I did not understand them but they did not have any mystery, and when I understood them they meant nothing to me. I was sorry about this but there was nothing I could do about it.

I don't think I ever owned twenty pencils at one time. Wearing down seven number-two pencils is a good day's work.

I have a rotten habit of picturing the bedroom scenes of my friends.

I do not think I had ever seen a nastier-looking man. Under the black hat, when I had first seen them, the eyes had been those of an unsuccessful rapist.

Madame, it is an old word and each one takes it new and wears it out himself. It is a word that fills with meaning as a bladder with air and the meaning goes out of it as quickly. It may be punctured as a bladder is punctured and patched and blown up again and if you have not had it does not exist for you. All people talk of it, but those who have had it are marked by it, and I would not wish to speak of it further since of all things it is the most ridiculous to talk of and only fools go through it many times.

I do not need to get used to your silence. I already know it. I quite possibly love all of it.

This is a good place," he said. "There's a lot of liquor," I agreed.