Letters of introduction are to be regarded as certificates of respectability and esteem, and should only be given by friends of the person introduced and to friends. They should be brief and carefully worded, intimating the mutual pleasure that one feels the acquaintance will confer, but not complimenting the bearer so openly that he will feel embarrassed in delivering the letter. Such letters are left unsealed.
There is no greater insult than to treat a letter of introduction with indifference. A person thus introduced ought to be called upon at once, and shown any other little attention within one’s power. In England letters of introduction are called “tickets to soup.”
In England the party holding a letter of introduction never takes it himself, but sends it with his card. On the Continent the reverse is the fashion. In America the English custom prevails, though where a young man has a letter to one many years his senior or to one who is to aid him in some enterprise, he takes it himself at once.
A letter of introduction should be somewhat like the following:
My Dear Mr. Barnes:
This note will introduce to you my friend, Mr. Charles Smith, whom I know you will be as glad to meet as he will be glad to meet you.
Mr. Smith is an old friend of mine, and any kindness you may be able to show him will be very much appreciated by me.
Faithfully yours,
Anna Martin White.
Before giving a letter of introduction one should be certain that the persons introduced will be congenial to each other. Such a letter puts a certain obligation on the person to whom it is addressed: he will be obliged to show the bearer some attention and hospitality. It is, therefore, not right to make the demand of a friend unless one is certain that the acquaintanceship will compensate him for the trouble he may take.