[17] This should be Beg leave to acknowledge.
[18] See example 1 on page [126.]
[19] See example 2 on page [126.]
II. Informal.[20] — 1. However informal or friendly, a letter should tell what it has to say in a straightforward, coherent manner. Apologies for delay in writing, or for anything else except illness, absence from town, or other cause which demands explanation, are wasteful of paper, ink, and the time of two persons.
2. A general fault in informal letters is the paragraphing and punctuation. The writer should remember that he is trying to express to another mental ideas which have no opportunity to become crystallized by the sound of the voice. He should take especial pains to assist his correspondent in assimilating the thoughts which he expresses, by not running different topics together, and by separating phrases and sentences with their proper marks.
III. Formal. — 1. The expedient of writing in the third person is adopted in formal social correspondence.[21] Notes of this kind should have no heading, address, complimentary close, or signature. The date alone, omitting the year, is used, being placed at the end on the left. No abbreviations other than Mr., Mrs., Messrs., and Dr. should be used. The date should be spelled out in full.
2. Notes written to tradespeople[22] conveying {121} orders or instructions are also frequently written in the third person. In this case, however, the address is always given at the end on the left, and the date, using figures, is also employed. There is no signature.
[20] See example 3 on page [127.]