Always, too, sign your name the same way:  get into the habit of it.  Don’t let it be to-day “Mary G. Snodham,” and to-morrow “Mary Snodham,” and the day after “M.  G. Snodham.”  If character comes out anywhere in writing, it is in the signature, and it ought to be every day the same, the same in words, the same in writing, and the same in flourishes—­that is to say, if there are any flourishes.

When you send a Post Office order to anyone, however, you may make an exception to this rule.  It is a good plan to sign a letter accompanying such an order with initials only.  When this is done, should the letter fall into the hands of dishonest people, the chances are considerably reduced of their knowing the name of the sender so as to get payment of the order.  In getting the money for a Post Office order it is always necessary, as perhaps you know, to tell at the post-office who sent it.

When you (we shall call you Elizabeth Fisher) are asked to write a letter in the name of another person (call her Janet Constable), how should you sign it?  Not, certainly, by just writing Janet Constable; that would be highly improper.  To put another person’s name to any letter or document whatever, even in fun, is not even to be dreamt about.  You must sign—­

Yours truly,
for Janet Constable,
Elizabeth Fisher.

Or, if you like it better—­

Yours respectfully,
Janet Constable,
p. Elizabeth Fisher.

In this case the p. stands for per, and means that Janet Constable signs the letter by or through you.  You may write per in full, if you like.

Sometimes you may have to write inquiring about the character of people or their standing from a money point of view.  In doing so, put the name or names on a slip of paper and gum it at the foot of your letter, so that it can be easily torn off.  Your correspondent can then at once destroy the slip, and should your letter or her reply afterwards be read by other people, they will probably be none the wiser, for they will only see in your letter an inquiry regarding the person or persons “noted at foot,” and in hers an answer about the person or persons “about whom you inquire.”

All enclosures sent in a letter should be mentioned in a note in the left-hand bottom corner after signing one’s name.  Thus:—­

    Enclosed: 
      Postal Order, 10s. 6d. 
      Recipe for cooking rattlesnakes. 
      Pattern:  the Tullochgorum mantle.

We have spoken about the clearness and brevity required in business letters, but to the subject of style a few lines more may be devoted.  Business letters are of necessity dry and matter-of-fact, and in writing them no time should be lost in hunting for fine expressions.  They should contain politeness, but light and airy sentences are worse than thrown away.