Directions for Superscriptions, and Forms of
Address to Persons of every Rank.*

To the King's Most Excellent Majesty,-Sire, or May it please your Majesty-Conclude a petition with, Your Majesty's most Loyal and Dutiful Subject.

To the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty,-Madam, or May it please your Majesty.

To his Royal Highness the Prince Consort,―May it please your Royal Highness.

To his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge,-May it please your Royal Highness.

In the same manner address every other member of the Royal Family, male or female.

To his Grace the Duke of

or, May it please your Grace. To the Most Honourable the Marquis of

quis, Your Lordship.

-t My Lord Duke, Your Grace,

-, My Lord Mar

My Lord, Your

-, My Lord,

My Lord, May it please

To the Right Honourable the Earl of
Lordship.

To the Right Honourable the Lord Viscount

May it please your Lordship.

To the Right Honourable Lord

your Lordship.

The wives of Noblemen have the same titles (but in the feminine

gender) with their husbands, thus:

To her Grace the Duchess of

-, May it please your Grace.

My Lady, May it

To the Right Honourable Lady please your Ladyship. The titles of Lord and Right Honourable are given to all the sons of Dukes and Marquises, and to the eldest sons of Earls; and the title of Lady and Right Honourable to all their daughters. The younger sons of Earls and all the sons of Viscounts and Barons are styled Honourable. Right Honourable is due to Earls, Viscounts, and Barons, and to all the members of her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy

*The Superscription or what is put on the outside of a letter is printed in Roman characters, and begins with To. The terms of address used in beginning either a letter, a petition, or a verbal address, are printed in Italic letters immediately after the Superscription.

†The blanks are to be filled up with the real Name and Title.

The Privy Councillors taken collectively are styled Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council.

FORMS OF ADDRESS.

Council-To the Lord Mayors of London, York, and Dublin, and to the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, during the time they are in office-To the Speaker of the House of Commons-To the Lord Advocate of Scotland-To the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, Admiralty, Trade and Plantations, &c. The House of Peers is addressed thus, To the Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in Parliament assembled,-My Lords, May it please your Lordships.

The House of Commons is addressed thus: To the Honourable the Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in Parliament assembled-Gentlemen, May it please your Honourable House.

The sons of Viscounts and Barons are styled Honourable; and their daughters have their letters addressed thus: To the Honourable Miss or Mrs

Colonel Sir

Noblemen, or men of title in the army or navy, use their title by rank, such as General, before their title by birth, such as Lord, Honourable, Sir, &c., thus, General Lord Admiral the Honourable The Commissioners of Customs-the Commissioners of Inland Revenue-the Governor and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, &c., are addressed collectively as Honourable. Her Majesty's Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is styled His Grace the Lord High Commissioner. The General Assembly itself is styled The Venerable. The Provincial Synods of the Church are styled Very Reverend; and Presbyteries, Reverend.

Judges of the Court of Session in Scotland are addressed, The Honourable Lord

The title Excellency is given to Ambassadors, Plenipotentiaries, Field-Marshals, Commanders-in-Chief, Governors-General, to the Lord Lieutenant, and to the Lords Justices of Ireland. -Address such thus:

To his Excellency Sir

-, Bart., Her Britannic Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of Tuscany,-Your Excellency, May it please your Excellency. The title Right Worshipful is given to the Sheriffs, Aldermen, and Recorder of London; and Worshipful to the Aldermen and Recorders of other Corporations, and to Justices of the Peace in England,-Sir, Your Worship.

Clergymen are styled Reverend, and when written to are ad

FORMS OF ADDRESS.

or, To the Reverend

dressed thus: To the Reverend Mr.

*

Archbishops and Bishops, Deans, and Archdeacons, are addressed

thus:

To his Grace the Lord Archbishop of
Reverend Father in God,

My Lord, Your Grace.

To the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of
Right Reverend Father in God,

My Lord, Your Lordship.

-, or, To the Most

, Lord Archbishop of

-, or, To the

Lord Bishop of

Principals of Colleges in Scotland (being Clergymen) are styled Very Reverend; and the same title is given to the Moderator of the General Assembly.

The general address to Clergymen is, Sir, and when written to, Reverend Sir.-Deans and Archdeacons are usually called Mr. Dean, Mr. Archdeacon.

When the Principal ofa University is a layman, he is to be addressed according to his title of Knight, Doctor, &c., thus: To Sir D. B., Knight, &c. &c., Principal of the University of E.; To Dr. J. D. F., &c. &c., Principal of the University of St. A.; when written to, Sir. The other Professors thus: To Dr. D. R., Professor of Logic in the University of E.-Doctor. If a Clergyman, say, To the Rev. Dr. J. R., Professor of, &c.-Reverend Doctor. Those who are not Drs. are styled Esquire, but not Mr. too; thus, To J. P. Esq., Professor of Humanity in the University of Edinburgh,-Sir. If he has a literary title it may be added; thus, To J. P., Esq., A. M., Professor of, &c.

Magistrates, Barristers at Law or Advocates, and Members of Parliament, viz. of the House of Commons (these last have M. P. after Esq.), and all gentlemen in independent circum stances, are styled Esquire, and their wives Mrs.

It seems to be unsettled whether Mr. should be used after Reverend or not. In my opinion it should; because it gives a clergyman his own honorary title over and above the common one. May we not use the Rev. Mr. as well as the Rev. Dr. Besides, we do not always recollect whether his name is James or John, &c. Mr., in such a case, would look better on the back of a letter than a long ill-drawn dash, thus, The Rev.

In short, Mr. is used by our best writers after Reverend, but not uniformly.

The words To the, not being necessary on the back of a letter, are seldom used. In addressing Bills they are necessary.

Of PUNCTUATION.

PUNCTUATION is the art of pointing written composition in such a manner as may naturally lead to its proper meaning, construction, and delivery.

Of the Comma. [,]

RULE I.

A simple sentence in general requires only a full stop at the end; as, True politeness has its seat in the heart.

RULE II.

The simple members of a compound sentence are separated by a comma; as, Crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them. He studies diligently, and makes great progress.

RULE III.

The persons in a direct address are separated from the rest of the sentence by commas; as, My Son, give me thine heart. Colonel, Your most obedient. I thank you, sir. I am obliged to you, my friends, for your kindness.

RULE IV.

Two words of the same part of speech, whether nouns, adjectives, verbs, participles, or adverbs, do not admit of a comma between them, when coupled with a conjunction; as, James and John are good. She is wise and virtuous. Religion expands and elevates the mind. By being admired and flattered, she became vain. Cicero spoke forcibly and fluently. When the conjunction is suppressed, a comma is inserted in its place; as, He was a plain, honest man.

Of the Comma.

RULE V.

Three or more nouns, adjectives, verbs, participles, or adverbs, are separated by commas; as, The sun, the moon, and the stars, are the glory

of nature.

When words follow in pairs, there is a comma between each pair; as, Truth is fair and artless, simple and sincere, uniform and constant.

RULE VI.

All phrases or explanatory sentences, whether in the beginning, middle, or end of a simple sentence, are separated from it by commas; as, To confess the truth, I was in fault. His father dying, he succeeded to the estate. The king, approving the plan, put it in execution. Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, was eminent for his zeal and knowledge. Victoria, queen of Great Britain. I have seen the emperor, as he was called. In short, he was a great man.-See p. 162.

RULE VII.

The verb to be, followed by an adjective, or an infinitive with adjuncts, is generally preceded by a comma; as, To be diligently employed in the performance of real duty, is honourable. One of the noblest of the Christian virtues, is to love our enemies.*

RULE VIII.

A comma is used between the two parts of a sentence that has its natural order inverted; as, Him that is upright in his dealings, honour ye.

* Some insert a comma both before and after the verb to be when it is near the middle of a long sentence, because the pronunciation requires it; but that is a bad reason; for pauses and points are often at variance.