REGRETS
A Newport man who was invited to a house party at Bar Harbor,
telegraphed to the hostess: "Regret I can't come. Lie follows by post."
After the death of Lord Houghton, there was found in his correspondence
the following reply to a dinner invitation: "Mrs. ---- presents her
compliments to Lord Houghton. Her husband died on Tuesday, otherwise he
would have been delighted to dine with Lord Houghton on Thursday next."
A young woman prominent in the social set of an Ohio town tells of a
young man there who had not familiarized himself with the forms of
polite correspondence to the fullest extent. When, on one occasion, he
found it necessary to decline an invitation, he did so in the following
terms:
"Mr. Henry Blank declines with pleasure Mrs. Wood's invitation for the
nineteenth, and thanks her extremely for having given him the
opportunity of doing so."