“Nothing is to me more distasteful than that entire complacency and satisfaction which beam in the countenances of a new-married couple
“Not many sounds in life, and I include all urban and rural sounds, exceed in interest a knock at the door
“We gain nothing by being with such as ourselves. We encourage one another in mediocrity. I am always longing to be with men more excellent than myself
“No one ever regarded the First of January with indifference. It is that from which all date their time, and count upon what is left. It is the nativity of our common Adam