Monsieur Jules La Chaise, Hotel Enterprise, City.
MONSIEUR:
I hope that you have had a _bon voyage_ on your trip from _la belle
France_, and my wife and I are looking forward to welcoming you to
our city. Although I cannot say, as your great king Louis XV. so
justly remarked, “_L’etat, c’est moi_,” yet I believe that I can
entertain you _comme il faut_ during your stay here. But all _bon
mots_ aside, would you care to join us this afternoon in a ride
around the city? If you say the word, _voila!_ we shall be at your
hotel in our automobile and I think that you will find here much that
is interesting to a native of Lafayette’s great country and
especially to a citizen of Paris. Did you know, for example, that
this city manufactures 38% of the toilet soap and perfumery _je ne
sais quoi_ which are used in this state? Of course, our sewers are
not to be compared to yours, _mon Dieu_, but we have recently
completed a pumping station on the outskirts of the city which I
think might almost be denominated an _objet d’art_.
I am enclosing a visitor’s card to the City Club here, which I wish
you would use during your stay. I am sure that you will find there
several _bon vivants_ who will be glad to join you in a game of
_vingt et un_, and in the large room on the second floor is a
victrola with splendid instrumental and vocal records of “La
Marseillaise.”
_Au revoir_ until I see you this afternoon. Robert C. Crocker.
And above all, in writing to strangers or comparative strangers,
seek to avoid the mention of subjects which might be distasteful
to the recipient of the letter. Many a friendship has been
utterly ruined because one of the parties, in her correspondence
or conversation, carelessly referred to some matter—perhaps some
physical peculiarity—upon which the other was extremely
sensitive. The following letter well illustrates how the use of a
little tact may go “a long way.”