Punctuation marks are directions at the crossroads of thought.

Consequently the punctuation mark is now much more sparingly used than formerly.
Just as we have found out that well chosen words can tell their story with very few marks of interpretation so we have found out that they can tell their story with very few marks of emphasis.

The use of capitals has decreased greatly during the last two centuries and is constantly decreasing, and this tendency is likely to go still further.

The great DeVinne whose books on _The Practice of Typography_, written ten to fifteen years ago, are still of the highest authority was thoroughly up-to-date in his methods and was remarkable for the restrained and refined good taste which characterized all his recommendations, but in some points restraint in the use of capitals has gone even beyond his precepts.
It is worth while to remember that the real implement of English speech is the word, not the point nor the letter form.

Just to the extent that we rely on marks of punctuation and emphasis to convey our meaning we betray our ignorance of the really significant elements of the language.
The schoolgirl says she "had a _perfectly splendid_ time" at the dance, when she tells about it in her letter to her dearest friend.