Women Born In The 19th Century

"For ages happiness has been represented as a huge precious stone, impossible to find, which people seek for hopelessly. It is not so — happiness is a mosaic, composed of a thousand little stones, which, separately and of themselves, have little value, but which, united with art form a graceful design. Set the mosaic carefully, and you have a beautiful ornament; learn to understand intelligently the passing enjoyments which chance, which your character gives you, or which Heaven sends you, and you have an agreeable existence. Why always look to the horizon when there are such fine roses in the garden you live in?"

"Peace, sweet Peace, is always found In her eternal home on holy ground."

"Love is the gift that brings us nearer Heaven Than any other gift the world can hold, And perfect Love is nearest perfect bliss."

"Infidelity, like death, admits of no degrees."

"A woman's life can be divided thus: the age when she dances but does not dare to waltz — it is the spring; the age when she dances and dares to waltz — it is summer; the age when she dances but prefers to waltz — it is autumn; finally, when she dances no longer — it is winter, that rigorous winter of life."

"Weep not for those Who sink within the arms of death Ere yet the chilling wintry breath Of sorrow o'er them blows; But weep for them who here remain, The mournful heritors of pain, Condemn'd to see each bright joy fade, And mark grief's melancholy shade Flung o'er Hope's fairest rose."

"When the glad sun, exulting in his might, Comes from the dusky-curtain'd tents of night."

"Sorrow treads heavily, and leaves behind A deep impression e’en when she departs; While joy trips by, with steps light as the wind, And scarcely leaves a trace upon our hearts Of the faint footfalls, only this is sure — In this world nought, save suffering can endure."

"The gathered rose, and the stolen heart, Can charm but for a day."

"Good taste is the modestly of the mind; that is why it cannot be either imitated or acquired."

"Our instinct inspires us, — warns us, our intelligence scents out what our reason docs not discover, for instinct is the nose of the mind."

"There is only one proper way to wear a beautiful dress: to forget you are wearing it."

"Love with men is not a sentiment, but an idea."

"I do not believe in virtue, but I do believe in innocence. They are very different. Innocence is ignorance."

"We are only vulnerable and ridiculous through our pretensions."

"O, how true it is there can be no tête-à-tête where vanity reigns!"

"Treasures are not for youth; at twenty years one does not know how to be rich, or to be loved."

"Self-interest, that leprosy of the age, attacks us from infancy, and we are startled to observe little heads calculate before knowing how to reflect."

"Like lamps in Eastern sepulchres, Amid my heart’s deep gloom, Affection sheds its holiest light Upon my husband’s tomb. And, as those lamps, if brought once more To upper air grow dim, So my soul’s love is cold and dead, Unless it glow for him."

"It is not easy to be a widow: one must reassume all the modesty of girlhood, without being allowed to even feign its ignorance."

"It has been said that society is for the happy, the rich; we should rather say the happy have no need of it."

"Like the sweet melody which faintly lingers Upon the wind-harp's strings at close of day, When gently touch'd by evening's dewy fingers It breathes a low and melancholy lay; So the calm voice of sympathy meseemeth; And while its magic spell is round me cast, My spirit in its cloistered silence dreameth, And vaguely blends the future with the past."

"Number the riches by thy memory hoarded, Relics of joys thy by-past years have known, — How many real things has life afforded? How much true light was o'er thy pathway thrown?"

"There dwelleth in the sinlessness of youth A sweet rebuke that vice may not endure."

"— The grave's dark portal Soon shuts this world of shadows from our view, Then shall we grasp realities immortal, If to the truth within us we are true."

"And we will lift our country's flag And float its Stripes and Stars In place of those we used to wave For Kaisers, Kings and Czars."

"Yet we will cross the seas again To Europe's tortured sod, With those who, though not brothers born, Are brothers under God. Since we have sworn our manhood's oath, We stand to make it good Against the mightiest foes of earth, Whatever be their blood. For we are all Americans, And we shall fight our way To victory and back again, And then come home to stay."

"It is only the women whose eyes have been washed clear with tears who get the broad vision that makes them little sisters to all the world."

"O, England's full of Englishmen And France is full of French, And Italy has sons enough To fill up ev'ry trench; But what are we across the sea Who come from all the earth To the land that gives us freedom,— Though it did not give us birth? O, we are all Americans, And when we come away From England, France and Italy, We swore we came to stay."

"Et quand divinement ta voix m’enchaine Je vois s’évanouir tout ma peine Et tout ton être chante et vive en moi."

"Everyone agreed that the day was just right for the picnic to — a shimmering summer morning warm and still, with s shrilling all through breakfast from the outside the dining-room windows and bees murmuring above the pansies bordering the drive. ... The boarders at Mrs Appleby's College for Young Ladies had been up and scanning the bright unclouded sky since six o'clock and were now fluttering about in their holiday s like a flock of excited butterflies. Not only was it a Saturday and the long awaited occasion of the annual picnic, but Saint Valentine's Day, traditionally celebrated on the fourteenth of February by the interchange of elaborate cards and favours."

"... it was written as a mystery, and it remains a mystery. ... like dropping a stone into water ..."

"There’s a version of Lindsay’s life story that is defined by the men in her life. She was the daughter of a judge and the granddaughter of a state governor. She was married to painter , the director of the between 1942 and 1956, and later knighted for his services to the arts. Novelist was her cousin, was her drawing teacher and her friend launched Picnic at Hanging Rock."

"Had Lindsay not written ', she might now be simply described as the enigmatic and charming wife of – artist and director of the – hostess of their rural mansion , a minor writer and artist renowned for her skills in hospitality and flower arrangement."

"Today the journey is ended, I have worked out the mandates of fate; Naked, alone, undefended, I knock at the Uttermost Gate. Behind is life and its longing, Its trial, its trouble, its sorrow, Beyond is the Infinite Morning Of a day without a tomorrow."

"What, for us, are all distractions of men's fellowship and smiles? What, for us, the goddess Pleasure, with her meretricious wiles?"

"Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light, I have loved the stars too truly to be fearful of the night."

"If you have not the faith of assurance, practise at least the faith of adherence. That, at least, is in your own power. Cleave to God exactly as if you were certain of being accepted by Him at last; and thus, fulfilling his own conditions, you will be accepted by Him whether you are assured of it beforehand or not."

"Is it so, O Christ in heaven, that the highest suffer most? That the strongest wander farthest, and more hopelessly are lost? That the mark of rank in nature is capacity for pain, And the anguish of the singer makes the sweetness of the strain? — "I have many things to tell you, but ye cannot bear them now.""

"Reach me down my Tycho Brahé, — I would know him when we meet, When I share my later science, sitting humbly at his feet."

"There are curious remains near Cairo of a , where portions of trees have been found measuring 60 to 90 feet in length and 3 feet in diameter. It is said to have been formed by a deposit of sand and water which in the course of ages petrified the wood. But although there is little doubt that primeval forests existed in Egypt, they must have disappeared at a very early date, as no special mention of them occurs, either in the oldest monuments or writings."

"The Egyptians possessed much interesting literature, of which poetry formed an important part. The hymns to , , and , and that of , are all beautiful specimens; and so, likewise, is the epic poem to , known as the ".""

"The , as it is sometimes called, lives in damp woods, where it can find plenty of insects. It catches them on the wing, as well as picking them off plants and trees. Its colouring is grey above with black streaks on its head; its breast is yellow, with a row of black marks across it, set like a ’s . Its song is louder than that of most s, but very sweet and clear."

"Occasionally, some tropical bird may perhaps be tempted north in search of food. Among these are the lovely little yellow-breasted s, which are met with in , and, I believe, have sometimes been seen as far north as . s are visitors on the Nile, and brilliant s, too, we saw in the , going to their more Northern homes in Syria, Spain, and Italy. The low sand banks in the river, or some lonely place in the desert, are nightly chosen as resting-places for the s, which are only travellers in the land."

"We repaired to the . The powdery appearance was caused by glands scattered all over the ; this, and its general aspect, showed it to be the . No locality could be more favourable to its growth than these woods, where the immense boulders of greeting us at every step left no room to doubt the nature of the rock."

"The pretty white , so called because of its flowering at that season, is also a , and its is a brilliant white. Its beauty and purity, as well as the season when it blooms, insure it being a favourite in every garden."

", in his work on the "Channel Islands," gives a most interesting picture of the harvest in . On the 10th of March and on the 20th of July, all the inhabitants repair to the shore, with such vehicles as they can press into their service, and they gather the weed in great quantities. Some they dry and use for fuel, and the remainder is laid upon the land as manure. It suits potatoe land remarkably well, and on this account is eagerly seized upon in Ireland, where it is carried at least fifteen miles inland."

"Mr. W. F. French, of , prepares very pretty fern-glasses, arranging within them Lilliputian rocks and ruins. They are to be had at the s in ; and, though they do not look by any means beautiful when unfurnished, they have an excellent effect with the full complement of mosses, s, and ferns. The best place for such cases is in a window to the north, and twice a week in the summer the glass should be removed and wiped dry, a little rain-water being administered occasionally to keep up the moisture. These fern-cases make very elegant drawing-room ornaments. All the small hardy and half-hardy ferns are well adapted for the s, as are also many of the 's and all the mosses."

"and others give us such attractive accounts of the charms of , the quantity of nourishment contained in them, and the desirability of out better appreciation of their excellencies, that we set about making ourselves acquainted with them with hearty good will."

"Travellers penetrating to the find ' flourishing alone, and spreading its light s in a region of "thick-ribbed ice;" ' was found by on ; and in and Iceland, where there is scarcely light enough for the humblest vegetables to flourish, ' not only endures the sleet and bitter cold, and spreads its blossoms under such inhospitable circumstances, but actually ripens abundance of seed."