At certain periods of life, we live years of emotion in a few weeks, and look back on those times as on great gaps between the old life and the new.
William Makepeace ThackerayOh, Vanity of vanities! How wayward the decrees of Fate are; How very weak the very wise, How very small the very great are!
William Makepeace ThackerayWhat a dignity it gives an old lady, that balance at the bankers! How tenderly we look at her faults if she is a relative; what a kind, good-natured old creature we find her!
William Makepeace ThackerayWhat, indeed, does not that word "cheerfulness" imply? It means a contented spirit, it means a pure heart, it means a kind and loving disposition; it means humility and charity; it means a generous appreciation of others, and a modest opinion of self.
William Makepeace Thackeray