of spirits, God of hosts, Father of mercies, Prince of life, Prince of
kings, and expressions of a similar character, should only commence with
a capital. This is the almost invariable usage of the Scriptures. These
expressions are not commonly used in the Bible as titles, in the strict
sense of the word. For example, King of kings really means that the Deity
is the supreme King of all human kings. For illustration see 1 Tim. vi.
15; Dan. vii. 13; Jas. i. 17; Heb. xii. 9; Psa. lxxx. 7; 2 Cor. i. 3;
Acts iii. 15; Mat. xii. 32. When these forms are used as titles, they may
be capitalized like titles.
4. The adjectives eternal, divine, heavenly, are not printed with
capitals in the Scriptures, when referring to the Deity; as, the eternal
God, heavenly Father. See Deut. xxxiii. 27; Heb. ix. 14; Mat. vi. 32; 2
Pet. i. 3. When, however, these adjectives are used in an emphatic or
special sense, they may commence with capitals.
5. The pronouns referring to the Deity should not be capitalized, when
they are used with some name of the Supreme Being; as, “At that time
Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,
and hast revealed them to babes.”—_Mat. xi. 25._ Any chapter of the New
Testament will give similar illustrations.
When, however, a pronoun referring to the Deity stands alone, it should
commence with a capital; as,—
“O Thou! with whom the night is day,
And one the near and far away.”—_Whittier._
6. The capitalization of pronouns is sometimes carried to a ridiculous
excess by some writers, especially in poetry; as,
“We praise Thee, O God! for the Son of Thy love.”
7. God, goddess, deity, applied to heathen divinities, should not
commence with a capital.
RULE XI. _Quotations._—When the exact words of another are given, the
first word of the quotation should commence with a capital, if it forms a
complete sentence.
EXAMPLES.
“When the celebrated Chesterfield was asked by a Parisian lady, ‘Why,
my Lord, does England still retain Christianity?’ ‘Madame,’ he replied,
with that mixture of repartee and philosophy which met the case he was
dealing with, ‘Madame, because, as yet, we have been able to find nothing
better.’”
Fielding somewhere says, “A good face is a letter of recommendation.”
REMARKS.
1. When a quotation is introduced by _that_, it should not commence with
a capital; as, Napoleon banished Madame de Stael because he said that
“she carried a quiver of arrows that could hit a man if he were seated on
a rainbow.”
2. When only a part of a sentence is quoted, a small letter should be
used; as, “For what satisfaction hath a man, that he shall ‘lie down
with kings and emperors in death,’ who in his lifetime never greatly
coveted the society of such bedfellows?”—_Lamb._
3. Sometimes a single word comprises the entire saying of another.
When this is so, it should commence with a capital; as, “He shouted,
‘Victory.’”
4. When examples are given as illustrations of some general principle,
they naturally follow the same rule as quotations. If an entire sentence
is given as an example, it should commence with a capital. When
disconnected words are given, small letters may be used, unless the words
themselves require capitals.
RULE XII. _Resolutions._—In writing resolutions, the word immediately
following _Resolved_, should commence with a capital.
EXAMPLE.
“_Resolved_, That the Declaration, passed on the fourth, be fairly
engrossed on parchment, with the title and style of ‘The Unanimous
Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America;’ and that the same,
when engrossed, be signed by every member of Congress.”
REMARK.
_Resolved_ commences with a capital in resolutions, and a comma
immediately precedes _That_.
RULE XIII. _Special Words._—Words used in a special sense, or of special
importance, commence with capitals.
EXAMPLES.
“As nowadays we build monuments to great men, so in the Middle Ages
they built shrines or chapels on the spots which saints had made
holy.”—_Froude._
“The Reformation broke the theological shackles in which men’s minds were
fettered.”—_Froude._
“That Popularity is alone valuable and enduring which follows you, not
that which you run after.”—_Lord Mansfield._
REMARK.
Although it is the universal custom to capitalize a word when used in
a special sense to mark an important period or event in history, there
is another class of words to which writers assign a special importance,
the capitalization of which must necessarily be left to the judgment
and taste of each writer. It should, however, be remembered that an
injudicious or too frequent use of capitals lessens their value and
force, and disfigures a written or printed page.
RULE XIV. _Words Personified._—When things without life are represented
as persons, they may commence with capitals.
EXAMPLE.
“Father Time is not always a hard parent, and though he tarries for none
of his children, he often lays his hand lightly upon those who have used
him well; making them old men and women inexorably enough, but leaving
their hearts and spirits young and in full vigor. With such people the
gray head is but the impression of the old fellow’s hand in giving them
a blessing, and every wrinkle but a notch in the quiet calendar of a
well-spent life.”—_Dickens._
REMARK.
Care should be taken not to carry this rule to an excess. Unless the
personification is vivid and emphatic, use small letters; as,—
“Many a daylight dawned and darkened,
Many a night shook off the daylight
As the pine shakes off the snow-flakes
From the midnight of its branches.”—_Longfellow._
RULE XV. _I and O._—The pronoun _I_ and the interjection _O_ should
always be written with capitals.
EXAMPLES.
“True faith, I tell thee,
Must ever be the dearest friend to man:
His nature prompts him to assert its rights.”—_Schiller._
“As wise as when I went to school.”—_Goethe._
“O day! O day! O day! O hateful day!
Never was seen so black a day as this.”—SHAKESPEARE.
RULE XVI. _References._—In referring to passages in books, numbers are
sometimes represented by capital letters.
EXAMPLES.
Irving’s “Life of Washington,” vol. III. p. 77.
Mommsen’s “History of Rome,” vol. IV. p. 18.
REMARKS.
1. Some commence volume and chapter with a capital, but this is not the
usual custom.
2. The volume, chapter, and page may be given, but the volume and page
are sufficient.
3. In referring to passages in the Bible, the chapter and verse are
given; as Luke, chap. ix. 15. It is the usual custom to omit the word
_chapter_, the letters representing the chapter; and the number, the
verse; as, “It may be fit to remember that Moses, Lev. xi. 9, Deut. xiv.
9, appointed fish to be the chief diet of the best commonwealth that ever
yet was.”—_Izaak Walton._
RULE XVII. _Divisions of a Statement._—When a general statement is
divided into separate and distinct parts, it is better to commence each
division with a capital, even when they do not form complete sentences,
and are not separated from each other by a period. This is especially the
case when the divisions are numbered.
EXAMPLE.
“The history of the normal development of the individual has its
counterpart in the history of humanity. There is, 1. The age of popular
and unconscious morality; 2. The transitional, skeptical, or sophistical
age; and 3. The philosophic or conscious age of morality.”
REMARKS.
1. When each division commences with a capital and is also numbered, they
will be more readily recognized and understood.
2. Some writers number the divisions, but do not commence them with
capitals; as, “The teaching of composition requires, (1) a cultivation
of thought; and (2) a cultivation of the faculty of expression.” It is
better to commence each division with a capital.
3. When a sentence is broken off to commence a new line, in order to give
special prominence to a statement, or to attract attention, a capital
should be used; as,—
I am, dear Mother,
Your dutiful son,
Sam. Johnson.
[Illustration: Letter-Forms.]
INTRODUCTION.
In writing letters, or in preparing anything for the press, care should
be taken to write a plain, readable hand. Many a valuable position has
been lost because of poor penmanship, and many worthy productions have
been thrown into the waste-basket, because they have been poorly written.
Men of distinction can afford to write a poor hand, to the inconvenience
of friends, and the trouble of printers, but, as a general rule, a poor
writer labors under a great disadvantage.
The following facts should be remembered in writing letters:—
1. A letter should not be written on half a sheet of paper, unless it is
a business letter.
2. Business letters should be as brief as clearness will permit.
3. It is never allowable to write across a written page.
4. All unnecessary flourishes should be avoided.
5. Black ink is preferable, and it is more durable than any other.
THE ADDRESS.
INTRODUCTORY REMARK.
The most important part of letter-writing is to properly direct a letter.
During the past year, nearly 4,000,000 letters found their way to the
Dead Letter Office, 67,000 of which were misdirected. When we consider
the loss to business firms in not promptly receiving important letters,
the anxiety to friends and relatives in the delay of expected letters,
the expense to the government in sending them to the Dead Letter Office,
and in handling and returning them to the writers, the proper direction
of a letter becomes a matter of very serious importance.
_Definition._—The address consists of the title and name of the person to
whom the letter is written, the city and the state in which he lives; as,—
Mr. William K. Bixby,
Houston,
Texas.
REMARKS.
1. Care should be taken to write the address in a clear, bold hand.
2. The usual titles are Mr., Mrs., Miss, and Master. The last title is
used in addressing a boy.
3. Esq. is sometimes placed after the name, instead of placing Mr.
before. It is used more especially with the names of lawyers, artists,
and men of social position. When Esq. is used, never use Mr.
_Position._—The title and name should be written about the middle of the
envelope, beginning on the left. Below the title and name, and farther to
the right, should be written the city; below the city, the state.
REMARKS.
1. It is customary to abbreviate the name of the state. Great care,
however, should be taken to properly abbreviate the word. Some
abbreviations are so similar to each other that mistakes frequently arise:
2. The address should never be written diagonally.
_Punctuation._—A comma should be placed after the name of the person, and
after the name of the city. A period should be placed at the end.
REMARKS.
1. Mr., Mrs., Esq., Rev., Dr., Prof., Pres., Capt., &c., are all
abbreviations, and consequently the abbreviations should be indicated by
a period. Miss is not an abbreviation, and thus requires no mark after
it. Messrs. is also an abbreviation. It is used in addressing a firm, but
it is frequently omitted.
2. If any part of a person’s name is abbreviated, a period should always
be used to indicate the abbreviation; as, John S. C. Abbott. The S. and
C. without a period really mean nothing.
3. Some place a comma between the parts of a person’s name. This, of
course, is incorrect. See p. 16 d.
4. All the words in the address should be capitalized, except
prepositions and articles.
_Honorary Titles._—It is customary to give the professional title or
titles of the person to whom a letter is directed, and if he occupies
some responsible position, this also should be indicated in the address;
as,—
Rev. E. O. Haven, D.D., LL.D.,
Chancellor of Syracuse University,
Syracuse,
N. Y.
REMARKS.
1. Honorary titles should be given for two reasons:—
(_a_) As a mark of respect.
(_b_) The address will be more readily recognized by
postmasters, and the letter will be more likely to reach its
destination without delay.
2. When titles are written after a person’s name, a comma should be
placed after each title, for the reason that a comma would be necessary,
if the title was written out in full; as, A. M., D.D., LL.D.
3. Some writers make the mistake of placing a period after the first L
in LL.D. This title stands for Doctor of Laws, the LL. indicating the
plural of Law. As the two letters stand for one word, the period must
necessarily be placed after the second L.
4. Hon. applies to judges, senators, representatives, heads of government
departments, mayors, and others of similar rank; as, Hon. Thomas M.
Cooley.
5. His Excellency applies to the President of the United States, an
Ambassador of the United States, or the Governor of a State. This title
should be written on a line by itself; as,—
His Excellency,
Gov. C. M. Croswell,
Adrian,
Mich.
6. In addressing a married lady, the professional title of her husband is
sometimes used; as, Mrs. Dr. Haven.
7. Two professional titles meaning the same thing should never be used;
as, Dr. A. D. Smith, M. D.
_Large Cities._—When the person to whom the letter is addressed, lives in
a large city where letters are delivered at places of business or private
residences, the title and name, number of house and street, the city, and
state should be given; as,—
A. S. Barnes & Co.,
34 and 36 Madison St.,
Chicago.
Ill.
REMARKS.
1. The title and name should be written first, the number and street to
the right and a little below, the city below the name of the street, and
the state under the city.
2. The name of the state might be omitted in the address above given. It
is not really necessary to give the state, when the city is so widely
known that no mistake can arise, if the name of the state is omitted; as,
New York, Philadelphia, Boston.
_Small Towns and Villages._—The name of the county in which a small town
or village is located, should always be given in the address. If the
person to whom the letter is written, lives in the country, the nearest
post-office must be given, together with the county and state. The name
of the place in which a person lives, and his post-office address, may be
two very different things.
Mr. George Harvey,
Palmyra,
Lenawee Co.,
Mich.
REMARKS.
1. The title and name should be written first; the town, village, or
post-office, second; the county, third; the state last.
2. Sometimes letters are detained at post-offices, by reason of the
directions not being sufficiently complete.
_Addressed Envelopes._—It is the custom with business firms, when an
answer to a letter is asked as a favor, to send, within the letter, a
stamped envelope properly addressed. The address is usually printed,
so that no mistake can be made. In all cases, even when an addressed
envelope is not required, when a favor is asked from an acquaintance
or a friend, and an answer is desired, a postage stamp should always
be inclosed. It is certainly an unpardonable presumption to ask even a
friend to write a letter for a particular purpose, and expect him to pay
for its proper delivery.
_Letters with Special Request._—Sometimes directions are written or
printed on envelopes as to the disposal of letters, if not called for
within a certain time. This should always be done when addressing
business letters. These directions are written or printed on the left of
the envelope, near the top. See form on p. 81.
_The Stamp._—The stamp should be placed in the right-hand corner of the
envelope, near the top. It seems hardly necessary to say that every
letter should be properly stamped, and yet between three and four hundred
thousand letters are annually sent to the Dead Letter Office, because the
writers had forgotten to properly stamp them.
FORMS OF ADDRESS.
[Illustration]
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[Illustration]
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[Illustration]
A letter of Introduction should be left unsealed.
[Illustration]
When a letter is intrusted to an acquaintance or to a friend for
delivery, it should not be sealed.
LETTER-FORMS.
I. Adrian, Mich., Nov. 6, 1877.
II. { Mr. William K. Bixby,
{ Houston, Texas.
III. Dear Sir,—
IV. Your favor * *
* * * * * * * *
V. { Very truly,
{ Joseph M. Blain.
In the letter-form above given, there are five parts to be considered:—
I. THE HEADING.
II. THE ADDRESS.
III. INTRODUCTORY WORDS.
IV. THE BODY OF THE LETTER.
V. THE CONCLUSION.
I. THE HEADING.
_Definition._—The heading consists of the name of the city in which the
writer lives, the state, the month, the day of the month, and the year;
as,—
Adrian, Mich., Nov. 6, 1877.
REMARKS.
1. Great care should always be taken to give in the heading, not only the
city, but also the state. If the letter should be sent to the Dead Letter
Office, the heading will properly indicate the place to which the letter
is to be returned.
2. The heading indicates to the person who receives the letter where an
answer is to be sent.
3. Sometimes the day of the week is given; as, Adrian, Monday, Nov. 5,
1877.
_Punctuation._—A comma should be placed after the city, state, and date.
A period should be placed at the end. If a word is abbreviated, a period
should be used to indicate the abbreviation, and a comma should also be
used, if the word written out in full would require a comma; as,—
Adrian, Michigan, November 6, 1877.
Adrian, Mich., Nov. 6, 1877.
REMARKS.
1. Some writers thoughtlessly place a comma between the name of the month
and the day of the month; as, November, 6, or Nov., 6. The 6 forms an
essential part of the month, and should not be separated from it by a
punctuation mark.
2. It is better to omit _st_, _th_, or _d_ after the number indicating
the day of the month. It certainly looks neater to write the date without
the marks and dots that sometimes disfigure the heading of letters.
3. Some prefer to place the number before the name of the month; as,
Adrian, Mich., 6 Nov., 1877. This, however, is not the usual practice.
_Large Cities._—In large cities where letters are delivered by
letter-carriers, it is necessary to give, in the heading of a letter,
the number of the house and the name of the street. The order should be
number, street, city, state, month, day of the month, year; as,—
215 Prospect St., Cleveland, Ohio,
March 5, 1877.
REMARKS.
1. Sometimes the size of the paper necessitates the use of three lines
for the heading. If this should be necessary, the number of the house and
the name of the street should be on the first line; the city and state,
on the second; the month, the day of the month, and year, on the third.
Each line should commence farther to the right than the preceding; as,—
215 Prospect St.,
Cleveland, Ohio,
March 5, 1877.
2. As few lines as possible should be used in the heading. In sending
letters from well known cities like New York, Philadelphia, &c., it is
not necessary to give the state. When the name of the state is omitted,
the heading can usually be written on two lines.
3. A period should be placed after St., because it is an abbreviation.
A comma should also follow the period, because the word written in full
would require a comma. 215 Prospect St., is one item; Cleveland, a
second; Ohio, a third; March 5, a fourth; 1877, a fifth.
_A Small Town or Village._—If the place in which the writer lives, is a
small town or village, the name of the place, county, and state should be
given; as,—
Palmyra, Lenawee Co., Mich.,
Sept. 13, 1877.
REMARKS.
1. The county should be given so that an answer to the letter may be
properly directed.
2. If the writer lives in the country, the post-office where his letters
are received, should be given, and not the place where he lives.
_Hotels._—When a letter is written at some prominent hotel, it is
customary to give the name of the hotel in the heading; as,—
Grand Central Hotel, New York,
Jan. 10, 1877.
_Seminaries and Colleges._—In writing from a seminary, college, or
university, the name of the institution is sometimes given; as,—
Female Seminary, Cleveland, Ohio,
April 11, 1877.
_Position._—The heading should be written on the first line, on the right
hand, commencing about the middle of the line. If more than one line is
required, the second line should commence farther to the right than the
first, and the third than the second.
REMARKS.
1. When a letter does not fill a full page, the heading should not be
written on the first line. The space at the head of the letter should
be about the same as at the bottom. In business letters, this is not
necessary.
2. Some write the city, state, month, &c., at the close of a letter. This
is not however, the usual form.
II. THE ADDRESS.
_Definition._—The address in the inside of a letter should be the same
as the address on the envelope. It consists of the title and name of the
person to whom the letter is written, and the place of his residence; as,—
Mr. William K. Bixby,
Houston, Texas.
REMARKS.
There are several reasons why the address should be written within the
letter:—
1. Business men usually take an impression or make a copy of all letters
written by themselves or their agents. It is a great convenience to
have the address within the letter, so that it can be referred to, if
necessary, at any time.
2. If the envelope is accidentally torn off, or is lost by not being
properly sealed, the letter can still be forwarded to its destination, if
the address is written within.
3. It is frequently the habit, on receiving a letter, to destroy the
envelope. Sometimes, after the envelope is destroyed, the letter is lost.
If there is an inside address, the letter, if found, can be returned.
_Punctuation._—A comma should be placed after the name of the person and
of the city. A period should be placed at the end.
REMARKS.
1. By placing _to_ before the address, it will be seen that a period is
required at its close, just as a period is required at the end of the
address on the envelope; as, To William K. Bixby, Houston, Texas.
2. Some writers place a colon after the name of the state, but the
practice is not a correct one. A semicolon should never be used.
_Large Cities._ When the person to whom the letter is written, lives in a
large city, the number and name of the street should be given, as on the
outside address; as,—
A. S. Barnes & Co.,
34 and 36 Madison St., Chicago.
REMARK.
If three lines are necessary, the title and name should be on the first
line, the number and street on the second, the city and state on the
third.
_Small Towns and Villages._—When the letter is addressed to a small town
or village, the county in which the town or village is situated, should
be given; as,—
Mr. George Harvey,
Palmyra, Lenawee Co., Mich.
REMARK.
The title and name should be on one line; the town or village, county,
and state should be on the second.
_Letters to Intimate Friends or Relatives._—In writing letters to
intimate friends or relatives, the address should be written at the close
of the letter, at the left, commencing on the line immediately following
the signature. It would be too formal to write the address at the head of
the letter, and it would not be in keeping with the introductory words
which immediately follow; as,—
Milburn Wagon Works, Toledo, Ohio,
Nov. 2, 1877.
Dear Mother,—
Your letter * * *
* * * * * * * * *
Very affectionately,
Edgar W. Curtis.
Mrs. James E. Curtis,
Adrian, Mich.
REMARK.
When the heading occupies only one line, it is better to leave a blank
line between the heading and the address.
_Position._—The address should commence on the left, and should be
written on, at least, two lines. The title and name should be on one
line; the city and state, on the second, and farther to the right. The
address, if possible, should be written on two lines. If the heading
consists of two or three lines, the address should commence on the line
immediately following the heading. If the heading consists of one line
only, a blank line should be left between the heading and the address.
III. INTRODUCTORY WORDS.
_Definition._—The introductory words consist of the greeting or
salutation; as,—
Dear Sir,—
REMARKS.
1. Sometimes only one word is used in the greeting; as, Sir, Gentlemen.
2. When Sir, Gentlemen, Friend, Father, &c., are used as introductory
words, they should always commence with a capital, as a mark of respect.
In greeting friends or relatives, do not belittle them with small letters.
3. When dear, respected, honored, and words of a like character, are
not the first words of the salutation, they should commence with a
small letter; as, My dear Sir, My respected Friend. If they commence the
salutation, capitals should be used; as, Dear Father, Respected Friend.