"The words tasted bitter. Being loyal to the one who owned me gave me prickly thoughts, like burrs trapped in my shift, pressing into my skin with every step" (p. 39).

"Some folks switch back and forth. One day they're for the King, the next, it's all 'liberty and freedom, huzzah!' A tribe of Mr. Facing-Both-Ways, that's what you'll find in New York" (p. 46).

"Ten circles to the left, ten circles to the righty, all make the blade sharp and mighty" (p. 56).

"Idles gossip and pipe smoke," I said. "You hear it on every street corner. It's a wonder we don't all choke to death on it" (p. 83).

"I beseech thee, O Lord, by Thy great mercy take us home, by the hand of Colonel Regan, take us home, in all Thy glory, take us home, ad astra, ad astra, ad astra" (p. 118).

"Madam looked down without seeing...