It sometimes happens that, in fashionable penmanship, the circumstance
that it is _to be deciphered_ seems to have been forgotten. "To read so
as not to be understood, and to write so as not to be read, are among
the minor immoralities," says the excellent Mrs. Hannah More. Elegant
chirography, and a clear epistolary style, are accomplishments which
every educated female should possess. Their indispensable requisites
are, neatness, the power of being easily perused, orthographical and
grammatical correctness. Defects in either of these particulars, are
scarcely pardonable. The hand-writing is considered by many, one of the
talismans of character. Whether this test may be depended on or not, the
fact that letters travel farther than the sound of the voice, or the
sight of the countenance can follow, renders it desirable that they
should convey no incorrect or unfavorable impression. The lesser
niceties of folding, sealing, and superscription, are not beneath the
notice of a lady.
Letter-writing is a subject of so varied and extensive a nature, that it
can scarcely be reduced to rules or taught by precept; but some
instructions respecting it may afford assistance in avoiding error, and
obtaining a degree of excellence in this most important exercise.
When you write a letter to any person, express the same sentiments and
use the same language as you would do if you were conversing with him.
"Write eloquently," says Mr. Gray, "that is, from your heart, in such
expressions as that will furnish."
Before you begin a letter, especially when it is on any occasion of
importance, weigh well in your own mind the design and purport of it;
and consider very attentively what sentiments are most proper for you to
express, and your correspondent to read.
To assist invention and promote order, it may, as some writers on
epistolary composition recommend, occasionally be of use to make, in the
mind, a division of a letter into three parts, the beginning, middle,
and end; or, in other words, the exordium or introduction, the narration
or proposition, and the conclusion. The exordium, or introduction,
should be employed, not indeed with the formality of rhetoric, but with
the ease of genuine politeness and benevolence, in conciliating favor
and attention; the narration or proposition, in stating the business
with clearness and precision; the conclusion, in confirming what has
been premised, in making apologies where any are necessary, and in
cordial expressions of respect, esteem, or affection.
Scrupulously adhere to the rules of grammar. Select and apply all your
words with a strict regard to their proper signification, and whenever
you have any doubts respecting the correctness or propriety of them,
consult a dictionary or some good living authority. Avoid, with
particular care, all errors in orthography, in punctuation, and in the
arrangement of words and phrases.
Dashes, underlinings, and interlineations, are much used by unskillful
and careless writers, merely as substitutes for proper punctuation, and
a correct, regular mode of expression. The frequent recurrence of them
greatly defaces a letter, and is equally inconsistent with neatness of
appearance and regularity of composition. All occasion for
interlineations may usually be superseded by a little previous thought
and attention. Dashes are proper only when the sense evidently requires
a greater pause than the common stops designate. And in a
well-constructed sentence, to underline a word is wholly useless, except
on some very particular occasion we wish to attract peculiar attention
to it, or to give it an uncommon degree of importance or emphasis.
Postscripts have a very awkward appearance, and they generally indicate
thoughtlessness and inattention. To make use of them in order to convey
assurances of respect to the person to whom you write, or to those who
are intimately connected with him, is particularly improper; it seems to
imply that the sentiments you express are so slightly impressed upon
your mind, that you had almost forgotten them or thought them scarcely
worth mentioning.