Pistolary art is said to be femimine , and man praises or criticises her as the mood possessing him suggests .

There is no question but a man writes better letters to a woman than he does to his own sex ; but it is presumed , while writing , he sees the sweet , happy face , and imagines he hears the throbbing tender heart , and the encouraging words which he is ever ready to recieve .

The sympathetic tear is distinctly woman's , and the hours or moments spent in perusing letters from mothers , sweethearts , and wives are the most pleasent of our lives , except perhaps the personal interviews .

Knowing  this to be true , it should be one of the first duties claiming our attention , to write well ; true , electric telegraph and cheap postage and postal cards all combine to ruin correspondence in the sence so pleasing to our immediate ancestors , but it is always pleasent to converse with our friends with pen in hand.

Fond mothers and lovers are the letter writers of this age , almost all other correspondence being merely notes .

At present no emblazoned crests or elaborate monograms or initial letters are used in the corner of note paper or stamped on our stationary.

There is one fashion which has never changed , and is always in good taste , use good , plain , thick note paper , folded square and put in a square envelope ; no mistake can be made in using this kind of stationary in any part of the world .

There is , however , no law forbidding the use of monograms , some ladies still prefer it , and use the style most familiar to their friends ; it is a fashion past not from the present .

Invariably use black ink , no other is in good taste ; it gives the written characters great distinctness and is the only fashionable medium .

The chirography is indicative of the writer's character , the angular hand is at present the fashion , although less legible and no more beautiful than the round hand .

We shall not attempt to enter into an argument of whether or not hand-writing is indicative of character , but a person's notes are usually characteristic , and a neat , flowing , graceful hand , and clean sheet of paper , free from blots , are always agreeable to the eye .

Custom demands that we begin all notes in the first person , formula : "My dear Mrs. Cory ,"  and close with the expressions : "Cordially yours", "Yours with much regard." "Very truly yours," etc. the laws of Etiquette do not permit us to use the numerals , as 6 , 7 , 8 , but demand that we write out six , seven , eight .

No abbreviations are allowed in a letter , as "Sd. be glad to see you," you must write it out , "I should be glad to see you ,"  can't for "cannot," and the date shoul follow the signing of the name .

A great and very common mistake existing ammong careless letter-writers is the confusion of the first and third persons ; a child might write "Miss Gracie Stuart would be happy to come to dinner , but I  am going elsewhere ." This is of course , ignorant and improper .

A note in answer to an invatation should be written in the third person , if the invatation be in the third person ; no visible hurry , but an elaborate and finished ceremony should mark such epistles .

We suggest the following in accepting an invatation to dinner ;

                                               Mr. &  Mrs. Leonard

                             have great plesure in accepting the polite

                            invatation of Mr. and Mrs. Southworth for

                            dinner on the 14th  inst. at seven o' clock

                                         54 Washington Street ,

                                                      June 5th.

"Come with pleasure" was once sent in accepting an invatation to dinner , but it is safe to predict that in the future the offender's name will not be included in the list of invatations  .

It is impossible to give minute directions as to all styles of notes , that is the culmination of careful study and training and good mental powers .

It is a gift to be able to wrrite a pretty note ; to some it is easy enough , but all shouls strive to master it .

Above all things spell correctly ; a badly spelled word stands out like a blot in a ceremonious note.

Letters and notes should be written on plain paper , it is inelegant and unfashionable to use ruled paper , and young people should learn to write without lines .

The square card is much used and is quite large enough for the transmission  of all a lady need write in giving or accepting an invatation .

A married lady should always be addressed with the prefix of her husband's christian name.

                                            BEGINNING OF LETTER WRITING :

There is no evidence of any letter having been written in England before the Norman conquest .

The oldest in the British Museum is one penned by Wuldham , Bishop of London , who  lived about the year 731 .

Paper was then too expensive to be an article of general consumption , but  with birth of education letter-writing gradually became a more wide-spread accomplishment.

When our Grandmothers desired to respond to a billet-doux they were obliged to take their scissors and cut off a scrap from a large sheet of paper , which , at that time , was the only form in which it was sold .

                                             WRITE DIGNIFIED LETTERS                                                     

Familiarity is to be deprecated at all times , even in writing to one's most intimate friends .

By common consent , there is a certain dignity to be observed , both in the language , matter and style of a letter , that should never be departed from.

To be a graeful correspondent is no mean acquirement at best , and only long practice , coupled with a trained intelligence , can enable the modern writer of letters to approach the masters of the art .

Those who would study this art , at its best , can do no better than read the published volume of Thackeray's letters , which , since they were given to the world , have achieved  for their author a fame second only to his novels themselves .

Letters of introduction should always be left unsealed ; out of courtesy to the bearer , who is thus at liberty to read them .

The mode of addressing the person written to , the body of the letter , and the phrase which precedes the signature of the writer , should be made to correspond , so that a uniformity is preserved .

The writer of notes must carefully discriminate between the familiar note and the ceremonious note , and should study how to write both.

                                                            PROPER LETTERS                                                                      

Dates and numerical designations , such as the number of a house , may be written in Aribic figures , but quqntities should be expressed in words , as you would say "the eighteenth century ," rather than "the 18th century ," in a carefully written note .

A married lady should be addressed on the envelope "Mrs. Harry Johnson ," "Mrs. Joel Sanderson ," to avoid mistake .

We should give every man his title , never address General McPherson as Captain Mc Pherson , never omit the Hon. before the names of ambassadors , of members of Congress or of the Legislature.

In Europe the plan of addressing letters is the business of one clerk in every diplomatic office .

It is considered of the first importance , in writing to the President  address your letters to his Excellency , this title also holds good in writing to the Governor of a State , in addressing the Roman Catholic clergy learn their proper titles , as "His Eminence the Arch bishop ."

Anote should be like a salutation , infused with respect , it honours alike the writer and the recipent .

Perhaps the hardest letter to write is one of sympathy , the language of condolence has been always quite inadequate , perhaps the simplest form is the best ; a kind and prompt letter , saying from the heart that your friend's sorrow is your own , is all that one can expect .

Avoid the formality of the past , those letters which begin , "Believe me , could I adequately express ," have gone into the waste  basket of the past where they have always belonged .

                                                         IMPROPER LETTERS

People who write begging letters are always prone to say , "Oh , if you knew what it cost me to write this letter ."

One is disposed to say , "Well , who cares what it cost ? Why did you write it ?" The writing of begging letters should be made a penal offence .

There is nothing so terribly wearing to a busy person as this infliction .

Letter writing should share with all other things a careful avoidence of all extravagant epithets , always rather understate than overstate your emotions .

A profound contempt can be conveyed gently , as "I have seen a better bred man than our friend Smith ."

Do not be too profuseof words in writing an apology , such a phrase as "I regret exceedingly to have intruded upon you" is far more befitting the etiquette of pen and ink and paper than "I am too awfully sorry ,"  "I am terribly grieved ,"  "I am in despair"

                                                   THE INTRODUCTION                                                            

The introduction of the address and the salutation , the address comprises the title and name of the person written to , and his directions .

In the following example : Mr.John J. Mason , 34 High St. , Albany : Mr.John J. Mason is the title and the name , and 34 High St. , Albany the directions .

This address is the same as that which is put upon envelopes , and is called the "inside address" to distinguish it from the superscription , which is called the "outside address" the name should be written so that it can be read easily , and politeness requires that some title should be added to it .

As a rule , two titles can not be joined to one name ; but to this there are two exceptions , when addressing a clergyman whose sur-name alone is known to us , we may write Rev. Mr. Spears , the Mr. being regarded as a substitute for the cristian name ; or if a married man has a professional or literary title prefixed to his name , Mrs. may be used before it to denote his wife , as Mrs. Secretary Chase .

The directions must comprise the name of the post- office nearest the person addressed , and the state in which it is situated .

The name of the county is necessary if the post-offficeis in a town not well known , if it be in a city , the number of the house , the street , the city , and the state should be given , the name of the stae can be omitted if the post-office be in a large city.

                                                         BUSINESS LETTERS         

In business letters the address should be in full , and it ought to be found in every letter , since the envelope is liable to be torn or lost , thus preventing the communication from reaching the person to whom it was written .

The salutation is the term of politeness used to introduce a letter , as Dear Sir , My Dear Friend , My Honoured Father .

Business letters generally begin with Sir , Dear Sir , Messrs . or Gentlemen , never use"gents" for Gentlemen , nor "Dr ." for Dear .

For a letter addressed to a married woman or a single woman not young , the proper salutation is Madam , Dear Madam , or My Dear Madam .

In a business letter to a young unmarried lady , the address alone is generally used as introduction , that the repetition of Miss may be avoided , the kinds of salutation used depend upon the feelings of the writer and his relation to the person addressed .

The place of the address in business letters and in those addressed to persons with whom you have but little  acquaintance , is at the top of the page ; in letters to relatives or very intimate friends , the address should be written at the bottom .

The address should be written on the first line below the date , and should begin at the marginal line that is from one-fourth of an inch to one inch from the left edge of the sheet .

It may occupy from one to three lines , the first line should contain only the name and title , the second should contain the directions , if the last word is an abbreviation or a short word ; but if the last item be a long word , it should be on a third line .