Tea had come as a deliverer to a land that called for deliverance; a land of beef and ale, of heavy eating and abundant drunkenness; of gray skies and harsh winds; of strong-nerved, stout-purposed, slow-thinking men and women. Above all, a land of sheltered homes and warm firesides - firesides that were waiting - waiting for the bubbling kettle and the fragrant breath of tea.

If everybody floated with the tide of talk, placidity would soon end in stagnation. It is the strong backward stroke which stirs the ripples, and gives animation and variety.

For indeed all that we think so new to-day has been acted over and over again, a shifting comedy, by the women of every century.

Letters form a by-path of literature, a charming, but occasional, retreat for people of cultivated leisure.

Economics and ethics have little in common.

The choice of a topic which will bear analysis and support enthusiasm, is essential to the enjoyment of conversation.

Humor hardens the heart, at least to the point of sanity.