Convictism having been safely got under hatches, and put to bed in its Government allowance of sixteen inches of space per man, cut a little short by… - Marcus Clarke

I am not a teetotaller — at least, not now. I used to be, but my constitution is not strong, and I could not stand the dissipation.

You cannot bet on friends. They will go and do all sorts of things to spite you. I insured a friend's life once, and got him to assign me the policy. He was a chronic case of rheumatism, and might have died in the course of nature calmly in his bed at any time. We quarrelled one day, and the fellow deliberately sent out and bought a bottle of Connel's East Indian remedies, and took a pint of it every half hour, according to the directions on the label. At the tenth pint he gently dissolved, and the jury brought it in 'determined suicide'. I tried hard to put in a plea of insanity, but it was no use.After this I forswore friendship, except as a gentle stimulant, and in case of sickness.

Distrust the men who make bargains. They are a disgrace to humanity. No man ever saw a dog swap a bone with another dog.