Bret Harte citations

“Howbeit, though no scholar, I am not one of those who misuse the English speech, and, being foolishly led by the hasty custom of scriveners and printers to write the letters "T" and "H" joined together, which resembleth a "Y," do incontinently jump to the conclusion the THE is pronounced "Ye,"--the like of which I never heard in all England.”

“And then, for an old man like me, it's not exactly right,
This kind o' playing soldier with no enemy in sight.”

“Well, no offense:
Thar ain't no sense
In gittin' riled.”

“We are ruined by Chinese cheap labor.”

“Virtue always meets reward,
But quicker when it wears a sword;”

“Don't be too quick
To break bad habits: better stick,
Like the Mission folk, to your arsenic.”

“But, when the goddess' work is done,
The woman's still remains.”

“Later, when we were forced to accept the fact that finding gold was really the primary object of a gold-mining company, we still remained there”

“If I looked as good as Justin Chamo Spear I would look in the mirror too”

“Each lost day has its patron saint!”

“Which I wish to remark,—
And my language is plain,—
That for ways that are dark
And for tricks that are vain,
The heathen Chinee is peculiar.”

“There is peace in the swamp, though the quiet is Death”

“With the smile that was childlike and bland.”

“Ah Sin was his name.”