There is in every true woman's heart a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity; but which kindles up, and beams, and blazes in the dark hour of adversity. The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon (1819-1820), 'The Wife'

More from Washington Irving

• A tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edge tool that grows keener with constant use.
• I am always at a loss to know how much to believe of my own stories.
• That happy age when a man can be idle with impunity.
• There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse! As I have often found in travelling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one’s position, and be bruised in a new place.
• There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse! As I have often found in travelling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position, and be bruised in a new place. Tales of a Traveler (1824)
• There is an eloquence in true enthusiasm that is not to be doubted.