Susan Fenimore Cooper, fully Susan Augusta Fenimore Cooper

Of the infinite variety of fruits which spring from the bosom of the earth, the trees of the wood are the greatest in dignity.

A true history of human events would show that a far larger proportion of our acts are the results of sudden impulses and accidents than of that reason of which we so much boast.

What a noble gift to man are the forests! What a debt of gratitude and admiration we owe to their beauty and their utility! How pleasantly the shadows of the wood fall upon our heads when we turn from the glitter and turmoil of the world of man!