On board ship there are many sources of joy of which the land knows nothing. You may flirt and dance at sixty; and if you are awkward in the turn of a valse, you may put it down to the motion of the ship. You need wear no gloves, and may drink your soda-and-brandy without being ashamed of it.

To have her meals, and her daily walk, and her fill of novels, and to be left alone, was all that she asked of the gods.

That I can read and be happy while I am reading, is a great blessing.

Success is a poison that should only be taken late in life and then only in small doses.

A physician should take his fee without letting his left hand know what his right is doing; it should be taken without a thought, without a look, without a move of the facial muscles; the true physician should hardly be aware that the last friendly grasp of the hand has been made more precious by the touch of gold

The habit of writing clearly soon comes to the writer who is a severe critic to himself.

After money in the bank, a grudge is the next best thing.