[on Writing:] The Most Egotistic

The Public, As A Whole, Finds Reassurance In Longevity, And, After The Necessary Interlude Of Reaction, Is Disposed To Recognize Extreme Old Age As A Sign Of Excellence. The Long-liver Has Triumphed Over At Least One Of Man's Initial Handicaps: The Brevity Of Life.

It Always Seemed To Me That The Herbaceous Peony Is The Very Epitome Of June. Larger Than Any Rose, It Has Something Of The Cabbage Rose's Voluminous Quality; And When It Finally Drops From The Vase, It Sheds Its Petticoats With A Bump On The Table, All In An Intact Heap, Much As A Rose Will Suddenly Fall, Making Us Look Up From Our Book Or Conversation, To Notice For One Moment The Death Of What Had Still Appeared To Be A Living Beauty.

I Like Muddling Things Up; And If A Herb Looks Nice In A Border, Then Why Not Grow It There? Why Not Grow Anything Anywhere So Long As It Looks Right Where It Is? That Is, Surely, The Art Of Gardening.

Violence, Passion, Indignation, Loyalty, Integrity, Incorruptibility, Shameless Egoism, Generosity, Excitability, Energy, A Hundred Horse-power Drive - None Of It Very Subtle: Ethel [smyth] Didn't Deal In Pastel Shades, She Went For The Stronger Colors, The Blood-red, Anything Deep And Pumping Out Of The Arteries Of The Heart.

How Subtle Is The Relationship Between The Traveler And His Luggage! He Knows, As No One Else Knows, Its Idiosyncrasies, Its Contents ... And Always Some Small Nuisance Which He Wishes He Had Not Brought; Had Known, Indeed, Before Starting That He Would Regret It, But Brought It All The Same.