the occasional cries of a lost loon, strayed from its flock in northern migration, fill the swamp with sounds of wailing.

a trouble shared is a trouble half endured.

If you are lazy, and accept your lot, you may live in it. If you are willing to work, you can write your name anywhere you choose.

I know men and women. An honourable man is an honourable man, and a liar is a liar; both are born and not made. One cannot change to the other any more than that same old leopard can change its spots. After a man tells a woman the first untruth of that sort, the others come piling thick, fast, and mountain high.

Do you know that being a stranger is the hardest thing that can happen to any one in all this world?

Tears were a blessing; they were a relief; they did wash the ache from the heart, ease brain strain, and encourage the soul.

Now what is a guest? A thing of a day! A person who disturbs your routine and interferes with important concerns. Why should any one be grateful for company? Why should time and money be lavished on visitors? They come. You overwork yourself. They go. You are glad of it. You return the visit, because it's the only way to have back at them.