I read in "Words, facts, & Phrases, a dictionary of curious, quain, and
out-of-the-way matters" by Eliezer Edwards, Chatto & Windus, London, 1901.
[a book that echos, but does not match Brewer's "Dictionary of Phrase and
Fable"] That the phrase "I remain..." should not be used on an initial
letter.  In the first letter, one writes, "I am..." and only on subsequent
exchanges of correspondence does one write "I remain..."

Who knew?

Mike Poston
Rockville, Maryland

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