The family - that dear octopus from whose tentacles we never quite escape, nor, in our inmost hearts, ever quite wish to.

They call them the haunted shores, these stretches of Devonshire and Cornwall and Ireland which rear up against the westward ocean. Mists gather here, and sea fog, and eerie stories. That's not because there are more ghosts here than in other places, mind you. It's just that people who live hereabouts are strangely aware of them.

People's clothes ought to be buried with them.

It is rather exciting to write by moonlight.

I have noticed that rooms which are extra clean feel extra cold

Many dogs can understand almost every word humans say, while humans seldom learn to recognize more than half a dozen barks, if that. And barks are only a small part of the dog language. A wagging tail can mean so many things. Humans know that it means a dog is pleased, but not what a dog is saying about his pleasedness.

And who says you always have to understand things? You can like them without understanding them -- like 'em better sometimes.