'hat, like Pliny, sends his friend a portion for his daughter, will, without Pliny's eloquence or address, find means of exciting gratitude, and securing acceptance; but he that has no present to make but a garland or riband, or some petty curi osity, must endeavor to recommend it by his manner of giv ing it."

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION.

A letter of recommendation is a letter of business, and should be composed with care: it is a guarantee to the extent of language, for the party recommended; truth, therefore, should never be sacrificed to condescension, false kindness or politeness. To write a letter of recommendation contrary to one's own opinion and knowledge of the person recommended, is to be guilty of a great imprudence.

- LETTERS OF BUSINESS.

To say all that is necessary, in a clear and distinct manner, and nothing more, is the grand merit of a letter on business. Pleasantry and pathos would be greatly misplaced in it, unless it be of a mixed nature; that is, necessarily, or properly, embracing some other subject. Brilliant diction is a dress in which directions on business should never be clothed. The style ought to be precise, sufficiently copious, but not redund ant. Every thing necessary should be stated, plainly and unequivocally; so that the party addressed may be in full pos session of our desires and opinions, on the subject of our correspondence. Ambiguity is nowhere so unpardonable as in a letter on business.

LETTERS OF ADVICE.

It is a maxim with the discreet, never to give advice until they have been thrice asked for it: in many instances, to volunteer it, is to be offensive to those whom you wish to benefit: it is much more pleasant to give than to receive it. Unsoli cited counsel is a bitter draught; and even those who crave your opinions, will feel themselves offended if you be forward as well as frank, in replying to them. A mendicant implored alms; the party whom the unfortunate man addressed, instead of relieving his necessities, told him that he was strong and youthful, and should rather work, than live by begging." 'I asked you for money," replied the mendicant, "not for advice." People, in general, are but to prone to take the same course they are applied too for succor, and, in return, they give counsel. A friend should, perhaps, give advice to a

friend, if he should see occasion so to do, however unpa.atuble it may be; but, in general, we cannot be too sparing of ou counsel.

It is a foolish, but not an uncommon practice, to ask advice on an act which has been performed: in such a case it is useless, in reply, to adopt, such terms as "If I had the direction of the affair, I would have acted otherwise;" or, "I would rather you had done so and so," &c. If you cannot approve what is irrevocable, be silent upon the subject. If, however, you should be, in some measure, compelled to give another your counsel, be prodigal of conciliatory, and sparing of positive, phrases. "With deference to your own judgment, it seems to me;" "I may be mistaken; you are, doubtless, the best qualified to judge; I, therefore, merely submit," &c.—and similar expressions, will save you from being offensive, and, at the same time, afford you a graceful manner of expressing the opinions which your conscience dictates on the oc

casion.

LETTERS OF EXCUSE.

It is sometimes necessary to write letters of excuse: in such a case, the party must not forget that almost as much depends on the time as the manner of making an excuse: it may be too late to be effective; or so mistimed, as to aggravate the previous offence. A mischievous page concealed himself behind the arras of the court of justice, at Versailles, and fastened the wig of the president to the tapestry, so dexterously, that the latter was totally unconscious of the trick. On the king's entrance, the president rose suddenly, leaving his wig attached to the arras. In the evening, the king discovered the author of the trick; and though he could not help smiling at the recollection of it, he commanded the page to crave pardon of the venerable president. The wag mounted his horse in the middle of the night; rode to the president's hotel; announced himself as a messenger from the king; awoke the president; presented his most humble respects, and begged to be excused for the trick he had played behind the arras, in the morning. The president very properly observed, that the apology was worse than the offence. What this page did maliciously, other persons often do inadvertently; they crave forgiveness at improper seasons;-the excuse which would be freely accepted to-day, might be indignantly rejected a month hence. A slight notice of the fact,- -an explanation that will extenuate the offence,-an assurance of the total absence of any intention to wound the feelings,-regret for the circum

stance, profersions of attachment, and an expression of ear nest desire to recover the good opinion of the person offendea, --are the elements of a letter of excuse,-modified according to the fact, time, and persons interested. It is sometimes necessary to make excuses for offences not yet noticed; such as delay in reply to a letter, or in executing a commission: in these cases they generally commence letters on other subjects. A reason should be given for the delay; or the neg lect candidly confessed, and indulgence solicited. If the apology appear forced, or made unwillingly, it cannot be effective. Frankness, in all ordinary cases, will insure forgive

ness.

LETTERS OF INTELLIGENCE

In a letter of intelligence, whenever the nature of the news communicated will permit, cull with taste, and relate without preamble. State nothing but what is true; avoid mere scandal; and reject whatever is merely dubious,—or, at least state it to be so. If you have by mistake communicated any false intelligence, be the first to correct it: it is graceful to retrace one's steps when led astray. Select such facts as you know will be most interesting to your correspondent, and relate them, if of a pleasant nature, gaily, but without malice; if serious, adopt a style suitable to the circumstances.

IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT WRITING.

It is wrong to imagine, that in a familiar or playful correspondence, or letters of intelligence, the slip-shod muse is to be paramount. False grammar, in good society, is not tolerated, even en famille, neither can it be in a letter. In the most familiar epistle, we should recollect what we owe to our language, to our correspondent, and to ourselves. We ought not to write any thing of which we may hereafter feel ashamed. Well-written letters are as often burnt, or destroy ed, as slovenly epistles are, by accident or design, preserved, o rise up in judgment against us hereafter. Reason should govern us in writing to those persons whom we address with the greatest freedom. For the benefit of the young and very lively, it may, perhaps, be well to observe, that even in the most familiar letters, pertness and flippancy are, to persons of good sense, neither agreeable nor amusing.

It is clear, that in familiar, as well as in every other de partment of epistolary correspondence, some writers will-ex hibit more talent than others. We cannot all expect to merit he compliment which De la Harpe paid to the Marquis de Se

vigne. Speaking of a collection of the letters of this lady (of whom it has been said, that she is, in her style, what La Fontaine is in his,) La Harpe uses these expressions :-" What book can be more precious to us than that which amuses, in terests, and instructs us, without demanding any attention on our part? She always feels what she relates: she paints as a spectator, and we fancy we see the pictures she draws."

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France has produced several other very celebrated letterwriters, besides Sevigné. Dr. Johnson, however, appears to have thought very lightly of their merits. He observes, that a slight perusal of the innumerable letters, by which the wits of France have signalized their names, will prove, that other nations need not be discouraged from the like attempts by the consciousness of inability. For (thus the critic proceeds) surely it is not very difficult to aggravate trifling misfortunes, to magnify familiar incidents,-repeat adulatory pro fessions, accumulate servile hyperboles, and produce all that can be found in the despicable remains of Voiture and Scar ron."

Although the learned critic may, in the opinion of many persons, be rather too severe in this passage, it appears tolerably clear, that the best models of the epistolary style are not, as some writers would have us believe, to be found among the French. However celebrated Montesquieu, Balzac, Voiture, De Stael, D'Aisse, and others of that nation, may have been, their epistolary productions cannot surely be deemed of greater beauty (to say nothing of those of Cicero and Pliny) than the letters of such distinguished English writers, as Anne Boleyn, Lady Russell, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Howell Pope, Wycherly, Bishop Hoadley, Cowper, &c.

Two letters, which have acquired more celebrity than any others that have ever been written by English ladies, are the epistle of Anne Boleyn to Henry the Eighth, shortly before her execution, and that of Lady Russell to Charles the Second, a few days after her husband was beheaded.

It is a matter of surprise, that any person who has received a tolerable education, and is at all versed in the forms of good society, should fall into so gross an error, as to use the first person at the conclusion of a note which has been commenced in the third; and yet this is sometimes the case. For ex ample:-"Miss Walters presents her compliments to Mr. Travers, and begs to be informed at what hour Mr. Travers ntends to start for Bath to-morrow, as I particularly wish to see him before his departure; and remain, sir, yours sincerely," &c. Such negligence and inelegance are so obvious, that they may be easily avoided.

Notes written in the third person, are frequently rendered ambiguous, and sometimes quite unintelligible, by a confusion of the personal pronouns; which, unless the sentences bo carefully constructed, seem to apply equally well to the writer as to the receiver. There is a French anecdote related, of rather a ludicrous mistake arising from the ambiguity of a letter written, by one friend to another, in the third person Monsieur A. addressed Monsieur B. who dwelt at some distance from the town where Monsieur A. resided, in these terms,-"Monsieur A. presents his compliments to his friend, Monsieur B. and has the satisfaction of informing him, that he has just been appointed, by government, to the lucrative and honorable post of, &c. [naming the office] in his native town." On receipt of this letter, B. posted, with all possible speed, to throw himself at the feet of A., and, with the warmest expressions of gratitude, thanked his supposed benefactor. A. was amazed, and earnestly inquired the cause of B.'s raptures. "How!" exclaimed B., "have I not sufficient reason to be grateful? Have you not obtained for me the important post of so and so?"—"Not at all, my dear friend,” replied A., "it is I who have been appointed to the office; and I wrote to acquaint you of the circumstance, thinking you would be happy to hear of your old companion's excellent fortune." B. perused the note again, and discovered that, like one of the ancient oracles, it contained two meanings which were directly opposite to each other.

Notes written in the third person, are frequently used, on ordinary occasions, between equals in age or rank, to make a reply to any request; to convey civil inquiries, or compliments, &c. For these and similar purposes, this form is elegant and unexceptionable. It is, also, generally adopted by superiors, when addressing inferiors on subjects of little importance; but it is improper when an inferior addresses a superior, or when the subject is serious or important. It is also too cold, distant, and reserved, for epistolary correspondence between near relations or friends. If an individual be addressed by his equal, whether upon terms of intimacy, or otherwise, in the third person, it is usual to reply in the same form; but if,-in answer to a letter which is commenced and concluded with the endearing epithets used by parties who entertain a friendship for each other; or the respectful terms and expressions of regard, sanctioned by custom, between acquaintances, or personal strangers,-the third person be adopted, it is equal, in the strongest cases, to an insult; in others, it is accepted as a hint, that the writer is offended,