Romance has been elegantly defined as the offspring of fiction and love.

When I left the dining room after sitting next to Mr. Gladstone, I thought he was the cleverest man in England. But after sitting next to Mr. Disraeli, I thought I was the cleverest woman in England.

The right hon. Gentleman [Sir Robert Peel] caught the Whigs bathing, and walked away with their clothes.

The unfortunate are always egotistical.

A female friend, amiable, clever, and devoted, is a possession more valuable than parks and palaces; and without such a muse, few men can succeed in life, none be contented.

The governments of the present day have to deal not merely with other governments, with emperors, kings and ministers, but also with the secret societies which have everywhere their unscrupulous agents, and can at the last moment upset all the governments' plans.

Never take anything for granted.