15
in your words. A's impression, of what B has said, expressed in A's words, will never convey to B the meaning of his own words.
This is specially necessary when some point has arisen as to which the two correspondents do not quite agree. There ought to be no opening for such writing as "You are quite mistaken in thinking I said so-and-so. It was not in the least my meaning, &c., &c.", which tends to make a correspondence last for a lifetime.
A few more Rules may fitly be given here, for correspondence that has unfortunately become controversial.
One is, don't repeat yourself. When once you have said your say, fully and clearly, on a certain point, and have failed to convince your friend, drop that subject: to repeat your arguments, all over again, will simply lead to his doing the same; and so you will go on,
