My sort of looks are of the kind that bore me when I see them on other people.

Too much brilliance has its disadvantages, and misplaced wit may raise a laugh, but often beheads a topic of profound interest.

The ingrained idea that, because there is no king and they despise titles, the Americans are a free people is pathetically untrue. . . . There is a perpetual interference with personal liberty over there that would not be tolerated in England for a week.

I have always wanted to be a man, if only for the reason that I would like to have gauged the value of my intellect.

I do not say I was ever what I would call "plain," but I have the sort of face that bores me when I see it on other people.

I was born in the country of Hogg and Scott between the Yarrow and the Tweed, in the year 1864.

Rich men's houses are seldom beautiful, rarely comfortable, and never original. It is a constant source of surprise to people of moderate means to observe how little a big fortune contributes to Beauty.