T
THE MOST TROUBLESOME detail in letter-writing is the matter of address. It should be noted that there is a distinction betweenDearandMy dear. In our country, the more formal style is with the pronoun, while the pronoun is omitted in writing to friends. A letter to a mere acquaintance begins with the words,My dear............................. But the form for an intimate is simplyDear.............................
The usual address for business purposes and to those with whom no social relations are established isDear Sir. The plural is used in addressing firms,Dear Sirs, or the one wordGentlemen, may be employed.
In addressing a man with whom social relations are established, the surname isused, preceded byDearorMy dear, according to the degree of intimacy.My dear Mr. Hudson; Dear Mr. Grant.
A woman who is a stranger may be addressed either asMadamorDear Madam, whether she be married or unmarried. The form “Dear Miss” is to be avoided under all circumstances.
For the woman with whom the writer is formally acquainted, the address is:My dear Mrs..............................., if she is married, andMy dear Miss............................, if she is unmarried. When the person is a friend, she should be addressed:Dear Mrs................., if she is a married woman, andDear Miss............................, if she is unmarried.
The full name should be signed to formal letters. The married woman should use her own Christian name, not her husband’s with theMrs.prefixed. But, in business communications to strangers, she may very properly give her husband’s name with the prefixMrs., below her usual signature, and inclosed in parenthesis.
Similarly, for the sake of clearness, a business letter by an unmarried woman may haveMissin parenthesis before the name.
Envelopes should be addressed to the recipient with the full name and necessary prefix—-Mr.,Mrs., orMiss.
TheMr., however, must be omitted ifEsq.is written after the name. The English custom limits the use of Esquire to those who are technically gentlemen. For example,Esq.is placed after the name in addressing a barrister, but it must not be used in writing to a tradesman, who is given only the prefixMr.
The prefixMr.is used when Junior or Senior is indicated after the name by an abbreviation. In such case,Esq.must never be written.
It must be noted also that in the case of addresses, as with cards, to which attention has already been given, the husband’s title must not be given to the wife.Mrs. Colonel,Mrs. Doctor,Mrs. Professor, and the like,are barbarisms, which are not tolerated in America or England. The Germans, however, use them.
The phrase before the signature to a letter varies according to the circumstances, and especially according to the individual taste. Thus, in concluding a very formal communication, it is quite proper to use the old-fashioned wording,I am, my dear Madam, your obedient servant. An ordinary convenient form that covers a wide field is,I remain,Yours sincerely, orYours faithfully, orYours cordially, writingI remainon one line, and theYours, etc., on the line below. Thus:
I remain,Yours sincerely,
Yours truly, orVery truly yours, is best reserved for business communications.Yours respectfullyis applicable for business communications, and also for letters addressed to superiors, and for use generally as a rather meaningless style.
Men of exalted position are commonlyaddressed asSirwithout any qualifying word. And the form in ending is,I have, Sir, the honor to remain Your most obedient servant—Your, etc., forming a separate line.
A letter of a social sort would begin,My dear Mr. President.
The like form would suffice for the vice-president, except for a letter of social character, when he should be addressed by name,My dear Mr. .........................
A justice of the supreme court, a senator, a member of the house of representatives, a cabinet officer, the governor of a state, etc., all have the same formalSiras the address and the corresponding phrase in conclusion. But there is variation in the address when the letter is of social import. The justice may be addressedMy dear Justice ................., orDear Mr. Justice ..................
The senator is addressedMy dear Senator ........................ The representative in congress is addressedMy dear Mr. .................
On the envelope, the forms are respectivelyMr. Justice ...................,Senator .......................,Hon. ..............(for the congressman).
The social letter to a cabinet officer addresses him by name,My dear ................., and has on the envelopeHon.preceding the name and his official designation following it.
A governor is usually addressedMy dear Governor ........................ And the envelope should have the title preceding the name.
In all cases except that of the President, the conclusion of a social letter is a simple form such as,I remain, Yours very sincerely.
A mayor is addressed either asSir, orYour Honor, in formal communications, and asMy dear Mayor .................in social correspondence. The envelope properly gives him a full designation,His Honor the Mayor of ..................... The name follows, written on a lower line.
The form of address is the same for bothofficial and social letters in the case of a Roman Catholic archbishop:Most Reverend and Dear Sir. The conclusion should run:I have the honor to remain Your obedient servant—Your, etc., being written on a lower line. The envelope carriesThe Most Reverend ......................., Archbishop of ...................
All letters to a cardinal beginYour Eminence. The conclusion is the same as to an archbishop. The envelope readsHis Eminence Cardinal .........................
For a Roman Catholic bishop all letters beginRight Reverend and Dear Sir. The conclusion is that used for the preceding prelates. On the envelope:The Right Reverend .................., Bishop of ............
A Protestant bishop, also, is addressedRight Reverend and Dear Sirofficially, but a social letter beginsMy dear Bishop ..................... The conclusion may take the form given for Roman Catholic dignitaries, but for social letters it is sufficient to write,I remain Yours sincerely. Theenvelope reads:The Right Reverend ................, Bishop of .............................
Both priests and Protestant clergymen are officially addressed:Reverend and Dear Sir. But, in a social letter, the beginning isDear Father .................., in the case of a priest; while the Protestant minister is addressed asDear Mr. ........................, orDear Doctor ...................., if he has such a title. The conclusion for either need be no more than:I remain, Yours very sincerely. The envelope bears,The Reverend .......................
The possession of degrees may be indicated by writing the proper initials after the name. Where the clergyman has the degree of Doctor, this is sometimes used as an abbreviation preceding the name—The Reverend Dr. ..........................