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noun
Best  n.  Utmost; highest endeavor or state; most nearly perfect thing, or being, or action; as, to do one's best; to the best of our ability.
At best, in the utmost degree or extent applicable to the case; under the most favorable circumstances; as, life is at best very short.
For best, finally. (Obs.) "Those constitutions... are now established for best, and not to be mended."
To get the best of, to gain an advantage over, whether fairly or unfairly.
To make the best of.
(a)
To improve to the utmost; to use or dispose of to the greatest advantage. "Let there be freedom to carry their commodities where they can make the best of them."
(b)
To reduce to the least possible inconvenience; as, to make the best of ill fortune or a bad bargain.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Best" Quotes from Famous Books



... traitor, Hereward; I have fought by your side as well as the best; and if any but you ...
— Hereward, The Last of the English • Charles Kingsley

... article furnished by the city for his use, but rather as the result of many interesting processes, he has made a distinct growth in intelligence. When he has begun to apprehend the fruitfulness of the earth, both above ground and below, and the best way in which its products may be utilized and carried to the places where they are needed, he has not only acquired a knowledge of many kinds of industrial life which may help him to choose his life-work wisely from among them; but he has learned ...
— Diggers in the Earth • Eva March Tappan

... after the collapse of the Magyar Revolution of 1848-49, when Hungary lay crushed and bleeding under the heel of triumphant Austria and her Russian ally; when, deprived of all her ancient political rights and liberties, she had been handed over to the domination of the stranger, and saw her best and noblest sons either voluntary exiles, or suspected rebels under police surveillance. Jokai also was in the category of the proscribed. He had played a conspicuous part in the Revolution; he had served his country with both pen and ...
— The Day of Wrath • Maurus Jokai

... law. Now we recognize that we must learn to live as truly as we must learn to read, and that the culture of the soul must profit by the wondrous strides that all educational science has made; that all our efforts to produce character must be so wisely directed that we shall secure the best and most ...
— Levels of Living - Essays on Everyday Ideals • Henry Frederick Cope

... best explained by a rapid exemplification in the processes of Nature, from the first rudiments of individualized life in the lowest classes of its two great poles, the vegetable and animal creation, to its crown and consummation in the human body; thus illustrating at ...
— Hints towards the formation of a more comprehensive theory of life. • Samuel Taylor Coleridge

... Mick's Trigonometry. Twenty years hence I should have an income of thousands—thousands! I would then cease to teach (resign my professorship—that is to say, for of course I should be professor), and devote myself to a great work on Probability. Many a man has begun the best of his life at sixty—the most enjoyable ...
— The Odd Women • George Gissing

... heard a great deal of her beauty; and it had exceeded all I heard; so I talked my sublimest and brightest chit-chat, in my most musical tones, and was rather engaging and amusing, I ventured to hope. But the best man cannot manage a dialogue alone. Miss Brandon was plainly not a person to make any sort of exertion towards what is termed keeping up a conversation; at all events she did not, and after a while the present ...
— Wylder's Hand • J. Sheridan Le Fanu

... that dwelleth in us is most vividly described by Paul in the seventh chapter of Romans. Over the real meaning of this chapter, there has been much discussion and wide differences of opinion. Some writers think that this is the best experience of the great apostle of the Gentiles, and they draw consolation from this fact, as well as argument, in favor of continuing to sin in thought and word and deed as long as they live. Others think that the apostle is not here describing a Christian ...
— The Theology of Holiness • Dougan Clark

... the best Davidge could do. But the agony of the brevity of existence seized them both by the hearts, and their hearts throbbed and bled like birds crushed in the claws of hawks. Their hearts had such capabilities of joy, such songs in them, ...
— The Cup of Fury - A Novel of Cities and Shipyards • Rupert Hughes

... result he gained some reputation for having shown himself above jealousy, which springs up in the hearts of many of the best men by reason of emulation. Since he was a thorough patriot and did not practice virtue for a show he thought it a matter of indifference whether the State were benefited by him or through some other man, even if that man should ...
— Dio's Rome, Vol VI. • Cassius Dio

... from the country to go to the theatre last night, and his having paid for a private box because our order was not honoured, and such a poor play too. I wrote a very satirical letter to Merton, the wine merchant, who gave us the pass, and said, "Considering we had to pay for our seats, we did our best to appreciate the performance." I thought this line rather cutting, and I asked Carrie how many p's there were in appreciate, and she said, "One." After I sent off the letter I looked at the dictionary and found there were two. Awfully ...
— The Diary of a Nobody • George Grossmith and Weedon Grossmith

... left the room, and the third sat down by the table to act as guard. Fifteen minutes passed, during which Jim Farland and the man by the table exchanged pleasant remarks concerning each other, neither getting much the best ...
— The Brand of Silence - A Detective Story • Harrington Strong

... great traveler. Still, he has been abroad twice and has recently made a trip to Alaska. Lesser excursions have taken him to Virginia and Kentucky, and to Canada, and he has camped in Maine and the Adirondacks. But the district that he knows best and that he puts oftenest into his nature studies is his home country in the Catskills and the region about his "Riverby" farm. Very little of his writing, however, has been done in the house in which he lives. This was never a wholly ...
— A Year in the Fields • John Burroughs

... friends from boyhood. Especially towards Judge Bigelow did he entertain sentiments of deep gratitude for his many favors and kindnesses. But his duty, as counsel to Mrs. Montgomery, left him no alternative. She was heir prospective to this property, and he did not believe that the plans in view were best for her interests, in case no other heir was found. So, he went before the Court, and opposed the prayer of the executors. In doing so, he gained their ill-will, but did not succeed in preventing a decree authorizing a sale of the property. Dewey ...
— The Allen House - or Twenty Years Ago and Now • T. S. Arthur

... are among the best of any state, the only serious flaw being "10 sage grouse" per day: ...
— Our Vanishing Wild Life - Its Extermination and Preservation • William T. Hornaday

... by the Allies when concentrating themselves for the battle of Laon. Napoleon threw himself, therefore, into that town, and was making his best efforts to strengthen it, in expectation of the Prussian advance, when once more a messenger of evil tidings reached him. A detached Russian corps, commanded by St. Priest, a French emigrant, had seized Rheims by a coup-de-main. The ...
— The History of Napoleon Buonaparte • John Gibson Lockhart

... along with me! The best is yet to be, The last of life, for which the first I was made: Our times are in his hand Who saith "A whole I planned Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, ...
— The World's Best Poetry Volume IV. • Bliss Carman

... the lack of proper communications, it was impossible for the British artillery to do much damage. The defense of the bridges across the Des Layes kept the British forces from the ridges and the capture of Aubers. The best that the British seemed to be able to do was to prevent the German counterattack from ...
— The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII) - History of the European War from Official Sources • Various

... has a friend coming here on Tuesday, perhaps that would be the best day for him to go. Madame would not be likely to take ...
— At the Villa Rose • A. E. W. Mason

... then take possession of his kingdom; but the fear that he was in of Jonathan was an obstacle to this his design, for Jonathan was a friend to Antiochus, for which cause he resolved first to take Jonathan out of the way, and then to set about his design relating to Antiochus; but he judging it best to take him off by deceit and treachery, came from Antioch to Bethshan, which by the Greeks is called Scythopolis, at which place Jonathan met him with forty thousand chosen men, for he thought that he came to fight him; but when he perceived ...
— The Antiquities of the Jews • Flavius Josephus

... apparently reduced to the last extremity, they made no offer towards peace. Cortes now laid a plan for drawing the enemy into an ambush: For this purpose, he one night placed 30 of our cavalry, with 100 of our best foot soldiers, and 1000 Tlascalans, in some large houses which had belonged to a principal nobleman of Mexico. Next morning he went in person with the rest of our army to attack a post at a bridge, which was defended ...
— A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. IV. • Robert Kerr

... perceptions of immediate contact, to the utmost that the nature of the case admitted. Johnson doubtless was right in naming personal acquaintance as chief among the qualifications of a biographer; failing that, one must seek the best substitute. By either method the conception of character and temperament is formed; its reproduction to readers is a matter of power of expression, and of capacity to introduce aptly, here and there, the minute touches by which an artist secures ...
— From Sail to Steam, Recollections of Naval Life • Captain A. T. Mahan

... Herberts, Marlow, Chapman, and the rest. Since the constellation of great men who appeared in Greece in the time of Pericles, there was never any such society;—yet their genius failed them to find out the best head in the universe. Our poet's mask was impenetrable. You cannot see the mountain near. It took a century to make it suspected; and not until two centuries had passed, after his death, did any criticism which we think adequate begin ...
— Representative Men • Ralph Waldo Emerson

... Hamilton replied, seeing that his superior deemed the interview at an end. "I'll do the very best ...
— The Boy With the U.S. Census • Francis Rolt-Wheeler

... caught old Jake Hicks—worth a hundred thousand dollars, and stingier 'n all git-out. He leaned over and listened, same as if he was takin' 'em right off the bat. He's a retired farmer. If you'll find me a closer boy than a retired farmer moved to town, you can have the best plug ...
— The Wit and Humor of America, Volume III. (of X.) • Various

... too, when one thinks of its irregularity. Fitting as best she can the projecting angles of the new cell into the recessed corners of the cell already built, the Osmia runs up walls more or less curved, upright or slanting, which intersect one another at various points, so that each compartment requires a new and ...
— Bramble-bees and Others • J. Henri Fabre

... it was nothing. I dare say Rachel or you would have thought of some grand project which would have been effectual, but I couldn't think of anything to do but to tickle his vanity by making him the guest of honor at the best affair ...
— The Love Affairs of an Old Maid • Lilian Bell

... were an idiot. You have done your best to compromise your country, as you call it, with the British government. If your father is not sent out of Nassau, I shall lose ...
— Fighting for the Right • Oliver Optic

... yourself to drift into the habit of making excuses, you will never be able to speak without doing so, and even your best prepared effort will be unable to get by without a stupid ...
— The Art of Lecturing - Revised Edition • Arthur M. (Arthur Morrow) Lewis

... best of all, mein young vrient. Aha! Goot tog, den. You let me zee how you vas pad. I am your master's vrient; ...
— Diamond Dyke - The Lone Farm on the Veldt - Story of South African Adventure • George Manville Fenn

... The best bonnet was still very much askew, but the pleasant old face within, whose wrinkles had resumed their accustomed grooves, was irradiated with a look of unmistakable beatitude; and somehow it was borne in upon Nannie that her theatre party had ...
— A Bookful of Girls • Anna Fuller

... unexpectedly, with a hint of awkwardness. "I'm afraid I can only offer you—rough hospitality. It's the best I can do. My guests have all been of the male species till now. But you will put up with it? You won't be ...
— The Top of the World • Ethel M. Dell

... And so the "best laid plans o' mice and (wo)men" had "gone agley" in a demoralizing manner, and Neil Stewart had come down to Severndale "under full headway," and wasted no time in "laying hold of the helm." That talk upon the ...
— Peggy Stewart at School • Gabrielle E. Jackson

... important business were pending. She stood before the fireplace; her hands crossed behind her back like a man. Apparently, she had sought to be alone. Cayrol, Jeanne, and Micheline were in the garden. Serge felt uneasy. He had a presentiment of trouble. But determined to make the best of it, whatever it might be, he looked pleasant and bowed to Madame Desvarennes, without his face betraying ...
— Serge Panine • Georges Ohnet

... people. On the whole, the best people perhaps in the world; an amiable, unselfish, kindly people. I am positive that the vast majority of them go to Heaven. Indeed, comparing them with the other Christian nations of the earth, one is forced to ...
— Three Men on the Bummel • Jerome K. Jerome

... because he was himself, and was to a great degree even ignorant and indifferent to what the world was doing. He was filled with the joy of life; and with no furtive eye on the future, and no distracting fears concerning the present, he did his work and did it the best he could. He worked to please himself, cultivated the artistic conscience—scorning to create a single figure that did not spring into life because it must. All of his pictures ...
— Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Volume 6 - Subtitle: Little Journeys to the Homes of Eminent Artists • Elbert Hubbard

... mix sweet-smelling herbs. They filled the palace and sang the songs of the ancient kings in order to please the magician. Every month the most costly garments were brought him, and every morning the most delicate food. The magician allowed them to do so, and since he had no choice, made the best of it. ...
— The Chinese Fairy Book • Various

... Dunnerwust being entertained there. Ned was telling them stories, and pretending to be greatly absorbed in their society. As Sammy slipped in, with the inevitable grin on his face, although he was doing his best to suppress it, Ned ...
— Frank Merriwell's Chums • Burt L. Standish

... elapsed since Kriemhild had left her native land, the recollection of her wrongs was as vivid as ever, her melancholy just as profound, and her thoughts were ever busy planning how best to lure Hagen into her kingdom so as to ...
— Legends of the Middle Ages - Narrated with Special Reference to Literature and Art • H.A. Guerber

... to admire the scene around him for, as soon as they landed on the beach, the Booshalloch observed with some embarrassment, that, as they had not been bidden to the table of the dais, to which he seemed to have expected an invitation, they had best secure a place in one of the inferior bothies or booths; and was leading the way in that direction, when he was stopped by one of the bodyguards, seeming to act as master of ceremonies, who whispered something in ...
— The Fair Maid of Perth • Sir Walter Scott

... say, it was not long before Tientietnikov noticed that on the manorial lands, nothing prospered to the extent that it did on the peasants'. The manorial crops were sown in good time, and came up well, and every one appeared to work his best, so much so that Tientietnikov, who supervised the whole, frequently ordered mugs of vodka to be served out as a reward for the excellence of the labour performed. Yet the rye on the peasants' land had formed into ear, and the oats had begun to ...
— Dead Souls • Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol

... him, and the prospect near the fort was not encouraging. He gave the order to march, and led the way. The ground was hard here, and he galloped his horse at his best speed towards the second hill. The main body of the Riverlawns had a favorable position between the first hill and the end of the breastworks. The enemy had come down the pike. Between the two hills the two companies of the First ...
— A Lieutenant at Eighteen • Oliver Optic

... "And the best of it is, that we have all those thousands of dollars," continued the young fireman. "We are not exactly rich, but we ...
— Ralph on the Engine - The Young Fireman of the Limited Mail • Allen Chapman

... remarked that that was likely enough, and that they only waited to see in what manner it was to be done. No one who knew him doubted old Rube to be, as in fact he was, one of the very best marksmen in the mountains—fully equal, perhaps, to the Indian; but it was the style and circumstances which had given such eclat to the shot of the latter. It was not every day that a beautiful girl could be found to stand fire ...
— The Scalp Hunters • Mayne Reid

... equally little could New Jersey be permitted to require New York to give up its power altogether in order that the river might come down to it undiminished. Both States have real and substantial interests in the river that must be reconciled as best they may be."[463] ...
— The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation • Edward Corwin

... salerooms. Fortunately for booksellers the latter plan does not suit busy men, and it is just that class, especially the merchant and the stockbroker, the solicitor and accountant, who are their best clients. ...
— The Book-Collector • William Carew Hazlitt

... sure indication of satisfaction. One of the galloping horses slackened its gait. Perhaps its rider had heard the approach of that other, and, with the curious instinctive suspicion of the western trail, prepared to pass him under the best conditions for defensiveness. Perhaps it was simply the natural action of a ...
— The Golden Woman - A Story of the Montana Hills • Ridgwell Cullum

... or less deliberately pornographic effect. There is, however, some power in this book, and the "curtain"—the foiled husband, after Mlle. Giraud's death, seeing his she-rival swimming, swims out after and drowns her—is quite refreshing. But I have always liked M. Belot best for a thoughtful and delightful remark in La Femme de Feu. "Heureuse elle-meme, elle trouva naturel de faire les autres heureux," which, translated into plain English, means that she was so happy with her husband ...
— A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2 - To the Close of the 19th Century • George Saintsbury

... At about half past four we reached Boston (which name has been shortened, in the course of ages, by the quick and slovenly English pronunciation, from Botolph's town), and were taken by a cab to the Peacock, in the market-place. It was the best hotel in town, though a poor one enough; and we were shown into a small, stifled parlor, dingy, musty, and scented with stale tobacco-smoke,—tobacco-smoke two days old, for the waiter assured us that the room had not more recently been fumigated. An exceedingly ...
— Our Old Home - A Series of English Sketches • Nathaniel Hawthorne

... more care and a little more conscience in cultivation of material and composition of parts. The satirical references to Jonson are more pointed and effective in this comedy than in either of the two plays last mentioned; but its best claim to remembrance is to be sought in the admirable soliloquy which relates the seven years' experience of the student and his spaniel. Marston is too often heaviest when he would and should be lightest—owing ...
— The Age of Shakespeare • Algernon Charles Swinburne

... guides traveled with snowshoes an' did their best to make a trail, Jarvis doing a big share o' the work. The runners of the sleds went clear down an' the dogs sank nearly out of sight in their struggles to move 'em. The men had to go backwards and forwards a dozen times in front of the sled, stamping it down hard. Then the dogs would drag it ...
— The Boy With the U. S. Life-Savers • Francis Rolt-Wheeler

... May, I'm so sorry," cried her brother Phil, as he sprang up the steps; "I did my best to hurry through with it. I'm afraid I've kept you and George waiting ...
— Post Haste • R.M. Ballantyne

... Katharine. 'Peradventure it is best that Cicely have gone. Being a madcap, her comings and goings are heeded by no man, and it is true that she resorteth daily to the Bishop of Winchester, to ...
— The Fifth Queen • Ford Madox Ford

... blunder," Gifford said, his face stinging from the cut about friendship. "I never seem to know how to tell the truth without giving offense—but—but, Lois, you know I think you are the best ...
— John Ward, Preacher • Margaret Deland

... with the development of intelligence, new ways of fulfilling the necessary tasks suggest themselves, moral problems arise where none were felt before. Men learn that they have not made the most of their opportunities or lived the best possible lives; they have veered this way and that according to the moment's impulse, they have been misled by ingrained habits and paralyzed by inertia, they have wandered at random for lack of a clear vision of their goal. The task of the moralist ...
— Problems of Conduct • Durant Drake

... some historians, Edward invited them aboard of his galley, and represented to them that the time had come for renouncing imperfect resolves and half-measures; told them that their count, Louis of Flanders, and his ancestors, had always ignored and attacked their liberties, and that the best thing they could do would be to sever their connection with a house they could not trust; and offered them for their chieftain his own son, the young Prince of Wales, to whom he would give the title of Duke of Flanders. According to ...
— A Popular History of France From The Earliest Times - Volume II. of VI. • Francois Pierre Guillaume Guizot

... day that Mrs. Bolling talked to me, I think. There are things she said that I've never forgotten. I told Uncle Peter to think about it and then help me to decide which to do, and I want you to think, Uncle David, and tell me truly what you believe the best preparation for a business life would be. I thought perhaps I might be a stenographer in an editorial office, and my training there would be more use to me than four years at ...
— Turn About Eleanor • Ethel M. Kelley

... Christmas table. So now these are brought forth, not snow-white certainly, nor of a damask texture, being indeed somewhat sackclothy in their appearance, but still they are immeasurably in advance of the bare boards; and when the covers are laid, with each man's best knife and fork, with a little additional crockery-ware borrowed of a beneficent married woman and with the dainty sprigs of evergreen stuck on every available coign, the ...
— Camps, Quarters, and Casual Places • Archibald Forbes

... sack, and claret?—we'll try them all," said Bothwell, "and stick to that which is best. There's good sense in that, if the damn'dest whig in Scotland ...
— Old Mortality, Complete, Illustrated • Sir Walter Scott

... gathered from all around to witness it; among them many strangers from considerable distances. Yes, everybody was there except the accused. He was too feeble in body for the strain. But Marget was present, and keeping up her hope and her spirit the best she could. The money was present, too. It was emptied on the table, and was handled and caressed and examined by such as ...
— Innocents abroad • Mark Twain

... editions of the classics and the fathers, the choice, as it should seem, of Mr. Law; and many English publications of the times had been occasionally added. From this slender beginning I have gradually formed a numerous and select library, the foundation of my works, and the best comfort of my life, both at home and abroad. On the receipt of the first quarter, a large share of my allowance was appropriated to my literary wants. I cannot forget the joy with which I exchanged a bank-note of twenty pounds for the twenty volumes of the Memoirs of the Academy ...
— Memoirs of My Life and Writings • Edward Gibbon

... $10.00), gives a remarkable account of the medival Church and the abuses which prevailed. The first volume also contains unexcelled chapters upon the origin of both the Franciscan and Dominican orders. For St. Francis, by far the best work is Sabatier's beautiful biography, St. Francis of Assisi (Charles Scribner's Sons, $2.50). The earliest and best source for Francis is The Mirror of Perfection (Page, Boston, 75 cents), by Brother Leo, which shows the love and admiration in which "Little ...
— An Introduction to the History of Western Europe • James Harvey Robinson

... Raising a Peal of Bells true, the modern & best Practice recommends the swiftest and quickest possible, every one taking Assistance to raise his Bell, as its going requires: The lesser Bells as Treble, &c. being by main strength held down in their first Sway (or pull) ...
— The School of Recreation (1684 edition) • Robert Howlett

... well established himself in the commanding position he had resolved upon, when the sound of voices became more distinct. The party had plainly arrived at the appointed place, and Wendot could hear them discussing who was best fitted for the task of traversing the dangerous ledge to bring back the captive who was to be found there. The wild Welsh was unintelligible to Gertrude, or she would have known at once what dark treachery had been planned and carried out by her trusted companions; but Wendot's cheek ...
— The Lord of Dynevor • Evelyn Everett-Green

... that warm baths would be more beneficial to the limbs of the aged rustic than the prescriptions of a not over-wise doctor). If he seems to be extreme in his condemnation of medicine and to rely too much on diet and exercise, he might appeal to nearly all the best physicians of our own age in support of his opinions, who often speak to their patients of the worthlessness of drugs. For we ourselves are sceptical about medicine, and very unwilling to submit to the purgative treatment ...
— Timaeus • Plato

... made Use of the best and only Expedient for my Enlargement; for which I thank you, since I know it is purely the Effect of your Love. Your Agent has a mighty Influence on my Father: And you may assure yourself, that as you have advis'd and desir'd ...
— The Works of Aphra Behn - Volume V • Aphra Behn

... an element of truth as well as of prejudice; for the natural tendency of the extreme effort for protection undoubtedly is to obscure the fundamental truth, which he constantly preached, that the best protection is to injure the enemy. Nor was his instinct more at fault in recognizing that the rage for material advance, though a good thing, carries with it the countervailing disposition to rely upon ...
— Admiral Farragut • A. T. Mahan

... de Tourzel, respecting the dispositions of her children and the characters and abilities of the sub-governesses under that lady's orders. This paper, which the Queen drew up at the time of Madame de Tourzel's appointment, with several letters from Maria Theresa, filled with the best advice and instructions, was printed after the 10th of August by order of the Assembly in the collection of papers found in the secretaires of the ...
— Marguerite de Navarre - Memoirs of Marguerite de Valois Queen of Navarre • Marguerite de Navarre

... to say that I think it better you should leave us. Forgive this plain speaking, Miss Derrick. It's always best to ...
— The Paying Guest • George Gissing

... you dancing this evening, and you had the very best of the girls for your partners. Is it that you won't come in because you wish to stand here, and think over the past hours ...
— The Return of the Native • Thomas Hardy

... for a saint in dying, Sweeter than a death-bell for a saint at rest, Music struck in Heaven with earth's faint replying, "Life is good, and death is good, for Christ is Best." ...
— Poems • Christina G. Rossetti

... "shantyman" in his time too, and was killed by a strained rope striking him across the middle. Etienne did not remember him. The time sped on. They made me as comfortable as they could in the front or "best" room, but, when I thought it would not offend them, I slept outside—"couchant a la belle etoile" as Rousseau has it— and beautiful nights those were I spent in this manner. We had plenty of fruit—wild strawberries and raspberries—pork and beans and potatoes forming the staple articles ...
— Crowded Out! and Other Sketches • Susie F. Harrison

... house, once powerful and wealthy, in the west of Ireland, have been all but beggared through the same infamous government, and their accursed agents, who had plundered them of every acre they possessed, and exiled the bravest and best of them to these ...
— Ridgeway - An Historical Romance of the Fenian Invasion of Canada • Scian Dubh

... that at Jundhra, that were too far away to strike at Delhi and too large and too efficient to be shut in by the mutineers. They were centers on their own account of isolated small detachments, and each commander was given leave to act as he saw best, provided that he acted and did it quickly. He could either march to the relief of his detachments or call them in, but under no condition was he to sit still ...
— Told in the East • Talbot Mundy

... responsibility as to any of the views or statements of their own that the book contains. They have realized the extreme reluctance of Mr. Edison to be made the subject of any biography at all; while he has felt that, if it must be written, it were best done by the hands of friends and associates of long standing, whose judgment and discretion he could trust, and whose intimate knowledge of the facts would save ...
— Edison, His Life and Inventions • Frank Lewis Dyer and Thomas Commerford Martin

... at Paardeberg, the commanders were not at their best when acting in partibus beyond the personal control of Lord Roberts, on the other hand De Wet's release from immediate subordination to Cronje seemed to make him a more dangerous foe. His capture of the convoy ...
— A Handbook of the Boer War • Gale and Polden, Limited

... of waiting Larsen cleared his throat solemnly. "It'd be best we tell Gaspar direct what we're ...
— The Rangeland Avenger • Max Brand

... father replied, "and I don't say you would be wrong according to our notions; but I do not say that the English plan is not the best. The English gentleman—for Monsieur Sandwith says that even among grown-up people the same habits prevail—does not disdain to show the canaille that even with their own rough weapons he is their superior, ...
— In the Reign of Terror - The Adventures of a Westminster Boy • G. A. Henty

... chance," she said audibly, finding her voice. "You must do what you think—best. I have nothing to say to him. You need not delay ...
— The Web of Life • Robert Herrick

... do badly? Should we let them die as soon as possible from hunger? Brrr! it is terrible! Does father think so really, or did he only say what he did to get rid of those gentlemen the more quickly? Father you are good, the best, a dear, golden father. Do you really believe what you said, or was it to get rid of those men? I beg you to answer me, I ...
— The Argonauts • Eliza Orzeszko (AKA Orzeszkowa)

... there was a difficulty. "My dear Lord Fawn. As we have been engaged to marry each other, and as all our friends have been told, I think that the thing had better go on." That, after various attempts, was, she thought, the best letter that she could send,—if she should make up her mind to be Lady Fawn. But, on the morning of the 30th of March she had not sent her letter. She had told herself that she would take two days to think of her reply,—and, on the Friday morning the few words she had prepared were ...
— The Eustace Diamonds • Anthony Trollope

... Boirohen, in the tenth century. After his victory over the Danes, and their expulsion from the island, he opened schools and colleges for indigent students, founded libraries, and encouraged learning heartily. He was one of the best harpers of his kingdom. His harp is preserved in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, and a well made instrument it is, albeit now somewhat out of repair. It is about thirty inches high; the wood is oak and arms of brass. There are twenty-eight strings fixed in the sounding table by ...
— A Popular History of the Art of Music - From the Earliest Times Until the Present • W. S. B. Mathews

... must be like those in a labyrinth, which all of them lead into the great parterre; or like so many several lodging chambers, which have their outlets into the same gallery. Perhaps, after all, if we could think so, the ancient method, as it is the easiest, is also the most natural, and the best. For variety, as it is managed, is too often subject to breed distraction; and while we would please too many ways, for want of art in the conduct, we please in none[2]. But we have given you more already than was necessary for a preface; and, for aught we know, may gain ...
— The Works of John Dryden, Vol. 6 (of 18) - Limberham; Oedipus; Troilus and Cressida; The Spanish Friar • John Dryden

... absolute conviction that this was the map of the universe can we begin to understand how he would have dreaded Magellan or Peary or the aviator who risked a collision with the angels and the vault of heaven by flying seven miles up in the air. In the same way we can best understand the furies of war and politics by remembering that almost the whole of each party believes absolutely in its picture of the opposition, that it takes as fact, not what is, but what it supposes to ...
— Public Opinion • Walter Lippmann

... held at Pierrefitte on Thursday, February 27th. The best Battery D could do in the divisional competition was a good record of two third places with the yellow ribbons. The show was conducted in inclement weather, a combination of rain, hail and snow worrying many of the high-spirited chevaux as they walked, trotted ...
— The Delta of the Triple Elevens - The History of Battery D, 311th Field Artillery US Army, - American Expeditionary Forces • William Elmer Bachman

... from below, or puddling and washing off "the dirt." Up come the buckets from the shafts, down which the diggers are working, and the dirty yellow water is poured down-hill to find its way to the creek as it best may. Unmade roads, or rather tracks, run in and out amongst the claims, knee-deep in mud; the ground being kept in a state of constant sloppiness by the perpetual washing for the gold. Perhaps there is a fight going on over the boundary-pegs of a claim which have been ...
— A Boy's Voyage Round the World • The Son of Samuel Smiles

... very pleasing, and where it is best, it has a decided ring of Tennyson in it.... The author possesses true poetical genius.—Calcutta Statesman and Friend ...
— Tales of Ind - And Other Poems • T. Ramakrishna

... several times in the sierra; the other one had been only as far as Chuhuichupa, and, although he did not remember the way very well, still he thought that with the help of the other man he would be able to make out the route. As we could do no better, we had to take him as the best guide available. ...
— Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2) • Carl Lumholtz

... methods through which justice is administered, are founded in the largest wisdom, philanthropy, and experience,—that they cannot work perfectly, because human nature is imperfect, but they constitute the best practical system for the application of abstract principles of right to the complicated affairs of life which the world has yet seen, and which steadily improves as our race improves,—and that every great lawyer is aiding in elucidating ...
— Atlantic Monthly Vol. 6, No. 33, July, 1860 • Various

... (ghosts keep up with science, you observe), what business have you to be holding up my person to the contempt of my posterity? Haven't I been sleeping for this many a year in quiet, and don't the dandelions and buttercups look as yellow over me as over the best-looking neighbor I have in the dormitory? Why do you want to people the minds of everybody that reads your good-for-nothing libel which you call a "biography" with your impudent caricatures of a man who was ...
— The Poet at the Breakfast Table • Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

... what his aunt was going to do; and where a subtler mind had held its peace, Sabina erred again and praised Miss Ironsyde. In truth, she was not at her best to-night and her excitement acted unfavourably on Raymond. He fought against his own emotions, and listened to her high-strung chatter and plans for the future. A torrent of blame had better suited the ...
— The Spinners • Eden Phillpotts

... this kind I prefer that the parties should be of legal age; though were they minors I should feel it to be my duty to marry them all the same, because, I think, when a youth and maiden run away with each other the best thing a Christian minister can do for them is to ...
— Victor's Triumph - Sequel to A Beautiful Fiend • Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth

... and had been resisted, was, of itself, sufficient to damage him; for his bearing should, in the estimation of slaveholders, be of that imperial order that should make such an occurrence impossible. I judge from these circumstances, that Covey deemed it best to{192} give me the go-by. It is, perhaps, not altogether creditable to my natural temper, that, after this conflict with Mr. Covey, I did, at times, purposely aim to provoke him to an attack, by refusing to ...
— My Bondage and My Freedom • Frederick Douglass

... trees or shrubs that lose their leaves annually, special leaves are developed for the protection of the young leaves during the winter. These have the form of thick scales, and often are provided with glands secreting a gummy substance which helps render them water-proof. These scales are best studied in trees with large, winter buds, such as the horsechestnut (Fig. 92), hickory, lilac, etc. On removing the hard, scale leaves, the delicate, young leaves, and often the flowers, may be found within the bud. If we examine a young shoot ...
— Elements of Structural and Systematic Botany - For High Schools and Elementary College Courses • Douglas Houghton Campbell

... have been made here during the interval, are striking evidences of the tendency of liberal political institutions, to promote the progress of civilization and learning. I beg, you to accept my warmest thanks for your kind expressions of personal civility to myself, and my best wishes for the continued prosperity of the valuable establishment over which ...
— Memoirs of General Lafayette • Lafayette

... of course; but flash-riding at its best. And how the boys enjoyed it! Now the little group of "buckeroos," heretofore rather shyly in the background, shone ...
— The Rules of the Game • Stewart Edward White

... him. "Must be one of the troupe, then. Let's see—Number Twenty-seven, was n't it? Twenty-seven—oh, yes, here it is. That's a fact," and his finger slowly traced the line as he spelled out the name, "'Miss Beth Norvell.' Oh, I remember her now—black hair, and a long gray coat; best looker among 'em. Manager said she 'd have to be given a room all to herself; but I clean forgot I assigned her to Twenty-seven. Make much ...
— Beth Norvell - A Romance of the West • Randall Parrish

... in their way of going down over the mountain wall. The misadventures of Cook alone would fill volumes. Monrovia boy is out and away the best man at this work. Just as we reach the high jungle grass, down comes the rain and up comes the mist, and we have the worst time we have had during our whole trip, in our endeavours to find the hole in the forest that leads to ...
— Travels in West Africa • Mary H. Kingsley

... Arthur that Sir Mordred had pight a new field upon Barendown. And on the morrow the king rode thither to him, and there was a great battle between them, and much people were slain on both parts. But at the last King Arthur's party stood best, and Sir Mordred and ...
— A Book of English Prose - Part II, Arranged for Secondary and High Schools • Percy Lubbock

... considerable time, after the Example of other Nations; where, we are informed, the Stages were very chaste, in respect of ours of this Nation, who are of a Reformed Religion, and do with so much Reason glory in being of the best constituted Church in the World; nay, 'tis out of doubt but the Theatres even of Greece and Rome under Heathenism were less obnoxious and offensive, which yet by the Primitive Fathers and General Councils ...
— Representation of the Impiety and Immorality of the English Stage (1704); Some Thoughts Concerning the Stage in a Letter to a Lady (1704) • Anonymous

... of which are epiphytal naturally, but which are found to thrive best in pots in our houses, a mixture of equal parts of peat and loam with sand and brick rubble in the same proportion as before recommended, will be found most suitable. Leaf mould is sometimes used for these plants; but unless really good ...
— Cactus Culture For Amateurs • W. Watson

... even scratched, thanks to Bernheim's steel vest I was wearing. Half an hour later, our cousin of Lotzen, with Mrs. Spencer on his arm, met me, alone, in a retired part of the Garden, forced a duel, and did his level best to run me through, by a trick of fence he thought he, ...
— The Colonel of the Red Huzzars • John Reed Scott

... this secret treaty was drafted, on March 10, 1557, Glencairn, Lorne, Erskine, and the Prior of St. Andrews—best known to us in after years as James Stewart, Earl of Moray—informed Knox that no "cruelty" by way of persecution was being practised; that his presence was desired, and that they were ready to jeopard their lives and goods for the cause. The rest would be told to Knox by the bearer of the letter. ...
— John Knox and the Reformation • Andrew Lang

... settlers of Australia, whose wealth depends chiefly on its pastoral occupation, have introduced many of the best Old-World pasture grasses (chiefly of the genera Poa and Festuca), and many thousands of acres are said to be "laid down with English grass." Some of these are now so wide-spread in their acclimatization, that the botanists are at variance as to whether they are ...
— A Dictionary of Austral English • Edward Morris

... and Bill shake hands, and then I took Bill aside and told him I was going to Poplar Cove, a little village three miles from the cave, and find out what I could about how the kidnapping had been regarded in Summit. Also, I thought it best to send a peremptory letter to old man Dorset that day, demanding the ransom and dictating ...
— Short Stories for English Courses • Various (Rosa M. R. Mikels ed.)

... of her dining-room at Anemone Cottage. She was wont to say at home that one of the best features of her vacation was not having to consider the cost of providing for the little household; and to-night the immaculate table, with its ferns and wild roses in the centre, was laden with good things for the wanderers who ...
— The Opened Shutters • Clara Louise Burnham

... spent the morning on the steps, his difficulties being by no means lessened by the tremolo movement which Martha called steadying them. Twice he was nearly shaken from his perch like an over-ripe plum, but all went well until they were hanging the curtains in the best bed-room, when Martha, stooping to recover a dropped ring, shut the steps up like a ...
— Salthaven • W. W. Jacobs

... on the best highways at that time the ruts were deep, the descents precipitous, and the way often such that it was hardly possible to distinguish it in the dark from the unenclosed heath and fen which lay on both sides. It was only in fine weather that the whole breadth ...
— The Road and the Roadside • Burton Willis Potter

... I played my best game, but even if I had I could not have won at the odds stipulated. I never lose interest in a golf game, but I must confess that I paid far more attention to her play than to ...
— John Henry Smith - A Humorous Romance of Outdoor Life • Frederick Upham Adams

... account of other forces at work in the development of the great commercial centres of the North as, for example, the fact that the peculiar conditions of the Lancashire climate are such that the processes of cotton-spinning can be best effected in an atmosphere containing the amount ...
— Ireland and the Home Rule Movement • Michael F. J. McDonnell

... for the best, I can't help it, I love you just the same; let me go, let me go!" Verena stammered, kissing her again, struggling to free herself, and holding out her hand to Ransom. He saw now that she only wanted to get away, to leave everything behind her. Olive was close ...
— The Bostonians, Vol. II (of II) • Henry James

... that afternoon her mother had been in her bedroom changing her dress. When she came out she had on her best black dress, her black shawl and gloves, and her best bonnet. The three women stared at her. She stood before them a second without speaking. The strange look, for which Lois had watched her ...
— Jane Field - A Novel • Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

... importance on the governor of the province, which latter, in his turn, depends on the governor of the Philippine islands. I confess that I have always considered the mode of government peculiar to the Philippines as the most convenient and best adapted for civilization. The Spaniards, at the period of their conquest, found it in full operation ...
— Adventures in the Philippine Islands • Paul P. de La Gironiere

... like that is always refreshing, and doubly so in the wilderness. For what is fatherhood at its best, everywhere, but the training of good men to take the teacher's place when his work is done? Some day, when Johnny's rheumatism has made his joints a little stiffer and his eyes have lost something ...
— Little Rivers - A Book Of Essays In Profitable Idleness • Henry van Dyke

... the authentic Midas touch. Only the little Carlotta stood between him and sheer, sordid money grubbing. And even she was an excuse for the getting of always more and more wealth. He told himself Carlotta should be a veritable princess, should go always clad in the finest, have of the best, be surrounded always by the most beautiful. She should know only joy and ...
— Wild Wings - A Romance of Youth • Margaret Rebecca Piper

... intended to have included a number of poems from Neus' Ehstnische Volkslieder in the present volumes, but found that it was unnecessary, as Latham has already given an English version of most of the best in his "Nationalities ...
— The Hero of Esthonia and Other Studies in the Romantic Literature of That Country • William Forsell Kirby

... parents. Whether such a law would be advisable in this country I will not pretend to determine. But it seems at any rate highly improper, by positive institutions, which render dependent poverty so general, to weaken that disgrace, which for the best and most humane reasons ought ...
— An Essay on the Principle of Population • Thomas Malthus

... said Musette, kissing him several times. "Do not ask me anything, but let me warm myself beside you. You see I put on my best dress to come. Poor Maurice, he could not understand it when I set off to come here, but it was stronger than myself, so I started. The fire is nice," she added, holding out her little hand to the flames, "I will stay with you till tomorrow ...
— Bohemians of the Latin Quarter • Henry Murger

... did not surrender the city of Guayaquil, but undertook the reorganization and enlargement of his army. Bolivar prepared himself for new struggles, while in private he did his best to have the capitulation fulfilled. Advancing to Guayaquil, he succeeded in recovering without a single shot the land lost by Colombia, for La Mar had become unpopular in Peru on account of this war and was deprived of his command and expelled from the country. Immediately ...
— Simon Bolivar, the Liberator • Guillermo A. Sherwell

... felt in his pockets for a cigar and found his case unexpectedly empty. He turned back to a drugstore, went in and supplied himself from the best in stock—none too good for his ...
— The Twenty-Fourth of June • Grace S. Richmond

... the complaisant Mr. Winterblossom; "undoubtedly you know best, and your signature is completely sufficient to authenticate this transaction—however, as it is the most important which has occurred since the Spring was established, I propose we shall all sign the proces-verbal, as I may ...
— St. Ronan's Well • Sir Walter Scott

... from North Wind, the difference between his hand and those of South and North Winds, respectively. He then discards his hand and leaves the South and North Winds to settle. They do this by South Wind collecting 48 points from North; both discard their tiles, and the scores are settled. It might be best here to analyze the above layout to see how the play went. East Wind's hand appeared harmless enough because he had most of it concealed, only exposing two sets. On this account, none of the other opponents would hesitate about discarding the eight of bamboo which allowed him to Mah-Jongg. North ...
— Pung Chow - The Game of a Hundred Intelligences. Also known as Mah-Diao, Mah-Jong, Mah-Cheuk, Mah-Juck and Pe-Ling • Lew Lysle Harr

... sleep for two nights," the latter replied. "She has been so much better that we dreaded the thought of a relapse, so Mrs. Coulson, our matron, thought it best to let her have her own way about coming. Instead of telegraphing to you, unfortunately, we telegraphed to Doctor Harrison, and I ...
— The Great Impersonation • E. Phillips Oppenheim

... still French, as I have said, soon swept away the site of the village outside the fort; and when the English had begun to look upon this as their permanent headquarters in the northwest—this fort, which Captain Pittman had reported to be the best- built fort in America—the still hostile river rose one night, and with its "resistless flood" tore away a bastion and a part of the river wall, then moved its channel away, and left the fort a ...
— The French in the Heart of America • John Finley

... deny Dr. Clarke's statement, that, with the best of opportunities, she does not in these respects compare favorably with her trans-Atlantic sisters. But we are not willing to admit that the strength of the German fraeulein and English damsel must be purchased at so great a sacrifice as the giving up of all systematic study, and ...
— The Education of American Girls • Anna Callender Brackett

... silence. The sailor always looked at his best when hard at work. The half-sullen, wholly self-contained expression left his face, which lit up with enthusiasm and concentrated intelligence. That which he essayed he did with all his might. Will power and ...
— The Wings of the Morning • Louis Tracy

... over-much, Astringent, according to C. Celsus; and therefore seldom eaten raw, excepting by the Dutch. The Cymae, or Sprouts rather of the Cole are very delicate, so boil'd as to retain their Verdure and green Colour. In raising this Plant great care is to be had of the Seed. The best comes from Denmark and Russia, especially the Cauly-flower, (anciently unknown) or from Aleppo. Of the French, the Pancaliere a la large Coste, the white, large and ponderous are to be chosen; and so the Cauly-flower: After boiling some steep them in Milk, and seethe them again ...
— Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets • John Evelyn

... German officer having sent a ball to this chapel which struck the wall just above the king's head, the latter sent word that if they did not cease firing he would point his cannons at the minster. The citizens thought it best to spare the ...
— Seeing Europe with Famous Authors, Volume V (of X) • Various

... would be regular troops; the anxious solicitude of the government of South Carolina; all concurred to induce the adoption of a measure which, in its consequences, was extremely pernicious to the United States. In the opinion of those who were best enabled to judge of his conduct, General Lincoln appears to have been completely justified. The confidence of his government, and the esteem of the Commander-in-chief, sustained ...
— The Life of George Washington, Vol. 3 (of 5) • John Marshall

... tough sinews of the deer for sewing. They knew how to prepare the skins of the deer for mocassins, which they could cut out and make as neatly as the squaws themselves. They could fashion arrow-heads, and knew how best to season the wood for making both the long and cross-bow; they had seen the fish-hooks these people manufactured from bone and hard wood; they knew that strips of fresh-cut skins would make bow-strings, or the entrails of animals ...
— Canadian Crusoes - A Tale of The Rice Lake Plains • Catharine Parr Traill

... get work. Leslie Branch, too, failed to find steady employment, though he managed, by the sale of an occasional column, to keep them both from actual suffering. His cough, meanwhile, grew worse day by day, for the spring was late and raw. As a result his spirits rose, and he became the best of all possible good companions. Johnnie, who was becoming constantly more fond of him, felt his anxiety increase in proportion to this improvement in mood; it seemed to him that Branch was on the very ...
— Rainbow's End • Rex Beach

... is the true poet, is found in the character of the old pedlar, in the Excursion. The origin of Keats might be assumed to have its share in molding poets' views on caste, but only the most insensitive have dared to touch upon his Cockney birth. In the realm of Best Sellers, however, the hero of May Sinclair's novel, The Divine Fire, who is presumably modeled after Keats, is a lower class Londoner, presented with the most unflinching realism that the author can achieve. Consummate indeed is the artistry ...
— The Poet's Poet • Elizabeth Atkins

... a little surprised at the informality of his attire, but there is something in the bearing of a restaurant habitue that would procure him the best the establishment can afford even though he appeared in a ...
— Men of Affairs • Roland Pertwee

... would believe it: it seems too improbable, being real life. It will be more improbable before we finish the adventure, I suspect. Can I trust your discretion to keep it secret? You know, I have a deal of skepticism about the best ...
— The Voice on the Wire • Eustace Hale Ball

... this water contains all the variety of monsters represented in this cut. But the fact is far otherwise; and it is doubtful whether these animals could frequently be detected in the Croton water, with the best solar microscope. Nevertheless, the fact is readily and clearly established that the Croton water contains a quantity of deleterious matter, which is arrested by the filters; and, on this account, we cheerfully and heartily recommend the adoption of filters by all who use ...
— Scientific American magazine Vol 2. No. 3 Oct 10 1846 • Various

... absence of green matter (chlorophyll) testifies to dishonest methods of gaining a living (see Indian pipe); not even a root is left after the seedling is old enough to twine about its hard-working, respectable neighbors. Starting out in life with apparently the best intentions, suddenly the tender young twiner develops an appetite for strong drink and murder combined, such as would terrify any budding criminal in Five Points or Seven Dials! No sooner has it laid hold of its victim and tapped it, than the now useless root and lower ...
— Wild Flowers, An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and - Their Insect Visitors - - Title: Nature's Garden • Neltje Blanchan

... is because that one like me should be present here. Scorched with the powerful shafts of Bhimasena, every limb of mine is suffering from torturing pain. I shall, however, for all that, fight to the best of my powers. My life itself is for thee. I shall strive my best so that this foremost one of the sons of Pandu may not succeed in slaying the ruler of the Sindhus. As long as I shall fight, shooting my whetted shafts, the heroic ...
— The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2 • Kisari Mohan Ganguli

... the toy shops and choose for the child what she will like best. Dolls—games—you will know what to select. Send the bill to me at Coombe ...
— The Head of the House of Coombe • Frances Hodgson Burnett



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