Out of the depths of my happy heart wells a great tide of love and prayer for this priceless treasure that is confided to my lifelong keeping. You cannot see its waves as they flow toward you, darling, but in these lines you will hear...the distant beating of its surf.

Mark Twain's Letters, Volume 3: 1869 (ed. Univ of California Press, 1992) - ISBN: 9780520906082