ase; to a surgeon who has saved a life dear
to you; to a friend who has been put to unusual trouble to do you a favor.

In an ordinary letter of thanks, the signature is "Sincerely,"
"Affectionately," "Devotedly"--as the case may be.

The phrases that a man might devise to dose a letter to his betrothed or
his wife are bound only by the limit of his imagination and do not belong
in this, or any, book.

=THE SIGNATURE=

Abroad, the higher the rank, the shorter the name. A duke, for instance,
signs himself "Marlborough," nothing else, and a queen her first name
"Victoria." The social world in Europe, therefore, laughs at us for using
our whole names, or worse yet, inserting meaningless initials in our
signatures. Etiquette in accord with Europe also objects strenuously to
initials and demands that names be always engraved, and, if possible,
written in full, but only very correct people strictly observe this rule.

In Europe all persons have so many names given them in baptism that they
are forced, naturally, to lay most of them aside, selecting one, or at
most two, for use. In America, the names bestowed at baptism become
inseparably part of each individual, so that if the name is overlong, a
string of initials is the inevitable result.

Since, in America, it is not customary for a man to discard any of his
names, and John Hunter Titherington Smith is far too much of a pen-full
for the one who signs thousands of letters and documents, it is small
wonder that he chooses J.H.T. Smith, instead, or perhaps, at the end of
personal letters, John H.T. Smith. Why shouldn't he? It is, after all, his
own name to sign as he chooses, and in addressing him deference to his
choice should be shown.

A married woman should always sign a letter to a stranger, a bank,
business firm, etc., with her baptismal name, and add, in parenthesis, her
married name. Thus:

Very truly yours,
Sarah Robinson Smith.
(Mrs. J.H. Titherington Smith.)

Never under any circumstances sign a letter "Mr.", "Mrs.", or "Miss"
(except a note written in the third person). If, in the example above,
Sarah Robinson Smith were "Miss" she would put "Miss" in parenthesis to
the left of her signature:

(Miss) Sarah Robinson Smith.

=THE SUPERSCRIPTION=

Formal invitations are always addressed to Mr. Stanley Smith; all other
personal letters may be addressed to Stanley Smith, Esq. The title of
Esquire formerly was used to denote the eldest so