A Curious Correspondence
Mr. McNair was a man of few words, and wrote to his nephew at Pittsburg the following laconic letter:
Dear Nephew,
;
To which the nephew replied by return of mail:
Dear Uncle,
:
The long of this short was, that the uncle wrote to his nephew, ‘See my coal on,’ which a se-mi-col-on expressed; and the youngster informed his uncle that the coal was shipped, by simply saying, col-on.
– Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, June 1855
