"Humph" Quotes from Famous Books
 ... "Humph!" said Dirk, as he slowly took his hands out of his pockets, eyes still fixed on the corner where the carriage had turned, "what if ...
— Ester Ried Yet Speaking • Isabella Alden
... "Humph! Blaxham & Company!" he grunted. "'We own and offer, subject to prior sale, the following high grade investment bonds.' Oh yes! I'll take the whole bundle." He drew out the letter and looked at it, perfunctorily, before sending it to rest with its fellows.—It wasn't ...
— In Her Own Right • John Reed Scott
... the denouement of last summer to have been conclusive, in good faith. Undoubtedly there is some secret agent, some underwork, perhaps restraint, of which I am ignorant. I strongly suspect that she has done violence to her feelings. Shall I or shall I not investigate this point? Humph! heighho! ...
— Memoirs of Aaron Burr, Complete • Matthew L. Davis
... "Humph! That is certainly strange," murmured Bess. "I guess those chaps will bear watching. What can they be up to, do you think—watching your house and following you ...
— Nan Sherwood at Palm Beach - Or Strange Adventures Among The Orange Groves • Annie Roe Carr
... across at Adam, seemed to wink one of her stony eyes, as much as to say, "Humph! Somebody else has been getting into trouble. There's more kinds of forbidden fruit than ...
— The Gate of the Giant Scissors • Annie Fellows Johnston
... an emphatic "Humph!" as he sat down to the second breakfast after Anna had gone to the cliff to resume ...
— The Long Vacation • Charlotte M. Yonge
... "Humph!" said her father, and he sat frowning thoughtfully a while—ignoring her mocking irony, or choosing to take her seriously. "You can't really put your finger on anything," he said to his wife, "and it ain't likely there is anything. ...
— Henry James, Jr. • William Dean Howells
... "Humph! Just like you young fellows. In some things you have no more brains than geese. Being made of cast-iron and shoe-leather you assume that everybody else is, or ought to be, made of the same raw ...
— Charlie to the Rescue • R.M. Ballantyne
... clapped him on the shoulder. "I haven't seen you since you took your degree. Splendid, my boy! But it might have been better. I hear you are reading Law—good. With the House before you? Good again! Let me look at you. Humph!" He grunted a little disappointment. "You don't look quite so—quite so—what? Do you take ...
— The Strand Magazine, Volume V, Issue 25, January 1893 - An Illustrated Monthly • Various
... "Humph!" said Mrs. Lane, biting off a thread. "Phebe may go where she likes, for all me, so long as only she goes. Baptist I was bred, and Baptist I'll be buried; but it's with churches as with teas, I say. One's as good as another, but people may take green, ...
— Only an Incident • Grace Denio Litchfield
... Humph, I should of course have the whole thing smelted, and then I should have it cast into ducats—full weight, ...
— Plays: Comrades; Facing Death; Pariah; Easter • August Strindberg
... "Humph!" he laughed. "Jolly good company for such a night. I say, Bowen, you've got a nice toy there," and he took up the pistol that lay on the table. In the meanwhile I had scrawled on piece of paper, which I had quietly placed near the pistol: ...
— Idle Hour Stories • Eugenia Dunlap Potts
... How do, all round? Bless your little hearts, how do you all do? Did they tell ye Santa wasn't a-comin', my dears? Did your grandpas and grandmas say, 'Humph! there isn't any such a person.' My love to the good old people. I know they mean all right; but tell them they'll have to give it ...
— Little Prudy's Sister Susy • Sophie May
... "Humph!" exclaimed Sharon. He seemed about to ask another question, but the postal official anticipated him. "Explain what happened after ...
— Port O' Gold • Louis John Stellman
... "Humph!" ejaculated Gunson; "if we don't employ him, he'll follow us, so one may as well make him useful. We can easily pay him; it will not mean much. Here, ...
— To The West • George Manville Fenn
... there a minute or so without sayin' a word, and then he turns and looks 'em over deliberate. "Humph!" he grunts. "Thought ...
— On With Torchy • Sewell Ford
... "Humph!" said Tony; "easy enough. I hadn't nuthin to row with but a bit o' pole, and I got a sorter cross a-gettin' along so slow, and so I stood up and gin a big push, and one foot slipped, an' ...
— What Might Have Been Expected • Frank R. Stockton
... Ellesmere. Humph! you put it mildly. But the man has made perhaps seven per cent. off his money; or, if he has made no per cent., has ruined several men of his own trade, which is not to go for nothing when a man is taking stock ...
— Friends in Council (First Series) • Sir Arthur Helps
... think I begin to understand you, comride: especially that bit abaht . . . [his eyes stray upwards] . . . the 'ammerins' an' the—the harches—an' . . . Humph! I'm only an 'og! ...
— The Servant in the House • Charles Rann Kennedy
... tell thee, dame, that I'm less by a good score of winters than Dan o' the higher Wient, when he wed old Simon's daughter.—Humph!—She was a merry and a buxom ...
— Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 1 (of 2) • John Roby
... "Humph!" he exclaimed, as he put the two letters into his pocket—both of great importance to him. "Well, I'll go down to ...
— Baseball Joe in the Big League - or, A Young Pitcher's Hardest Struggles • Lester Chadwick
... "Humph," said she; "the old gentleman has given plenty of lessons in his time, and it appears that he ...
— Jacob Faithful • Captain Frederick Marryat
... some quick motion or muttered command to summon me, as always before, into his hot little cubby-hole. Never was boy more taken aback! "Who dah knockin' at mah door?" he said again, standing within two feet of my elbow, looking past me not two inches from my nose. "Humph! Somebody knockin' at mah door better look at what dey doin' or dey gwine git into ...
— The Mutineers • Charles Boardman Hawes
... 'Humph!' muttered Ralph, drawing his hand across his mouth with a connoisseur-like air, and surveying the house from top to bottom; 'these people look pretty well. They can't last long; but if I know of their going in good time, ...
— The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby • Charles Dickens
... trouble had occurred, and he replied with, "Humph! I reckon ye'd better not try that agin. You're a matter o' five mile from home, and the boat don't belong to ye, ye say. How do ye expect to git back? And how are ye going to manage about the boat? Do ...
— A Sweet Little Maid • Amy E. Blanchard
... "Humph! He has made a mistake or two before in his lifetime—and so has she, for that matter," said the doctor, with a shrug of ...
— Christie Redfern's Troubles • Margaret Robertson
... The thought of losing this dear old soul gave a serious tone to his voice. He kissed her on the cheek and went out into the hall. Jove came waltzing after him. "Humph! What do you want, sir? Want to go out with me, eh? Very well; but you must promise to behave yourself. I'll have you talking to no poor-dog trash, mind." Jove promised unutterable things. ...
— Half a Rogue • Harold MacGrath
... "Humph! Now, Leaftenant Lyndsay, that's a thing I never do. I always take my chance. I would rather lose my place in a boat, or a coach, than lose my money. But young fellows like you never learn wisdom. Experience is all thrown away upon you. ...
— Flora Lyndsay - or, Passages in an Eventful Life • Susan Moodie
... an imitator," said Boswell, "but I must imitate you to the extent of saying humph! I quote you, and, doing so, I honor you. But really, I never thought you could be sick of home, as you put it—you who are so happy at home and who so wildly ...
— The Enchanted Typewriter • John Kendrick Bangs
... "Humph, listen to that, will you?" said Ted, appealing to Margaret. "She isn't a bit grateful—not she. She turns down a real thorough-going opera singer without a spasm. Time was when she groveled—fairly groveled—at Milano's lightest suggestion. ...
— Miss Pat at Artemis Lodge • Pemberton Ginther
... don't, Peter Grant," replied Horace, who was losing his patience: "I never was here before. Humph! I thought you could find your way with your ...
— Captain Horace • Sophie May
... “Humph! You always were a stormy petrel,” he sneered. “I fancy it will be safer to keep our most agreeable acquaintance on a strictly business basis. If you accept the terms of ...
— The House of a Thousand Candles • Meredith Nicholson
... "Humph!" said Vizard. "I do not altogether approve it. The strong should not use the arts of the weak in fighting the weak. But, in spite of your eloquence, I mean to forgive them anything. Shakespeare has provided there with an excuse that fits ...
— The Woman-Hater • Charles Reade
... "Humph!" said Temple, grimly, thinking he might as well take the money, though he had no intention of releasing Philip. "Have you ...
— The Tin Box - and What it Contained • Horatio Alger
... took the glasses and turned them on the spot. "Humph!" he muttered, while his brow clouded. "They ...
— In Search of the Okapi - A Story of Adventure in Central Africa • Ernest Glanville
... "Humph," said Morcerf, "this is the second time you have refused to dine with my mother; it is evident that you wish to avoid her." Monte Cristo started. "Oh, you do not mean that," said he; "besides, here comes the confirmation of my assertion." ...
— The Count of Monte Cristo • Alexandre Dumas, Pere
... "Humph! Think she's going to get up and walk out on us?" Berg seated himself, lit his pipe, and puffed in silence for a while. "We ain't never been seen," he declared, positively. "She's as safe as the Bank of England as long as you ...
— Laughing Bill Hyde and Other Stories • Rex Beach
... "Humph!" thought Allan. "This may be a more serious factor than I've reckoned on. These people are albinos. White hair and pink eyes—not a particle of protecting pigmentation. For thirty or so generations they've been subjected to nothing but torchlight. The actinic rays of the ...
— Darkness and Dawn • George Allan England
... "Humph! you haven't got any foxes at Shadonake," answered her uncle. He had drawn his chair to the fire, and was warming his hands over the blazing logs. Beatrice was rather a favourite with him. "I will see about it, Pussy," he added, kindly, seeing that she looked ...
— Vera Nevill - Poor Wisdom's Chance • Mrs. H. Lovett Cameron
... "Humph," grinned the Indian, "I ain' know w'at you mean—you say, if you scare, you brave—an' if you ain' scare, you ain' so brave. By Goss! I lak dat better if I ain' so mooch brave, den—an' ain' so mooch ...
— Connie Morgan in the Fur Country • James B. Hendryx
... wonderfully, &c. adj.; fearfully; for a wonder, in the name of wonder; strange to say; mirabile dictu[Lat], mirabile visu[Lat]; to one's great surprise. with wonder &c. n., with gaping mouth; with open eyes, with upturned eyes. Int. lo, lo and behold! O! heyday! halloo! what! indeed! really! surely! humph! hem! good lack, good heavens, good gracious! Ye gods! good Lord! good grief! Holy cow! My word! Holy shit![vulg.], gad so! welladay[obs3]! dear me! only think! lackadaisy[obs3]! my stars, my goodness! gracious goodness! goodness gracious! mercy on us! heavens ...
— Roget's Thesaurus • Peter Mark Roget
... "Humph!" he chuckled. "Fancy putting a man in a bloomin' jail made of deer skin. Much 'ead as the bloomin' 'eathen 'ave. Let's 'ave a look ...
— Lost In The Air • Roy J. Snell
... "Humph!" said the brown one, with the air of meaning that it was only to be expected of an idiot like Cleggett that he would NOT want to buy any seed potatoes. But after a further embarrassing silence he relented enough to ...
— The Cruise of the Jasper B. • Don Marquis
... "Humph! That is not a very pretty name, but you could get over the difficulty—you could say 'mon ami'. After all, your sorrows ...
— Jacqueline, Complete • (Mme. Blanc) Th. Bentzon
... "Humph! He's too fond of dress," commented the manager, "but he does well in certain society parts, and that's why I ...
— The Moving Picture Girls Under the Palms - Or Lost in the Wilds of Florida • Laura Lee Hope
... snorted. "Humph," she said, "when you git dry behind the ears you won't be so peart." Then she waved her hand to me. "Light off," she said, "an' rest your critters, an' git ...
— Dwellers in the Hills • Melville Davisson Post
... "Humph!" he scorned, "those fellows work harder than an engineer for their rattlety-bang speed. I had rather sit back and get some pleasure out of riding, as I do behind ...
— Analyzing Character • Katherine M. H. Blackford and Arthur Newcomb
... sound as a dollar," he pronounced admiringly. "Don't often see such a specimen of perfect health as the Madam. Nerves? Not likely. Probably over-fatigue—she does the work of ten men. Let me see, how old is she? Nearly forty—humph! Looks twenty-five. Make her take a rest. ...
— Kildares of Storm • Eleanor Mercein Kelly
... "Humph!" ejaculated Cap; "especially the women! As if they were in any particular danger. Never mind, young man; we shall understand each other by talking like two plain seamen. Do you know of any port ...
— The Pathfinder - The Inland Sea • James Fenimore Cooper
... "Humph!" said Gamarra testily; "much you know about it. In half an hour you'll wish we had camped on the top ...
— At the Point of the Sword • Herbert Hayens
... "Humph! Well, it's a more practical layout you've got in here this time. You can gamble that Ellsworth and our gang are not going to sink their roll here, by a long ways, unless ...
— Heart's Desire • Emerson Hough
... "Humph!" It was the first sound that Octavius Buzzby had uttered since his entrance and general greeting. Hearing it his brother looked warningly in his direction, for he feared that the factional difference, which had come to ...
— Flamsted quarries • Mary E. Waller
... "Humph!" remarked Robert her nephew; "do you s'pose folks could go to Iowa or Missouri as quick as this! Cars'd have to put ...
— Old Caravan Days • Mary Hartwell Catherwood
... "Humph, it's lucky that we can depend upon the Captain for keeping us right in regard to Sunday. Well, let's go ashore and try the mouth of yonder stream. I'll warrant me there are sea-trout there, perhaps salmon, and the ground hereabouts ...
— Chasing the Sun • R.M. Ballantyne
... "Humph!" said he, and turned to talk with the Irishmen. I kept a sharp look out on the square below, hoping for a glimpse of Margaret, paying no heed to the earnest conversation buzzing in my ear. Princes and dominions, and marches and battles, were nothing ...
— The Yeoman Adventurer • George W. Gough
... torturing his prisoner. The missionary approaches and beseeches him to regard the Golden Rule. "Humph!" utters the savage: "Golden Rule! what's that?" "Why" says the good man, "all that you expect or desired other Indians, in similar circumstances, do you even so to them." "Humph!" growls the warrior, with a fierce smile,—"Missionary—good: that's what I do now. If I was tied ...
— Slavery Ordained of God • Rev. Fred. A. Ross, D.D.
... "Humph, there's more to be made by him than that," replied the first; and as I looked up at him, I recognised the very man whom I had formerly prevented from breaking into my master's country house. I growled fiercely; ...
— Cat and Dog - Memoirs of Puss and the Captain • Julia Charlotte Maitland
... "Humph! If you go above the clouds I shan't be very likely to see you. But go slowly, now. Don't blow ...
— Tom Swift and his Airship • Victor Appleton
... "Humph! that aint so wonderful," came from someone at Sam's elbow, and turning the youngest Rover found himself close to Billy Tubbs, a short, stocky youth who had entered Putnam Hall at the opening of the fall term. Tubbs was a boy of rich parentage, and while he was not particularly a bully, ...
— The Rover Boys In The Mountains • Arthur M. Winfield
... all right! The idea of stickin' that blessed child 'way off up here in this hot little room—with no fire in the winter, too, and all this big house ter pick and choose from! Unnecessary children, indeed! Humph!" snapped Nancy, wringing her rag so hard her fingers ached from the strain; "I guess it ain't CHILDREN what is MOST unnecessary just now, ...
— Pollyanna • Eleanor H. Porter
... "Humph! This is advanced," I thought. "I wonder does he feel like Comnenus? It is a noble portrait, and ...
— My New Curate • P.A. Sheehan
... "Humph! He got tired of waiting, I guess," thought James, "and went back to his father's office. Well, if he comes back I'll help him. He's a queer little chap, wanting to build a ship. ...
— The Bobbsey Twins at Home • Laura Lee Hope
... I, miss!" he returned, meeting my look with the fullness of his dark eyes and broad forehead. "Humph! What set ...
— Bleak House • Charles Dickens
... "Humph! Promptly spoken. But I won't allow that, seeing that it would never suit my case, as I have made an indifferent, not to say a bad, use of both advantages. Leaving superiority out of the question, then, you must still ...
— Jane Eyre - an Autobiography • Charlotte Bronte
... "Humph! Do you think I don't know those wild mountaineers? They are perfectly chivalrous, and I could feel a great deal safer in leaving my wife in care of that desperado than with one ...
— A Woman Tenderfoot • Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson
... Humph? that may not be safe—No Chargy, I'll Settle it upon thee for Pin-mony; and that will be every bit ...
— The Busie Body • Susanna Centlivre
... "Humph! A lot of good that would do me, if I'd been killed!" muttered the miser. "I'm going to sue you for this. You might have ...
— Tom Swift and his Electric Rifle • Victor Appleton
... "Humph!" grunted the old singer, with a shrug, and a sound that was half a sneer and half a chuckle. "I suppose he don't above half like the price he has to pay for his plaything! But that don't make it wise in Bianca to drive him to the wall more than need be. Limed and caught as he is, he's one that ...
— A Siren • Thomas Adolphus Trollope
... "Humph!" grunted Sproule. "There you are again, putting on airs. Just wait until you've been here two or three months; I guess I won't hear so ...
— The Half-Back • Ralph Henry Barbour
... so readily to the spear. Only the sight of the flames rising amid the armour betrayed the deceit in the gloom of the loft. Deign to excuse the negligence this once." A do[u]shin, an old and experienced officer, spoke almost with tears. Aoyama gave a "humph!" Then looking over this mud stained, blear eyed, bloody nosed, ash dusted band of his confederates he began to chuckle at the battered and ludicrous composition. All breathed again. But when he had re-entered his yashiki, and was left to himself, without concubine ...
— Bakemono Yashiki (The Haunted House) - Tales of the Tokugawa, Volume 2 (of 2) • James S. De Benneville
... where money and pedigree are inconsequent things, and where everybody is either a "loidy" or a "gent." Persons who went to my kind of masquerade did not rent their costumes; they laid out extravagant sums to the fashionable modiste and tailor, and had them made to order. A Blue Domino: humph! ...
— Hearts and Masks • Harold MacGrath
... "Humph," responded Mr. Mencke, bluntly; "it must be either one thing or the other. Which shall it be, Violet—Europe or Canada? We can't leave you here ...
— His Heart's Queen • Mrs. Georgie Sheldon
... my friend, 'the wicked flea.'" "How do you?" says the spider, as his welcome he extends; "'How doth the busy little bee,' and all our other friends?" "Quite well, I think, and quite unchanged," the flea said; "though I learn, In certain quarters well informed, 'tis feared 'the worm will turn.'" "Humph!" said the fly; "I do not understand this talk—not I!" "It is 'classical allusion,'" said the spider to ...
— Cobwebs From an Empty Skull • Ambrose Bierce (AKA: Dod Grile)
... "Humph! Well, that is something better than I expected. You can take the new gig, you know, and take Melchisedek to drive you, and to ...
— The Missing Bride • Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth
... "Humph! if you are so proud of your American bride, why did you not bring her home with you?" Lady Linton inquired, in a mocking tone, and then could have bitten her tongue through for having allowed herself to betray her curiosity ...
— Virgie's Inheritance • Mrs. Georgie Sheldon
... "Humph! that will be nothing new for you. But I came out here to induce you to reconsider that resolution. I wish to persuade you to join us at Beacon House. That high promontory stretching far out to sea and exposed to all the sea breezes will be the very ...
— Self-Raised • Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth
... why can you not be satisfied to remain here with me? Why do you wish to go away? 'Idle life!' 'Making a living and do some good!' Humph, sir! you need not be idle. Read to me; ride with me. As for your living, sir, I made that for you before you were born; and now I intend you shall enjoy it. Now, my boy, my son in all my heart's dearest affections, stay with me. Wait until the old ...
— The Rector of St. Mark's • Mary J. Holmes
... "Humph!" murmured the Viscount, busied upon his paper dart again, "you should congratulate me, I think, that it was no more,—might just as easily have been two thousand, you see, indeed I wonder it wasn't. Egad! the more I think of it, the ...
— The Amateur Gentleman • Jeffery Farnol et al
... old gentleman bowed, and sat down in the seat Polly placed for him. And Mrs. Pepper thanked him with a heart overflowing with gratitude, through lips that would tremble even then, for all that Jasper had done for them. And the old gentleman said—"Humph!" but he looked at his son, and something shone in his eye just for ...
— Five Little Peppers And How They Grew • Margaret Sidney
... Place Vendome. As I glance into a print-shop window, Monied Interest, my late travelling companion, comes upon me, laughing with the highest relish of disdain. 'Here's a people!' he says, pointing to Napoleon in the window and Napoleon on the column. 'Only one idea all over Paris! A monomania!' Humph! I THINK I have seen Napoleon's match? There was a statue, when I came away, at Hyde Park Corner, and another in the City, and a print or two in ...
— Reprinted Pieces • Charles Dickens
... "Humph!" snapped Aunt Sarah. "It's a wonder to me the child hasn't brought smallpox into the family from going as she does to those ...
— The Corner House Girls Growing Up - What Happened First, What Came Next. And How It Ended • Grace Brooks Hill
... "'Humph!—and then to London to make a lawyer of him. Leave him to me, Dinah, I will make a solicitor of him in earnest. I have taught many a bold heart and reckless hand to solicit the ...
— The Monctons: A Novel, Volume I • Susanna Moodie
... "Humph! Pay for the clothes I have on, I suppose," is the answer, half humorous, half wistful, as the interrogated party, the younger of two officers, glances down at his well-worn regimentals. "That's one reason I'm praying we may be sent to reinforce Crook up in the ...
— Marion's Faith. • Charles King
... lifted his fingers to his lips and blew on them as if to warm the ends, which were flat and stubbed from much playing on the strings: "Humph!" he said, "You are only a boy! You are talented, it is true; but what do you know of violinists? ...
— The Black Cross • Olive M. Briggs
... "Humph! He is closely spied upon, then?" commented Cleek. "The trouble arises from some one or something ...
— Cleek, the Master Detective • Thomas W. Hanshew
... "Umph-humph! dat's jes wat I 'lowed," said Mammy. "I 'lowed yer wouldn't be willin' fur ter go, er set'n' hyear an' er patt'n' yer han's same ez niggers, an' er singin' uv reel chunes; I dunno wat makes you ...
— Diddie, Dumps & Tot - or, Plantation child-life • Louise-Clarke Pyrnelle
... like to get off as soon as practicable.' 'Humph!' said Lord Eskdale. 'Have you got a ...
— Tancred - Or, The New Crusade • Benjamin Disraeli
... "Humph!" he grunted. "Well, there are no women in this case so far as I know. But there may be other things that—that ...
— The Empty House And Other Ghost Stories • Algernon Blackwood
... piece which now employs me is rime. I do not intend to write any more blank. It is more difficult than rime, and not so amusing in the composition. If, when you make the offer of my book to Johnson, he should stroke his chin, and look up to the ceiling and cry "Humph!"—anticipate him, I beseech you, at once, by saying—"that you know I should be sorry that he should undertake for me to his own disadvantage, or that my volume should be in any degree prest upon him. I make him the offer merely because I think he ...
— The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to Prose, Vol. IV (of X)—Great Britain and Ireland II • Various
... "Humph!" said Mrs. Comstock, "to get through that the girl would have to be made of cast-iron. I wonder how I can ...
— A Girl Of The Limberlost • Gene Stratton Porter
... to herself. "Humph! Plain-looking, sallow skin, rather fine eyes and a slack mouth. Not badly dressed for a servant, and displays some taste. She might turn my old dresses at a pinch. Sad expression, as though she had something on her mind. Honest-looking, but I think a trifle inquisitive, seeing how ...
— The Secret Passage • Fergus Hume
... 'Humph!' said the dwarf with a sour look and a shrug of his shoulders, 'so much for dear relations. Thank God I acknowledge none! Nor need you either,' he added, turning to the old man, 'if you were not as weak as a ...
— The Old Curiosity Shop • Charles Dickens
... "Humph!" exclaimed 'Tildy, scornfully, "Miss Sally say she gwine take dat ar Darkess[87] nigger en put 'er in my place. An' a mighty nice mess Darkess gwine ter make un it! Much she know 'bout waitin' on w'ite folks! Many's en many's de time Miss Sally'll set down in 'er rockin'-cheer ...
— Nights With Uncle Remus - Myths and Legends of the Old Plantation • Joel Chandler Harris
... "Humph! Maybe you think so, but I don't," responded Mark with rather a serious air. "I noticed that you got ...
— Through Space to Mars • Roy Rockwood
... the Stars," pursued Mr. Punch, meditatively. "Humph! The Solar System alone ought to provide you with plenty ...
— Punch Among the Planets • Various
... "Humph!" said Mr. Ludolph, meditatively, "there is more method in your madness than I imagined. I will think of it, for it is too important a step to ...
— Barriers Burned Away • E. P. Roe
... turned her eyes quickly on Cynthia Badlam, and repeated her close inspection of every outline and every light and shadow in her figure. She did not announce any opinion as to the age or good looks or general aspect or special points of Miss Cynthia; but she made a sound which the books write humph! but which real folks make with closed lips, thus: m'!—a sort of half-suppressed labio-palato-nasal utterance, implying that there is a good deal which might be said, and all the vocal organs want to have a chance at it, if there ...
— The Guardian Angel • Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
... he exclaimed, as we met at the gate; "this is a pretty how-dye-do, I must say. Hannah dead, eh? and everything turned topsy-turvy! Humph, and what do you think of ...
— The Leavenworth Case • Anna Katharine Green
... “Humph!” My friend's sketching propensities often led him into a “little adventure,” ending in a story which, I should almost have imagined, he coined for a peace-offering, but that I had chapter and verse for the ...
— Rambles in the Islands of Corsica and Sardinia - with Notices of their History, Antiquities, and Present Condition. • Thomas Forester
... of the past, like that from a drawer where lavender has been. Going ashore once with him for a constitutional, he caught sight of a necktie which my fond mother had given me. It was black, yes; but with variations. "Humph!" he ejaculated; "don't wear a thing like that with me. You look like a privateersman." There spoke the rivalries of 1812. There had not been a privateersman in the United States for near a half-century. A great chum of his was the senior surgeon of the frigate, ...
— From Sail to Steam, Recollections of Naval Life • Captain A. T. Mahan
... thought he, 'what talk is that! The gods be thank'd for luck so good!' And ready at the door he stood, When soothingly the mother said, 'Now cry no more, my little dear; That naughty wolf, if he comes here, Your dear papa shall kill him dead.' 'Humph!' cried the veteran mutton-eater. 'Now this, now that! Now hot, now cool! Is this the way they change their metre? And do they take me for a fool? Some day, a nutting in the wood, That young one yet shall be my food.' But little time has he to dote On such ...
— The Fables of La Fontaine - A New Edition, With Notes • Jean de La Fontaine
... "Humph! I thought it was time you came to your senses. Now, here's the keys, d'ye see? And the house was old Judge Allerton's; it's too large for his daughter, and, now that you'll marry the girl I've got for you, I'll let you ...
— Pirate Gold • Frederic Jesup Stimson
... "Humph, I am rather doubtful of the sanity; I always told you that you were too independent and strong-minded for a girl; but what is the use of preaching to deaf ears?" continued Aunt Agatha, in a decidedly cross voice, as she arranged the ...
— The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII: No. 353, October 2, 1886. • Various
... "Humph! Maude professes to be a Christian, but she can't be happy. Seems to me she's the unhappiest person I know. Papa doesn't belong to the church, ...
— The King's Daughter and Other Stories for Girls • Various
... young Hun. Go and see a doctor. Vocal diarrhoea, that's your complaint, and a very nasty one too. Bad form, bad for discipline, and a nuisance in the Mess. What's your Regiment? Special Reserve, you say? Humph! Sounds like Secondhand Bicycle Trade ...
— The Aeroplane Speaks - Fifth Edition • H. Barber
... "Humph!" snorted Curry. "Should think he would have. That boy fetched him a pretty solid lick. Glad he didn't hurt him any worse—for the boy's sake, ...
— Old Man Curry - Race Track Stories • Charles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan
... dull-brown face seamed and drawn, and his tightly curled hair gray-white. The crops? Just tolerable, he said; just tolerable. Getting on? No—he wasn't getting on at all. Smith of Albany "furnishes" him, and his rent is eight hundred pounds of cotton. Can't make anything at that. Why didn't he buy land! Humph! Takes money to buy land. And he turns away. Free! The most piteous thing amid all the black ruin of war-time, amid the broken fortunes of the masters, the blighted hopes of mothers and maidens, and the fall of an empire,—the ...
— The Souls of Black Folk • W. E. B. Du Bois
... "Humph!" grunted Mr. Rowe. "There's more to that business than you folks think. Olive didn't notice Bill Edwards till Sol went off to sea and stayed two years and over. How do you know she shook Sol? You might just as well say he shook her. He always was stubborn ...
— The Depot Master • Joseph C. Lincoln
... "Humph!" she said. "That's only the stuff from the Samuel Holton house. Charlie and Ethel are moving to Indianapolis. That's some of the furniture they had in their town house here. I saw the crates in ...
— Otherwise Phyllis • Meredith Nicholson
... Humph! I don't seem to recollect any Mr. Z. Snow around nowadays. There used to be a Ziba Snow, but he's dead. 'Twan't him you ...
— The Portygee • Joseph Crosby Lincoln
... "Humph!" Nils thought. "No wonder the man never talks, when he can butt his ideas into you like that without ever saying a word. I suppose he uses that kind of smokeless powder on his wife all the time. But I guess she has her innings." ...
— A Collection of Stories, Reviews and Essays • Willa Cather
... "Humph! Looks like a gorilla with the mumps," he growled. "Who is this precious party, then, if he is not ...
— Revelations of a Wife - The Story of a Honeymoon • Adele Garrison
... he? Then it's not about the cross? And this other? Suppose I guess? He was—he was the red-haired puppy, my old friend the Dragoon, who carried you off wounded that day? Humph, the very first ...
— The Missourian • Eugene P. (Eugene Percy) Lyle
... "Humph!" ejaculated Mr. Kennedy, with a frown—"Come here, Charley," he said, as the boy approached with a disappointed look to tell of his failure in getting a horse; "I've been talking with Mr. Grant again about this business, and he says he can easily ...
— The Young Fur Traders • R.M. Ballantyne
... praeterea nihil? What matter How close ears may seem if the hearts are apart? Humph! Nothing go easy as cynical chatter; Distrust's diplomatic, and satire sounds "smart." But, as RAIKES suggests, there is something in hearing The "great human voice" o'er some three hundred miles, In spite ...
— Punch, Or The London Charivari, Vol. 100, March 28, 1891 • Various
... said the dame, sharply; "only you hint to the parson that they're good, pious women, all of them, and would make proper ministers' wives. Do you think I don't know what a man is, Tourtelot? Humph!" And she threads her ...
— The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 90, April, 1865 • Various
... "Humph!" grunted Mr. Mencke, and then he fell to musing again, doubtless computing the chances upon some ...
— His Heart's Queen • Mrs. Georgie Sheldon
... "Humph!" was Cyrus's rejoinder, and then: "Well, what about my nephew, madam?" Clasping his bony hands over his knee, he leaned forward and waited, not without curiosity, for her answer. He did not admire Oliver—he even despised him—but when all was ...
— Virginia • Ellen Glasgow
... "Humph, that piece of steel is historically interesting, no doubt," conceded Creighton, "but hardly worth risking ...
— Ralestone Luck • Andre Norton
... somewhat like "Humph!" But Mr. Coyote must have thought that Benny agreed with him. At least, he nodded his head. And he went on to say that he would be glad to help Benny alone, without calling on ...
— The Tale of Benny Badger • Arthur Scott Bailey
... "Humph!" he said to himself. "Twasn't so awful much to put out that fire. I'd a done it in no time if I'd ...
— The Bishop's Shadow • I. T. Thurston
... always leads them astray. Now, king's son, give Wolf the stick; it is all he has." "Here it is to you, and I am sure you will not use it wrongly; you will try and be good, Wolf? for it will make you happy." "Humph," said Wolf, "I am happy when I get my pigs home, and Ralph does not strike me. But I must away, and see you don't tell any one you gave me money. They would rob me." And away he ran among the trees in search of his pigs, while Eric heard his little drum, ...
— The Gold Thread - A Story for the Young • Norman MacLeod
... "Humph! Well, what can you expect? Those fellows have been getting the best half of a bottle of Claret every night since they've been here, and now it's cut off. Damed if I wouldn't like ...
— Bab: A Sub-Deb • Mary Roberts Rinehart
... "Humph!" said Mr. Tribbs. "Mariar!" Mrs. Tribbs made her appearance in the doorway. "The schoolmaster allows that Jackson ain't bin to school at all." Then, turning to the master, he added, "Thar! you settle it between ...
— Tales of Trail and Town • Bret Harte
... BELL. Humph, I thought so, that you might have all the talk to yourself. You had better let me speak; for if my thoughts fly to any pitch, I shall ...
— The Comedies of William Congreve - Volume 1 [of 2] • William Congreve
... "Humph! Salome, now that I look at you well, I do not believe you care a penny for the flower-show. Come, tell me the truth, girl. Do you care one penny to go to the flower-show?" he inquired, looking ...
— The Lost Lady of Lone • E.D.E.N. Southworth
... aloud; his favourite Newfoundland-dog was at his side, and seemed to engross all ——m's attention. A gentleman was present who was good-looking and good-natured, but not overburthened with sense. Lord Dudley at last, patting his dog's head, said, 'Fido mio, they say dogs have no souls. Humph, and still they say ——' (naming the gentleman present) 'has a soul!' One day Lord Dudley met Mr. Allen, Lord Holland's librarian, and asked him to dine with him. Allen went. When asked to describe his dinner, he said, 'There was no one there. ...
— The Wits and Beaux of Society - Volume 2 • Grace & Philip Wharton
... 10. "Humph! I am not sleepy—a night at a time is enough for me. I mean to work the next ten years. You see there are things that you've got to work out—you can't sleep them out." 11. "I hate work," said ...
— McGuffey's Third Eclectic Reader • William Holmes McGuffey
... "Humph!" she said. "Take him to the pavilion and cover him decently. You'll find a yard or two of clean awning in the left-hand corner of the scoring-box." She eyed Mr. Goodfellow for a couple of seconds and swung round upon Mr. Rogers. "Is that the man ...
— Poison Island • Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (Q)
... And she heard, too! 'Ordinary woman,' indeed! Humph! To think that Betty Tillington should ever live to hear herself called an 'ordinary woman'! You see, I knew her when she ...
— Across the Years • Eleanor H. Porter
... "Humph!" said Hetty. "I hope he's got better ones. There wasn't much angel about me this morning when that mother-in-law of yours was here, I can tell you. I wonder if she'll have the heart to keep ...
— Hetty's Strange History • Helen Jackson
... even a small portion of the younger members could be well taught by the whites, and then return to their tribe, to instruct them in the learning, the arts, manufactures, and habits of civilized life. To each paragraph, as it was uttered to them, they responded with a unanimous "Humph!" (Good!) ...
— Wau-bun - The Early Day in the Northwest • Juliette Augusta Magill Kinzie
... "Humph!" Austin grunted, disagreeably. "So just for that you come prowling around threatening my help, eh? Trying to frame up a case, maybe? Well, it don't go. I was out with one of Tad ...
— Heart of the Sunset • Rex Beach
... Finding himself before the Fourth Regiment of the line, of which his brother was colonel, the Emperor said to a grenadier of the second battalion, as he took from the fire and ate one of the potatoes of the squad, "Are you satisfied with these pigeons?"—"Humph! They are at least better than nothing; though they are very much like Lenten food."—"Well, old fellow," replied his Majesty to the soldier, pointing to the fires of the enemy, "help me to dislodge those rascals over there, and we will have a ...
— The Private Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, Complete • Constant
... "His friends, the Campbells—humph! So the Campbells are his friends, are they?" repeated he. "They were his friends," answered Mackenzie; "but Mr. Forester thought proper, nobody knows why, to run away from them, some months ago; the only reason I could ...
— Tales And Novels, Volume 1 • Maria Edgeworth
... "Humph!" said the Judge, with a look that scarcely expressed approval. "I guess you've been patted on the back too much by your father's friends." He leaned back in his wooden chair. "How I used to detest people ...
— The Crossing • Winston Churchill
... "Humph!" replied Bucklaw; "so you have set yourself down to mourn over the crop-eared dogs whom honest Claver'se treated as ...
— Bride of Lammermoor • Sir Walter Scott
... captain of the Bunker Hill and continued my examination of the accounts of a half-dozen sailors of whom he was intent on getting rid. By the time I had signed the last discharge and affixed the consular seal he had finished the article and put it aside with a contemptuous "Humph!" expressive of his opinion of the valor of the crew and officers. I could see that he was anxious for me to give him my attention while he related one of those long-drawn-out stories of perhaps a like personal experience. ...
— Tales of the Malayan Coast - From Penang to the Philippines • Rounsevelle Wildman
... "She just said 'Humph' real mad and she turned her old fat back and waddled off to the house. My, I'm glad I am not ...
— Chicken Little Jane • Lily Munsell Ritchie
... others to do it for them, and looked and sighed their holy horror that their minister should have shown so little discretion in choosing a wife. Just to think of her leading the female prayer-meeting and being president of the Missionary society, humph! ...
— Divers Women • Pansy and Mrs. C.M. Livingston
... General tried to hum a bar or two of the 'Dites lui', with ludicrous effect. "Charming! To leave her, ah! I found that very hard. I remained five days: that wasn't much, eh, Zilah? five days? But the devil! There was a Grand Duke—well—humph! younger than I, of course—and—and—the Grand Duke was jealous. Oh! there was at that time a conspiracy at Odessa! I was accused of spending my time at the theatre, instead of watching the conspirators. They ...
— Prince Zilah, Complete • Jules Claretie
... "Humph! I'd like to have a glimpse of that communication in the cigarette box, but it isn't of sufficient importance, on the face of it, to show our hand by having him waylaid, or searching his rooms," Blaine cogitated aloud. "I'll put another man on to-morrow ...
— The Crevice • William John Burns and Isabel Ostrander
... "Humph. She'll probably scream out her disgust as if we were deaf too like herself. That's the way she always does: when there's something to be said you don't want anybody else to hear she just talks her loudest; and when there's something you're longing to know she ...
— Dorothy's Travels • Evelyn Raymond |
