diff --git a/lisp/recentf.el b/lisp/recentf.el
index 70e01907a0e..172ce704d93 100644
--- a/lisp/recentf.el
+++ b/lisp/recentf.el
@@ -1316,7 +1316,7 @@ Optional argument N must be a valid digit number.  It defaults to 1.
 ;;; Save/load/cleanup the recent list
 ;;
 (defconst recentf-save-file-header
-  ";;; Automatically generated by `recentf' on %s.\n"
+  ";;; Automatically generated by `recentf' on %s.  -*- mode: lisp-data -*-\n"
   "Header to be written into the `recentf-save-file'.")
 
 (defconst recentf-save-file-coding-system
@@ -1344,7 +1344,7 @@ Write data into the file specified by `recentf-save-file'."
                       (point-max)
                       (expand-file-name recentf-save-file) nil
                       (unless (or (called-interactively-p 'interactive)
-                                 recentf-show-messages)
+                                  recentf-show-messages)
                         'quiet))
         (when recentf-save-file-modes
           (set-file-modes recentf-save-file recentf-save-file-modes))