFE.

POE11 ICAL QUO'rA11 IONS.
UOTATIONS should be sparingly used; but a

Doarer than all thin gs else thou art,
Light of my home, joy of my h eart,
Sweet partner of my life;
Thou nrt of me the !Jetter part,
My own sw eet wife.

h appy allusion, or a line or two from some well-

C III LDllOOD.

To point a moral or aclorn a tale.-John1on..

t

.D. ff.

known poet, aptly in trod uc ed, is an elegance in
style .

Heav en li es about in onr infancy.

The best diction ary of poetical quotations

is l'v1 rs. Hale's/ to which w e refer those who

I
I

desire a complete collection of quotable p assages
from all t.h e English anti Am erican poets, from Spenser to
W c fill two or thr ee s pare pages with a few

S to<l<lard.

ii

'

Look at me, my dnrlin g boy !
No sad, naughty chil d could ever
Be so loved and lovely-ne ver;
You may wish fo r one as fin e,
But., good folks, you cnn't have mine.

i

1.

Front the German.
CONSTA NC Y.
1 am constant as the northern star.

ch oice on es.

J<l C']ll68.

Sh.ak~peart.

DLUSITING.
ADS ENCE .
From every blush that k indl es in thy checks
'fen thou sand little loves and graces sp ring,
To revel in those roses.

The flowers will droop in absence of th e sun
That wnkcd thei r sweete.

Dryden.

Ro11e.
BIGOTHY.

AFFIWTION.

For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight,
His can't be wrong wh ose life is In the right.

Ah , conld you look in to my heart,
And watch yo ur im age there!
Y ou would own the sunny lovclines1
Affe cti on makes it wear.

Ill ll T IT.

Look up, my young Ameri can!
Stand firmly on the earth,
Wh ere n oble deed nnd mental p ower
Give titles over birth.

n~; AUTY .

Il c:rn t.y is a witch,
Against whose charms fa ith meltcth into blood.

Shak11p6<1r•.

M1·a. Gilman.

A thing of beauty is a j oy forever.

Keat8.

* A Ccnnpl ctc JJi ction nry

or Poetical Quotations. Edited by Sarah Josepha
fhl l'. Pliilnd elphia: Lippincott., Grambo & Co., 1850. For sale bT Fowler
anti \'' ells, Nc\V York.

I,

DH.EVJTY.

'·

Since brc'l'lty Is t.he soul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flour!sltes,
I will be brief.
Shak8]Jeare.

.

~ ll T JJ S U '\l'..~ , 11

A J,I f.:,'f
156

II 0 w

T 0

TII E

\V R

()F WOI:l\ S

J TE •

COQU E TT 1' .

I aga in th at look rec nll ,
That once could nm.lee m e d ie for th ee '!
1'0 1 no ! th e eye th a t br :un s on a ll ,
Eh:-tll n c n~ r mo re be pr ized by m e.
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ON J>f f HE N <>L< )( ~ Y.

C OU !tT S lll I'.

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Th e mnsL I love wh en 1 th e k ast ex p ress lt.
to wi n a l ~v 1 y's fa ith
I\ob ly, ns tl w th i n ~ is h i~ h .
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