How to Write Letters (Formerly The Book of Letters) Part 46

Sincerely yours, Roger Palmer.

_Thanks for a gift:_

159 West Tenth Street.

December 12, 1921.

Dear Aunt Louise:

You were wonderful to think of sending me those fine skates for my birthday. They are just the kind I wanted and I wish to thank you.

I shall take good care of them.

Your affectionate nephew, John Orr.

_To a sick playmate_

46 Elmwood Avenue, June 16, 1922.

Dear Dorothy:

I am so sorry you are ill, but your mother says you are getting better. If you like, I shall let you have my book with the poem called "The Land of Counterpane." It is about a sick little boy who is playing with his toy soldiers and people and villages. In the picture they seem to be making him forget he is sick.

All the boys and girls hope you will soon be out to play again.

Sincerely yours, Betty Foster.

_To a teacher_

500 Park Avenue, New York, N. Y., February 8, 1920.

Dear Miss Sewell:

I want to thank you for your kindness in helping me with my studies, especially arithmetic. Without your help I should not have been able to pa.s.s my examinations.

Mother asks that you will come some day next week to take tea with us.

Sincerely yours, Susan Evans.

_To a grandparent_

Dear Grandmother:

I wish you a very happy birthday and I hope you will like the present I sent you. Mother helped me to make it.

I send you my best love.

Your loving grandchild, Evelyn.

Here is a charming letter[17] that Helen Keller when she was ten years of age wrote to John Greenleaf Whittier on the occasion of his birthday:

South Boston, Dec. 17, 1890.

Dear Kind Poet,

This is your birthday; that was the first thought which came into my mind when I awoke this morning; and it made me glad to think I could write you a letter and tell you how much your little friends love their sweet poet and his birthday. This evening they are going to entertain their friends with readings from your poems and music. I hope the swift winged messengers of love will be here to carry some of the sweet melody to you, in your little study by the Merrimac. At first I was very sorry when I found that the sun had hidden his shining face behind dull clouds, but afterwards I thought why he did it, and then I was happy. The sun knows that you like to see the world covered with beautiful white snow and so he kept back all his brightness, and let the little crystals form in the sky. When they are ready, they will softly fall and tenderly cover every object. Then the sun will appear in all his radiance and fill the world with light. If I were with you to-day I would give you eighty-three kisses, one for each year you have lived. Eighty-three years seems very long to me. Does it seem long to you? I wonder how many years there will be in eternity. I am afraid I cannot think about so much time. I received the letter which you wrote to me last summer, and I thank you for it. I am staying in Boston now at the Inst.i.tution for the Blind, but I have not commenced my studies yet, because my dearest friend, Mr. Anagnos, wants me to rest and play a great deal.

Teacher is well and sends her kind remembrance to you. The happy Christmas time is almost here! I can hardly wait for the fun to begin! I hope your Christmas Day will be a very happy one and that the New Year will be full of brightness and joy for you and every one.

From your little friend Helen A. Keller.

[17] This and the letter following are from "The Story of My Life," by Helen Keller. Copyright, 1902, 1903, by Helen Keller. Published in book form by Doubleday, Page & Co.

And the distinguished poet's reply:

My dear Young Friend:

I was very glad to have such a pleasant letter on my birthday. I had two or three hundred others and thine was one of the most welcome of all. I must tell thee about how the day pa.s.sed at Oak Knoll. Of course the sun did not shine, but we had great open wood fires in the rooms, which were all very sweet with roses and other flowers, which were sent to me from distant friends; and fruits of all kinds from California and other places. Some relatives and dear old friends were with me through the day. I do not wonder thee thinks eighty-three years a long time, but to me it seems but a very little while since I was a boy no older than thee, playing on the old farm at Haverhill. I thank thee for all thy good wishes, and wish thee as many. I am glad thee is at the Inst.i.tution; it is an excellent place. Give my best regards to Miss Sullivan, and with a great deal of love I am

Thy old friend, John G. Whittier.

CHAPTER X

TELEGRAMS

Perhaps the most important thing to guard against in the writing of telegrams is a choice of words which, when run together, may be read two ways. As there should be no punctuation (and telegraph companies do not hold themselves responsible for punctuation) the sentences must be perfectly clear. There are instances where the use of punctuation has caused trouble.

In cases where punctuation is absolutely necessary, as for instance when more than one subject must be covered in the same message, the word "stop" is employed to divide the sentences, as:

Will arrive eight-thirty Wednesday stop telephone Gaines am coming stop will be at Hotel Pennsylvania

Therefore write sentences so that when they are run together there is only one interpretation.

Use no salutation or complimentary closing. Leave out all words that are not necessary to the meaning. Omit first-person p.r.o.nouns where they are sure to be understood. Do not divide words in a telegram. Compound words are accepted as one word. Numbers should be spelled out, princ.i.p.ally because it is more likely to insure correct transmission, and secondly because it costs less. For example, in the ordinal 24th the suffix _th_ is counted as another word.

The minimum charge for telegrams is the cost of ten words, not counting the name, address, and signature. Nothing is saved by cutting the message to less than ten words. There is a certain fixed rate of charge for every word over ten.

In counting the words, count as one word the following:

I--Every word in the name of an individual or a concern as: Clive and Meyer Co. (four words) DeForest and Washburn Co.

(four words also, as DeForest is counted as one word).