The revolting details of childbirth had been hidden from me with such care that I was as surprised as I was horrified, and I cannot help thinking that the vows most women are made to take are very foolhardy. I doubt whether they would willingly go to the altar to swear that they will allow themselves to be broken on the wheel every nine months.

Romance is the poetry of literature.

Recognized probity is the surest of all oaths.

A pure style in writing results from the rejection of everything superfluous.

Innocence and mystery never dwell long together.

You may be more prodigal of time than of money.

Want of perseverance is the great fault of women in everything--morals, attention to health, friendship, and so on. It cannot be too often repeated that women never reach the end of anything through want of perseverance.