r person, when we order supplies, we address as "Mr."
The abbreviation "Esq." is the usual form. In England you would write to
a duke and address the letter "The Duke of Buckingham"; to a knight,
"Sir Thomas Appleby"; to an earl or a marquis, "Lord Dufferin"--that is,
supposing the letter would be a social one.

In writing to a friend or in answer to an invitation or a note, you
would begin, "My dear Mrs. Brown," "My dear Mr. Brown," or even "My dear
Brown," but never "Dear Miss Brown," "Dear Mrs. Brown," or "Dear Brown,"
unless you were on terms of great intimacy with them. But if the letter
is a strictly business one, and the term "Sir" or "Sirs" is used, then
you would be obliged to drop the possessive pronoun. A very formal or a
business letter would begin thus:

_John Smith, Esq.,_
_# 22 Pacific Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y._

_Dear Sir_:

and not "My dear Sir."

A business letter to a woman demands, however, the possessive "My,"
thus: "My dear Madam."

To a firm, one writes:

_Messrs. John Smith & Co.,_
_Dear Sirs_:

and never "Gentlemen"--a most ridiculous form of address.

The clergy are addressed "Reverend and dear Sir." A bishop is "Right
Reverend and dear Sir," and an archbishop "Most Reverend and dear Sir."
In this republican country all other dignitaries can be addressed as
"Dear Sir."

Formal invitations are written in the third person, also letters
addressed to tradespeople.

The address on a letter should be written about the middle of the
envelope, the street and number a little to the right, and the name of
the city and State in the corner. All notes or letters to people in the
same city should be directed simply with the post-office name without
the State, unless it is a very small town, or it bears a name such as
Augusta or Columbus, of which there are more than one in the United
States. Thus:

_Mrs. John Brown,_
_# 227 Euclid Avenue,_
_Cleveland._

The stamp should be placed neatly in the right-hand corner. The mail
to-day is almost the quickest means of delivery, and a special ten-cent
stamp will insure, in a large city, a more prompt reception of your
epistle than if you intrusted it to the tender mercies of a messenger
boy.

Your paper should fold once in the middle. There is nothing so awkward
or so apt to give a bad impression as a letter improperly folded. It is
bulky and unsightly. Private letters should always be