"Firm" Quotes from Famous Books
 ... overlordship had been a desolating disaster to the loyal vassal of the good Duke Charles of Savoy, who, when Francois I despoiled him of all but a remnant of his duchy, was sent into a poverty-stricken exile. A less firm resistance on the part of Count Jean against the encroaching powers of the confederated cities would have brought a like fate on Gruyere. In an epoch of transition, when the old feudal order was giving place to the increasingly triumphant democracy in Switzerland, in a period embittered ...
— The Counts of Gruyere • Mrs. Reginald de Koven
... continues to balance the need for economic loosening against a desire for firm political control. It has undertaken limited reforms in recent years to increase enterprise efficiency and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services but is unlikely to implement extensive changes. A major feature of the economy is the dichotomy between ...
— The 2003 CIA World Factbook • United States. Central Intelligence Agency
... invitation. In referring to this offer in one of his letters, written a year after it was made, he thus balances the difficulties of the question—"The fires of civil war," says he, "are raging in Germany. Shall I then cross the sea whither Wotton invites me? I, a German, a lover of firm land, who dread the confinement of an island, who presage its dangers, and must drag along with me my little wife and flock of children?" As Kepler seems to have entertained no doubt of his being well provided for in England, it is the more probable that the British Sovereign had made ...
— The Martyrs of Science, or, The lives of Galileo, Tycho Brahe, and Kepler • David Brewster
... a ball of firm twine and rubbed it well with white chalk. The cord was fastened tightly across ...
— A Little Maid of Ticonderoga • Alice Turner Curtis
... to set the example to other classes, hang back, that glorious object may never be accomplished, and I shall die a maiden; for I swear to you I will never wed while our country remains enslaved," exclaimed Dona Dolores in a firm tone. ...
— In New Granada - Heroes and Patriots • W.H.G. Kingston
... hairs back tightly, apply a drop of water-proof lacquer to the base of the hairs and the hook, and repeat the same process of tying on a small bunch of hair, each time pressing it back tightly. Remember this is important, because the hair must be as close together as possible to make a firm, ...
— How to Tie Flies • E. C. Gregg
... plunge in with him; and that if the other man is up to his waist, the sympathizer shows his friendliness by allowing the mud to come up to his neck. Whereas, it is evident that the deeper my friend is immersed in a swamp, the more sure I must be to keep on firm ground that I may help him out; and sometimes I cannot even give my hand, but must use a long pole, the more surely to relieve him from danger. It is the same with a mental or moral swamp, or most of all with a nervous ...
— Power Through Repose • Annie Payson Call
... He made a firm resolve once again, he would not speak to her at all, any more than he had done the last three days in Paris. He would accept the position until the Wrayth rejoicings were over, and then he would certainly make arrangements to go and shoot lions, ...
— The Reason Why • Elinor Glyn
... my suggestions, and he had ordered the Privy Council Bill to be altered accordingly. Fell in with the Duke of Wellington, who took my arm, told his cabriolet to follow, and walked the whole way back to Apsley House, quite firm and strong. He looks very old and worn, and speaks very slowly, but quite distinctly; talked about the China question and other things, and seemed clear enough. He was pleased with his reception at Court, and told me particularly how civil Prince Albert had been to him, and indeed to everybody ...
— The Greville Memoirs (Second Part) - A Journal of the Reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1852 - (Volume 1 of 3) • Charles C. F. Greville
... monocle and inserted it in his unillumined eye. He also looked across the room. Emily wore the black evening dress which gave such opportunities to her square white shoulders and firm column of throat; the country air and sun had deepened the colour on her cheek, and the light of the nearest lamp fell kindly on the big twist of her nut-brown hair, and burnished it. She looked soft and warm, and so generously interested ...
— Emily Fox-Seton - Being The Making of a Marchioness and The Methods of Lady Walderhurst • Frances Hodgson Burnett
... will probably settle our difficulties, now and forever. They were introduced into Congress by a distinguished and an able man—a statesman, whose integrity and fidelity no one has ever questioned, and no one will question. It is my firm belief that the States can adopt them without any material sacrifice, and that they will adopt them if they ...
— A Report of the Debates and Proceedings in the Secret Sessions of the Conference Convention • Lucius Eugene Chittenden
... strive rather to subdue the wicked by meekness. Every wound is not healed by the same plaster; assuage inflammations by lenitives. Be not intimidated by those who seem worthy of faith, yet teach things that are foreign. Stand firm, as an anvil which is beaten: it is the property of a true champion to be struck and to conquer. Let not the widows be neglected. Let religious assemblies be most frequent. Seek out every one in them by name. Despise not the slaves, neither suffer ...
— The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints - January, February, March • Alban Butler
... conditions under which they live, that none of them could be still better adapted or improved; for in all countries, the natives have been so far conquered by naturalised productions that they have allowed some foreigners to take firm possession of the land. And as foreigners have thus in every country beaten some of the natives, we may safely conclude that the natives might have been modified with advantage, so as to have ...
— On the Origin of Species - 6th Edition • Charles Darwin
... looked down the long, elm-bordered street; her golden-brown eyes had a hurt look, but her mouth was firm. She turned again to Miss Arabella with a faint smile. Her ...
— Treasure Valley • Marian Keith
... retired from the unequal combat and slowly wriggled into the grass. Presently, the "urchin" uncoiled, and, as soon as the inquisitive little snout discovered the whereabouts of the snake, started in pursuit. With a hard, firm bite, she luckily managed to break the backbone of the viper; then, at once, she again assumed the shape of a ball. Desperate now, the snake expended all its remaining strength in wild attacks, till, limp and helpless, ...
— Creatures of the Night - A Book of Wild Life in Western Britain • Alfred W. Rees
... builds a dwelling near the banks of ponds or swamps to shelter it from the bitter cold of the winter, but never on land, always on the ice, as soon as it is firm enough, taking care to keep a hole open to admit it to dive for its food, which chiefly consists of the roots of grass or arums. It sometimes happens in very cold winters that the holes communicating with their dwellings ...
— Pioneers in Canada • Sir Harry Johnston
... went straight to the studio, and—my dears! I am glad I didn't happen to be in the house, that's all. I know what my father is like when he can't find a clothes-brush, or someone has moved the matches out of the dressing- room. Millais raged about like a wild animal, but his wife was quite firm and determined, and wouldn't tell him where it was for several days. He was obliged to go out and interest himself in other ways, and when he was quite well again she had the picture brought up, and he simply looked at it and laughed. He knew at once ...
— Pixie O'Shaughnessy • Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey
... will withhold my word until I shall be brought before your chiefs in council. I shall have much to say to them; it need be said only once. I shall be pleased to tell my truths to the Big Throat, whose eyes can see beyond the limits of his lodge; who knows that the hand of Onontio is a firm and strong hand. He shall know from my lips how kind Onontio wishes to be to his ungrateful children—" He paused. The Indians must not know yet that the Governor's campaign was to be directed only against the Senecas. The mention of the Big Throat ...
— The Road to Frontenac • Samuel Merwin
... buckler's light should be impaired, And willed as well those beauteous eyes should be Defended, which had him already snared. Pressing beneath his paunch full half the sea, Now to the shore the monstrous whale repaired: Firm stood Rogero, and the veil undone, Appeared to ...
— Orlando Furioso • Lodovico Ariosto
... There was such a ring of joyful faith in his voice I felt convinced there was one praying for me who had a firm hold ...
— Medoline Selwyn's Work • Mrs. J. J. Colter
... firm. She Was really good to Mary Isabel as long as Mary Isabel gave her her own way peaceably. But if she had known Mary Isabel's secret she would never have permitted those walks ...
— Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1907 to 1908 • Lucy Maud Montgomery
... again the next day after my marriage. But both my bride and I wanted the ceremony to take place at the appointed time, and it did, although within twenty-four hours thereafter I had to go away on a venture that gave a good chance of making my new wife a widow. But she was as firm as I was that my first duty was to answer the call of our country, and she waved me away from ...
— The New York Times Current History of the European War, Vol 1, Issue 4, January 23, 1915 • Various
... into a mortal in any manner they might judge efficacious. After a short and unsuccessful argument, they had recourse to the same potent instrument of conversion, as they had applied to the back of the queen. The son of Vulcan, deserted in this extremity by all his votaries, still made a firm stand for his celestial dignity, till the blood began to stream from his back and shoulders, when he finally yielded, and renounced all pretensions to a ...
— Lander's Travels - The Travels of Richard Lander into the Interior of Africa • Robert Huish
... of her firm cheeks. "I'd rather be ugly, mother, than wear those funny things. Look, mummy," she ran to her mother's chair and touched her cheek. "You've got a wrinkle! But—I love it." With passionate tenderness she kissed ...
— Highacres • Jane Abbott
... country; for her complexion, though very delicate, has been burnt biscuit color by some warmer sun than England's; and yet there is, for a very subtle observer, a link between them. For she has a glass of water in her hand, and a rapidly clearing cloud of Spartan obstinacy on her tiny firm set mouth and quaintly squared eyebrows. If the least line of conscience could be traced between those eyebrows, an Evangelical might cherish some faint hope of finding her a sheep in wolf's clothing - for her frock is recklessly pretty - but as the ...
— You Never Can Tell • [George] Bernard Shaw
... north point of Suvla Bay. We were there at 7.30 p.m. and were to embark at 8. It was a weary trudge, for we were heavily laden, along the very edge of the bay to take advantage of the narrow strip of firm sand that gets washed by the "tideless Mediterranean". Our four Battalions were present, and after some delay over our baggage, all which was finally got on board, the great lumbering barge, which had 400 men and all the regimental baggage ...
— The Incomparable 29th and the "River Clyde" • George Davidson
... has manifestly not been bountiful to her in this respect. Her voice—the mere organ—may have been in her earlier years exceeded in quality by many other vocalists. But what is it now? Perfect in intonation; its lower tones forcible; the middle voice firm and full; the upper interval sweet and ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, Complete • Various
... going to study," said Maria, in a firm voice. "She can't have Evelyn. Run down-stairs, darling; run ...
— By the Light of the Soul - A Novel • Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
... firebrand, Walker, who had previously refused to leave the country, though Carleton had given him the chance of doing so. Mrs Walker, as much a rebel as her husband, interviewed Carleton and noted in her diary that he 'said many severe Things in very soft & Polite Termes.' Carleton was firm. Walker's actions, words, and correspondence all proved him a dangerous rebel whom no governor could possibly leave at large without breaking his oath of office. Walker, who had himself caused so many outrageous ...
— The Father of British Canada: A Chronicle of Carleton • William Wood
... Propertius from a dinner, and a slave led him into the famous garden where the prime minister often received his guests. Virgil was with him now, and they both cordially greeted the young official. As he gave his message, his face, moulded into firm, strong lines by his habits of thought, was softened as if by a personal regret. The three men stood in silence for a moment, and then ...
— Roads from Rome • Anne C. E. Allinson
... meet you there," said Manius. Vergilius, putting away his weapon, turned quickly, and, without speaking, left the traitor's palace with firm faith in the one God—that he was ever on the side of the just who humbly sought ...
— Vergilius - A Tale of the Coming of Christ • Irving Bacheller
... beef has a fine grain, a yellowish-white fat, and is firm. When first cut it will be of a dark red color, which changes to a bright red after a few minutes' exposure to the air. It will also have a juicy appearance; the suet will be dry, crumble easily and be nearly free from fibre. The flesh and fat of the ox and cow will be darker, and will appear ...
— Miss Parloa's New Cook Book • Maria Parloa
... two passages taken from Hunt's writing in the Tatler (a charming little paper which it was one of the first ventures of the young firm of Chapman and Hall to attempt to establish for Hunt in 1830), to which accident had unluckily attracted Dickens's notice:—"Supposing us to be in want of patronage, and in possession of talent enough to make it an honour ...
— The Life of Charles Dickens, Vol. I-III, Complete • John Forster
... But it is so now, and I am filled with deep regret that you are going and with deep gratitude that you came to us and were here when the war broke out and subsequently. If the United States had been represented here by any one less decided as to the right and wrong of the war and less firm and courageous than yourself, the whole of the relations between your country and ours would have been in peril. And if the two countries had gone apart instead of coming together the whole fate of the world would be very different from ...
— The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page, Volume II • Burton J. Hendrick
... perished almost totally; and this was the prediction of Pasteur. In two out of the fourteen cases, instead of the prophesied destruction, half an average crop was obtained. Now, the parcels of eggs here referred to were considered healthy by their owners. They had been hatched and tended in the firm hope that the labour expended on them would prove remunerative. The application of the moth-test for a few minutes in 1866, would have saved the labour and averted the disappointment. Two additional parcels of eggs were at the same time ...
— Fragments of science, V. 1-2 • John Tyndall
... what you mean—I know what you mean—I believe I understand the firm's interest in my department. I ought, after forty years studying it. I've studied the firm's interest for forty years, Mr. Gerald. I'm not likely ...
— Touch and Go • D. H. Lawrence
... sir! He was so firm, wasn't he, above every one! Even his rector used to look to him and be guided by him. And now he's as gentle and weak almost as a new-born ...
— The Dweller on the Threshold • Robert Smythe Hichens
... more firm," he snarled, nearly falling down. At that everybody laughed. Finally he placed himself, and all waited for him to begin. This is how he sang the words of the ...
— Operas Every Child Should Know - Descriptions of the Text and Music of Some of the Most Famous Masterpieces • Mary Schell Hoke Bacon
... his back square on Brodie and with his hand firm on Gloria's arm led her along the ridge. They passed about a wind-worn rock, and Gloria looked back, hoping that it had hidden them already from Brodie; she saw his head over the top of it, felt upon her the eyes ...
— The Everlasting Whisper • Jackson Gregory
... refused to accept the challenge, the stigma of cowardice would stick to him all his life, and on the other, he would have to give up his profession if he should have a scar inflicted under such circumstances. Human nature conquered, and he was about to return insult for insult, when a firm, strong hand was ...
— Under the Rebel's Reign • Charles Neufeld
... day of sight-seeing than usual, and she looked pale and tired, as having finished dressing earlier than he she sat in the window, looking down at the brilliant street beneath them, waiting for him to take her down to dinner—and spoke in the unmistakably firm tone that he ...
— The Old Gray Homestead • Frances Parkinson Keyes
... instance, which curiosity leads one to examine in spite of the aversion it raises. The poor thing couldn't bear that; she grew white and red in rapid succession, and, while tears beaded her lashes, bent the strength of her small fingers to loosen the firm clutch of Catherine; and perceiving that as fast as she raised one finger off her arm another closed down, and she could not remove the whole together, she began to make use of her nails; and their sharpness ...
— Wuthering Heights • Emily Bronte
... of "Pastor Emeritus." She gives up the shadow of authority, but keeps a good firm hold on ...
— Innocents abroad • Mark Twain
... Palma christi, and the manufacture of castor oil, is extensively carried on in some parts of the United States, and continues on the increase. A single firm at St. Louis has worked up 18,500 bushels of beans in four months, producing 17,750 gallons of oil, and it is stated that 800 barrels have been sold, at 50 dollars per barrel. The oil may be prepared for burning, for machinery, soap, ...
— The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom • P. L. Simmonds
... squares of France; he is afraid of Jacques Lefebvre. What will Jacques Lefebvre say? And Jacques Lefebvre is afraid of the Twelfth Arrondissement. * What will the Twelfth Arrondissement say? The Twelfth Arrondissement does not like the English: we must stand firm against the English; but it does not like war: we must give way to the English. Stand firm and give way. Reconcile that. The Twelfth Arrondissement governs Jacques Lefebvre, Jacques Lefebvre governs Guizot; ...
— The Memoirs of Victor Hugo • Victor Hugo
... Wounds, that long hence may ask their spouses' care, And warn their children from a Trojan war. Now, through the circuit of our Ilion wall, Let sacred heralds sound the solemn call; To bid the sires with hoary honours crowned, And beardless youths, our battlements surround. Firm be the guard, while distant lie our powers, And let the matrons hang with lights the towers: Lest, under covert of the midnight shade, The insidious foe the naked town invade. Suffice, to-night, these orders to obey; ...
— MacMillan's Reading Books - Book V • Anonymous
... him that was better than to be beasts of prey. I thought afterward I wasn't very polite. I don't mean to go headlong against other folks' prejudices; but the fact is, a man never knows with what impetus he is going till he comes up against a post. I like to see a man firm as a rock in his opinions. I have a sort of a respect for a rock, even if it is a little mossy. But when I come across a post, I like to give it a shaking, to find out whether it's rotten at the foundation. As to things in general, I calculate ...
— A Romance of the Republic • Lydia Maria Francis Child
... to you, my dear. You are firm enough and wise enough to succeed where others would probably fail. The only alternative that I can think of is to send her to an expensive school where she will certainly not be prepared for the battle of life. As for sending her to a lower style of place, and making ...
— Hetty Gray - Nobody's Bairn • Rosa Mulholland
... descended from my post of observation, intending to travel in a straight line to the point where I could still see the smoke ascending. I had not, however, proceeded 100 yards, before I found that my idea of journeying in a straight line was utterly impracticable. I could walk over the firm soil, and I could swim the pools; but through the deep masses of soft bog I could neither walk nor swim; and after a narrow escape from smothering in one of them, I came to a stand-still. I found, too, that now I was down in the swamp, I could not see the ...
— Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 458 - Volume 18, New Series, October 9, 1852 • Various
... cried Amy, with the same firm tone in which, upon a previous visit, in this room, she had dismissed the insolent shopman, "how can you say such things?" and she stood radiant before her aunt, ...
— Trumps • George William Curtis
... of medium size and height, with a figure pleasingly proportioned. His shoulders squarely set, and chest rounded out, tell of great strength; while limbs tersely knit, and a firm elastic tread betoken toughness and activity. Features of smooth, regular outline—the jaws broad, and well balanced; the chin prominent; the nose nearly Grecian— while eminently handsome, proclaim a noble nature, with courage equal to any ...
— The Death Shot - A Story Retold • Mayne Reid
... himself well in hand," remarked Abyedok, watching young Petunikoff's every movement and action. Having taken all the measurements he desired, Ivan Andreyevitch knit his brows, got into the cart, and drove away. His son went with a firm step into Vaviloff's eating-house, and disappeared ...
— Creatures That Once Were Men • Maxim Gorky
... you, sir," he said. "Now look here!" Folsom strode up and put his firm hand on the old man's chest. "Brace up and tell what you know about this. Look me in the eye and tell me you didn't do it. No, you can't hide behind Mother Pawket." Folsom's grave glance reduced Mrs. Pawket to a helpless flutter. "She's probably ...
— The Best Short Stories of 1919 - and the Yearbook of the American Short Story • Various
... three-decimeter pike, shining with a bright silver glow; Guaranian mackerel furnished with two anal fins; black-tinted rudderfish that you catch by using torches, fish measuring two meters and boasting white, firm, plump meat that, when fresh, tastes like eel, when dried, like smoked salmon; semired wrasse sporting scales only at the bases of their dorsal and anal fins; grunts on which gold and silver mingle their ...
— 20000 Leagues Under the Seas • Jules Verne
... I do try to be firm, and to set aside all the old stories of demons, dragons and goblins in the mountains. I wish the herr would have a watch kept again, for I am afraid that this ...
— The Crystal Hunters - A Boy's Adventures in the Higher Alps • George Manville Fenn
... of a so-called Nathan Early, at the beginning of Osgood Mason's book, has the eyebrows, eyes, and mouth of a much mesmerised man. The mouth has not become stiffened into a laugh, as he was of a gentle firm disposition, and the hypnotism probably ...
— Inferences from Haunted Houses and Haunted Men • John Harris
... master for a bribe! He last of all. I say this friend of mine Was brave when all the rest were cowards there. His was a noble nature: frank and bold, Almost to rashness bold, yet sensitive, Who took his dreams for firm realities— Who once believing, all in all believed— Rushing at obstacles and scorning risk, Ready to venture all to gain his end, No compromise or subterfuge for him, His act went from his thought straight to the butt; Yet with this ardent and impatient mood Was joined a visionary mind ...
— A Roman Lawyer in Jerusalem - First Century • W. W. Story
... friend I have on earth. It is about three weeks now since I finished the last month's medicines, and I feel as strong as I ever did in my life. When I commenced taking your medicines I only weighed 155 pounds, but now I weigh 170 pounds. I feel strong and rugged; my step is firm and bold; and I feel altogether a new man, for which I return ...
— The People's Common Sense Medical Adviser in Plain English • R. V. Pierce
... broader than he had expected; and before he got over, he found Alice heavier than he could have believed; but upon a firm, rocky bottom, Richard waded through in safety. When he reached the other side, he found that the bank was a lofty, smooth, perpendicular rock, with some rough steps cut in it. By and by the steps led them right into the rock, and they were in a narrow passage once more, but, this time, leading ...
— Cross Purposes and The Shadows • George MacDonald
... fully eighty-four, though his robust health, his upright figure, his firm step, and the absence of any infirmity might indicate some fifteen or twenty years less. His face would have appeared to me extremely handsome, had not a certain harshness of expression brought before my eyes, in spite of myself, the shades of his fathers. I very much fear that, externally ...
— Mauprat • George Sand
... but we had excitement enough and to spare, for, six days before our 'landfall,' the bo'sun discovered fire in the fore-hold that had evidently been smouldering for some time, was deep-seated, and had secured a firm hold. ...
— The Brassbounder - A Tale of the Sea • David W. Bone
... urged, implored; but her conviction was proof against all. It seemed to be the one thing on earth on which she was firm, and that her firmness in this had left her tottering in every other ...
— Jude the Obscure • Thomas Hardy
... whole structure of what we call civilization is built upon wooden timbers, ax-hewn or machine finished as the case may be. Without the product of the forests humanity would never have learned the use of fire, the primitive bow and arrow or the bulging galleys of ancient commerce. Without the firm and fibrous flesh of the mighty monarchs of the forest men might never have had barges for fishing or weapons for the chase; they would not have had carts for their oxen or kilns for the fashioning of pottery; they would not have had dwellings, ...
— The Centralia Conspiracy • Ralph Chaplin
... miserable, and so full of dread. What, if after all the Proserpine should be overmatched, and he and his companions again fall into the hands of the French, or should perhaps Devereux, or O'Grady, or his firm friend Reuben Cole, be killed! Suddenly he remembered what his mother often had told him, that in all troubles and difficulties he should pray; and so he hid his face in the pillow, and prayed that his countrymen might come off victorious, and that the lives of his friends ...
— Paul Gerrard - The Cabin Boy • W.H.G. Kingston
... would harmlessly glance off from me, or the pistol would miss fire," replied Napoleon, in a tone of firm conviction. "Fate did not place me here to fall by the hands of an assassin! Go, gentlemen, and accept my thanks for your zeal and sympathy. M. de Vincennes, return to Vienna; I shall keep your papers here. Is Count Haugwitz still ...
— LOUISA OF PRUSSIA AND HER TIMES • Louise Muhlbach
... set to work early next morning at raft-making and ice-cutting; but we made the attempt to cross at a portion of the river where the open water was narrower and the bordering ice sounded more firm to the testing blows of the axe. One part of the river had now closed in, but the ice over it was unsafe. We succeeded in' getting the craft into the running water and, having strung together all the available line and rope we possessed, ...
— The Great Lone Land - A Narrative of Travel and Adventure in the North-West of America • W. F. Butler
... 58. A firm was making electric toasters. In the experimental laboratory they tried various weights of resistance wire for the toasters. They tried a very fine wire, No. 30; a medium weight wire, No. 24; and a heavy wire, No. 18. One of these wires did not get ...
— Common Science • Carleton W. Washburne
... number of populous towns so closely situated in regard to each other, some on the water, and others on the firm ground, we could not help comparing this wonderful country to the enchanted scenes we read of in Amadis de Gaul, so magnificent were the towers and temples and other superb edifices of stone and lime, which seemed everywhere to rise out of the water. Many of us were disposed ...
— A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. IV. • Robert Kerr
... the existence of Vampyres first took its rise in Norway and Sweden, from whence it rapidly spread to more southern regions, taking a firm hold of the imaginations of the more ...
— Varney the Vampire - Or the Feast of Blood • Thomas Preskett Prest
... seemed to amuse and interest the old war-horse greatly. He went to his desk and brought back a sheet of paper, half of which was covered with a small, firm handwriting. It was his next day's broadside, not ...
— Antwerp to Gallipoli - A Year of the War on Many Fronts—and Behind Them • Arthur Ruhl
... reflection she returned to the house, and, after disturbing Mr. Alwynn, who was deep in a catalogue of the Danvers manuscripts, in which it was his firm conviction that he should find some mention of the charters, she went into the library, and wondered which of the several thousands of books would interest her till the others ...
— The Danvers Jewels, and Sir Charles Danvers • Mary Cholmondeley
... with her brilliant eyes he tightened his shoulders and stood firm, while his spirit braced itself against persuasion. If it was the ...
— Mr. Waddington of Wyck • May Sinclair
... side a sturdy live-oak Spread its green, protecting branches; Quick he strove to carve the token Which should speak to all who followed. C. R. O., in bold, plain letters[S] Cut he in the tree's firm body, When a random, poisoned arrow Pierced his ...
— The White Doe - The Fate of Virginia Dare • Sallie Southall Cotten
... by the tall back of my heavy chair to save me from falling, on my knees; but a firm hand thrust it aside, and I was clasped in a pair of old yet strong arms to a faithful heart, and when I heard Cousin Maud's voice in mine ear, though half-choked with tears, crying: "My poor, poor, dear good Margery!" meseemed that ...
— Uarda • Georg Ebers
... I glad that I had brought the collier, for the marsh was treacherous and hard to pass in places. But he knew the firm ground, as it were, by nature, and we went on quickly enough. Now and then we passed huts, but they were empty; for away across the wide river mouth at Burnham, though we rode not into that village, we could see the six long black ships as they lay at Stert, and the smoke of the fires their ...
— A Thane of Wessex • Charles W. Whistler
... the formation of the half-carbonised wood-meal which the drilling loosens from the light-stock and in which the red heat arises. When fire is to be lighted by means of this implement, the lower part of the drill pin is daubed over with a little train-oil, one foot holds the light-stock firm against the ground, the bowstring is put round the drill pin, the left hand presses the pin with the drill block against the light-stock, and the bow is carried backwards and forwards, not very rapidly, but evenly, steadily, and uninterruptedly, until fire appears. A couple of minutes are generally ...
— The Voyage of the Vega round Asia and Europe, Volume I and Volume II • A.E. Nordenskieold
... obedience, patient endurance, the abnegation of selfishness,—these are the lessons the sea teaches. Why must the shore make such diabolical haste and try such fiendish ingenuity to undo them? The sea is pure and free, the land is firm and stable,—but where they meet, the tide rises and falls, leaving a little belt of sodden mud, of slippery, slimy weeds, where the dead refuse of the sea is cast up to rot in the hot sun. Something such is the welcome the men of the sea get from that shore which they serve. ...
— Atlantic Monthly, Volume 3, Issue 15, January, 1859 • Various
... said, "but not too indulgent; she will require strictness of management, for with such impetuosity of nature her judgment must often err. She is too young as yet for me to be able to foresee the particular bent her character will assume, but I entreat you to be her candid friend and firm adviser when ...
— Graham's Magazine Vol XXXII. No. 5. May 1848 • Various
... Bill? Was he sick? Had there been an accident, and was he hurt—possibly dead? There was an icy grip at her heart, though her voice was quite firm as she replied: ...
— The Promise - A Tale of the Great Northwest • James B. Hendryx
... cried) "like Grecians; we will leave our sons A bright example. Let each warrior bind Firmly his mail, and grasp his lance, and scowl From underneath his helm a frown of death Upon his shrinking foe; then let him fix His firm, unbending knee, and where he fights There fall." They heard, and, on their shields Clashing the war-song with a noble rage, Rushed headlong in the conflict of the fight, And died, as ...
— Mosaics of Grecian History • Marcius Willson and Robert Pierpont Willson
... wench? why drink? and why do you Allow him money to afford all this? You let him dress too fine. 'Tis idle in you." —'Tis hard in him, unjust and out of reason. And he, I think, deceives himself indeed, Who fancies that authority more firm Founded on force, than what is built on friendship; For thus I reason, thus persuade myself: He who performs his duty driven to't By fear of punishment, while he believes His actions are observ'd, so long he's wary; But if he hopes for secrecy, returns To his own ways again: ...
— The Comedies of Terence • Publius Terentius Afer
... he answered, "plead in favour of these poor creatures, and I refuse to return them under any less than the direct order of the King." The King, to his credit—it was Louis XV.—stood firm also. Beauveau it was, likewise, who refused support to Maupeou's infamous scheme to stifle the whole magistracy and rule the country without a court ...
— The False Chevalier - or, The Lifeguard of Marie Antoinette • William Douw Lighthall
... were thrown open, and among them that of Nicanor. The trumpets blew a signal and out they poured into the Court of Women, driving in the Roman guards and outposts as sticks and straws are driven by a sudden flood. But the legionaries beyond were warned, and locking their shields together stood firm, so that the Jews fell back from their iron line as such a flood falls from an opposing rock. Yet they would not retreat, but fought furiously, killing many of the Romans, until at length Titus charged on them at the head of a squadron ...
— Pearl-Maiden • H. Rider Haggard
... European associates. For this reason the Reform movement, as it eventually took place, has in some ways the appearance of and has very frequently been stigmatized as an organization planned and promoted outside the Transvaal. The fact is that Mr. Alfred Beit, of the firm of Wernher, Beit and Co., London, and Mr. Cecil Rhodes, managing director of the Consolidated Goldfields, may be regarded as the chiefs to whom the ultimate decision as to whether it was necessary from the capitalistic point of view ...
— The Transvaal from Within - A Private Record of Public Affairs • J. P. Fitzpatrick
... nest would seem to cost more time and skill than any other bird structure. A peculiar flax-like substance seems to be always sought after and always found. The nest when completed assumes the form of a large, suspended gourd. The walls are thin but firm, and proof against the most driving rain. The mouth is hemmed or overhanded with horse-hair, and the sides are usually sewed through and ...
— Wake-Robin • John Burroughs
... old lady replied. "He would make the best possible husband for you." She smiled like a grand inquisitor at prospect of a pleasant day with rack and screw. "He needs a firm hand," said she. ...
— The Fashionable Adventures of Joshua Craig • David Graham Phillips
... commanded. She was firm and she felt she was right if not just. Underneath it all lurked the fear, the dreadful fear that she may have been a child of love, the illegitimate offspring of passion. It was the weight that crushed her almost to lifelessness; it was the ...
— The Daughter of Anderson Crow • George Barr McCutcheon
... lived with his son and daughter in Cambridge. His wife was dead. I had been acquainted with the professor and his family for some time. I first met his son, Alan, during our university days at Harvard. We liked each other at once, and became firm friends—possibly because we were such opposite physical types, ...
— The Fire People • Ray Cummings
... of a fine poetic thought, says John Hay, that "Mr. Lincoln took, and, in a new development and perfect form, gave to it the life and spirit and beauty which have made it celebrated." As it appears in the President-elect's clear, firm handwriting, it reads as follows: "I am loth to close. We are not enemies but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching ...
— A Political History of the State of New York, Volumes 1-3 • DeAlva Stanwood Alexander
... to allow my wife the fullest freedom of action. Proud of her skill as an artist, I went so far as to insist on her going back into her brother's studio to resume her modeling. "You are not my house-keeper—you are a member of a firm. I prefer to have you ...
— A Daughter of the Middle Border • Hamlin Garland
... so oft-repeated prayer; for now I remembered that with the flood this ship was to sail for Nombre de Dios, where, safe-dungeoned and secure against my coming lay my hated foe and deadly enemy, Richard Brandon. And now, in my vain and self-deluding pride (my heart firm-set on this miserable man, his undoing and destruction) I cast me down on my knees and babbled forth my passionate gratitude to Him that is from everlasting to everlasting the God of Mercy, Love ...
— Martin Conisby's Vengeance • Jeffery Farnol
... repugnance of the whole man to the meanness or malignity. And the very clearness of his vision gives terrible power to his vituperation. With his keen, bright eye he sees just where the vulnerable spot is, and with his firm, strong hand he sends the arrow in. The victim writhes and reels and—does not love the marksman. And as the victim has a large circle of relatives by birth and marriage, he inoculates them with his own animosity; and so, ...
— Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 10, No. 62, December, 1862 • Various
... height, and strongly made. His face was deeply sunburned and he had eyes of a curious dark blue, with a twinkle in them, and dark lashes, though his hair was fair. As he drew nearer, Blanche was struck by something that suggested the family likeness of the Challoners. He had their firm mouth and wide forehead, but by no means their somewhat austere expression. He looked as if he went carelessly through life and could readily be amused. Then he saw Bertram, and, starting, made as if he would pass the entrance to the gallery, and Blanche turned her surprised glance upon her ...
— The Intriguers • Harold Bindloss
... let go his wrist and place his hand on his head. The subject did so, and the reader went upon the trestle. Some of the party suggested that the bandage should be removed, but he told them not to mind, and, the subject again taking his wrist, he went on over the icy and snow-covered sleepers. With a firm step he crossed to the long wharf, went over as far as the mill gates, then quickly turned, retraced his steps and went back to the corner of Mill Street. Here he rested a moment, then again took the subject's hand, ...
— Buchanan's Journal of Man, March 1887 - Volume 1, Number 2 • Various
... hosts of letters from strangers, opening to her their griefs, and asking her counsel; and to all she gave freely and joyfully as far as her strength and time and judgment would allow. There was a tonic vein mingling with her comforts. Her touch was firm as well as tender. She knew the shoals of morbid sentimentality which skirt the deeps of trouble, and sought to pilot the sorrowing past the shoals ...
— The Life and Letters of Elizabeth Prentiss • George L. Prentiss
... for an early start to his Twenty-three Mile cabin. The hike would have been easy enough, considering the firm snow that covered the underbrush, but the hours of daylight were few and swift. And he had no desire to try to find his way in that trackless country in ...
— The Snowshoe Trail • Edison Marshall
... from all firm convictions. I look, observe, criticise, sometimes fancy I get hold of some essential truth, but am ready always to doubt even that. I have already said all that was necessary in reference to religion. As to my social creed I am a conservative so far as a man in my position is bound to ...
— Without Dogma • Henryk Sienkiewicz
... judicially, and while she seemed to debate a weighty judgment he asked for a second helping of tinned beef—not because he was hungry, but because he wanted to watch her slim, firm fingers, naked of jewels and banded metals, while his eyes pleasured in the swell of the forearm, appearing from under the sleeve and losing identity in the smooth, round wrist undisfigured by the ...
— Adventure • Jack London
... and, standing firm beside her wigwam, she sent a curse upon those who sat around the hated white man's light. Raising her right arm forcibly into line with her eye, she threw her whole might into her doubled fist as she shot it vehemently at the strangers. ...
— American Indian stories • Zitkala-Sa
... prejudices of the inhabitants of the colonies, during his temporary continuance in office, and of deciding satisfactorily upon the conflicting statements and claims that are brought before him. A firm, unflinching resolution to adhere to the principles of the constitution, and to maintain the just and necessary powers of the crown, would do much towards supplying the want of local information. But it would ...
— Diary in America, Series Two • Frederick Marryat (AKA Captain Marryat)
... of this species are very beautiful cups, very compact and firm, sometimes wedged into a fork, but more commonly suspended between two or three twigs, or sometimes attached by one side only to a single twig. They are placed at heights of from 4 to 10 feet from the ground in the branches of slender trees, and are usually carefully concealed, ...
— The Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds, Volume 1 • Allan O. Hume
... Arians and Nestorians. No doubt if pressed they would give intellectual assent to the dogma of the two natures, but they shrink from following it out to its consequences. There is a widespread feeling that it is irreverent to dwell on the fact that Christ was a real man. A firm grasp of catholic Christology in its entirety is the cure for this squeamishness. To obscure the fact of His Manhood is not the true reply to a denial of His Deity. A true presentation of Christ must give full weight to the facts that He had a human body, human mind, human feelings and ...
— Monophysitism Past and Present - A Study in Christology • A. A. Luce
... met Fanny Stevenson twice in England, I first came to know her on my arrival at Vailima in August, 1892, when within a single day we established a firm friendship that only grew closer until her death. The three stanzas by Louis so completely expressed her that it seems useless for a man to add anything or to refine ...
— The Life of Mrs. Robert Louis Stevenson • Nellie Van de Grift Sanchez
... with undefined outlines all round the horizon: wind from south-west and south. I travelled west by north about eight miles, along the foot of Bastard-box and silver-leaved Ironbark ridges. The country was exceedingly fine; the ground was firm; the valley from two to three miles broad, clothed with rich grass, and sprinkled with apple-tree, flooded-gum, and Bastard-box; the hills formed gentle ascents, and were openly timbered. The water-holes seemed to be constant; they are very deep, densely surrounded ...
— Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia • Ludwig Leichhardt
... planking is partly fastened to the floors with ties made of tough tree roots. Only one sail, and that a simple square one, was used. Nothing could be done with this unless the {44} wind was more or less aft. The sail, in fact, was centuries behind the hull, which, with the firm grip of its keel, would have been quite fit for a beat to windward, if the proper canvas had been carried. The thirty oars were often used, and to very good purpose, as the easy run of the lines suited either method of propulsion. The general look of these Viking craft is not unlike ...
— All Afloat - A Chronicle of Craft and Waterways • William Wood
... MORALITY's firm attitude, in face of this demonstration. Had capitulated to Irish at first sound of TIM's low voice; quite a different thing with inconsiderable people like the Scotch or Welsh. Almost haughtily protested against possibility of alteration. ...
— Punch, Or The London Charivari, Vol. 99., Dec. 20, 1890 • Various
... singularly alike. Thus, each had the same proud, self-reliant carriage, the same large, brilliant eyes, serene brow and firm mouth, the same repose of manner, the same clear, incisive enunciation. Neither could move in any company, however ...
— Number Seventeen • Louis Tracy
... ride—a ride on a hand-gallop it should be—in these pine woods, on a fine March day, when the weather has all the spirit of our March days without its severity, is one of the most delightful recreations in the world. The paths are upon a white sand, which, when not frequently travelled, is very firm under foot; on all sides you are surrounded by noble stems of trees, towering to an immense height, from whose summits, far above you, the wind is drawing deep and grand harmonies; and often your way is beside a marsh, verdant with magnolias, ...
— Letters of a Traveller - Notes of Things Seen in Europe and America • William Cullen Bryant
... examination and got a job with the State Bureau of Labor. She finished her first year with the Bureau at the same time when John finished his first year with the electrical firm. She had earned ...
— Stories from Everybody's Magazine • 1910 issues of Everybody's Magazine
... with a depressed manner as he watched Willie remove the screen and drag out the old gate-leg table for the firm's daily five o'clock tea and conference in the senior partner's office, "if a man called you a shyster what ...
— By Advice of Counsel • Arthur Train
... bowed. The highest personages, if they cannot travel, are conscious of a sort of airy majesty pertaining to one who can command so wide and far a flight. We were supplicated by the margravine to appease her brother's pride with half a word. My father was firm. The margravine reached her two hands to him. He kissed over them each in turn. They interchanged smart semi-flattering ...
— The Shaving of Shagpat • George Meredith
... the lessons of self-control, had an iron will, and also an abiding distrust of weak men. He saw Farnsworth's sincerity; but he had no faith in his constancy, although satisfied that while resentment of Hamilton's imperiousness lasted, he would doubtless remain firm in his purpose to aid Alice. Let that wear off, as in a short time it would, and then what? The old man studied his companion with eyes that slowly resumed their expression of smouldering and almost timid geniality. His priestly ...
— Alice of Old Vincennes • Maurice Thompson
... that this was a man of great pride, that his calm, firm gaze seemed to reflect thinking on an elevated plane, and that the harmony of his facial expressions and bodily movements resulted in an overall effect of unquestionable candor— according to the findings of physiognomists, those ...
— 20000 Leagues Under the Seas • Jules Verne
... Merquier, advocate, Deputy for Lyon, man of business of all the great religious communities of France, and the man whom Hemerlingue, in pursuance of an idea of great profundity for that bulky individual, had intrusted with the legal affairs of his firm. ...
— The Nabob, Vol. 2 (of 2) • Alphonse Daudet
... taken into account in the purposes of Him who moves the tempest, and makes His sun to shine upon the unthankful and on the good. Let us, in accordance with the counsel of the Apostle here, first of all try to anchor and rest our own souls fast and firm in God all the day long, that, grasping His hand, we may look out upon all the confused dance of fleeting circumstances and say, 'Thy will is done on earth'—if not yet 'as it is done in heaven,' still done ...
— Expositions of Holy Scripture: Romans Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V) • Alexander Maclaren
... kindly, "I feel for you from the bottom of my heart, but you must be very firm. There can be no compromise or vacillation in a case like this; you must give her up, Cedric—you must break off this unlucky engagement." But Cedric would not be induced to promise this; he would decide nothing until he had seen Leah and heard the whole story ...
— Herb of Grace • Rosa Nouchette Carey
... Military, shou'd be conferr'd on any Person, without his being inaugurated, and taking the Oaths in that Assembly. Then that there should be no Liberty of Appeal from their judgment, but that all their Decrees should stand firm, and inviolable. In fine, whatever Power and Authority had anciently been lodged in the General Council of the Nation, during so many Years together, was at Length usurped by that Counterfeit Council, which the Kings took care to fill with such ...
— Franco-Gallia • Francis Hotoman
... to the trenches. The main streets of the city were cleared and guarded by the police and soldiery. The crowds were enormous, and disorderly, and more than two hundred of the rioters were killed. Yet it seemed as if the government had the situation in a firm grasp, though an ominous incident was that the Pavlovsk regiment on being ordered to fire upon the mob, mutinied and had to ...
— History of the World War - An Authentic Narrative of the World's Greatest War • Francis A. March and Richard J. Beamish
... ruin it sent its fugitives westward with the manuscripts of a language and literature then little known, the Greek, and thereby added greatly to the growing impetus of the Renaissance. It is significant also that during its thousand years of life, as long as it kept its hold on the sea it stood firm. When it yielded that, its empire dwindled to a mere city fortress whose doom was assured long before ...
— A History of Sea Power • William Oliver Stevens and Allan Westcott
... strange sensation of awe creep over me, as he gripped my hand warmly, and then snatched his away, and sat up firm and rigid, turning his head to the east as all now became suddenly black—so dark that I could hardly see the men before me and the sail. But still we glided rapidly on over the long smooth rollers, on and on toward the islands, which lay a short ...
— Blue Jackets - The Log of the Teaser • George Manville Fenn
... not due to our own virtues, but to the great and liberal mercy of our Blessed Redeemer, who cries, calls, and invites us to put up in our parish church, devout prayers, to which we are to add great faith and firm devotion. The holy convent of the Cordeliers in this town has greatly aided, and still aids us in preserving the above-mentioned benefits. Moreover, we wish to know if you women also perform that which you have undertaken, and whether you sufficiently remember the obligation ...
— One Hundred Merrie And Delightsome Stories - Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles • Various
... single Spaniard set foot on English ground but as a prisoner; one English vessel only, and that of smaller size, became the prize of the invaders. The duke of Parma did not venture to embark a man. The king of Scots, standing firm to his alliance with his illustrious kinswoman, afforded not the slightest succour to the Spanish ships which the storms and the English drove in shattered plight upon his rugged coasts; while the lord-deputy of Ireland caused to be butchered ...
— Memoirs of the Court of Queen Elizabeth • Lucy Aikin
... they will pass away and give place to a more direct and simple method of working of the great Law of Gravitation. I look upon the Laws of Motion as part of the scaffolding which has been used to build up the Law of Gravitation. That Law has now been erected, and stands firm and secure in its position in the universe. Whatever changes may take place in its scaffolding, the Law itself will stand out with greater beauty and clearness, if we could but see the perfected structure, apart from the props and helps ...
— Aether and Gravitation • William George Hooper
... from the flames, you fear the fall of the buildings; you are ready to give a hand to those who are falling, you defend those who are fighting against numbers; you run away with those who run away and stand firm with the courageous. Not only the learned are satisfied, but also the simple, the countryman, the old woman; not only these, but also the Sarmatian stranger, the Indian, and the Persian (who never understood the verses of Virgil, or Homer, which are dumb to them), delight themselves ...
— Michael Angelo Buonarroti • Charles Holroyd
... which her long braids lay like the blue-black locks of an Egyptian maid, then at her warm, dark eyes, in which was a hint of the golden light of the afternoon sun. He noted covertly the slender lines of her body and the dainty, firm, brown hands flung protectingly about the shoulders of her little friends, who were peering at ...
— The Barrier • Rex Beach
... were never entertained, and our plan is tortured into a design to emancipate the Slaves of the South. We are made to disregard this description of property, and to touch without reserve the rights of our neighbors. We are said to tread this almost forbidden ground with firm step, and a hardihood of effort is imputed to us, which, if true, might well excite the indignation of our southern citizens.—But, Sir, our Society and the friends of colonization wish to be distinctly understood ...
— Thoughts on African Colonization • William Lloyd Garrison
... way I gradually worked my way up the wall, until I arrived at a point where a bold moulding—called, I believe, a string-course—ran horizontally along the wall. I continued my climb until my feet rested upon this moulding, which constituted quite a firm foot-hold compared with what I had hitherto been ...
— Under the Meteor Flag - Log of a Midshipman during the French Revolutionary War • Harry Collingwood
... No fractured pipe I ask, or splinters aid, wherewith to press The rising ashes down. Oh! bless my hand, Chief when thou com'st with hollow circle crowned With sculptured signet, bearing in thy womb The treasured Cork-screw. Thus a triple service In firm alliance may'st thou boast." ...
— Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce • E. R. Billings
... other places could liquor be procured, and I got it. The curse was on me. My condition became such that it was unsafe to send me from home on any business. I can recall times when I left horses hitched to the plow or wagon and went on a spree, forgetting all about them, for weeks. I had left home firm in the resolve to not touch a drop of liquor under any circumstances, and so thoroughly did I believe that I would not, that I would have staked my soul on a wager that I would keep sober. But the sight of a saloon, or of some person with whom I had been on a drunk, or even an empty ...
— Fifteen Years in Hell • Luther Benson
... sold throughout Melbourne town. Looking out of the window of my office I could hear the loud cries of "Buy a Turf Tissue," "All the tips," "Latest gallops," "Only twopence." All was going well, and the firm adjourned to Scott's Hotel. A couple of bottles of "bubbly" christened the very first sheet out of the printing press, which ...
— The Chronicles of a Gay Gordon • Jose Maria Gordon |
