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. Spreniree.—l.
son, in ‘one of
eae ~ - . me ~ ee ~ i TR: eT ee seems
44 STANDARD LETTER-WRITER.
1
Now, my dear , just think over what I
have said, and write in a month’s time telling me
if you_have formed any views, and what they
are. Do not be afraid of saying exactly what
you think, as I prefer always to hear a candid
Btatement, even if it causes pain, than listen to
anything of an equivocal character.
ooG-bye, my dear boy,
elieve me, -
i Ever your affectionate father, j
(—————_
No. 71.
Answer to the Above.
(Address.
(Date in full
My pean Fatuer:
When I received your kind letter I
thought of writing by return to say that nothing
would please me more than to enter business,
and have thus an opportunity of perhaps one
day becoming one of your assistants. But, bear-
ing in mind your injunction to think the sub-
ject over for a month, I could not reply then
without showing a feeling of disrespect, which
hope, my dear father, I shall never entertain for
even the least of my friends. The month has
now, however, expired, and 1 am at liberty to
answer your letter, and to expresa my gratitude
for the confidence you repose in me in consult-
ing my wishes at all as regards the immediate
fature.
Having endeavored to do justice to your letter
Ican come to no other conclusion than that [
~would like to qualify myself ta be a merchant,
if you think it is desirable that I should do so. I
have made considerable progress in accounts as
taught in the schools, and while. reading
geographical works I have paid particular at-
tention to the description given of the commodi-
ties of the different countries with which English
merchants have dealings. I hope I may not dis-
appoint you if you decide upon placing me in
either your own office or in that of one of your
friends. lam resolved to do all in my power to
- make myself useful wherever I am placed, and
with that view I would employ a portion of my
leisure in acquiring a knowledge of matters lit-
tle known to me now.
It pleases mo very much, my dear father, to
think that you have been wishful that I should
follow the track which you have so successfully
yarsued; ow of no profession I would em-
race sooner than the avocation of a man of
business, in which I may, perhaps, be also suc-
-cegaful by looking to you for advice and assist-
ance, “
I remain,
My dear father,
Ever your affectionate son,
- ¢
Valuable Hints.
Orthography.
Oxrnooraruy includes Spelling and the Use
of Capital Letters. .
Importance. Thomas Jeffer-
his admirable letters to his
daughter Martha, says: .
“Take care that you never spell a word wrong.
Always, before you write a word, consider how it is
spelt, and if you do not remember it, turn to a dic-
tionary. It produces great praise to a lady for gen-
tlemau] to spell well.’ Few persons can spell well.
And Lord Chesterfield, a toted authority in
the poltte world, writes to his son as follows:
“I must tell you that orthography, in the trae
sense of the word, is so absolutely necessary fora
man of letters, or a gentleman, that one false spell-
{og may fix ridicule upon him for the rest of his life;
3nd I know a man of quality who never recovered
‘trom} the ridicule of having spelled wholesome
without the 2.” : .
But it needs not the authority of Jefferson or
Chesterfield to convince any one of the impor-
tance cf correct spelling. Not long since a
young man of our acquaintafice was refused a
desirable situation because in his letter of appli-
cation he wrote wether for whether; and such
cases are of frequent occurrence. There are
few persons of fine culture who do not know
from experience what a chill of disappointment
or disgust is produced by tho receipt of a badly-
spelled and ridteulous fetter from ono who has
6 appearance and pretentions of a refined
gentleman orlady. Such a letter is no discredit
to a person who. hag exjoyed no educational ad-
vantages: but to one who bears a seminary,
normal-school, or college diploma, it is nothing
less than a disgrace. .
It is clamed by some, to excuse their own de-
ficiency, that spelling like poesy, is a natural
git. This is true only to the extent that some
earn it more readily than others. It may be
that some are so constituted that they can never
become good spellers. But even this defect
does not excuse them for sending a badly-
spelled letter. Let them, as Jefferson advises,
consider how every word is spelt, and if they do
not remember it with certainty, let them turn to
a dictionary. In writing an important letter,
especially to a stranger, 16 would be better to
consult the dictionary for every word than run
the risk of misspelling a single one.
How Learned.—We learn words as we do faces
—by their looks. Those that are frequently met
with in reading and writing become, as it were,
photographed upon the memory; and spelling
1s in most cases a mere description of this mcn-
tal picture as we see it. owing how these
words should look on fener we readily notice
when they are misspelled. If, therefore, we
would become good spellers, we must read
much and write much, There is no better exer-
cise, not only in spelling, but also in capitals,
punctuation, and grammar, than copying ex-
tracts from correctly-printed books. And if
there are words that we especially wish to im-
press upon the memory, we should write them
over and over—fifty or a hundred times, if neces-
sary—until their-forms are as familiar to us as
are the features of our intimate triends. Close
and careful attention, however, in this as in
every other process of education, is essential to
our success. .
mon Words.—Most of the mistakes in
spelling are in the use of simple, common
words; such as untill for until, to for too, of for
off, there for their, loose for tose, except for ac-
cept, wile for while, wite for white, pleas for
please, respectively for respectfully, projfessor or
prof for professor or prof. ese are for the
most part errors of carelessness rather than
ignorance, and the remedy is greater watchful-
ness and deliberation.
Rules.—There are other mistakes that might
be avoided by attention to a few simple rules.
The most important of these rules relate to the
formation of derivatives by the addition of a
w
Se
1. To words ending in silent e.
2. To words ending y.
3. To words ending in a single consonant.
In the first class of derivatives we find such
mistakes as moteing for moving, loveable for lov-
able, changable for changeable. In the second
class, such as mercyfu for merciful, monies for
Ss. In the third, such as runing for run-
ning, commited for committed, regreted tor re-
gretied; or benefitted for benefited, profited for
profied.
Many mistakes are made, also, in the use of
words containing ei or ie; for example, recieve
for receive, beleive for believe, acheive tor achieve,
greive for grieve, etc. These may be avoided by
remembering that ei is used after a letter hav-
ing the sound of 8, and ie in other cases, except
in the words siege and sieve. .
Numerals.—Arithmetical figures should not
be used in letters, except in writing dates or
very large numbers, For example, ‘* He worked
5 days for $5” is not allowab e; it should be,
‘* He worked five days for five dollars.” It is
roper, however, to write, ‘‘ He sold his farm,
May 5, 1876, for $10,000 (10,000 dollara).”
business letters, numbers that are written in
words are also expressed parenthetically, in fig-
ures; as, ‘‘ Enclosed find my check for five thou-
sand dollars ($5,000).
Abbreviations.—Abbreviations should be used
very sparingly, especially in social letters; and
none are allowable anywhere, except such as
are sanctioned by cusiom. ,
APTITALS—A very common fault, in letters as
well as every other kind of composition, is the
improper use or omission of capital letters. In
some cases we find too many capitals, especially
in the letters of thoso who like to display their
skill in penmanship; but it is much more fre-
quent to find nearly all capitals discarded. It is
not by any means rare to tind (probably owing
to the excessive modesty of the writer!) a small
letter (i) used for the personal pronoun I. Per-
sons liable to’such mistakes should study dili-
gently the rules on the subject, and then care-
fully apply them. Examples for capitalizing
the heading, mtroduction, conclusion, and super-
scription are given in the sections treating on
these parts.
An excellent way to learn the correct use of
Diction.
A man’s Diction is his choice and ise of worés..
Itshould have three qualittes—Purity, Propriety,
and Precision. -Purity 1s the use of words that
are good Finglish; Propriety is the use of words-
in their proper meaning; Precision 1s the use of
words that express the exact meaning—no more
and no less. For a fuli discussion of these prop-
erties the reader is referred to works on rhe-
oric. °
The diction of letters is not so stately as that.
of books; it is that used in good conversation.
The following are a few of the directions to be-
observed:
Forricn Worps.—Indulge sparingly, if at all,
in the use of foreign words and phrases. They
are characteristic, not of the scholar, but of the
smatterer. -
Stana Worps.—Avoid slang words and phrases
such as ‘too thin,” ‘‘won’t wash,” ‘‘over tl
left,” ‘you bet,” etc. Young people are apt to
pick them up in the street and elsewhere, and
use them unconsciously. In such cases they in-
dicate simply a want of taste; but in most cases.
they mark the man or woman of low associa~
tions and vulgar ideas.
Smrete Worps.—As in our talk, so in our let-
tera, we should not use too many “dictionary
words”; that is, long Latimized words.. They”
ive our language a pedantic air, and make it
cold and formal. We should give preference to
the ‘fhome words” of the language—the worde.
usedfin the family and in the best standards of
inglish. ove, for example, is preferable to
affection; motherly to maternal; see to perceive;
tired to fatigued; go to depart; come to arrives
have to possess; do to perform; begin to cowm-
menoe; Sunday to Sabbath; pray to supplicase ox
implore—and go on to almost any extent.
Construction.
By Construction we mean sentence-building..
The chief things to be aimed at in this are
Grammatical Accuracy and Qlearness. . Unity,
strength, and harmony, so essential in essays:
and orations, are 1n letters of minor importance,
GraimaticaL Accuracy.—Persons are gener-
ally unable in the necessary rapidity of corre-
spondence to prune and dress their scatences.
as in other kinds of composition, hence they
cannot be held to a strict compliance with alk
the rules of rhetoric; but nothing will excuse a.
violation of the ordinary rules of graramar.
Such expressions as “‘he done” for ‘he did,’*
“6 come” for “ho came,” “I seen” for *T
saw,” “he laid in bed” for ‘the lay in bed,”
“he set down” for ‘‘he sat down,” ‘* knowed’”
for ‘* knew,” ‘* blowed” for ** blew,” ** you was?”
for ‘you were,” etc., etc., are intolerable, and
fix upon the writer the stamp of illiteracy.
CreasNEss.—A sentence that is not clear is
either obscure or ambiguous.
Use of Pronouns.—Ambiguity often arises
from the unskillful or careless use of pronouns.
In the sentence, ‘John told William that hi
book was in his room,” for example, it is impos-
sible to tell whose book or whose room is meant.
The fault may be removed by reporting the
speech in the first person; as, ‘‘John said to
William, Your book is in my room;” or by re~
peating the noun parenthetically after the pro—
noun; as, “John told William that his ( William’s)
book was in his (John’s) room.” The latter
construction is awkward, but even awkward-
ness is preferable to want of clearness.
Bad Arrangemert.—Ambiguity or obscurity is:
often caused by a misplacing of words, phrases,
or clauses. For example, the sentence, ‘I only
saw two boys,” is rendered ambiguous by the
wrong position of ‘‘ only.” . The meaning may be,
**T only sao two boys *—did not hear them, or
speak to them; or, “‘I saw only two buys ’—no
others,
Again, in the sentence, “‘ Isaw an old woman
darning stockings with a Roman nose,” 2 ridicu-
lous ambiguity is produced by the misplacing of
the phrase “‘ with a Roman nose”; it should be
laced close to the word zcoman, which it limits.
n the sentence, ‘The figs wero in small wood-
en boxes which we ate,” the same effect is pro-
duced by placing the clause ‘‘ which wo ate” at
a distance from its proper antecedent.
_ The rule in all such cases is, Place all modify-
ing adjuncts as near as possible to tho words
which they limit.
Above all, have a clear conception of what you
want to say. ‘*Clear thinking,” says Lowell,
‘‘ makes clear writing ”; and this, in most cases,
capitals is to observe how they are used in the
best books and papers.
is true, “Muddy sentences indicate a muddy
brain. A frank, earnest man, whose head and
a.
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