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Inexperienced writers use italics or underscored words freely to indicate emphatic words; this is not only unnecessary, but it also insinuates a lack of comprehension on the part of the reader.

Leads are thin plates of type-metal by which the lines are spaced apart. Matter spaced in this way is said to be leaded; that which is not thus spaced is called solid.

Composing, as a part of printers' work, is setting up the type.

The quantity of printed matter is counted by ems. An em is the square of the body of the type used.

SIZES OF Books.

A book is called a Folio when the sheets on which it is printed are folded once, so as to make two leaves. It is called a Quarto, or 4to, when each sheet makes four leaves; an Octavo, or 8vo, when each sheet makes eight leaves; a Duodecimo, or 12mo, when each sheet makes twelve leaves; also a 16mo, 18mo, 24mo, 32mo, etc. according to the number of leaves into which a sheet is folded.

Inasmuch as sheets of printing paper vary in size, books known as duodecimos also vary considerably. The same is true of octavos and of all other sizes.

CHAPTER III.

LETTER-WRITING.

A LETTER is a written communication from one person to another.

A letter takes the place of a conversation or an oral communication; and this fact determines not only the character of the letter, but also its style, form, and, to some extent, its length.

Letters may be either public or private. Private letters are by far the most numerous; they embrace Letters of Friendship, Letters of Courtesy, and Business Letters.

Letters of Friendship.-The chief essentials in letters of friendship are that the style shall be simple and the manner of expression natural. The reputation which the poet Cowper acquired for excellence as a letter-writer came largely from the fact that his letters were not written for the public, and hence were characterized by a style so natural that they were called "talking letters."

Too little attention is given to the cultivation of excellence of style in epistolary correspondence.

Neatness and correctness are essential in letter-writing of all kinds. Nothing excuses a carelessly written letter. Neat, plain penmanship is preferable to flourishes. or to the uncouth angular hand lately so much employed.

It should be remembered, in writing letters of friend

or otherwise be read by those to whom it has not been addressed. It is wise, therefore, never to write anything that might be misinterpreted, or that might, if preserved, be likely to give trouble either to the writer or to others.

It is not the great events that make a personal letter interesting, so much as it is the incidents of every-day life; and therefore anything that would be of interest in conversation would be of like interest if embodied in a letter.

Letters of Courtesy include Invitations, Acceptances and Regrets, Letters of Congratulation, of Condolence, of Introduction, and of Recommendation.

All of these are closely related to letters of friendship, but they are more formal in style. Letters of friendship may be written at any time as impulse or habit may dictate, but letters of courtesy are demanded on particular occasions according to the customs of society.

Business Letters include two kinds-Personal and Official.

A Personal business letter is one on personal or private business.

Among personal business letters are included the letters of merchants, manufacturers, bankers, professional men, and others in connection with their business, either as individuals or as business firms.

An Official business letter is one written either by a public officer or to him, on business pertaining to his office.

Official business letters include the correspondence of the various officials of a city, state, or nation, together with heads of departments and officers of the army and the navy.

PUBLIC LETTERS.

Public Letters embrace news letters intended for publication, and essays and reports addressed to some person or persons.

News Letters are communications to newspapers containing accounts of local incidents, persons, and places. Sometimes they deal but slightly with local matters, and give more particularly incidents of travel and observations on places and the manners and customs of inhabitants. Frequently a writer publishes a letter addressed to some prominent person criticising his opinions or his actions, or putting to him a number of formal questions with the view of securing a published reply. This is usually called an open letter.

THE DIVISIONS OF A LETTER.

In writing letters the most important things to be considered are

1. The Heading;

2. The Introduction;

3. The Body of the Letter;

4. The Conclusion;

5. The Superscription.

The mechanical part of a letter should not be neglected. The appearance of a letter frequently exercises more influence than the sentiment it contains; this is especially true in letters of courtesy.

THE HEADING.

The Heading of a letter consists of the name of the place at which the letter was written, and the date when it was written.

When the letter is written from a large city, the name

of the place should include the door-number, the name of the street, and the name of the city; all of which should occupy the first line of the heading, and the date the second line. Thus:

1020 Chestnut St., Philadelphia,

Nov. 20, 1886.

Where one does not care to have his residence known or is not permanently located, the post-office box number may be given instead of the door-number, as follows:

Box

1258, Philadelphia, Pa.,
Nov. 20, 1886.

If the letter be written from the country or from a village or small town, the county as well as the State should be mentioned; as,

Avondale, Chester Co., Pa.,

Nov. 26, 1886.

If the letter be written from a prominent hotel, a boarding-school, or other institution, the name of the hotel or institution should occupy the first line of the heading, in which case the heading may occupy three lines, as follows:

New Jersey Formal School,

Trenton, A. J.,

Get. 6, 1887.

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