Gentlemen:

If you address a woman, married or single, the salutation in business letters is _Dear Madam_; as,

1.

Mrs. John Pierce, Seattle, Wash.

Dear Madam:

2.

Miss Florence Pierce, Seattle, Wash.

Dear Madam:

A more familiar form of salutation is either of the following:

1

Miss Florence Pierce, Seattle, Wash.

My dear Miss Pierce:

2

Miss Florence Pierce, Seattle, Wash.

Dear Miss Pierce:

In using _Hon._, the salutation is usually _Sir_.

_The Courteous Close_

The courteous close corresponds in tone to the salutation. If the salutation is _Dear Sir_, _Gentlemen_, or _Dear Madam_, the courteous close should be one of the following:

Yours truly, Yours very truly, Very truly yours, Respectfully yours, Yours respectfully, Sincerely yours, Very sincerely yours,

If the salutation is _Sir_, the courteous close should be _Respectfully yours_ or _Yours respectfully_.

If the body of the letter and the courteous close do not agree in tone, the effect is often ridiculous. Suppose, for instance, that the courteous close of (2) under Exercise 220 were _Yours respectfully_.

What would be the effect?

_The Signature_

If an unmarried woman is signing a business letter, she should avoid confusion by prefixing (Miss) to her name.

A married woman should sign her own name, as, _Alice Pierce_; she should indicate her t.i.tle, as _Mrs. John F. Pierce_, either below the other or at one side.

No other t.i.tle should be prefixed to a signature.

If a letter is signed by the name of a firm, the signature of the one who dictated the letter is usually added; as,

Yours very truly, Smith Lumber Co.

by ----

This sort of signature gives a letter the "personal touch." Explain.

Folding a Letter

Business letter paper is about eight by ten inches. In folding a letter sheet, (1) turn the lower edge up to about one-eighth of an inch from the top; press the fold firmly, keeping the edges even; (2) turn the paper so that the folded edge is at your _left_ hand; (3) fold _from_ you a little less than one-third the width of the sheet; (4) fold the upper edge _down_ toward you so that it projects a trifle beyond the folded edge. Without turning it over, pick it up and insert it in the envelope, putting in _first_ the edge that was folded last.

Write the address and the salutation for:

1. A business house in your town.

2. Mr. John R. Tobin, president of the Detroit State Bank, Detroit, Mich.

3. Miss Mabel Gunther, Shullsburg, Wis.

4. Professor C. M. Watson, Harvard College, Cambridge, Ma.s.s.

5. John F. Campbell, Manager Bond Department, First Trust and Savings Bank, Boston, Ma.s.s.

6. Taylor and Critchfield, Chicago, Ill.

7. Mrs. Thomas D. MacDonald, 126 E. Second Street, Washington, Ia.

Write the courteous close and the signature for:

1. A letter from a business house in your town signed by F. R. Wilson.

2. A letter from Miss Mabel Gunther (2 above).

3. A letter from Professor C. M. Watson (4 above).

4. A letter signed by John F. Campbell (5 above).

5. A letter from Taylor and Critchfield signed by you yourself.

6. A letter from Mrs. Thomas D. MacDonald (7 above).

=Exercise 219--Ordering Goods=

If an order includes a number of separate items, it is usually written on a separate sheet of paper. Firms often supply blanks for this purpose. If the order is short, it forms part of the letter. In any case, each item is placed on a separate line, so that the items may be checked as the order is filled. In the following, notice the arrangement and the punctuation:

Hamilton, Montana, Feb. 16, 1914.

Messrs. MacBride & d.i.c.kens, New York, N. Y.