Page:A Desk Book on the Etiquette of Social Stationary.djvu/27



NE MAY acquire the art of letter-writing. Few possess it. A glance down the page of a fair example of our correspondence finds it studded with personal "I's" and filled with household groans.

The letter which is a joyous thing, bringing with it a subtle touch of the sender, and conveying the sense of a personal chat, is the one we seek at the postman's ring. Many clever, fluent talkers become incoherent at the touch of ink. They cannot put themselves on paper and the non-expressive, disappointing type of letter is the result.

The rigid rules of school-day letter-writing one must needs unlearn in the world's classroom. We have no space for shaded pothooks in the characterized hand which we soon assume after our copy-book graduation. One's chirography may be clear, unique and distinctive, but