I am not born to sit still and do nothing. If I lose the game, it shall not be from not striving for it.

To you I shall say, as I have often said before, Do not be in a hurry, the right man will come at last.

I assure you. I have no notion of treating men with such respect. That is the way to spoil them.

Walter Scott has no business to write novels, especially good ones. He has fame and profit enough as a poet, and should not be taking the bread out of other people's mouths.

Without scheming to do wrong, or to make others unhappy, there may be error and there may be misery. Thoughtlessness, want of attention to other people's feelings, and want of resolution, will do the business.

I have always maintained the importance of Aunts

One cannot fix one's eyes on the commonest natural production without finding food for a rambling fancy.