Writing Letters.
III.
Young persons—and old persons too, for that matter—ought to be careful what they put down in writing. Letters are permanent things—or likely to become so. Italian, Spanish, French, and Continental Europe business men are much more cautious about signing their names and about reducing business matters to writing than the same class of men in England and America. But if these Continental business men do sign anything, they live up to it. Americans are too much given to agree to almost anything, and then—regret having done so. Young men fall into this error.
In correspondence, be very sure that you know to whom the letter is going, that it reach him, and that it will then be promptly destroyed, before you trust to paper even that indignation which the world agrees in calling righteous. Trivial matters of a personal character that ought not to be said ought much less to be written. A good rule is: Never write anything that you would blush to have all the world read.
In constructing letters, give some advance thought to the task. Avoid details, be explicit, and polite. If you ask a reply and it is your business, enclose a self-addressed and stamped envelope, but do not put into it a sheet of blank paper. Say all you have to say before you sign your name. "N. B.'s" there is no excuse for. If you find one necessary, write your letter over again. Too much trouble? Not so. It is the least troublesome in the long-run, for, having taken it a few times, you acquire the habit of constructing your letters as you wish them, and ever after avoid both re-writing and "N. B.'s" If you enclose other papers in the envelope with your letter, say so, and specify what they are.
Do not imagine yourself to be your correspondent's only correspondent. If you are writing on a business matter, begin one letter where the last one ended. Give details of your business in order that your correspondent may learn at once what you are writing about. If your letter be an answer to another letter, answer all of the questions. Don't neglect to look at the letter and think you have answered. Consult the letter and be sure about it.
The Lake Worth Country.
I suppose there is not a tract of land in the United States that has increased in value so rapidly as that of the now famous Lake Worth Country. Twenty-five years ago there were no settlers there, and it was not until early in the '80's that it began to be attractive. Several years ago the finest piece of land on the lake could be bought for $250. Congressman Miner, of New York, was offered a portion, but refused. Last winter he was told that the same piece of property is now worth $50,000.
The improvements along the lake cost millions of dollars. Among the lovely places is that of C. L. Craigin, of Philadelphia. It cost more than $115,000. Mayor Swift, of Chicago, has a winter home overlooking the lake, situated on a high bluff. The most conspicuous place on the lake is the site of the Episcopal Church, Bethesda-by-the-Sea.
A part owner of the famous Hutchinson Land Grant is Colonel A. T. Lewis, a native of Mississippi. In 1836, during the Indian war, he marched from St. Augustine to Tampa Bay. He was in the fight that resulted in the death of the Indian chief Hoocha Billy. He also secured the title to the Spanish grant opposite Ancona, which he had been contesting since 1875.