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   dictionary would turn out to be a tiresome and almost useless waste of time and labour.
   If you were a pupil at school, not an apprentice in a counting-house, I might advise you to take in hand and peruse a treatise, wherein all commercial operations are described; from which you would get an insight into the whole matter; as it is, however, you need only pay attention to what is passing under your eyes and apply to me or to one of our colleagues whenever you may need elucidations, who will be but too happy to help you.
   A.  You may be sure I 'jhall not fail to follow your counsel and avail myself of your kind permission. By the bye (i), if I well remember, there is still one line of the program you have set down, which has not been developed, and I am anxious to learn all I can from you to day; such a favourable occasion may not turn out again very soon.
   0.  You mean what I called the order of disposition of the matter in a letter, do you ?
   A.  Just so.
   0.  What I have to tell you in this direction will not take long; pay attention.
   (i) By the bye  Locuzione idiomatica senza significato letterale, ma che nell'uso corrisponde all'interiezione italiana « a proposito ! ».
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   The leading parts of a commercial letter are; the date, the addressee's (i) name, the salutation (2), the argument,'the closing clause (3), the writer's signature. The indication of the date is to be put down at the top and at the right end of the sheet; it begins with the name of the place where the letter is written, followed by the name of the month, by the ordinative number corresponding to the day and by the indication of the year.
   The number corresponding to the clay's date should be preceded by the article, according to the rule of grammar on ordinative numbers, which is however usually disregarded for the sake of brevity.
   The address is inserted on the opposite side and consists of the addresse's name and the indication of his place of business, nor should it ever be omitted, otherwise the press copy in the letter book would be of no avail.
   The salutation, that is the vocative address, is generally expressed by the words : Sir or Dear Sir in the singular; Sirs, Gentlemen or Dear
   (1) The adressee  11 destinatario, cioè colui cui la lettera è indirizzata.
   (2) The salutation Si potrebbe dire la « invocazione » cioè, la forma vocativa colla quale si rivolge il discorso 0 la lettera ad una persona.
   (3) The closing clause  la formula di chiusura, cioè « la chiusa ».