Beginning ~ in the best of times

Today, I want to try something different.  Can you read the first sentence(s) in the background of Gilion's button?  I've read that book at least twice, maybe more.  It's a famous quote.  Without cheating, without using Google, can you tell me the name of the book and the author?  Ready, set, go!

I posted another book beginning a couple of days ago:

"Late that night — on our last night — we lay in awe, mesmerized again by the Perseid meteor showers as they transformed stardust into streamers of light."

It's from a book I rated a ten:  The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley, 2013, fiction (Maine), 10/10.  Read what I wrote about the book by clicking on book beginning.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. Click here for today's Mister Linky.