Everything comes to an end, reader. It is an old truism to which may be added that not everything that lasts, lasts for long. This latter part is not… - Machado de Assis

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Everything comes to an end, reader. It is an old truism to which may be added that not everything that lasts, lasts for long. This latter part is not readily admitted; on the contrary the idea that an air castle lasts longer than the very air of which it is made is hard to get out of a person's head, and this is fortunate, otherwise the custom of making those almost eternal constructions might be lost.