If you receive an impertinent letter, treat it with contempt; do not answer it.
Never answer a letter by proxy, when you are able to write yourself. It is a mark of respect and love, to answer, in your own hand, all letters addressed to you. If you are obliged to write to a friend to refuse to grant a favor asked, you will lessen the pain of refusal by wording your letter delicately. Loving words, if it is a near friend, respectful, kind ones if a mere acquaintance, will make the disagreeable contents of the letter more bearable. Try to make the manner smooth and soften the hardness of the matter.
Every letter must embrace the following particulars: 1st. The date. 2d. The complimentary address. 3d. The body of the letter. 4th. The complimentary closing. 5th. The signature. 6th. The address.
There are two ways of putting the date, and the address. The first is to place them at the top of the sheet, the other is to place them after the signature.
When at the top, you write the name of your residence, or that of the city in which you reside, with the day of the month and the year, at the right hand of the first line of the sheet. Then, at the left hand of the next line, write the address, then the complimentary address below the name; thus—
Willow Grove, New York,
June 27th, 1859.
Mrs. E. C. Howell,
My dear Madam,
I received your letter, etc.
At the end of the letter, on the right hand of the sheet, put the complimentary closing, and then the signature; thus—
I remain, my dear Madam,
With much respect,
Yours sincerely,
S. E. Law.