“Talk not of wasted affection, affection never was wasted;
If it enrich not the heart of another, its waters, returning
Back to their springs, like the rain, shall fill them full of refreshment;
That which the fountain sends forth returns again to the fountain.”

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie

Part II, section 1.
Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie (1847)

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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow202

American poet 1807–1882

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