I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be the respected patriarch of an ordinary English family." "Very boring, Emerson.

But the dust! And the clutter! My housewifely and scholarly instincts were equally offended.

kissing someone out of pity is always a mistake.

No woman really wants a man to carry her off; she only wants him to want to do it.

I am so tired of ruggedly handsome heroes. I don't know too many ruggedly handsome people who are necessarily nice people. In fact, the beautiful people have a big handicap because they rely too much on their appearance and don't bother to become interesting.

He hesitated for a moment. Then he said softly, "I love you, Mother." He took my hand and kissed it, and folded my fingers round the stem of the rose. He had stripped it of its thorns.

I do not scruple to employ mendacity and a fictitious appearance of female incompetence when the occasion demands it.