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causa_, that is, degrees as a mark of honor, without examination. Such
degrees should be kept in the background. Many a deadhead has these
degrees which he could never have earned by brain work.
Married women whose husbands are alive may sign the husband's name with
the prefix _Mrs:_ thus,
Yours sincerely,
_Mrs._ William Southey.
but when the husband is dead the signature should be--
Yours sincerely,
_Mrs._ Sarah Southey.
So when we receive a letter from a woman we are enabled to tell whether
she has a husband living or is a widow. A woman separated from her
husband but not a _divorcee_ should _not_ sign his name.
ADDRESS
The _address_ of a letter consists of the name, the title and the
residence.
Mr. Hugh Black,
112 Southgate Street,
Altoona,
Pa.
Intimate friends have often familiar names for each other, such as pet
names, nicknames, etc., which they use in the freedom of conversation,
but such names should never, under any circumstances, appear on the
envelope. The subscription on the envelope should be always written with
propriety and correctness and as if penned by an entire stranger. The
only difficulty in the envelope inscription is the title. Every man is
entitled to _Mr._ and every lady to _Mrs._ and every unmarried lady to
_Miss_. Even a boy is entitled to _Master_. When more than one is addressed
the title is _Messrs._ _Mesdames_ is sometimes written of women. If the
person addressed has a title it is courteous to use it, but titles never
must be duplicated. Thus, we can write
Robert Stitt, M. D., but never
Dr. Robert Stitt, M. D, or
Mr. Robert Stitt, M. D.
In writing to a medical doctor it is well to indicate his profession by
the letters M. D. so as to differentiate him from a D. D. It is better to
write Robert Stitt, M. D., than Dr. Robert Stitt.
In the case of clergymen the prefix Rev. is retained even when they have
other titles; as
Rev. Tracy Tooke, LL. D.
When a person has more titles than one it is customary to only give him
the leading one. Thus instead of writing Rev. Samuel MacComb, B. A.,
M. A., B. Sc., Ph. D., LL. D., D. D. the form employed is Rev. Samuel
MacComb, LL. D. LL. D. is appended in preference to D. D. because in most
cases the "Rev." implies a "D. D." while comparatively few with the prefix
"Rev." are entitled to "LL. D."
In the case of _Honorables_ such as Governors, Judges, Members of Congress,
and others of the Civil Government the prefix "Hon." does away with _Mr._
and _Esq._ Thus we write Hon. Josiah Snifkins, not Hon. Mr. Josiah Snifkins
or Hon. Josiah Snifkins, Esq. Though this prefix _Hon._ is also often
applied to Governors they should be addressed as Excellency. For instance:
His Excellency,
Charles E. Hughes,
Albany,
N. Y.
In writing to the President the superscription on the envelope should be
To the President,
Executive Mansion,
Washington, D. C.
Professional men such as doctors and lawyers as well as those having
legitimately earned College Degrees may be addressed on the envelopes by
their titles, as
Jonathan Janeway, M. D.
Hubert Houston, B. L.
Matthew Marks, M. A., etc.
The residence of the person addressed should be plainly written out in
full. The street and numbers should be given and the city or town written
very legibly. If the abbreviation of the State is liable to be confounded
or confused with that of another then the full name of the State should
be written. In writing the residence on the envelope, instead of putting
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