MORE THAN ONCE recently I have found myself in arguments
about what, if anything, is the distinc- tion between `Personal,' Private' and 'Confiden- tial' on correspondence. It seems to me that they have, or ought to have, three quite separate mean- ings; but to judge from letters coming to this office this is not the common view. 'Personal' is now so loosely used, on forms, circulars, and coupons entitling the possessor to get fourpence off the next toothpaste tube he buys, that it has little significance; but in theory, surely, all it means is that the letter is being sent to the addressee in his own right, and not by virtue of any office he may happen to hold. It is not (though I find there are people who still imagine it is) designed to confer any secrecy on the communication, which can reasonably be opened by anybody deputed to open correspondence if, say, the addressee is on holiday.
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