Family likeness has often a deep sadness in it. Nature, that great tragic dramatist, knits us together by bone and muscle, and divides us by the subtler web of our brains; blends yearning and repulsion; and ties us by our heart-strings to the beings that jar us at every movement.

in certain crises direct expression of sympathy is the least possible to those who most feel sympathy.

Blessed is the influence of one true, loving human soul on another.

Whatever may be the success of my stories, I shall be resolute in preserving my incognito, having observed that a nom de plume secures all the advantages without the disagreeables of reputation.

... it is one thing to like defiance, and another thing to like its consequences.

Blameless people are always the most exasperating.

Upon my word, I think the truth is the hardest missile one can be pelted with.