It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, - always do what you are afraid to do.

Many have genius, but, wanting art, are forever dumb. The two must go together to form the great poet, painter, or sculptor.

The secret studies of an author are the sunken piers upon which is to rest the bridge of his fame, spanning the dark waters of oblivion. They are out of sight, but without them no superstructure can stand secure.

In the life of every man there are sudden transitions of feeling, which seem almost miraculous. At once, as if some magician had touched the heavens and the earth, the dark clouds melt into the air, the wind falls, and serenity succeeds the storm. The causes which produce these changes may have been long at work within us, but the changes themselves are instantaneous, and apparently without sufficient cause.

The rapture of pursuing is the prize the vanquished gain.

Simplicity is the character of the spring of life, costliness becomes its autumn; but a neatness and purity, like that of the snow-drop or lily of the valley, is the peculiar fascination of beauty, to which it lends enchantment, and gives what amiability is to the mind.

As I gaze upon the sea! All the old romantic legends, all my dreams, come back to me.