Cruel blows of fate call for extreme kindness in the family circle.

... for I know I shall be interrupted-- I shall want to be, really, because life is too exciting to sit still for long.

We were restless for ages...After a while I heard an owl hooting and calmed myself by thinking of it flying over the dark fields – and then I remembered it would be pouncing on mice. I love owls, but I wish God had made them vegetarian.

It came to me that Hyde Park has never belonged to London - that it has always been , in spirit, a stretch of countryside; and that it links the Londons of all periods together most magically - by remaining forever unchanged at the heart of a ever-changing town.

I wanted so terribly to be good to him.

Topaz was wonderfully patient - but sometimes I wonder if it is not only patience, but also a faint resemblance to cows.

I wonder if there isn't a catch about having plenty of money? Does it eventually take the pleasure out of things?