A novel should be as like life as a painting, but not as like life as a piece of waxwork.
Mary Russell MitfordI detest so much ... those persons, who insist upon telling you everything - who labor every point, as the lawyers say, as if they thought all excellence consisted in length.
Mary Russell MitfordIn our present high state of civilization, people are so much alike, that anything at all odd comes on one with the freshness and character of an antique coin among smooth shillings.
Mary Russell MitfordTrees and children are, of all living things, those whose growth soonest makes one feel one's age.
Mary Russell Mitford