THE SINGLE MAN
A note of invitation to a single man is written in the same way. If the dinner be given to any particular guest or guests, this fact should be mentioned in the invitation. As, for instance, “Will you dine with us to meet Mr. and Mrs. Barrows,” and so forth.
Single men who are warmly appreciative of dinner invitations and who foresee no opportunity in the near future to return the hospitality offered to them, frequently send a box of flowers to their hostess on the day of her entertainment.
THE INVITATION TO DINNER
As soon as practicable after the receipt of a dinner invitation, the recipient should write a cordial note. If accepting she should express thanks and the pleasure she (or her husband and she) will take in being present at the time mentioned. As a rule the decision to accept or decline should be as absolute as it is immediate. Only the greatest intimacy and extraordinary circumstances warrant the request that an invitation be held open even for a day. The hostess must make her arrangements and she can not do so until she has heard definitely from all those she has asked.
If a declinature is necessary, let it be in the form of a recognition of the honor conveyed in the invitation, and genuine regret at the impossibility of accepting it. This may be worded somewhat in the following way:
“My dear Mrs. Brown:
“Mr. Aikman and I regret sincerely that a previous engagement makes it impossible for us to accept your delightful invitation for December the sixth. We thank you for counting us among those who are so happy as to be your guests on that evening, and only wish that we could be with you.
“Cordially and regretfully yours,
“Jane Aikman.”