e very
short, in which case it is preferable to use the first and third,
rather than only the first and second, pages. It should never be
written so that the sheet has to be turned around and the pages read
at different angles. The turning over of the pages should be all that
is necessary.

If, however, social note paper is used for a short business letter to
a business man, open the sheet out flat, turn it so that the left side
becomes the top of the sheet, and use as you would a single large
sheet of commercial paper. This enables the reader to see the whole
matter at a glance.

Do not scrawl your letter over the page; but do not, on the other
hand, appear to economize in paper. Make the place and date lines
clear and distinct. Set off the salutation from the body of the
letter, and make the form of the letter upon the page artistic and
concise. Paper is cheap, and the delight of receiving a letter well
framed in even margins and written on regular, if invisible, lines is
a pleasure easily afforded a friend.

The letter should be begun about two inches down from the upper edge
of the paper. The left-hand margin should be three-quarters of an
inch, with paragraph indention an inch more. The lower margin also
should be three-quarters of an inch, and the right margin should be
kept even and, for best effect, almost as wide as the left margin.

Do not run on the letter without paragraphing it, but place each
subject in a paragraph by itself.

A business letter should always go straight to the point.

A note of apology should be direct, and say but the one thing which is
its subject.

A note asking a favor should do it simply and without unnecessary
preamble. The sense of freedom or intimacy which permits one to ask a
favor, should be great enough to obviate the necessity of long
explanation, which seems like coaxing.

The refusal of a request requires tact, and may necessitate less
directness than courteous explanation: but it should not be so
extended as to be apologetic.

A letter of thanks is difficult, but too great effusiveness is as
disgusting as too great abruptness is unsatisfactory. The elusive but
happy medium is the work of the socially well-trained.

_Paper_

The grade of paper used is a matter of no small moment. Some people
affect a fastidiousness in color and quality quite out of keeping with
the purpose to which the paper is to be put. Others affect an opposite
slovenliness, which shows e