The Data Worker

And still I stood looking at the house, thinking how happy I should be if I lived there with her, and knowing that I never was happy with her, but always miserable.

their own allotted places in the great procession of the dead were not far off, and they would soon drop into them and go the silent way of the rest.

when would she begin to be interested in me? When should I awaken the heart within her that was mute and sleeping now?

We walked round the ruined garden twice or thrice more, and it was all in bloom for me.

throughout life, our worst weaknesses and meannesses are usually committed for the sake of the people whom we most despise.

I verily believe that her not remembering and not minding in the least, made me cry again, inwardly,—and that is the sharpest crying of all.

Once for all; I knew to my sorrow, often and often, if not always, that I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be. Once for all; I loved her none the less because I knew it, and it had no more influence in restraining me than if I had devoutly believed her to be human perfection.

... no varnish can hide the grain of the wood; and that the more varnish you put on, the more the grain will express itself.

… no man who was not a true gentleman at heart ever was, since the world began, a true gentleman in manner.

There, where I have passed, the grass will never grow again.

'In the meantime,' said Abrenuncio, 'play music for her, fill the house with flowers, have the birds sing, take her to the ocean to see the sunsets, give her everything that can make her happy.'

The Marquis lingered over the inventory of his daughter's other surprising lies, not with displeasure but with a certain paternal pride. 'Perhaps she will be a poet,' he said.

Contrary to expectations, the girl submitted without fuss to a meticulous exploration of her body, displaying the same curiosity she might have shown toward a wind-up toy.

"'From this day forward the girl lives in the house,' he said. 'And let it be known here and throughout the kingdom: she has only one family, and that family is white.'"

"If they are going to die of hunger, it is better for them to die here and not among strangers."