This custom, although it may obtain some foothold in polite society, is not to be recommended, except in formal notes of invitation, regret, etc. The Address. In formal or business letters the Address should include the name of the person to whom the letter is written, with the proper title, and the place to which the letter is sent. In letters to relatives or friends the address is not used. When used, it should be put at the beginning of the letter, at the left and a little below the heading, or at the close, at the left of the signature, and, if space permits, a little lower. Mr. A. Z. Allen, Dr. William H. Brown, The Salutation. Cincinnati, Ohio. The Salutation, which is a sort of courteous introduction to the body of the letter, should be written on the line below the address, and a little to the left. If there is no address at the beginning of the letter, the Salutation should be put one or two lines below the heading, and at the left-hand margin. The writer should adopt such a form as is in keeping with the relations between him and the person addressed. Dear Friend, Dear Cousin, My dear Mother, Dear Sir, Dear Madam (married or single), My dear Mr. Brewer, Gentlemen, may be used according to the degree of intimacy existing ; but such expressions as Kind Friend, often employed in attempting to create a relation that does not exist, are to be avoided. Hotel Nottingham, My Dear Mother, Worcester, Mass., Kidder, Peabody, & Co., Gentlemen: The Body. The Body of the letter contains the subject-matter; it is the letter itself. In familiar letters, where we give information or recount our every-day experiences, the style should be easy, natural, unaffected, and conversa. tional in tone. We should try to write as we would talk to a friend, but we should avoid over-familiarity. Well-written letters afford pleasant reading, and the letters of such writers as Lowell, Emerson, Carlyle, Lanier, and Stevenson have become a delightful part of our literature. By due care in writing our letters we all may hope to make them a source of pleasure and delight to our correspondents. Business letters should be more formal. They should be brief, direct, and courteous. They should state clearly the business in hand, and should not be modeled after a telegraphic message. Important words should not be omitted, and unnecessary abbreviations should be avoided. It is best to write on only one side of the page. The Complimentary Close. The close of the letter is determined largely by the relations that exist between the writer and his correspondent. Yours respectfully, Your obedient servant, Yours truly, Very truly yours, are especially fitting when it is desired to be formal or to show respect. Sincerely yours, Most cordially yours, Your loving son, etc., indicate more intimate and friendly relations. The Signature. The Signature should be on the line below the Complimentary Close, and at the right. The form of sig nature depends somewhat on the degree of familiarity between the correspondents. In general, the name of the writer should be signed in full, except, perhaps, the middle name, in preference to writing initials. In writing to strangers the writer should sign his name in such a way that the recipient will know how to address him in reply. Formal Notes of Invitation and the like. The form of notes of invitation, acceptance, regret, etc., is prescribed by arbitrary rules. They should be written in the third person throughout, and the phrasing should follow conventional forms. In such notes the salutation, the complimentary close, and the signature, are omitted. The place from which the note is written and the date of writing are put at the end of the note, at the lower left-hand side of the page. All dates and the hour of entertainment should be written in full. The Superscription. In the superscription of the letter great care should be taken to include all directions necessary to insure its prompt delivery to the person addressed. The first line, consisting of the name, should be about equally distant from the upper and lower edges of the envelope, and each line below it should begin a little farther to the right. APPENDIX C. EXAMPLES OF DEFECTIVE COMPOSITION. THE following compositions have been selected from the actual work of a class of boys in the high-school grade. They have been chosen at random from some of the best compositions brought to the class, and have been copied verbatim. Some of them are crude, others possess more or less merit, and all are defective in some respect; but they are fair examples of the composition work done in secondary schools. They are presented here as suitable material for comment and discussion in the class-room, and may be studied with reference to any of the principles in the preceding chapters, particularly theme-development. Any good author, like Irving, Ruskin, Emerson, Arnold, and others, will furnish abundant models of good composition; but reference may be made especially to the many good selections in Mr. E. H. Lewis' "Specimen Forms of Discourse," published by Henry Holt & Co., New York. SYMPATHY WITH ENGLAND. Lately there has been a good deal of gush and sentiment exhibited in behalf of the Boers, by certain classes |