Read A Private History of Happiness Online
Authors: George Myerson
A Sunday Ride without Worry
• Isabella Bird
Jackdaw Song Breaks the Mist
• John James Audubon
A Plunge into Cold Water
• Friedrich Schleiermacher
The First Glow of Sun on the Wet Mountain
• Hsu Hsia-k’o
Keen Air on Christmas Day
• Henry White
A Glorious Sunrise Dispels the Gloom
• Patrick Kenny
The Urge to Linger in a Warm Bed
• Marcus Aurelius
Winter Dawn in the Cathedral Close
• Anna Seward
Time Together with an Ancient Book
• Willem de Clercq
A Climb to the Top of the Hill
• Kamo no Chomei
A Breakfast Served with Stories and Laughter
• George Cutler
The Freedom of Dancing through the Night
• Robert Burns
In Anticipation of a Gentleman’s Visit
• Mary Russell Mitford
The Familiar Delight of Chitchat
• Sarah Connell
A Free Piano Concert
• Robert Schumann
A Glad Return to the Old Pine Tree
• Tao Yuanming
A Touch of Spring
• Thomas Gray
Floral Abundance
• Mary Dawson-Damer
The Hours before Dawn at the Imperial Court
• Murasaki Shikibu
Perfect Fragrance
• Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq
The Pleasant Distraction of a Blooming Greenhouse
• William Cowper
The Manmade Rainbow
• Michel de Montaigne
Flowers and Fruits Blaze for a Birthday
• Oliver Wendell Holmes
The Sweet Thought of the Children
•
Yamanoue no Okura
An Outing to the Park
• Charlotte Bousfield
Pride in an Unfinished New Home
• Tryphena White
Together Again, At Last
• Du Fu
Deep Gratitude for Health
• John Hull
A Father’s Gift of Fruit and Sugar
• Edmund Verney
The Loving Presence of Her Children
•
Hannah Mary Rathbone
A Warm Welcome by the In-Laws
• Ann Warder
The Amazing Pelican
• John Evelyn
The Count’s Invitation to a Ball
•
Mary Wortley Montagu
The Governor’s Guests
• Ouyang Xiu
On Top of an Active Volcano
• Mary Berry
A Visit to a Literary Salon
• Karl August Varnhagen von Ense
A Doorway into Antiquity
• Benjamin Silliman
The Landscape Painting
• Emma Willard
Magic Lights and Fireworks under the Moon
• Jane Knox
The Bliss of Skating
• George Head
A Vast Sheet of Frozen Water
• William Whewell
The First Sight of the Mountains
• Lucy Larcom
The Celebrated Pine Tree
• Matsuo Basho
The Wonderful Mist of the Waterfall
• John Goldie
New Year’s Day in the Heavens and on Earth
• Hattori Ransetsu
On Top of the World
• Edward Price
A Fine White Beach
• Hannah Callender
The Source of the River
• William Turner
The Peerless Plum
• Ibn Battuta
Home-Style Cooking on the Wagon Trail
• Lodisa Frizzell
A Philosopher’s Last Taste of Life
• Hermippus
The Sea Air Gives a Good Appetite
• Thomas Turner
A Handful of Refreshing Well Water
• Lady Sarashina
A Tasty Dinner in a Rustic Tavern
• Cyrus P. Bradley
The Excellence of Marinaded Pilchards
• Humphry Davy
A Great Plenty of Party Treats
• Anna Winslow
A Landscape Fit for a Stroll
• Thomas Green
The Joy of Coming Home
• Seydi Ali Reis
Home, Sweet Home
• Jane Welsh Carlyle
A Traveler’s Sweeping Prospect
• Benjamin of Tudela
The Joy of Finding a Vocation
• Jarena Lee
Winter Sunshine on a Warm Wall
• George Eliot
A Peaceful, Late-Night Bath
• Walter Scott
A Long and Rewarding Life
• Ptah-Hotep
A Cottage Near the Sea
• William Blake
A Shady Grove on a Hot Day
• Sappho
The Pleasure of Mathematical Solutions
• Bhaskara
A Day among Great Thinkers
• Ralph Thoresby
A Long-Sought Great Idea
• Anselm of Canterbury
The Feeling of Inner Strength
• Sojourner Truth
The Reward of Studying the Stars
• Ptolemy
The Longing to Write
• Francesco Petrarca
Paternal Praise for a First Novel
• Fanny Burney
The Lightning Flash of Knowledge
• Benjamin Franklin
The Vitality of Spring
• Edward FitzGerald
The Best Perfume
• Elizabeth Barrett
A Thousand Kisses
• Honoré de Balzac
The Harmony of Souls
• John Smith
A Tingling about the Heart
• Sydney Owenson
A Skeptic Has Lost His Head
• Leo Tolstoy
Venus Kept Her Promise
• Sulpicia
A Matchless Face
• Richardson Pack
The Softness of His Lips
• Mary Wollstonecraft
A Comfortable Moment of Communion
• Claire de Rémusat
Life Surpasses Art
• Benjamin Haydon
Moonlight in the Château Garden
• Washington Irving
The Music of the Mountain
• Hans Christian Andersen
Books That Bring the Past Alive
• Niccolò Machiavelli
A Sense of Beauty as the Sun Sets
• Unknown Author
The Heart Comes Home to Quietness
• Dorothy Wordsworth