To expatiate to any extent whatever upon the bereavement is heartless or thoughtless, and as there is no danger of ambiguity, the letter does not need to account for itself in any way.
The following letter is as explicit as any letter of condolence need ever be, and the second form is preferable, unless great intimacy makes the less abrupt one permissible.
"Dear Mr. Legrow:
I have read of your bereavement with the deepest sorrow. I cannot tell you how fully I sympathize with you and your children, or how my heart aches for you in your loneliness. May you have strength and grace to bear up under the great loss you have sustained.
Sincerely yours,
Margaret Edelstone."
You have my deepest sympathy.
Ever cordially yours,
Mildred Hasseltine."
Answering Letters
Business letters should be answered by return mail, as should also all invitations to dinner or luncheon.
All invitations should be answered within a day if possible, because delay looks like a reluctance to accept. They should certainly be answered, either personally or by letter, within a week after the invitation is received.