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Dear Readers:

Chicago, Jan. 1,95.

This is a sample of

business writing, written easily and rapidly, with the combined movement and a coarse pointed pen. It is as simple as is consistent with ease and legibility

and can

be written continuously, for any -length of time, without fatigue. This style is the natural outfrom the study and practice of the standard forms.

come.

Koy truly in & Ricketts.
C.L.

Proper Form of Letter-Writing.

perfect development, but will give also a review of other letters we have practiced. It will not be long until we have had enough words to begin making and practicing them in short sentences. In this way we are constantly putting into practice what we learn. And by the time we have reached the last of the small letters we shall find that we have made much greater progress than we anticipated. The improvement will be plainly apparent in our general writing-which should be done with such care and intelligence that it will supplement our special study and practice.

Passing to the capital letters we take them in the order of their simplicity, and study and practice them in much the same manner as we have done the smaller letters, putting them into practical use as soon as acquired.

After

Having completed both the small and capital letters we can do nothing more pleasant and profitable than to copy some familiar stanza or poem, or some favorite page of prose, writing page after page of it. We know of nothing better at this stage. this, business forms may be introduced for practice-business letters, notes, etc. We have also found it a most excellent plan to practice from dictation, having some one read slowly from a book, magazine or newspaper. The results from this method of work have always proved very gratifying. The student feeling himself justly rewarded for his earnest efforts. can now, by continued patience and perseverance, and with greater confidence in his ability, go on with his study and practice, resting assured that he is on the right road and that it will be but a question of time when he will be writing with perfect ease and elegance.

In closing this department we would observe that a good system of writing must be carefully graded, beginning with simple fundamental forms; then combining them. keeping constantly in view their similarity, and afterwards advancing to words and sentences. The study of principles of form, spacing and arrangement gives to the mind a clear understanding of what is to be done; the movement exercise gives control over arm and hand, the power to execute; practice or application secures the desired result-practical writing. Writing to be practical must be legible, rapid and easy of execution. To be legible the characters must be plain and distinctive; to be rapid they must be

below medium in size, of simple construction, and free from shade; to be easy they must be flowing, devoid of sharp turns and abrupt changes in direction. As writing is largely a matter of habit it is important that we form good habits in the beginning. They will greatly facilitate the practice and make more permanent the results. We will write a good hand then as a matter of course. C. L. RICKETTS.

Note.-All the plates used in this department are photographic reproductions from the original handwritten copies prepared by Mr. Ricketts for this article. Although photographic they do not adequately represent the grace, beauty and delicacy of the originals, but possess that charm of hand work the engraved copy does not, and likewise a greater incentive to the learner, for he knows that "what has been done can be done."

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"Kind messages, that pass from land to land;
Kind letters, that display the heart's deep history.
In which we feel the pressure of a hand-

One touch of fire-and all the rest is mystery."

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The nineteenth century is the grandest of all the centuries of time. It has done more for the education, the culture and the comfort of the world than all the ages that have gone before. Schools, seminaries and colleges have increased to an almost fabulous extent. With the increase in numbers there has been also an increase in efficiency and influence to such an extent that our institutions of education have become the glory of our land. In the eventful years of this century science has marched

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on with majestic strides, revealing to the earnest student the long-kept secrets of nature; while the spirit of invention has been busy through all the years making the path of life easier to walk, and redeeming our common life from much of its hardship and drudgery. The railway, the steamship, the telegraph and the telephone are hard at work bridging over space, and making minutes sufficient for tasks that not long ago required months to perform. The printing press is regarded by common consent as one of the greatest inventions the world has ever seen. It has been described not inaptly as the miracle of the fifteenth century. But within the last few years the typewriter has come to claim a share in its honors, and to take its place among the most wonderful contrivances of the age.

It would seem as though letter-writing, which half a century ago was a luxury and a delight, is about to become a lost art, a mere memory of days of happy leisure. Before the advent of Sir Rowland Hill, and the establishment of that wonder of modern civilization, the postoffice, men and women of education occupied their leisure hours in writing long, delightful letters to their friends.

It is interesting to note that much of the most delightful literature of the eighteenth century took the form of letters. The best critics and essayists of that time, such men as Addison, and Steele, and Pope were aptly described as "men of letters." The severest and most caustic political strictures ever written were "The Letters of Junius," though who "Junius" was remains a secret, and will probably remain so to the end of time.

But the world moves on! The days of leisure are passed, and a busier age demands quicker methods. In answer to this demand the telegraph, the telephone and the typewriter have appeared. These marvelous labor-saving inventions have already wrought a revolution in our commercial life, and they bid fair to put an end to letter-writing in all branches of commerce and in clerical professions generally. But as long as the world lasts letter-writing will hold an important place: indeed, it will always be a part of our best life. Business even will sometimes assume such importance, and involve so many intricate de. tails, that it will seem that nothing short of a long and care. fully written letter, in which the individuality of the writer

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