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The complimentary closing consists of such words as Yours truly, Respectfully, etc., and should be placed on the next line beneath the last one occupied by the body of the letter, commencing a little to the right of the middle. The signature should be placed underneath the words of respect, and begin still a little farther to the right. Thus the conclusion of the letter will correspond in position and arrangement with the heading.

Yours truly, John Maynard.

The language of the complimentary closing should be governed by the relation between the parties, and should correspond with the complimentary address. The first letter between strangers should commence with Sir and end with the word Respectfully. After the exchange of a few letters and a sort of business acquaintance may be said to exist between the correspondents,then Dear Sir, and Yours truly, may properly be introduced. A little more cordial would be such a conclusion as the following:

Yours very truly, Rinold, Constable & Co.

The man of business is apt, however, to have one stereotyped beginning and ending to all his letters, and seldom stops to discriminate between strangers and old customers in this respect. Often the conclusion may be connected to the closing paragraph with perfect grace and ease thus:

Hoping to receive the goods without delay, I remain, Respectfully, Henry P. Bowen.

In the signature of a letter, especial care should be exercised. Bear in mind that names of persons are not governed by the rules of spelling, and words which precede or follow, proper names will not aid us in deciphering them if they are poorly written.

A Model Business Letter 146 S. Tenth Street, Cincinnati, March 11, 1884, Messrs. Arnold, Constable & Co., Broadway & 19th Sts, New York. Gentlemen: Inclosed please find New York Exchange in settlement of your Invoice of the 1st inst. less Cash discount. Amount of Invoice, $325.80 Cash discount 5% 16.29 ——— Draft inclosed $309.51 The goods have been received, and are very satisfactory in both quality and price. You may expect another order soon. Yours truly, James Z. Wilson Co.

The young person who would learn to write a good business letter, should, with pen, ink and suitable paper, sit down and practice faithfully after the above model. Write and re-write it a dozen times or more, until your letter resembles it closely. Then take any of the models for letters given near the close of this chapter, and with this matter, write a letter which will conform with the foregoing model in appearance and dress. Write the same matter over again, and improve it in its defects. Criticise each line and word. See that no words or letters are omitted, and that the punctuation is according to the models in this book. Eliminate all ungainly letters, shorten the loops, see that each letter rests on the line, and that, withal your page is clean and regular.

The person who will thus devote a little earnest study and practice, may early acquire the valuable accomplishment of writing a pleasing business letter, so far as the mechanical structure goes.