Heav'n first taught letters for some wretch's aid,
Some banish'd lover, or some captive maid.

Heav'n first taught letters for some wretch's aid,
Some banish'd lover, or some captive maid.

Belshazzar had a letter,--
He never had but one;
Belshazzar's correspondence
Concluded and begun
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Belshazzar had a letter,--
He never had but one;
Belshazzar's correspondence
Concluded and begun
In that immortal copy
The conscience of us all
Can read without its glasses
On revelation's wall.

Letters, from absent friends, extinguish fear,
Unite division, and draw distance near;
Their magic force each silent read more

Letters, from absent friends, extinguish fear,
Unite division, and draw distance near;
Their magic force each silent wish conveys,
And wafts embodied though, a thousand ways:
Could souls to bodies write, death's pow'r were mean,
For minds could then meet minds with heav'n between.

(He) put that which was most material in the postscript.

(He) put that which was most material in the postscript.

Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no
good.

Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no
good.

Thy letter sent to prove me,
Inflicts no sense of wrong;
No longer wilt thou love me,--
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Thy letter sent to prove me,
Inflicts no sense of wrong;
No longer wilt thou love me,--
Thy letter, though is long.

Good-bye--my paper's out so nearly,
I've only room for, Yours sincerely.

Good-bye--my paper's out so nearly,
I've only room for, Yours sincerely.

Carrier of news and knowledge,
Instrument of trade and industry,
Promoter of mutual acquaintance,
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Carrier of news and knowledge,
Instrument of trade and industry,
Promoter of mutual acquaintance,
Of peace and good-will
Among men and nations.

A piece of simple goodness--a letter gushing from the heart; a
beautiful unstudied vindication of the worth and untiring read more

A piece of simple goodness--a letter gushing from the heart; a
beautiful unstudied vindication of the worth and untiring
sweetness of human nature--a record of the invulnerability of
man, armed with high purpose, sanctified by truth.