I don't pretend to be wise, but I am observing, and I see a great deal more than you'd imagine. I'm interested in other people's experiences and inconsistencies, and, though I can't explain, I remember and use them for my own benefit.

Watch and pray, dear, never get tired of trying, and never think it is impossible to conquer your fault.

…she was one of those happily created beings who please without effort, make friends everywhere, and take life so gracefully and easily that less fortunate souls are tempted to believe that such are born under a lucky star.

I'm tired of praise; and love is very sweet, when it is simple and sincere like this.

So she enjoyed herself heartily, and found, what isn't always the case, that her granted wish was all she had hoped.

I went [to war] because I couldn't help it. I didn't want the glory or the pay; I wanted the right thing done.

Ridicule is often harder to bear than self-denial.