Replying to letters is horrible, whereas not replying is by no means a matter of bliss. Normally a hundred or so letters are stacked on my bookshelf, with diverse maturity of debt, the longest being over a year. That kind of pressure is more than an ordinary sinner can bear. A stack of. unanswered letters batters on me like a group of haunting ghosts and plays havoc with my smitten conscience. In principle, the letters are there for replying to. I can swear in all honesty that I have never consciously determined not to answer letters.