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Firm

adverb
1.
With resolute determination.  Synonyms: firmly, steadfastly, unwaveringly.  "You must stand firm"



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"Firm" Quotes from Famous Books



... it was strong, had not an immediate disbelief of the assertion attended it. She turned towards Lucy in silent amazement, unable to divine the reason or object of such a declaration; and though her complexion varied, she stood firm in incredulity, and felt in no danger of an hysterical ...
— Persuasion • Jane Austen

... the footing of a friend, yet do the duties of a servant, and that we never could make it work well. These half-and-half people are so sensitive, so exacting in their demands, so hard to please, that we have come to the firm determination that we will have no sliding-scale in our family, and that whoever we are to depend on must come with bona fide willingness to take the position of a servant, such as that position is in our house; and that, I suppose, ...
— Household Papers and Stories • Harriet Beecher Stowe

... universe in ruins—all these things, if not quite beyond dispute, are yet so nearly certain, that no philosophy which rejects them can hope to stand. Only within the scaffolding of these truths, only on the firm foundation of unyielding despair, can the soul's habitation henceforth ...
— Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays • Bertrand Russell

... their language, rude and firm, Save where a khaki note is sounded, And here and there a towpath term ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 156, Feb. 19, 1919 • Various

... the R.N.V. And ventured out upon the sea, The war-tried Subs. R.N. and Looties Who guided me about my duties Were wont to wink and chuckle if I found the going rather stiff; And when, upon the Nor'-East Rough, My legs proved scarcely firm enough To keep me yare and head-to-wind The very ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 156, May 28, 1919. • Various

... for the future, though not absolutely certain, looked full of hope and promise; but Dolly was firm and reckless. I am ten years her senior, but still young to be called a "'fraid cat" with impunity; so I finally mounted the vehicle. The driver gave a gay, insouciant tap to a front tire, as much as to say: "Courage, ...
— Ladies-In-Waiting • Kate Douglas Wiggin

... almost a man's tan. Her eyes were of a deep blue and as clear as the sky; but in them, too, there was a strength that was not altogether feminine. There was strength in her face, strength in the poise of her firm neck, strength in every movement of her limbs and body. When she spoke, it was in a voice which, like her hair, was adorable. I had never heard a sweeter voice, and her firm mouth was all at once not only gentle and ...
— Back to God's Country and Other Stories • James Oliver Curwood

... counsel requires not only the discovery or devising of fit means for the end, but also other circumstances. Such are suitable time, so that one be neither too slow nor too quick in taking counsel, and the mode of taking counsel, so that one be firm in the counsel taken, and other like due circumstances, which sinners fail to observe when they sin. On the other hand, every virtuous man takes good counsel in those things which are directed to the end of virtue, although perhaps he does not take good counsel in other particular ...
— Summa Theologica, Part II-II (Secunda Secundae) • Thomas Aquinas

... the experiences of the previous day came back to her—all the beauties she had seen and all the risks she had run. She remained firm in her resolve not to return to the hive. To be sure, when she thought of Cassandra, her heart beat fast, though it was not very likely that Cassandra would ever find her.— No, no, to her there was no joy in forever having to fly in and out of the hive, carrying honey and making wax. ...
— The Adventures of Maya the Bee • Waldemar Bonsels

... suffering. Calmly and clearly his quiet speech flowed on. Suffering was life, full of suffering was the world, but salvation from suffering had been found: salvation was obtained by him who would walk the path of the Buddha. With a soft, yet firm voice the exalted one spoke, taught the four main doctrines, taught the eightfold path, patiently he went the usual path of the teachings, of the examples, of the repetitions, brightly and quietly his voice hovered over the listeners, like a light, ...
— Siddhartha • Herman Hesse

... life is distinct and in method, and his actions, as it were, cast up before: not loosed into the world's vanities, but gathered up and contracted in his station: not scattered into many pieces of business, but that one course he takes, goes through with. A man firm and standing in his purposes, not heaved off with each wind and passion: that squares his expense to his coffers, and makes the total first, and then the items. One that thinks what he does, and does what he says, and foresees what he may do before he purposes. One whose ...
— Character Writings of the 17th Century • Various

... received by the government to-day from a French firm of New Orleans merchants, to furnish us salt, meat, shoes, blankets, etc., in unlimited quantities, and guarantee their delivery, if we will allow them, with the proceeds of salt, the privilege of buying cotton on the Mississippi River, and they will, ...
— A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital • John Beauchamp Jones

... in Palestine. Gaza has fallen. The British are in Jaffa. Jerusalem is threatened. The German-Austrian drive which began at Caporetto has been stemmed, and the Italians, stiffened by a British army under General Plumer, are standing firm on the Piave. In Mesopotamia we deplore the death of the gallant Maude, a great general and a great gentleman, beloved by all ranks, whose career is an abiding answer to those who maintain that no good can come out of our public schools or the Staff training of regular officers. In Russia ...
— Mr. Punch's History of the Great War • Punch

... unwound, thread by thread. For a long time it remained this way, while the great bell hung silent. But close by, a grape-vine grew, and, reaching upward, finally entwined its tendrils around the ragged end of the bell rope, making it strong and firm again as it grew around it, up ...
— A Child's Story Garden • Compiled by Elizabeth Heber

... firm heart Arthur filled his place, and performed his duties unshrinkingly, cheered and encouraged by the beaming face of his brother, which ever and anon was turned toward him, with such a look of happy confidence and love, that it could not fail ...
— The Brother Clerks - A Tale of New-Orleans • Xariffa

... sums were spent on this bubble, and still more money was needed. To increase his income Scott went into secret partnership with his publishers, indulged in speculative ventures, ran the firm upon the shoals, drew large sums in advance of his earnings. Suddenly came a business panic; the publishing firm failed miserably, and at fifty five Scott, having too much honest pride to take advantage of the bankruptcy ...
— Outlines of English and American Literature • William J. Long

... office divided into several small offices. For some occult reason only one person could get in or out at a time, and this made confidential conversation a necessity rather than a matter of choice. The senior member of the firm was in when Von Barwig called. Be it understood at the beginning that this large, stout personage, who invariably spoke in a whisper, and referred so often to his partner, had no partner but a number of detectives on his staff, to whom he was wont to speak ...
— The Music Master - Novelized from the Play • Charles Klein

... permitted to add, directly bear on the case of the Siberian animals preserved in ice. The firm conviction of the necessity of a vegetation possessing a character of tropical luxuriance, to support such large animals, and the impossibility of reconciling this with the proximity of perpetual congelation, was one chief cause of the several ...
— A Naturalist's Voyage Round the World - The Voyage Of The Beagle • Charles Darwin

... the civil and religious rights which had been refused them by their enemies. For the first time France raised itself above religious parties. Still, a state policy so new could not fail to excite the clamors of the more violent, and the hatred of factions. The sovereign, however, remained firm. 'I have enacted the Edict,' said Henry to the Parliament of Paris,—'I wish it to be observed. My will must serve as the reason why. I am king. I speak to you as king.—I will be obeyed.' To the clergy he said, ...
— Continental Monthly, Vol. I. February, 1862, No. II. - Devoted To Literature And National Policy • Various

... a short speech, excellently argumentative, and not bombast, nor tedious, nor deviating from the question. He was supported by your brother, and Charles Townshend, and Lord George; the two last of whom are strangely firm, now they are got under the cannon of your brother:—Charles, who, as he must be extraordinary, is now so in romantic nicety of honour. His father, who is dying, or dead, at Bath, and from whom he hopes ...
— Letters of Horace Walpole - Volume I • Horace Walpole

... mine as was Penelope set in her frame of costly simplicity. I should go to the pier to meet her, I said. I knew that it could not be gladly, but I was bound by a sense of honor, by the remembrance of four years through which she had waited for me so patiently, always cheerful and firm in her faith in my power to win a home for us both. Because I was so bound, I vowed that she should never know the change in me, and then if I set myself to the task I might fan into flame the dead embers of my ...
— David Malcolm • Nelson Lloyd

... as a Club and Coffee House by an Italian named Mol. As such it was a well-known and popular resort with the citizens of Exeter and the squires of the neighbourhood until 1829. It is now used as a shop by a firm of fine-art dealers, but the fine "Armada" room upstairs is willingly shown to all visitors who express a wish to see it. It is a good panelled room with low windows, and an elaborate frieze of shields bearing ...
— Exeter • Sidney Heath

... Arab city of Bagdad was founded by the caliph Mansur, there was nothing on that site except an old convent. One may venture to doubt the literal accuracy of this statement. It is clear that the ancient name, at least, still held firm possession of the site and was hence inherited by ...
— Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 2 - "Baconthorpe" to "Bankruptcy" • Various

... I think so. These beasts are very fierce, and they have had so little to do with man, that they do not avoid him. We must be very steady and stand firm. I'll attack first ...
— Steve Young • George Manville Fenn

... only momentary, though it was succeeded by a strange shrinking from coming face to face with the awe-inspiring object of his solicitude. But the boy stood firm. ...
— The Peril Finders • George Manville Fenn

... they are responsible for my having for a long time thought very highly of you, Miss Riis. If you will excuse my saying so, I had never before seen fashionable young ladies trying to do anything useful—never. I am only a little broken-down tradesman travelling for a firm—a worthless sort of chap in many ways, and one that very likely deserves what he has got—but anyway I wanted you to be spared. Indeed thought it was my duty—absolutely my duty. But now when I see you sitting there before me—well, now I only I feel miserably unhappy. So I won't trouble you at ...
— Three Comedies • Bjornstjerne M. Bjornson

... gracious lamp gave me a glimpse of her figure, huddled back among her draperies, and I guessed her to be about of medium height. A fourth lamp showed me her hands, small, firm, white; also I could catch a glimpse of her arm, as it lay outstretched, her fingers clasping a fan. So I knew her arms were round and taper, hence all her limbs and figure finely molded, because nature does not do such things by halves, ...
— 54-40 or Fight • Emerson Hough

... the hydrographer, the impulse of this enterprising era is largely due. He fully believed that a vast southern continent must exist, to balance the antipodes. So firm was his conviction, that he defined its extent as "greater than the whole civilised part of Asia, from Turkey to the extremity of China. Its trade would be sufficient to maintain the power of Great Britain, employing all its manufactories and ships." The position ...
— The History of Tasmania, Volume I (of 2) • John West

... you not that: if we can make our peace Upon such large terms and so absolute As our conditions shall consist upon, Our peace shall stand as firm as rocky mountains. ...
— King Henry IV, Second Part • William Shakespeare [Chiswick edition]

... him with violence to the ground, just as the whole herd broke down upon them. The tide being absolutely irresistible, and wounds from a stag's horn highly dangerous, the activity of the Chieftain may be considered, on this occasion, as having saved his guest's life. He detained him with a firm grasp until the whole herd of deer had fairly run over them. Waverley then attempted to rise, but found that he had suffered several very severe contusions, and, upon a further examination, discovered that he ...
— Waverley, Or 'Tis Sixty Years Hence, Complete • Sir Walter Scott

... boatman for taking me ashore when I first came to Jaffa. The sea was rough—very rough for me—and a little woman at my side was shaking with nervousness, although she tried to be brave, and her little boy took a firm hold on my clothing. I don't think that I was scared, but I confess that I did not enjoy the motion of the boat as it went sliding down from the crest of the waves, which were higher than any I had previously ridden ...
— A Trip Abroad • Don Carlos Janes

... economic activity, but a 1999 government-imposed preshipment inspection plan, and instability of the Gambian dalasi (currency) have drawn some of the reexport trade away from The Gambia. The government's 1998 seizure of the private peanut firm Alimenta eliminated the largest purchaser of Gambian groundnuts; the following two marketing seasons saw substantially lower prices and sales. Despite an announced program to begin privatizing key parastatals, no plans have been made public that would indicate that the government intends to ...
— The 2005 CIA World Factbook • United States. Central Intelligence Agency

... is incompatible with a weak grasp of the instrument, which implies that the weight of the tool is excessive relatively to the force that seeks to guide it. A light, even playful handling, therefore implies a firm grasp and perfect control over the instrument. It is only in the hands of a Grinling Gibbons that the carving tool can create miracles of aerial lightness from the solid wood. The light yet firm touch tells not of weakness, ...
— The Hidden Power - And Other Papers upon Mental Science • Thomas Troward

... Denslow had surmised, his faults were mainly superficial, and underneath them was a firm gristle of manhood, which would speedily harden into bone. With the experience he had been having, days would mature this as rapidly as ordinary years. He was himself hardly aware of the transformation, but only felt, as his physical exhaustion disappeared, a new ...
— The Red Acorn • John McElroy

... primitive decrees, To give subsistence to thy house, and proof What Genii support thy roof, Goodness and greatness, not the oaken piles; For these, and marbles have their whiles To last, but not their ever; virtue's hand It is which builds 'gainst fate to stand. Such is thy house, whose firm foundations trust Is more in thee than in her dust, Or depth; these last may yield, and yearly shrink, When what is strongly built, no chink Or yawning rupture can the same devour, But fix'd it stands, by her own power And well-laid bottom, on the iron and rock, Which tries, and counter-stands ...
— A Selection From The Lyrical Poems Of Robert Herrick • Robert Herrick

... to firm, stiff froth; add cream of tartar; fold sugar in lightly; fold in flour which has been sifted four times with baking powder and salt; add vanilla. Pour into ungreased pan and bake 45 to 50 minutes in moderate oven. Remove from oven; invert pan and ...
— The New Dr. Price Cookbook • Anonymous

... in a mild, but firm voice: "Son of Charmides, by the friendship of my father, I conjure you do not require me to forsake Eudora in this hour ...
— Philothea - A Grecian Romance • Lydia Maria Child

... is exhibited by an organization harmoniously constructed, full size, compact and firm. The limbs, trunk and head are generally well formed, the muscles firm, the walk steady, the carriage erect, and the movements generally graceful, but all indicating power. The features of the face are strongly ...
— How to Become Rich - A Treatise on Phrenology, Choice of Professions and Matrimony • William Windsor

... of the machine was upon the animal I ducked, but did not release my firm grip on the steering-wheel. There was photographed on my brain an impression of a shaggy head, short and sharp horns, rage-crazed eyes, a wet nose and lolling tongue, of turf cast up by flying hooves, of a bearded ...
— John Henry Smith - A Humorous Romance of Outdoor Life • Frederick Upham Adams

... his widow, of all women, should have come into the country, was the great interrogation. But they were a practical breed, the men of the Northland, with a wholesome disregard for theories and a firm grip on facts. And to not a few of them Karen Sayther was a most essential fact. That she did not regard the matter in this light, is evidenced by the neatness and celerity with which refusal and proposal tallied off during her four weeks' ...
— The God of His Fathers • Jack London

... wholesomely drowsy, and he had been dead asleep many hours now. It had made Luigi drowsy, too, but he had got only brief naps, on account of his having to take the medicine every three-quarters of an hour-and Aunt Betsy Hale was there to see that he did it. When he complained and resisted, she was quietly firm with him, and said in ...
— Innocents abroad • Mark Twain

... a firm of attorneys to sell out so much Bank Stock and pay over one thousand pounds to Mr. ...
— The Shaving of Shagpat • George Meredith

... had not broken all ties with the cave. The chain was too strong for that, the hold on his wild heart too firm. If there is one trait, far and near in the wilds, that distinguishes the woods children, it is their inability to forget. Fenris had joined his fellows, to be sure; but he still kept watch over ...
— The Sky Line of Spruce • Edison Marshall

... and valorous battle. Neither yielded; both stood firm. Acheloues slipped in and out of Hercules' mighty grasp a dozen times, but at last Hercules' greater strength overpowered him. Hercules held the river-god fast by his neck, panting for breath. But Acheloues knew magic arts which he could practise. He suddenly ...
— Tell Me Another Story - The Book of Story Programs • Carolyn Sherwin Bailey

... more mysterious Dea Dia—as they passed through the fields, carried in their little houses on the shoulders of white-clad youths, who were understood to proceed to this office in perfect temperance, as pure in soul and body as the air they breathed in the firm weather of that early summer-time. The clean lustral water and the full incense-box were carried after them. The altars were gay with garlands of wool and the more sumptuous sort of blossom and green herbs to be thrown into the sacrificial fire, ...
— Marius the Epicurean, Volume One • Walter Horatio Pater

... after they had returned, the one from the South Seas, the other from the Himalayas, they had stood shoulder to shoulder confidently in the struggle to put science on a firm and independent footing. When the future of the Natural History Collections at the British Museum was in the balance, they energetically resolved to constitute themselves into a permanent "Committee of Safety," to watch over what was being done and take ...
— Thomas Henry Huxley - A Character Sketch • Leonard Huxley

... wonder and amusement to those of the party who were strangers to the place, but woe to the one who stepped unwittingly near the edge of the bank! for the yielding sand gave no foothold, and an awkward slide down the face of the bank was always the result. But the shore below was as firm and smooth as a sanded floor, and soon every member of the party had thrown dignity aside and let themselves down through the warm dry sand to the beach, where they sought for treasures of the deep in the shape of pretty ...
— Miss Dexie - A Romance of the Provinces • Stanford Eveleth

... colorless, because all the blood concentrates in the heart. Her large dark eyes had at the same time a languid, melting expression and the fire and glow of passion; the finely cut, slightly curved nose, the firm, somewhat projecting chin, indicated energy and decision; and around the full, rosy lips hovered a singular expression of good nature ...
— The Youth of the Great Elector • L. Muhlbach

... two he was able to speak feebly, and began to thank us and apologize for giving trouble; and soon he sat up, leaning against a tree, and in a firm, though low voice said: 'My dear friends, I feel that I owe you an explanation of my extraordinary behavior. It is an explanation that I would fain avoid giving; but it must come some time, and so may as well be given now. ...
— Clairvoyance and Occult Powers • Swami Panchadasi

... breath, read the words attentively, and amidst a general titter; his presence of mind returned to him; he saw a way out of the scrape, collected himself, suddenly raised his head, and in tones unexpectedly firm and fluent, enlarged on the text afforded to him,—enlarged so well that he took the audience by surprise, pleased the Blues by an evidence of Audley's generosity, and touched the Yellows by so affectionate a deference to the family of their ...
— My Novel, Complete • Edward Bulwer-Lytton

... they were, peeping round the corner, close to the lecture-room—the hell-hounds! A slave brought out an embroidered cushion—and then Hypatia herself came forth, looking more glorious than ever; her lips set in a sad firm smile; her eyes uplifted, inquiring, eager, and yet gentle, dimmed by some great inward awe, as if her soul was far away aloft, and face to face ...
— Hypatia - or, New Foes with an Old Face • Charles Kingsley

... importunate, he threw himself on the ground in his cell, and cried out to the fiends: "Drag me hence if you can by force, for I will not stir." Thus he lay till night, and by this vigorous resistance they were quite disarmed.[6] As soon as he arose they renewed the assault; and he, to stand firm against them, filled two great baskets with sand, and laying them on his shoulders, travelled along the wilderness. A person of his acquaintance meeting him, asked him what he meant, and made an offer of easing him of his burden; but the saint made no other reply than this: ...
— The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints - January, February, March • Alban Butler

... supported 180 pounds, firmly upon the Insect's toes. He gave a yelp of pain and promptly released the lady, and a moment later he found himself flat upon the floor with a dozen of the dancers piled upon him—all of whom were pummeling each other with much pleasure and a firm conviction that the diversion had been planned for their ...
— The Woggle-Bug Book • L. Frank Baum

... aggressions of the French at and near Bussa, on the right bank of the Lower Niger, led to a most serious situation. Despite its inclusion in the domains of the Royal Niger Company, that town was occupied by French troops. At the Guildhall banquet (November 9), Lord Salisbury made the firm but really prudent declaration that the Government would brook no interference with the treaty rights of a British company. The pronouncement was timely; for French action at Bussa, taken in conjunction with the Marchand expedition from the Niger basin to the Upper Nile at Fashoda ...
— The Development of the European Nations, 1870-1914 (5th ed.) • John Holland Rose

... should you?" agreed Gresham soothingly. "I'd feel rather sorry for Gamble if an old and forgotten note against your firm, upon which a judgment had been quietly secured 'by default', should ...
— Five Thousand an Hour - How Johnny Gamble Won the Heiress • George Randolph Chester

... sin-companioned, like a flower o'erblown, Flies on the wind away. Or didst them find In women ... Women?... Nay, peace, peace! The blind Could read thee. Cruel wast thou in thine hour, Lord of a great king's house, and like a tower Firm in thy beauty. [Starting back with a look of loathing. Ah, that girl-like face! God grant, not that, not that, but some plain grace Of manhood to the man who brings me love: A father of straight children, that shall move Swift on ...
— The Electra of Euripides • Euripides

... two champions met with so rude a shock that their reeds broke, and the king's cloak was torn. Richard, in pique, urged his horse violently against the French knight, in order to make him lose his stirrups; but William kept a firm seat, whilst the king fell under his horse, which came down in his impetuosity. Richard, more and more exasperated, had another horse brought, and charged a second time, but with no more success, the immovable knight. One of Richard's favorites, the Earl of Leicester, would have taken his ...
— A Popular History of France From The Earliest Times - Volume II. of VI. • Francois Pierre Guillaume Guizot

... I could have sobbed my grief and anger, but I took firm hold on myself and resolved upon another way of dealing ...
— The O'Ruddy - A Romance • Stephen Crane

... conclusion from a long series of historic premises; and resting upon a firm foundation of dogma, it was supported by the genuine belief, no less than by the worldly interests and ambitions, of those who profited by it. The ideal it presented was at once a simple and a noble conception,—narrow indeed, for the ignorance of men was such ...
— Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 11 • Various

... onset, beshielded, and sword by the side, E'en as men returning homeward to their loves and their friends that abide. The first of all goeth Gunnar, and Hogni the wise cometh after, And wringeth the sea from his kirtle; and all men hearken his laughter, As his feet on the earth stand firm, and the sun in the west goeth down, And the Niblungs stand on the foreshore 'twixt the sea and the ...
— The Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs • William Morris

... door could be supposed to quarrel with its hinges, and to make a firm resolution to open with slow obstinacy, and grind them to powder in the process, it would emit a pleasanter sound in so doing, than did these words in the rough and bitter voice in which they were uttered by Ralph. Even Mr Mantalini felt ...
— The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby • Charles Dickens

... public oration in his favor, setting him forth as a patriot, and one who had embarked in the cause of liberty: for which service he did not receive me with the acknowledgments I expected. However, as I thought I should easily gain the ascendant over this fellow, I continued still firm on his side, till the archbishop of Canterbury, with an armed force, put an end to his progress: for he was seized in Bowchurch, where he had taken refuge, and with nine of his accomplices hanged ...
— From This World to the Next • Henry Fielding

... became heavier, yet we kept on, hoping at every turn to see an opening which would free us from our prison-house; but night and heavier rain together came, and we were compelled to remain another night in the palmy glen. I found a small sloping, sandy, firm piece of ground, probably the only one in the glen, a little off from the creek, having some blood-wood or red gum-trees growing upon it, and above the reach of any flood-mark—for it is necessary to be careful in selecting a site on a watercourse, as, otherwise, in a ...
— Australia Twice Traversed, The Romance of Exploration • Ernest Giles

... successes was in what was called a 'shop-meeting,' a gathering of all the employes of the firm he worked for, before whom the North-countryman pleaded to be allowed to earn his bread. The tall, finely grown, famished-looking lad spoke with a natural eloquence, and here and there with a Biblical force of phrase—the inheritance of his Scotch blood and training—which astonished ...
— The History of David Grieve • Mrs. Humphry Ward

... executed his commisssion, and plodded quickly back uphill. There was a pain in his head, as he walked, that made him twist his features unknowingly. But hard there in the centre of his chest was himself, himself, firm, and not ...
— The Prussian Officer • D. H. Lawrence

... near family. By other cards of like suit, degrees of regard. By a Diamond, a Woman gifted, and esteemed much in Modish Life. By a Club, though not learned she appreciates knowledge in others. By a spade, she is not of firm health; or not ...
— The Square of Sevens - An Authoritative Method of Cartomancy with a Prefatory Note • E. Irenaeus Stevenson

... as are found most solid and fair: Nor, for this reason, covet the largest acorns, &c. but (as husbandmen do their wheat) the most weighty, clean and bright: This observation we deduce from fruit-trees, which we seldom find to bear so kindly and plentifully from a sound stock, smooth rind, and firm wood, as from a rough, lax, and untoward tree; which is rather prone to spend itself in fruit, (the ultimate effort, and final endeavour of its most delicate sap,) than in solid and close substance to encrease the timber. And this shall suffice, though ...
— Sylva, Vol. 1 (of 2) - Or A Discourse of Forest Trees • John Evelyn

... on the purity of the national legislature, and the permanency of our republican institutions. Being then a candidate for the Presidency, in opposition to Mr. Adams, he deliberately declared to the Legislature of Tennessee his firm conviction that no member of Congress ought to be appointed to any office except a seat on the bench; and he added that he himself would conform to that rule. Notwithstanding this pledge, he appointed eight or ten members of Congress to office in the first ...
— Memoir of the Life of John Quincy Adams. • Josiah Quincy

... and my eyes ran swiftly through the lines, traced in a firm, delicate hand. I could see through it all the fine, sound nature, by its healthy simplicity mastering anxiety, care, ...
— The Judgment House • Gilbert Parker

... the city. By this new method Leclaire enlisted the aid of the workmen, reduced the costs, and increased the profits. It is a remarkable fact that the plan has been continued successfully by the same firm to the present time. It has been tried in many hundreds, possibly thousands, of cases, and is operating in some form or another in more than a hundred firms in Europe and America. The most notable examples of profit-sharing in the United States are the ...
— Modern Economic Problems - Economics Vol. II • Frank Albert Fetter

... something to tell at home, which could entertain and enliven both him and his mother. These reports were generally made in Henrik's room, and how heartily did they not laugh there! Ah! in a cordially united family, care can hardly take firm footing there: if it come in for one moment, in the very next it will be chased away! Eva appeared during this time to forget her own trouble, that she also might be a flower in the garland of comfort and tenderness which was bound around the favourite of the family; the Judge too, tore himself ...
— The Home • Fredrika Bremer

... Versatility belonged to the Greek: virility to the Roman. Above all, the sense of right and of justice was stronger among the Romans. They had, in an eminent degree, the political instinct, the capacity for governing, and for building up a political system on a firm basis. This trait was connected with their innate reverence for authority, and their habit of obedience. The noblest product of the Latin mind is the Roman law, which is the foundation of almost all modern codes. With all their discernment of justice and love of ...
— Outline of Universal History • George Park Fisher

... pay to holders of the stock who will lend it them to enable them to complete their bargains. On the second day, called ticket-day or name day, a ticket giving the name and address of the ultimate buyer and the firm which will pay for the stock is passed through the various intermediaries to the ultimate seller, so that the actual transfer of the stock can be made directly. In the mining market the passing of names takes two days. On the last day, account day, pay day or settling day, ...
— Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia

... with a sugar plantation was made on reaching the estates of Messrs. V. U. Lefebre and son, who are extensively engaged in the production of this staple of commerce. This firm is counted among the wealthiest sugar planters of Plaquemine Parish, owning and controlling three large plantations. The Captain made the most of his opportunity to learn something of the art of sugar manufacture. The cane-field and sugar-mill and every detail were explained by his polite host, from ...
— Sword and Pen - Ventures and Adventures of Willard Glazier • John Algernon Owens

... money or labor has been spared to make them attractive, and comfortable benches have been placed along the walks where relatives and friends may sit and converse or meditate after the ceremonies are concluded. The Parsees are firm believers in the resurrection, and they expect their mutilated bodies to rise again glorified and incorruptible. The theory upon which their peculiar custom is based is veneration for the elements. Fire is the chief object of their worship, and they cannot ...
— Modern India • William Eleroy Curtis

... that an absence of sward is characteristic of these Openings, rather than the reverse, it being, to a certain degree, a cause of complaint, now that the country is settled, that the lands of the Oak Openings are apt to be so light that the grasses do not readily form as firm a turf as is desirable for meadows and pastures. We apprehend this is true, however, less as a rule than as exceptions; there being variety in the soils of these Openings, as ...
— Oak Openings • James Fenimore Cooper

... used to singin' hims in, he is dretful sot on it, and don't like to change. But as he seemed to enjoy it so much, and the great rush of melody wuz so powerful his voice wuz onnoticed. The him wuz, "How firm a foundation ...
— Samantha at Coney Island - and a Thousand Other Islands • Marietta Holley

... own independence. Indeed, the only really coherent body was the village or kindred: and the whole course of early English history consists of a long and tedious effort at increased national unity, which was never fully realised till the Norman conquerors bound the whole nation together in the firm grasp of ...
— Early Britain - Anglo-Saxon Britain • Grant Allen

... circulation, he seemed perfectly at home, and after a few minutes his patience was rewarded by seeing the Captain's pallid face gradually recover its natural color, and by feeling his heart gradually beat with a firm pulsation. ...
— All Around the Moon • Jules Verne

... desk in the corner, where often until far into the night he had worked on the huge ruled sheets of paper covered with figures of the firm's accounts, he saw two goose-necked vials, one of lemon-colored liquid, the other of raspberry color. One was of tartaric acid, the other of chloride of lime. It was an ordinary ink eradicator. Near the bottles lay a ...
— Constance Dunlap • Arthur B. Reeve

... world of New York there was known at that time a pair of brothers; they were in dry-goods. The firm was new, and they were naturally anxious to extend their trade. The buyer for a merchant in the far Northwest had placed a small order with the brothers B., which had proved so satisfactory that the merchant coming himself to New York the next ...
— Stage Confidences • Clara Morris

... captain, whilst this conversation was passing, was a study in suppressed emotions. He was a firm advocate for importing the manners of the quarter-deck into private life, the only drawback being that he had to leave behind him the language usual in that locality. To this omission he usually ascribed ...
— Many Cargoes • W.W. Jacobs

... landscape. They are neither so tall, so stout, nor so richly contorted as I have seen them beyond the Alps; but this mild colorless bloom seems the very texture of the country. The road from Nimes, for a distance of fifteen miles, is superb; broad enough for an army, and as white and firm as a dinner-table. It stretches away over undulations which suggest a kind of harmony; and in the curves it makes through the wide, free country, where there is never a hedge or a wall, and the detail is always exquisite, there is something majestic, almost processional. ...
— Seeing Europe with Famous Authors, Volume 3 • Various

... Amendment. This was followed by a telegram from Mississippi to the anti-ratificationists in Delaware that this Senate vote was only "a flash in the pan" and would be reconsidered. A meeting of the Republican opponents telegraphed to the Speaker of the House in Mississippi: "Stand firm against ratification. Delaware Legislature still firm for State's rights and will not ratify." A hasty call was made for a meeting of all the Republican members of the Senate and House favorable to ratification. This was addressed by the Governor, by United States Senator Ball, and by Congressman ...
— The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume VI • Various

... superscription. The name of Prince Andras Zilah was traced in clear, firm handwriting, and, in the left-hand corner, Michel Menko had written, in Hungarian characters: "Very important! With the expression of my excuses and my sorrow." And ...
— Serge Panine • Georges Ohnet

... see the day, and that ere long, when she will bitterly repent ever having thrown her power in the scale against men who revolted at a state of affairs against which revolt was meritorious, and gave to the world the best proof that sufficient sound timber existed in Egypt to form the nucleus of firm national institutions. England's position in Egypt is all wrong. She of all nations should know that there are stages in the life of nations where oppression can be overthrown only by violent means. Ah! John Bright proved himself here once more the true statesman. Had his ...
— Round the World • Andrew Carnegie

... and, once fixed upon the knight, they seemed chained as by a spell. His vest, of a cramoisay so dark, that it seemed black beside the snowy garb of the Confessor, was edged by a deep band of embroidered gold; leaving perfectly bare his firm, full throat—firm and full as a column of granite,—a short jacket or manteline of fur, pendant from the shoulders, left developed in all its breadth a breast, that seemed meet to stay the march of an army; and on the left arm, curved to support ...
— Harold, Complete - The Last Of The Saxon Kings • Edward Bulwer-Lytton

... not enough. My gushing days are gone, if I ever had 'em. The cutting-out of the "100 years of peace" oratory, etc., etc., was one of the blessings of the war. But we must be just and firm and preserve our own self-respect and keep alive the fear that other nations have of us; and we ought to have the courage to make the Department of State more than a bureau of complaints. We must learn to say "No" even to a Gawdamighty independent ...
— The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page, Volume II • Burton J. Hendrick

... prime favourite with the tramp. The lengthy report which had squeezed out other matter that might have been worth reading was a proceeding before the Lords of Appeal, in which Sir Rupert Bingley, K.C., M.P., was being very explicit and very firm about the exact limitations of the power of the Divisional Court to commit for contempt. This was hardly fit matter for the reading of a young and susceptible tramp, our man was telling himself, when the name of a district ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 146, April 15, 1914 • Various

... dramatic turns. When Members went off on Saturday for week-end holiday the Ulster attitude was pretty generally understood. Ulster demanded "a clean cut," with the alternative, phrased by CARSON, of "Come over and fight us." The Cabinet after prolonged deliberation had resolved to meet demand with firm non possumus: PREMIER was expected on resumption of Sittings this afternoon to announce conclusion of matter, adding such offer of concession on matter of detail as, whilst providing golden bridge for Opposition, would avert revolt in his own camp, where ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, July 29, 1914 • Various

... purpose. It will just suffice to carry up our rope, and a small but practically unbreakable grapple of hardened gold. I calculate to send the grapple to the top of the precipice with the balloon, and when it has obtained a firm hold in the riven rock there we can ascend, sailor fashion. You see the rope has knots, and I know your muscles are as trustworthy in such ...
— The Moon Metal • Garrett P. Serviss

... English literature. Even the magnificent medium in which it is composed, the decasyllabic blank verse which the genius of Marlowe adapted to the needs of the drama, is ultimately due to the Italian Trissino, and has never kept a firm hold on English poetry. Thus both the formal elements of the Drama, plot and verse, were importations from Italy. But style and characterisation were both English of the English, and after all is ...
— The Palace of Pleasure, Volume 1 • William Painter

... true, but it was in all respects the most unattractive, poverty-stricken, undesirable dwelling I ever saw. It was the small stove in the kitchen that kindled Francesca's imagination, and she made up her mind instantly to become a householder on her own account. I tried to dissuade her; but she is as firm as the Rock of Cashel when once she has set her heart ...
— Penelope's Irish Experiences • Kate Douglas Wiggin

... town were well built, yea, so fast and firm were they knit and compact together, that, had it not been for the townsmen themselves, they could not have been shaken or broken for ever. For here lay the excellent wisdom of him that builded Mansoul, that the walls could never be broken down nor hurt by the most mighty ...
— The Holy War • John Bunyan

... been a familiar fact that gypsum yields on baking a material which possesses the power of setting with water to a firm mass, this setting being accomplished much more quickly than is the case ...
— Scientific American Supplement, No. 794, March 21, 1891 • Various

... starting kinds gave notice that the glasses might be removed, a bit at a time, with safety. Nothing could be more simple, or demand less skill, and the operation may be carried out successfully by an amateur at any time during the season, when good firm cuttings can be got, and when six weeks' tolerably fine weather may be counted on. The success of the whole thing depends on having the glasses fixed so that they may not be removed until the cuttings are rooted, and in placing the boxes in a shady place. So treated, carnations and many of our ...
— Scientific American Supplement, No. 433, April 19, 1884 • Various

... Hide!) cried the mother in a low firm voice, and the little bits of things, scarcely bigger than acorns and but a day old, scattered far (a few inches) apart to hide. One dived under a leaf, another between two roots, a third crawled into a curl of birchbark, a fourth into a hole, and so on, till all were hidden but ...
— Wild Animals I Have Known • Ernest Thompson Seton

... Sasebo. On arrival at Hong-Kong, she found orders to deliver at Sasebo, and, having made delivery accordingly, was chartered by a Japanese company at another Japanese port, to carry coal to a British firm at Singapore. On her way thither, she was captured by a Russian squadron and taken in to Vladivostok, where on June 24 she was condemned by the prize Court for carriage of contraband. The Court held, ignoring the rule that a vessel ceases to be in dilecto when she has "deposited" ...
— Letters To "The Times" Upon War And Neutrality (1881-1920) • Thomas Erskine Holland

... at it just for a minute," began Basil. He had scarcely spoken, before there came a knock at the door. A firm voice said, "May I come in?" and Miss Wilton, who had returned from London about an hour before, entered the room. She came in just in time to see Miss Nelson remove the tissue-paper from the broken face of the miniature. The poor governess uttered a piercing cry, sank down on her knees by the center ...
— The Children of Wilton Chase • Mrs. L. T. Meade

... I went down to Wall Street to ask him to stop the attack on your firm, when you were so ill. It was the day I told him ...
— Katrine • Elinor Macartney Lane

... me," Victorin went on in a clear, firm voice, the voice of a puritanical deputy. "I know the respect I owe you too well ever to fail in it, and you will always find me the most ...
— Cousin Betty • Honore de Balzac

... and the gloss of velvet and satin to throw out the classic contour of his fine head and enhance the lustre of his brooding, darkly- passionate eyes. Denzil Murray was a pure-blooded Highlander,—the level brows, the firm lips, the straight, fearless look, all bespoke him a son of the heather-crowned mountains and a descendant of the proud races that scorned the "Sassenach," and retained sufficient of the material whereof their early Phoenician ancestors were made to be capable of both ...
— Ziska - The Problem of a Wicked Soul • Marie Corelli

... hundred feet down, we stopped, and got out on to firm ground and waited for the others, who came in batches of four. The air was pumped in, I suppose, from somewhere, because just here it was cool, and not difficult to breathe. We had such fun, but Nelson was rather pale and silent, ...
— Elizabeth Visits America • Elinor Glyn

... the telephone, standing patient hours under the dressmaker's hands; never rested, never satisfied, never stopping to think. Judy Moran's trouble was that she was too fat; nothing else really penetrated the shell of her indolent good nature. Kenneth might be politely dropped from the family firm, her husband might die and be laid away, her brother- in-law commence an ugly suit for the reclamation of certain jewels and silver tableware, but all these things meant far less to Mrs. Moran than the unflattering truths her bedroom scales told her every ...
— The Heart of Rachael • Kathleen Norris

... vainly hoping to see some indication of relenting; but the pale face was as firm ...
— Atlantic Monthly, Volume 3, No. 20, June, 1859 • Various

... was ready to go, and, what was of far greater importance in the matter, his wife threw no obstacle in the way. On the contrary, she undid the lashings of the helm with her own hand, and told her wondering partner, with a good-humoured but firm smile, to steer where he chose, and she would content herself with the society of the two young Buzzbys (both miniature fac-similes of their father) till he ...
— The World of Ice • Robert Michael Ballantyne

... hearing the firm and resolute answer of the parents, had shifted about in their places; but, although they were on the point of leaving the house, had remained behind, sadly out of harmony; when the son came in, and happily with a word set all in tune again. So the relations addressed the parents, ...
— Tales of Old Japan • Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford

... assured her she had been, and always would be, "had." They had "had" her this time by the sacrificial ardour with which they soared to her suggestion that Mr. Prothero should be published. Miss Holland must, they urged, be aware that Mr. Prothero had been rejected by every other firm in London. They were sure that she realized the high danger of their enterprise and that she appreciated the purity of their enthusiasm. The poems were, as she knew, so extraordinary that Mr. Prothero had not one chance in a thousand even ...
— The Creators - A Comedy • May Sinclair

... Bixby replied. "My wife has gone into business with a ready-to-wear firm. She is not living with me ...
— A Collection of Stories, Reviews and Essays • Willa Cather

... Captain of the Siege, and even for Loudon, the General-in-Chief. Negligently guarded, sure enough; nothing in the FLECHE but a few sentries, and these in the horizontal position, taking their unlawful rest there, after such a morning's work. 'Seize me that,' eagerly orders Loudon; 'hold that with firm grip!' Which is done; only to step in softly, two battalions of you, and lay hard hold. Incompetent Quadt, figure in what a flurry, rushing out to recapture his FLECHE,—explodes instead into mere anarchy, whole Companies of him flinging down their arms at their ...
— History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. XX. (of XXI.) • Thomas Carlyle

... into a fit bag, and so put it into boiling water, and boil it up with a quick fire. If you boil it too long, the Milk will turn to whay in the body or substance of the Pudding, and there will be a slimy gelly all about the outside. But in about half an hour, it will be tenderly firm, and of an uniform consistence all over. You need not put in any Butter or Marrow or Suet, or other Spice, but the small proportion of Nutmeg set down, not grated bread. For the Sauce, you pour upon it thickened ...
— The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened • Kenelm Digby

... mill to the other side. And now he could feel the whole place tremble and vibrate as the water rushed under the dark arches to the mill wheels, which were going swiftly round; while inside the tall wooden building, pair after pair of stones were spinning round and round, turning the hard, firm corn ...
— Hollowdell Grange - Holiday Hours in a Country Home • George Manville Fenn

... once more took counsel of one another. They then looked like snakes deprived of fangs and poison trod upon by others. Unto them, Karna, sighing like an angry snake, squeezing his hands, and eyeing thy son, said, "Arjuna is always careful, firm, possessed of skill, and endued with intelligence. Again, when the time comes, Vasudeva awakes him (to what should be done). Today, by that sudden shower of weapons we were deceived by him. Tomorrow, however, O lord of Earth, I will frustrate all ...
— The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3 - Books 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 • Unknown

... nobly did his duty and firmly held his position. When the militia on the right gave way those on the left fell back and were not rallied until they came up on the left of the third line. Campbell's riflemen and Lee's legion stood perfectly firm and continued the contest against one regiment, one battalion, and a body of infantry and riflemen. The American reserve, with the artillery posted in a most favorable position, was fresh and ready for the word of command. Webster having overcome the ...
— Life And Times Of Washington, Volume 2 • John Frederick Schroeder and Benson John Lossing

... indicate the period of its re-formation. The tile-works at the point of the promontory rest on a bed of shell-sand, composed exclusively, like the sand so abundant on the western coast of Scotland, of fragments of existing shells. These, however, are so fresh and firm, that, though the stratum which they form seems to underlie the clay at its edges, I cannot regard them as older than the most modern of our ancient sea-margins. They formed, in all probability, in the days of the old coast line, a white shelly beach, under ...
— The Cruise of the Betsey • Hugh Miller

... the cell-door appeared a middle-sized, full-breasted young woman, dressed in a long, gray coat over a white waist and skirt. She approached with firm step, and, facing about, stood before the warden. Over her linen stockings she wore jail shoes; her head was covered with a white 'kerchief, from under which black curls were evidently purposely brushed over the forehead. The face of the woman was ...
— The Awakening - The Resurrection • Leo Nikoleyevich Tolstoy

... Once she had been exceedingly pretty; she was moderately pretty still. The narrow oval of her face remained unspoiled but the small features, once delicately clear, appeared in some strange way to be blurred and coarsened. The fine grained skin which should have been delicate and firm had coarsened also and upon close inspection showed multitudes of tiny lines. Her fluffy hair was very fair, ashy fair almost, and would have been startlingly lovely only that it, too, was spoiled by a dryness and lack of gloss which ...
— Up the Hill and Over • Isabel Ecclestone Mackay

... outrages committed against the merchants from Malacca who traded at Pase. Sequeira, partly from compassion, and partly from political motives, resolved to succour this prince, and by placing him on the throne establish a firm interest in the affairs of his kingdom. He accordingly gave orders to Jorge Alboquerque, who was then proceeding with a strong fleet towards Malacca, to take the youth with him, whose name was Orfacam,* and after having expelled Jeinal to put him in ...
— The History of Sumatra - Containing An Account Of The Government, Laws, Customs And - Manners Of The Native Inhabitants • William Marsden

... with effect upon the weakest part, and carrying the sword of death where its blow is certain of being mortal. But to accomplish these important and indispensable points, his judgment must be clear, his mind collected, his heart firm, and his eyes incapable of being diverted, even for a moment, by the trifling occurrences of ...
— Elements of Military Art and Science • Henry Wager Halleck

... of the firm of Barnum, Veil & Vickeroy, who had the mail contract from Kansas City, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, stopped over at Burlingame, Kansas, and there met Mr. Niles, the man for whom I was working. ...
— The Second William Penn - A true account of incidents that happened along the - old Santa Fe Trail • William H. Ryus

... this meek surrender of hope was incomprehensibly despicable. If he had hesitated before, his hard soul was firm now in the decision that John Gaspar must die, and so leave Sinclair's own road free. With all suspicion of a connection between him and Quade's death gone, Riley could play a free hand against Sandersen. He turned a face of iron ...
— The Rangeland Avenger • Max Brand

... sleep on the kind of bed we enjoyed that night. It was both soft and firm, with the clean, spicy smell of the pine. The heat from our big fire came in and we were warm as toast. It was so good to stretch out and rest. I kept thinking how superior I was since I dared to take such an outing when so many poor women down in Denver were bent on making ...
— Letters of a Woman Homesteader • Elinore Pruitt Stewart

... enterprise in the hands of men born and bred in Africa. Then, and not till then, will the experiment of African colonization, and of the ability of the colonists for self-support and self-government, have been fairly tried. My belief is firm in ...
— Journal of an African Cruiser • Horatio Bridge

... of water for land in private ownership shall be sold for a tract exceeding 160 acres to any one land owner. This provision has excited active and powerful hostility, but the success of the law itself depends on the wise and firm enforcement of it. We cannot afford to substitute tenants for freeholders ...
— State of the Union Addresses of Theodore Roosevelt • Theodore Roosevelt

... at once began to take us in, swallowing us feet foremost with becoming glacial deliberation. Our next attempt, made nearer the middle of the valley, was successful, and we soon found ourselves on firm gravelly ground, and made haste to the huge ice wall, which seemed to recede as we advanced. The only difficulty we met was a network of icy streams, at the largest of which we halted, not willing to get wet in fording. The Indian ...
— Travels in Alaska • John Muir

... write down all I wanted the people to do on a piece of paper," continued George; "get a good firm to print off so many copies, have them posted about the towns and villages; and ...
— Three Men on the Bummel • Jerome K. Jerome

... he saw in my eyes the firm resolve to acquaint the editor with the fact that his correspondent was still living—"but, oh! say that I have just paid to Messrs. Scharfenberg and Luis my subscription for the three copies owing the coming year"—and thereupon he vanished; and I haste to discharge my duty, ...
— Early Letters of George Wm. Curtis • G. W. Curtis, ed. George Willis Cooke

... information, and sniffed comprehensively at the office furniture. "I know this sort o' stuff," he said. "This is the way they fit up long firm offices and such. This place was taken for the job, that's plain, by one or both ...
— The Red Triangle - Being Some Further Chronicles of Martin Hewitt, Investigator • Arthur Morrison



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