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

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

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

“Prepare yourself for something dreadful.”

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

“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.”

“As a brother, a landlord, a master, she considered how many people's happiness were in his guardianship! -- How much of pleasure or pain it was in his power to bestow! -- How much of good or evil must be done by him!”