Sweet is the memory of ...

Sweet is the memory of distant friends! Like the mellow rays of the departing sun, it falls tenderly, yet sadly, on the heart.
 Washington Irving

Quotes from the same author

Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart.
 Washington Irving
A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.
 Washington Irving
A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands. But a mother's love endures through all.
 Washington Irving
The tie which links mother and child is of such pure and immaculate strength as to be never violated.
 Washington Irving
A tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use.
 Washington Irving