Please convert the handwriting into printing version

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If you cannot see the entire pic below, please "Save" it to your desk and you will see the whole face of it.

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Type: Question • Score: 6 • Views: 2,070 • Replies: 20

[+4] - contrex - 03/24/2012The letter already is in modern English. It's been around 40 years since most Western people discarded the term "Chinaman" as racist and demeaning. OristarA, you should disregard posts by...
[+3] - contrex - 03/24/2012OK, you twisted my arm. The [sic] inserted by me denotes a spelling error. The first s of a pair (e.g. in necessary) appears in the old fashioned long style. 4th inst = the 4th of the present...

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You really think someone is going to type all that out for you?

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OK, you twisted my arm.
The [sic] inserted by me denotes a spelling error.
The first s of a pair (e.g. in necessary) appears in the old fashioned long style.
4th inst = the 4th of the present month (i.e. 2 days later) see also ult (last month) prox (next month)

Senate Chamber
2nd March 1841

To the President of the United States

Sir,

The undersigned a committee of the
Senate to make the necessary arrangements for the
reception and inauguration of the President elect
on the 4th inst, and to apprize him of the
same - have the honor to enclose to you, a programme
of the ceremonies on that occasion. No position it
will be perceived has been assigned to you; the
undersigned beleiving [sic] it more respectful (and therefore
more in accordance with their dispositions) to sub=
mit to you to take such a position in the pro=
ceedings as may be agreeable and convenient to you:
- any suggestion from you will be promptly and
with pleasure conformed to.
We have the honor to be,
With great respect and consideration

(I cannot read the committee members signatures)

2 Replies

@contrex,

I am going to take a wild guess that our Chinaman would like this passage translated into modern English.

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The letter already is in modern English. It's been around 40 years since most Western people discarded the term "Chinaman" as racist and demeaning. OristarA, you should disregard posts by hawkeye10, a notorious troll. You may find it convenient to set him to "ignore".

1 Reply

Two of the signatories look to be Richard H. Bayard and Albert White--they each abbreviate their first names. they're the last two--one before them is illegible, and there may be another one before that--it's not clear what it is at all, whether signature or not. I think, before the invention of typewriters, they hired people whose handwriting was actually readable to write letters like this and make copies of documents, which is why we can more or less read it.

1 Reply

@contrex,

contrex wrote:

OK, you twisted my arm.
The [sic] inserted by me denotes a spelling error.
The first s of a pair (e.g. in necessary) appears in the old fashioned long style.
4th inst = the 4th of the present month (i.e. 2 days later) see also ult (last month) prox (next month)

Senate Chamber
2nd March 1841

To the President of the United States

Sir,

The undersigned a committee of the
Senate to make the necessary arrangements for the
reception and inauguration of the President elect
on the 4th inst, and to apprize him of the
same - have the honor to enclose to you, a programme
of the ceremonies on that occasion. No position it
will be perceived has been assigned to you; the
undersigned beleiving [sic] it more respectful (and therefore
more in accordance with their dispositions) to sub=
mit to you to take such a position in the pro=
ceedings as may be agreeable and convenient to you:
- any suggestion from you will be promptly and
with pleasure conformed to.
We have the honor to be,
With great respect and consideration

(I cannot read the committee members signatures)

Excellent, Contrex.
Thank you a lot.

PS. I'm not clear how "the undersigned" can modify "a committee" in "The undersigned a committee of the Senate"

1 Reply

@MontereyJack,

MontereyJack wrote:

Two of the signatories look to be Richard H. Bayard and Albert White--they each abbreviate their first names. they're the last two--one before them is illegible, and there may be another one before that--it's not clear what it is at all, whether signature or not. I think, before the invention of typewriters, they hired people whose handwriting was actually readable to write letters like this and make copies of documents, which is why we can more or less read it.

Cool.
Gracias.

0 Replies

@oristarA,

oristarA wrote:

PS. I'm not clear how "the undersigned" can modify "a committee" in "The undersigned a committee of the Senate"

"The undersigned" doesn't really "modify" "a committee" - rather, "a committee" explains or states who "the undersigned" are.

"The undersigned" is a phrase often found in formal or legal documents especially contracts which means "the person or persons who signed this document".

The undersigned (the persons who signed this document) (who are) a committee of the senate...

Probably nowadays we would insert a comma after "undersigned".

1 Reply

@contrex,

contrex wrote:

oristarA wrote:
PS. I'm not clear how "the undersigned" can modify "a committee" in "The undersigned a committee of the Senate"

"The undersigned" doesn't really "modify" "a committee" - rather, "a committee" explains or states who "the undersigned" are.

"The undersigned" is a phrase often found in formal or legal documents especially contracts which means "the person or persons who signed this document".

The undersigned (the persons who signed this document) (who are) a committee of the senate...

Probably nowadays we would insert a comma after "undersigned".

Cool.

0 Replies

@contrex,

Quote:

The letter already is in modern English

While I dont spend much time reading bureaucratese your assertion elicits a raised eyebrow from me

Quote:

hawkeye10, a notorious troll.

Liar, I am occasionally alleged to be a troll, but never once as a definition of troll been posited that would have me be a troll.

Quote:

You may find it convenient to set him to "ignore"

Considering my record of answering this Chinaman's questions....not.

1 Reply

@hawkeye10,

Have you even seen Middle English?

1 Reply

@roger,

The closest he got was during his time in the military, when he would occasionally stand to attention and shout out, 'I have done my chores sir.'

Maybe I should post this on the really bad jokes thread.

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I have got very clear about the meaning of "to enclose to".
Who would like to explain? TIA

2 Replies

@oristarA,

It means 'to send to you,' usually within a letter or package.

It is a little archaic, you don't see that much in modern speech.

Cycloptichorn

1 Reply

this appears to be a cover letter, i.e. a letter you send with another document explaining what that document is. The second document, which you didn't reproduce, or may have been lost sometime in the past century and a half.
would have been the schedule of activities. They would have been sent in the same envelope or package.

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It's certainly modern English. It's just ultra-formal mid 19th century English.

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@oristarA,

oristarA wrote:

I have got very clear about the meaning of "to enclose to".
Who would like to explain? TIA

In connection with correspondence, to "enclose" something with a letter means to include it in the same envelope. "Enclose to you" is slightly archaic and nowadays we would probably just write "enclose".

Contrex Hotel
22 Main Street
Bristol
BS1 1XY
25th March 2012

Dear Mr OristarA

Following our telephone conversation I am writing to let you know that we have reserved you a room for the night of 29th March 2010. Our hotel is in Main Street and I enclose a street map of central Bristol to help you to find the hotel.

Yours sincerely

Contrex Frenchwater
Manager

0 Replies

@Cycloptichorn,

Cycloptichorn wrote:

It means 'to send to you,' usually within a letter or package.

It is a little archaic, you don't see that much in modern speech.

Cycloptichorn

"Enclose" is perfectly standard contemporary UK English; "enclose to you" rather archaic. Until quite recently a business letter which had accompanying material would have //enc (one page enclosure) or //encs (multiple page enclosures) under the signature. Also, in the body of the letter, the writer may draw attention to enclosures, often with the phrase "please find enclosed (description of what is enclosed)"

1 Reply

Please convert the handwriting into printing version

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