“How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!”

“Why not seize the pleasure at once? -- How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!”

“Prepare yourself for something dreadful.”

“Life could do nothing for her, beyond giving time for a better preparation for death.”

“Surprises are foolish things. The pleasure is not enhanced, and the inconvenience is often considerable.”

“Do not give way to useless alarm; though it is right to be prepared for the worst, there is no occasion to look on it as certain.”

“But a note had had been prepared and left for her, written in the very style to touch --a small mixture of reproach with a great deal of kindness”