—Lord Clarendon.
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Friendship! the precious gold of life
By age refined, yet ever new;
Tried in the crucible of time
It always rings of service true.
Friendship! the beauteous soul of life
Which gladdens youth and strengthens age;
May it our hearts and lives entwine
Together on life's fleeting page.
—Shaylor.
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Friendship is the shadow of the evening, which strengthens with the setting sun of life.
—La Fontaine.
* * * * *
Friendship, love, and piety, ought to be handled with a sort of mysterious secrecy; they ought to be spoken of only in the rare moments of perfect confidence.