To a lady, "Accept, madam, the assurance of my respect;" or, "I am, my dear lady, yours very sincerely."
It is ill-bred to write on a half-sheet; the shortest letter requires a whole one.
All letters must be pre-paid. And stamps should always be remitted, where an answer is expected, if your own affairs are concerned. Never impose postage upon a friend: it is a contemptible act to make a person, after the trouble of writing to you on your business, pay his own postage.
A few words on epistolary style. Few persons know how to write a good letter. The epistolary style, in general, should be very simple; pathos would be absurd where you have to speak of the common occurrences of life, the follies of the world, its petty hatreds and vanities. Be as respectful and as lively as you can in writing to an old man: old people love sprightliness. The surest way to please in your correspondence is to acquaint yourself with the characters of the persons with whom you interchange letters, to avoid touching their foibles, to speak to them on the subjects they have studied, or of which they are especially fond. In addressing a lady, imply your opinion of her taste by seeking her advice on subjects which require it. Never weary of burning incense; there is an altar in the heart of woman, and even of man, always ready to receive its fragrance. The design of good-breeding is to make you agreeable to every one; write your letters so that each one reading them will be pleased and satisfied. Adulation or flattery is very unbecoming, except it is positively deserved; and then it should be given in terms which will not compromise good taste and good judgment.
If there be a phrase happily worded in the letter addressed to you, ever so little, do not suffer it to fall to the ground; preserve it, and in your reply, show that you have appreciated it.
If a correspondent uses improper language toward you, let your reply be polite, even if it is severe; you will thus inflict a double wound—showing yourself to be a man of dignity, and know how to preserve your self-respect.
Refrain from addressing extravagant praise to a man of discernment; he will see that you have some purpose in what you say, and you will make an enemy. No praise is extravagant to fools; tell them that they are gods, and they will set about procuring an altar; but you would view yourself with contempt if you were mean enough to praise such.
Avoid the folly of copying, as models, letters to which peculiar circumstances impart brilliancy or genuine wit; but which, applied from different cases, are strangely out of place.
If you address one beneath you in education or position, don't make him feel his inferiority; be polite without familiarity, as politeness is due from every man of good parts to those beneath him.
If you write an epistle respecting a common occurrence in a style of bombast or would-be-eloquence, you will suggest an application to yourself of the fable of the mountain which brought forth a mouse.