Cyrano de Bergerac

Won either by her superior attractions or by her alluring bribe, Paris no longer hesitated, but placed the prize in her extended palm. Guerber, H. A. (H?l?ne Adeline)

He was affable, delighted to make their acquaintance—but on his guard. Price, Lucien

The bellicose commander spat in his disgust at the fugitives again and again, and overwhelmed them with all sorts of choice epithets. Bain, R. Nisbet (Robert Nisbet)

For a few minutes he said nothing, watching in silence the proud beauty who was the cynosure of every eye on deck. Hornblow, Arthur

Elizabeth is a charming young woman who is always saying and doing droll and daring things, both shocking and amusing. Kauffman, Reginald Wright

Never looking back, the officer rode off, dubious, angry. Bartlett, Paul Alexander

This offensive act has stoked interfaith enmity and confrontation and badly impacted the peaceful coexistence between human beings.”

Blue-eyed, genial, bowing, a little too obsequious, he sometimes dabs perfume on his paint-messed hands. Bartlett, Paul Alexander

My short note was an acrostic, and taking the first word of each line and reading it down formed this sentence: “I write with soda.” Lieut. A.

He had put off his cuirass and boots, and his doublet showed frayed and stained where the armour had pressed on it. Weyman, Stanley J.

He was accompanied by some college friends, who luckily were at hand when certain unpopular sentiments in his doggerels provoked a street row. Downey, Edmund

The old man looked his pity for our dullard wit, and then set a moiety of it in words. Lynde, Francis

He came here yesterday and wanted meat, the lazy whelp. Read, Opie Percival

The retinue of “followers” sometimes aggregated as many as 300. Whymper, Frederick

He uttered the last words almost in a whisper, then stopped suddenly, as if the avowal had slipped from his lips unwittingly. Sage, William

The news quickly spread and to augment the excitement, a few minutes later the breeds in full regalia dashed into town. Micheaux, Oscar

The struggle would have been over before he was born, and his ancestors would have bequeathed to him a nature in harmony with itself. Merwin, Henry Childs

By leaving my love thus desolate it would die of exhaustion. Seingalt, Jacques Casanova de

Sonnet 129 was the most vividly rendered, with its agitated strings and dissonant harmonies reflecting Shakespeare’s startling depiction of lust. New York Times (Feb 4, 2011)

He talks well; occasionally with eloquence and always with a self-awareness that is striking, even a little disarming.

As doctrine came to be made more important, heresy was restricted to any departure from the recognized creed. Various

On six long pikes, raised high above the mob, moved six severed heads--one, the foremost, bald and large, and hideously leering. Weyman, Stanley John

Her manner was the very quintessence of hospitality. Speed, Nell

I still subscribe completely to what one person wrote about Jane Austen 10 years ago: Let’s dispose of the ‘chick lit’ slander. Slate (Feb 13, 2013)

Injured following their opening abject defeat at home to Ireland, a Ryan Jones-led Wales found the resolve to win in Paris.

We are sitting in Steinberg's sparsely decorated Manhattan office, our conversation occasionally drowned out by the banshee shriek of sirens tearing down Madison Avenue below.

As we are hastily reading books and papers we continually come across maxims, epigrams, and short, pithy sayings that attract us. McCarty, Louis Philippe

Yet am I ashamed, that thou, who art said to have done deeds of exceeding prowess, should tamely accept such insolence! Wingfield, Lewis

Digging in around specious arguments in favor of price-fixing cartels is not the way to go. New York Times (Jul 12, 2012)

The hitherto glowering, menacing countenances, had all of a sudden taken on a heavy, vacuous expression. Mitford, Bertram

I rolled my eyes, thinking to myself: What a bunch of buffoons these New York literary agents are. Salon (Feb 13, 2013)

What evil spirit hath thus defiled my work? Erasmus, Desiderius

New York’s criminal courtrooms have seen firearms analysts, botanists, entomologists, psychiatrists and handwriting experts, but imams with personal experience in witchery are rarer.

He had found him blunt, grim, obstinate, somewhat coarse, yet apparently not brutal. Standish, Burt L.

The exposition above is delivered not by an omniscient narrator but as gossip.

The normally stoic, proper butler’s remark to Superman has so many further reaching implications than his mere words. Forbes (Mar 26, 2013)

The house was full of vermin – bed bugs, cockroaches, fleas, rats.