“So much has been said and sung of beautiful young girls, why doesn't somebody wake up to the beauty of old women
“In all ranks of life the human heart yearns for the beautiful; and the beautiful things that God makes are his gift to all alike
“I trust in nature for the stable laws of beauty and utility. Spring shall plant and autumn garner to the end of time.
“The greatest truths are wronged if not linked with beauty, and they win their way most surely and deeply into the soul when arrayed in this their natural and fit attire.
““I have two luxuries to brood over in my walks, your loveliness and the hour of my death. O that I could have possession of them both in the same minute.
“Praise or blame has but a momentary effect on the man whose love of beauty in the abstract makes him a severe critic on his own works