A Private History of Happiness

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Contents

Cover

Welcome Page

Introduction

Morning

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

Friendship

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 Casual Dinner Party
• Horace

A Free Piano Concert
• Robert Schumann

Garden

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

Family

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

Leisure

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

Nature

The Bliss of Skating
• George Head

An Amusing Owl
• Gilbert White

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

Food and Drink

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

Well-Being

A Landscape Fit for a Stroll
• Thomas Green

The Joy of Coming Home
• Seydi Ali Reis

A World in Bloom
• Pehr Kalm

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

Creativity

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

Love

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

Evening

Moonlight in the Château Garden
• Washington Irving

A Touch of Autumn
• Wang Wei

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

A Stroll along the Water
• Henri Frédéric Amiel

Sweet Calm after a Storm
• Francis Higginson

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