Whether you are making an introduction or acknowledging one, be sure that it is both correct and cordial.
CHAPTER II
LETTERS OF INTRODUCTION
THE LETTER OF INTRODUCTION
Letters of introduction should be drawn only on relatives, or on very close friends. It is not considered entirely ethical to introduce by a letter an individual of whom the writer knows very little, or toward whom the writer is not especially friendly. It is also scarcely good form to ask for a letter of introduction; the truly cultured person will depend upon the kind impulses of a friend or relative to recognize the need for such presentation.
Care should be exerted in the issuing of these letters. Some people, because they have not sufficient willpower to refuse a direct request, will issue such a letter to a person whom they hardly know, and for whose character they cannot vouch. Thus they are forced to send a private letter to the person to whom the letter of introduction is addressed, explaining that the stranger is really not very well known to them, and that perhaps the hostess had better find out more about him, or her. This always causes an embarrassing and uncomfortable situation; it is always better to refuse frankly, unless one knows the man or woman and is willing to endorse him heartily and sincerely.
A letter of introduction should be brief, concise and free from matters of personal or private interest. If the bearer of the letter is in mourning, or has suffered some recent grief or loss, or if he is the victim of unhappy circumstances or peculiar prejudices, a private letter should be sent to the person to whom the letter is addressed, explaining the situation. This does not hold true when the stranger has some special mission to perform; in this case, the explanation is written directly in the original letter of introduction.
A note of introduction rarely covers more than a page or a page and a half of medium-size note paper, and it should be confined strictly to the presentation of the person in whose behalf it is written. Nothing irrelevant, such as inquiry regarding the health of certain people of mutual acquaintance, or of domestic interest, should be included. The letter is placed in an unsealed envelope.
PRESENTING THE LETTER