x is little used at present; if at all,
the "blob" of wax is small, only large enough to receive the impress of a
single initial on the seal.

Use a good black ink. Violet and purple inks are as passe as colored
stationery. There is a certain writing-fluid, bluish when first used, and
turning black after a few hours' exposure, that is standard.

Write legibly. Handwriting may or may not be an index of character, but it
certainly does indicate certain attributes. A cramped, slovenly, awkward
handwriting is naturally associated with a careless and uneducated person;
whereas a free, graceful and trained hand indicates culture and refinement
in the writer. We say again, write legibly. Nothing is more exasperating
than certain examples of modern fad-writing, where one might as well
attempt to translate a page of Chinese script. Despite the typewriter, one
should endeavor to be a good penman, because the typed letter or note is
inadmissible in polite society, being reserved for the world of business.
Avoid also the microscopic calligraphy with a fine pen; it is very trying
to your correspondent's eyes, unless she happens to have a reading-glass
conveniently near.

Take pains to make your signature easily decipherable. Remember that while
a word may be puzzled out by the context, or by the analogy of its letters
to others, the signature has no context, and is often so carelessly
written that the letters composing it are indistinguishable. One should be
particularly careful in this respect where writing business letters or
letters to strangers.

[MANNERS AND SOCIAL CUSTOMS 757]

Letter Forms--Ceremonious letters, and notes in the first person are
addressed to My dear Mrs. Smith. If Mrs. Smith is a friend or an
acquaintance, she is addressed as "Dear Mrs. Smith." This is the American
custom, and is an exact reversal of the English. which is, by the way,
being more generally adopted in our society. "My dear" certainly seems to
the uninitiated, at least, more intimate and familiar than "Dear." A
business communication to a stranger begins--

Mrs. Joseph Smith,
Dear Madam:--

There are shades of courtesy to be observed in signing letters. "Sincerely
yours" is a little more formal than "Yours sincerely;" "Yours with much
regard" is more familiar than "Yours sincerely." "Yours truly" is for the
business letter; "Yours affectionately" for the family or those to whom
we are much attached. The rule has been to capitali