Spring Magic Quotes

“It was because she was too yielding, too frightened of unpleasant scenes, that she had allowed herself to be dominated and repressed.”
― D.E. Stevenson, Spring Magic

“She had begun to realise that these people used the English language in a way of their own. They did not ask a question in a straightforward manner but merely made an observation with a questioning inflection in their voices; they never answered a question with a plain yes or no but preferred to answer it with another question.”
― D.E. Stevenson, Spring Magic

“Of all the idiotic laws!” exclaimed Guy, when Annie had gone to fetch it. “Of all the damned silly, fussy, old-womanish laws! I don’t know what we’re coming to. We’re supposed to be fighting for freedom, aren’t we? If this is a free country, why can’t you turn round without being throttled by red tape? Why can’t you get a drink when you need one?”
― D.E. Stevenson, Spring Magic

“It was when General Franco was marching on Madrid,” said Tommy. “Somebody asked him how many troops he had, and he replied that he had four columns with him and a fifth column in Madrid itself. Now, of course, the term fifth column has passed into everyday use and is taken to mean—well, to mean traitors, really, but that wasn’t General Franco’s meaning”
― D.E. Stevenson, Spring Magic

“Mr. MacDonald smiled. “They wouldn’t see and they wouldn’t listen,” he declared. “They never listen to people who try to tell them unpalatable truths. Lord Roberts warned them before the last war and they said he was in his dotage. Winston Churchill, Roger Keyes, Neville Henderson and half a dozen others warned them that Germany was on the warpath again, and all they did was to disarm faster and break up our battleships for scrap. . . . I don’t know whether you have noticed,” continued Mr. MacDonald, “it is rather an extraordinary thing: Churchill has never once said, ‘I told you so,’ or, ‘If you had only listened to me.’ He is a big man, there is no doubt of that.”
― D.E. Stevenson, Spring Magic

“It does not require an economist to realise that a nation’s wealth lies in the wealth of her citizens. Moneyed people are an asset to a nation, paupers are a liability. Take a man with an income of ten thousand a year, he is a valuable asset. The State can depend upon him for a definite yearly income. Then the man dies and the property—instead of passing to his son and continuing to yield the same yearly income to the State—has to be broken up and sold to pay death duties.”
― D.E. Stevenson, Spring Magic

“You don’t mean there are mice here!” exclaimed Frances, looking round in an anxious way. He shook his head. “No, the question was purely academic. It was good of you to answer it so promptly. Psychology has always interested me.” “I suppose you think it’s silly to be frightened of mice,” said Frances indignantly. “Not silly, merely rather odd. The prospect of being swept off a rock and drowned had no power to daunt you, but the moment I mentioned mice you showed considerable alarm.”
― D.E. Stevenson, Spring Magic

“Time was no object in those far-off days.” “No . . . besides, it was a labour of love. If you were very fond of someone it must have been nice to be able to do something for them. It would be comforting, wouldn’t it? You could spend days—or even weeks—making a really distinctive tombstone.”
― D.E. Stevenson, Spring Magic

“Why not let Frances have a holiday?” inquired Μr. Wheeler, who was sick to death of the eternal argument. “It will do her good to be on her own for a bit.” “On her own!” screamed Mrs. Wheeler. “Henry, what nonsense you talk! How can she go and live in a hotel by herself?” “I’m twenty-five,” said Frances desperately. “I can look after myself perfectly well. I want a holiday . . . I’ve never had a holiday in my life.”
― D.E. Stevenson, Spring Magic

“She had thought of marriage, of course (what girl has not?), but she had only thought vaguely: Some day I shall be married and have children. Now she had begun to think seriously, reasonably and frankly, and she saw that unless a miracle happened there was not the slightest chance of her getting married and having children, for she had no opportunity of meeting people of her own age.”
― D.E. Stevenson, Spring Magic

“She did not care for the book herself. It seemed to her that it was a trifle insipid. She knew very little about life, so she was not a very good judge as to whether or not the books of Janetta Walters portrayed life as it really was, or people as they really were, but she had her doubts on the subject. Frances did not care for any of the books on Aunt Zoë’s list, but she was obliged to read them, for she had nothing else to read—you cannot go on reading Dickens indefinitely, however much you may enjoy him.”
― D.E. Stevenson, Spring Magic

“It never occurred to Frances that any other life was possible for her. Wintringham Square was her home—the only home she knew. It never occurred to her that she was working very hard and receiving nothing in return except her board and lodging. She had a little money of her own which had been left to her by her father. It was not very much, but it was more than sufficient to buy her clothes. She was neither happy nor unhappy, for she had a contented nature and no standard by which to measure her life.”
― D.E. Stevenson, Spring Magic

“Mr. Wheeler agreed that she was—he always agreed with his wife, for it was the easiest thing to do. “But I hope she won’t disturb you, Zoë,” he said anxiously. Frances did not disturb her aunt. She was a quiet, gentle child and soon developed a taste for reading, which was a good thing for every one concerned. At ten years old she discovered Dickens, and, as there was a whole set of Dickens in the bookcase in the dining-room, the discovery kept her quieter than before . . . after that came Thackeray and Jane Austen, but Dickens was her first love.”
― D.E. Stevenson, Spring Magic

“The odd thing was that there was scarcely a man in the place who could not produce some sort of firearm. They had no right to possess firearms without a permit, but Mr. MacDonald shut his eyes to this well-known fact and welcomed the motley collection with enthusiasm.”
― D.E. Stevenson, Spring Magic

“Painters sometimes come to Cairn; they set up their easels and mix their colours and paint strange pictures of the place—pictures which, as far as the villagers can see, bear little or no resemblance to the scene.”
― D.E. Stevenson, Spring Magic

“She was a little frightened in anticipation and a little frightened when the test came, but fortunately she was in control of her fear. She pushed it into a corner of her mind and barricaded it in. This left her mind perfectly clear and free to function properly. Of course, one had to keep an eye on the barricade, though Frances, smiling to herself at the absurd simile; one had to see that it was holding firm and keeping the fear-beast from bursting out and making a nuisance of itself . . .”
― D.E. Stevenson, Spring Magic