It might be well to write some message on the card
recalling the events of the preceding evening--nothing intimate,
but simply a reminder of your first meeting and a suggestion that
you might possibly desire to continue the acquaintanceship.
Quotations from poetry of the better sort are always appropriate;
thus, on this occasion, it might be nice to write on the card
accompanying the flowers--" "This is the forest primeval'--H. W.
Longfellow," or "'Take, oh take, those lips away'--W.
Shakespeare." You will find there are hundreds of lines equally
appropriate for this and other occasions, and in this connection
it might be well to display a little originality at times by
substituting pertinent verses of your own in place of the
conventional quotations. For example--"This is the forest
primeval, I regret your last evening's upheaval," shows the young
lady in question that not only are you well-read in classic
poetry, but also you have no mean talent of your own. Too much
originality, however, is dangerous, especially in polite social
intercourse, and I need hardly remind you that the floors of the
social ocean are watered with the tears of those who seek to walk
on their own hook.
Within a week after you have sent the young lady the flowers, you
should receive a polite note of thanks, somewhat as follows: "My
dear Mr. Roe: Those lovely flowers came quite as a surprise. They
are lovely, and I cannot thank you enough for your
thoughtfulness.
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