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Severe   Listen
adjective
Severe  adj.  (compar. severer; superl. severest)  
1.
Serious in feeling or manner; sedate; grave; austere; not light, lively, or cheerful. "Your looks alter, as your subject does, From kind to fierce, from wanton to severe."
2.
Very strict in judgment, discipline, or government; harsh; not mild or indulgent; rigorous; as, severe criticism; severe punishment. "Custody severe." "Come! you are too severe a moraler." "Let your zeal, if it must be expressed in anger, be always more severe against thyself than against others."
3.
Rigidly methodical, or adherent to rule or principle; exactly conformed to a standard; not allowing or employing unneccessary ornament, amplification, etc.; strict; said of style, argument, etc. "Restrained by reason and severe principles." "The Latin, a most severe and compendious language."
4.
Sharp; afflictive; distressing; violent; extreme; as, severe pain, anguish, fortune; severe cold.
5.
Difficult to be endured; exact; critical; rigorous; as, a severe test.
Synonyms: Strict; grave; austere; stern; morose; rigid; exact; rigorous; hard; rough; harsh; censorious; tart; acrimonious; sarcastic; satirical; cutting; biting; keen; bitter; cruel. See Strict.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Severe" Quotes from Famous Books



... ball-room effectively. We saw more ladies here than upon all other occasions combined during our travels, and their general appearance was certainly better than elsewhere, showing the climate to be less severe upon them. Lord Lytton is a small man of unimposing appearance, and entirely destitute of style, but the Commander-in-Chief, General Haines, seems every inch a soldier, as do many of his subordinate officers. ...
— Round the World • Andrew Carnegie

... we halted at a high ridge similar to that upon which we encamped last night, with sheets of granite exposed on its surface, and rain water lodged in the hollows. The horses were all completely knocked up with the severe labour of this day's stage; I ascertained the latitude of the camp to be 32 degrees 47 minutes 40 seconds S. and the variation of the compass which increased as we advanced to the eastward, was now 4 degrees 12 minutes E. The Gawler range was now distinctly visible, extending ...
— Journals Of Expeditions Of Discovery Into Central • Edward John Eyre

... born in the suburbs of Nice; the son of a merchant-provost; quartermaster of the Sixth regiment of the line, in 1808, then chief of battalion in the Imperial Guard; retired with this rank on account of a rather severe wound received in Germany; afterwards an administrator and business man; excessive gambler. Husband of Juana Mancini who had been the mistress of Captain Montefiore, Diard's most intimate friend. In 1823, at Bordeaux, ...
— Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A — Z • Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe

... concluded that when Peleg allowed the lines of his severe face to relax, he was rather a jolly ...
— The Banner Boy Scouts - Or, The Struggle for Leadership • George A. Warren

... Dubois. Mrs. De Peyster, Olivetta, and Matilda sat in limp despair. Judge Harvey, Jack, and Mary gazed in breathless suspense and wonderment at Mr. Pyecroft. As for Mr. Pyecroft, he stood before Mrs. De Peyster, obscuring her, looking like one who has suffered a severe shock, yet ...
— No. 13 Washington Square • Leroy Scott

... one lovely summer morning to North Wales—rambled there for months—and, finally, under some obscure hopes of raising money on my personal security, I went up to London. Now I was in my eighteenth year; and, during this period it was that I passed through that trial of severe distress, of which I gave some account in my former Confessions. Having a motive, however, for glancing backwards briefly at that period in the present series, I will do so at ...
— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol 58, No. 357, July 1845 • Various

... to send messengers to him, knowing that nothing but a long experience would teach his child the value of life's many blessings, and that gold alone has no power to bless us. The father suffered much in knowing and realizing that his son must learn the truths of life through such severe lessons; but wisdom told him it ...
— Allegories of Life • Mrs. J. S. Adams

... determined if possible, to sleep on the ground. Overcome by fatigue, the fear of being attacked by alligators, or any thing else, they selected a dry place and laid themselves down on their mats. They had nearly dropped asleep, when they were roused by several severe stings, and found themselves covered with black ants. They had got up their trousers, and were tormenting them dreadfully. At first they knew not which way to get rid of them. Their men, Pascoe, Sam, and Jowdie, seeing the condition they were in, landed ...
— Lander's Travels - The Travels of Richard Lander into the Interior of Africa • Robert Huish

... kindly, noticing, while he did so, how her cheeks alternately paled, and then grew red, while she seemed to be chilly and cold. 'Lina had passed a wretched night, tossing from side to side, bathing her throbbing head and rubbing her aching limbs. The severe cold taken in the wet yard was making itself visible, and she came to the breakfast table jaded, wretched and sick, a striking contrast to Alice Johnson, who seemed to the doctor more beautiful than ever. She was unusually gay this morning, for while talking to Dr. Richards, whom she had ...
— Bad Hugh • Mary Jane Holmes

... too apt to forget, in our sympathy with the Saxons, that, fond as they were of freedom for themselves, they were yet severe masters, and kept the mass of the people in a state of serfage. Although their laws provided ample justice as between Saxon man and man, there was no justice for the unhappy serfs, who were either the original inhabitants or captives ...
— The Boy Knight • G.A. Henty

... me life, there's but scant good, too; I can't find much credit. Me good angel has had an easy time of it, more's the pity; but Janie, if you love me, Le Bon Dieu will not be hard on me. He cannot be severe with a poor Irishman who never stacked the cards, pulled a race, or turned his back on a friend, and who is loved by ...
— The Fat of the Land - The Story of an American Farm • John Williams Streeter

... as to acts of kindness and favour to be done where you think proper; and he says, that, with his bad qualities, he was ever deemed a kind landlord; and that I can confirm in fifty instances to his honour: "So that the old gentleman," said he, "need not be afraid of being put upon severe or harsh methods of proceeding, where things will do without; and he can always befriend an honest man; by which means the province will be entirely such a one as suits with his inclination. If any thing difficult or perplexing arises," continued he, "or where a little knowledge in law-matters ...
— Pamela (Vol. II.) • Samuel Richardson

... of the Fire-office, Tilers and Masons, could have been able to perform the like. The Author of the following Letter, it seems, has been of the Audience at one of these Entertainments, and has accordingly complained to me upon it; but I think he has been to the utmost degree Severe against what is exceptionable in the Play he mentions, without dwelling so much as he might have done on the Author's most excellent Talent of Humour. The pleasant Pictures he has drawn of Life, should have been more kindly mentioned, at the same time that ...
— The Spectator, Volumes 1, 2 and 3 - With Translations and Index for the Series • Joseph Addison and Richard Steele

... and then said, "What is the matter with you? You are a changed girl to me. There's something about you so cold and severe; it makes me fear I have worn out my friend as well as lost my love; if it is so, tell me, and I will not intrude my sorrow any more ...
— Put Yourself in His Place • Charles Reade

... graciously on the young man; and the frown that she cast on Hurry, though simulated and pettish, had the effect to render her beauty more striking, by exhibiting the play of an expressive but capricious countenance; one that seemed to change from the soft to the severe, the mirthful to the reproving, ...
— The Deerslayer • James Fenimore Cooper

... seeing that I remained silent, "I deeply regret what has happened to you. I was the involuntary cause of your mishap. Is your wound a severe one?" ...
— The Scalp Hunters • Mayne Reid

... blow a good deal harder before morning, lad, but I do not think it will be anything very severe. Things won't be so comfortable downstairs, for the next day or two, but that is likely to ...
— The Tiger of Mysore - A Story of the War with Tippoo Saib • G. A. Henty

... was killed while playing football, the lower house of the Georgia legislature passed a bill prohibiting that game under severe penalties. To be consistent the same body should now prohibit swimming because some boys are drowned, and possum hunting because some nocturnal sportsmen are killed. Georgia appears to take it for granted that nature makes no mistake—when she finds a man who's good for nothing else ...
— Volume 10 of Brann The Iconoclast • William Cowper Brann

... impetuosity of his character vigorously attacked the battalions of M. de Boigne, but was received with sang froid and resolution. The Mahratta horse supported the infantry fairly, but were overmatched for such severe duty by the weight of the Moghul cavalry and their superior discipline. It is probable, however, that the infantry, formed and led by Europeans, would have been more than a match for all their attempts, had not three of the ...
— The Fall of the Moghul Empire of Hindustan • H. G. Keene

... this the girl had severe fits and strange visions; and, in a most unaccountable manner, she vomited or put out of her mouth unclean hay, wild fowls' feathers, gravel stones, nut-galls, candle-grease, egg-shells, and other substances, which she nor any other person could tell whence they had come. For a long time she was ...
— The Mysteries of All Nations • James Grant

... if you are afraid of that——" said the rector's wife, and so it was settled. Chatty took no part at all in the arrangements. She had not joined in her sister's severe animadversions as to the dinner-party. For herself, she was glad of the change; it might be wrong, but she could not help being glad. It was, she acknowledged to herself, rather dull never to see any but the same faces day after day. And Mr. Cavendish was very nice; he had a cheerful face, and ...
— A Country Gentleman and his Family • Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant

... ladder, and risked his neck to hand water-pails to Ham. It was hard work, all around, but hardest of all for the two "firemen" on the roof. Now and then the strength and agility of Ham Morris were put to pretty severe tests, as Dab danced around under the scorching heat, or slipped flat upon the sloping roof. It was well for Ham that he was a ...
— Dab Kinzer - A Story of a Growing Boy • William O. Stoddard

... boundary, the existing maps being as inconsistent with the terms of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo as with the topography of the country itself. The winter, throughout the valley of the Del Norte has been very severe. The thermometer fell to six degrees at El Paso on the sixth of December, and the Rio Grande was frozen over for the first time in the memory of ...
— The International Monthly, Volume 2, No. 4, March, 1851 • Various

... accomplished much good. This was followed by Wycliffe's attack on religious abuses, by his complete translation of the Bible, with the revival carried on by the "Poor Priests," and by the rise of the Lollards. Eventually severe laws were passed against the Lollards, partly because of their heretical opinions, and partly because they became in a measure identified with socialistic and communistic efforts to destroy rank ...
— The Leading Facts of English History • D.H. Montgomery

... became a more uncompromising pro-Albanian than most of the Albanian leaders, says that if these children go to Serbian schools it merely shows to what lengths of coercion the Serbs will resort. In 1912-1913 Serbian and Montenegrin officers seem to have told her that severe measures would be employed against any recalcitrant Albanian parent who might decline to send his son to school. Assuming that these officers were not young subalterns, that they were quite sober and that they were ...
— The Birth of Yugoslavia, Volume 2 • Henry Baerlein

... man, seemed to mean Flinching as much as anything else, for he backed away from Mr Dorrit's severe regard, as he replied, ...
— Little Dorrit • Charles Dickens

... indeed, a courage of such a high order that it completely carried away the ladies and drew reluctant plaudits from the male element. "Give it to 'em, Humphrey!" said one of those who happened to be sitting next to Miss Flint, and who received a very severe pinch in the arm ...
— The Crossing • Winston Churchill

... molestation. To say the truth, they content themselves with only taking the money of those who obey without disputing; but notwithstanding their boasted humanity, the lives of those who endeavour to get away are not always safe. They are very strict and severe in levying their impost; and if a man has not wherewithal to pay them, he may run the chance of getting himself knocked on the head ...
— Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds • Charles Mackay

... muckluks, and parkies of fur for outside garments, including, perhaps, drill parkies for mild weather, or to pull on over the furs, when it rained or snowed, to keep out the water. As the weather grew more severe, heavy cloth or fur mittens were worn, and little calico and gingham waists and dresses were ...
— A Woman who went to Alaska • May Kellogg Sullivan

... arrive on the east coast from Norway in numbers as the cold increases. I see no reason why we may not suppose that in very severe and continued frost the thrushes and blackbirds round London fly westwards towards the milder side of the island. It seems to me that when, some years since, I used to stroll round the water meadows in a western county for snipes in frosty weather, the hedges were ...
— Nature Near London • Richard Jefferies

... only epitomized the character of the action of the combined navies. To further embarrass their exertions in Europe, Spain, during long periods, obstinately persisted in tying down her fleet to the neighborhood of Gibraltar; but there was at no time practical recognition of the fact that a severe blow to the English navy in the Straits, or in the English Channel, or on the open sea, was the surest road to reduce the fortress, brought more than once within measurable ...
— The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 • A. T. Mahan

... vaguely from the bottom of the table, at which indecorum—probably occasioned by a county meeting that was running in his head—his father-in-law looked extremely severe. But the severity was soon drowned in the nods and smiles that circled round. After which Nathanael said briefly but ...
— Agatha's Husband - A Novel • Dinah Maria Craik (AKA: Dinah Maria Mulock)

... Bryant with Mr. and Mrs. H.K. Brown conducts The Crayon breaks down in health life in Cambridge and vacations in the Adirondacks betrothal to Miss Mack of Cambridge formal organization of the Adirondack Club, and purchase of tract of land severe illness trip to Florida returns to Cambridge in the Adirondacks goes again to England life in London, conversion to the theory of evolution summer in Switzerland with Ruskin marriage to Miss Mack and winter in Paris, ...
— The Autobiography of a Journalist, Volume II • William James Stillman

... who had the same tastes, but who unluckily fell into the hands of the police. Yet M. Janin has a tenderness for the book-stealer, who, after all, is a lover of books. The moral position of the malefactor is so delicate and difficult that we shall attempt to treat of it in the severe, though rococo, manner of Aristotle's "Ethics." Here follows an extract from the lost Aristotelian treatise ...
— The Library • Andrew Lang

... diplomatique has often astounded the Greeks by its feuds and dissensions. The Bavarians made their sojourn in the country one prolonged querelle d'Allemande. Even the American missionaries at Athens have not escaped severe attacks of the universal epidemic, and during the paroxysms of the malady have made all ...
— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, Number 360, October 1845 • Various

... spoken in a low voice, which had a very mournful cadence, and besides this there were signs of deep emotion in the tremulous tones and the agitated manner. Her flight had been a long and a hurried one; the exertion had been severe; her strength had been put forth to the utmost; she was on the verge of utter exhaustion. Everything in her appearance, voice, and manner combined to inspire pity and sympathy. The good priest had seemed not unmoved as she was speaking, and now he interrupted her, raising his hand, ...
— A Castle in Spain - A Novel • James De Mille

... A PRESSURE COOKER.—For canning by steam pressure, a number of different kinds of pressure cookers are to be had, but in principle they are all alike and they are always made of heavy material, so as to withstand the severe steam pressure generated in them. In Fig. 20 is shown one type of pressure cooker. It is provided with a bail, or handle, for carrying it and with clamps that hold the cover firmly in place. Attached to the cover is a steam gauge, which indicates the steam pressure inside the cooker, ...
— Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 5 • Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences

... feeble health, and particularly those who have delicate chests, ought to be sober in the gratification of love. Sexual intercourse has proved mortal after severe haemorrhages. ...
— The Physical Life of Woman: - Advice to the Maiden, Wife and Mother • Dr. George H Napheys

... his men. The man was only well out of camp when one of our men appeared at the major's quarters with a piece of fresh pork for his supper, with the compliments of Company——. Now, the orders against marauding were very severe, and to have been caught would have involved heavy punishment. But the chief point of the incident, and which made it a huge joke on the major, lay in the fact that the latter who was a thoroughly conscientious man, ...
— War from the Inside • Frederick L. (Frederick Lyman) Hitchcock

... next care was to purchase some little articles for myself, I have forgotten what. But then, to my sorrow, I found that my shilling was a brass one. I paid for the things which I bought by using a shilling of my master's. I now found that I had exceeded my stock by a few pence. I expected severe reproaches from my master, and therefore came to the resolution to declare strenuously that the bad money was his. I well remember the struggles of mind which I had on this occasion, and that I made this deliberate sin a matter ...
— The Life of William Carey • George Smith

... very severe with me," Lucy continued, "and not let me spend too much money, or make any blunders. That was the way Mr. Holmes used to do, and since he is dead, I have positively been afraid to trust ...
— The Moneychangers • Upton Sinclair

... in sight-a cluster of small frame houses and stores on the dry prairie beside a railway station. There were no trees yet which could be called shade trees. The pitilessly severe light of the sun flooded everything. A few teams were hitched about, and in the lee of the stores a few men could be seen seated comfortably, their broad hat rims flopping up and down, ...
— Main-Travelled Roads • Hamlin Garland

... Hebrew;" but for the most part gave herself up to quiet retrospect and enjoyment with her friends of the life she had had a glimpse of, and the experience she had stored,—a restful, happy period. In August of the same year she was stricken with a severe and dangerous malady, from which she slowly recovered, only to go through a terrible ordeal and affliction. Her father's health, which had long been failing, now broke down completely, and the whole winter ...
— The Poems of Emma Lazarus - Vol. I (of II.), Narrative, Lyric, and Dramatic • Emma Lazarus

... Lewis, a niece of General Washington; and Mr. Huger of South-Carolina, the brave and generous youth, who attempted the liberation of Lafayette from the dungeon of Olmutz, at the imminent hazard of his own life; and who suffered a long and severe imprisonment for his disinterested interference. He also visited the widowed ladies of Generals Montgomery and Hamilton. Of the latter general, he was the personal and ...
— Memoirs of General Lafayette • Lafayette

... cannot be taught. Imitation of the masters, or of some one chosen master, and the constant purging of language by a severe criticism, have their uses, not to be belittled; they have also their dangers. The greater part of what is called the teaching of style must always be negative, bad habits may be broken down, old malpractices prohibited. The pillory and the stocks are hardly educational ...
— Style • Walter Raleigh

... diphtheria, scarlet fever, and typhoid fever, sometimes have the effect of weakening the kidneys (and other vital organs) and of starting disease in them. When this occurs it is usually the result of exposure or of over-exertion while the body is in a weakened condition. Severe chilling at such a time, by driving blood from the surface to the parts within, often causes inflammation of the kidneys. On recovering from any wasting disease one should exercise great caution both in resuming his regular work and in exposing his ...
— Physiology and Hygiene for Secondary Schools • Francis M. Walters, A.M.

... depot, but they found it deserted! During seventy-seven days they could not have pulled, according to Captain Sturt's calculation, less than 2000 miles; and now, worn out by fatigue and want, they were compelled to proceed yet further, and to endure, for some time longer, the most severe privations to which man can be exposed. But, under the guidance of Divine Providence, the lives of all were preserved, and now the reward of their deeds of heroism is willingly bestowed upon them. Among the boldest exploits ever performed by man, the descent of Captain ...
— Australia, its history and present condition • William Pridden

... and luxuries of European society, ever willingly relinquish those advantages, and place themselves beyond the protective influence of the wise and revered institutions of their native land, without the pressure of some urgent cause. Emigration may, indeed, generally be regarded as an act of severe duty, performed at the expense of personal enjoyment, and accompanied by the sacrifice of those local attachments which stamp the scenes amid which our childhood grew, in imperishable characters, upon the heart. Nor is it until adversity has pressed sorely upon ...
— Roughing it in the Bush • Susanna Moodie

... me on the subject; instead he turned with a severe confessorial face to Henrik: "No ergo! Quid ergo? Quid seis? Habes ...
— Debts of Honor • Maurus Jokai

... during a severe storm, a Horse, an Ox, and a Dog came and begged for shelter in the house of a Man. He readily admitted them, and, as they were cold and wet, he lit a fire for their comfort: and he put oats before the Horse, and hay before the Ox, ...
— Aesop's Fables • Aesop

... had presence of mind enough to save a large quantity of the wine by drinking it, and what was left, together with the dinner on the table, was consumed by Admiral Cockburn and his staff. By nightfall the White House, the Treasury, and the War Office were in flames, and only a severe thunderstorm checked the conflagration.* ...
— Jefferson and his Colleagues - A Chronicle of the Virginia Dynasty, Volume 15 In The - Chronicles Of America Series • Allen Johnson

... you'll understand what I mean when I've told you something that I have to say to you as manageress of Woman Free. It's this. You know that in spite of all we could do we've had to hunt about for more capital. We've found some, but we've had to submit to very severe conditions. The most important is that they insist upon a stringent cutting down of expenses. Instead of coming out every week, Woman Free will be a fortnightly in future, and we've been obliged to consent to reducing the salaries ...
— Woman on Her Own, False Gods & The Red Robe - Three Plays By Brieux • Eugene Brieux

... severe mauling. He tried to fight back, but Driggs held him off at arm's length. At last Driggs lifted the boy once more by his ...
— The Grammar School Boys of Gridley - or, Dick & Co. Start Things Moving • H. Irving Hancock

... without telling a lie;—the lady would lie again in smiling. The ruffles of the gentleman's shirt would be fraught with deceit, and the lady's flounces full of falsehood. Was ever anything more severe than that attack of his on chip bonnets, or the anathemas with which he endeavoured to dust the powder out of the ...
— The Warden • Anthony Trollope

... up short irregular branches on which great numbers of spores are borne. These give the upper surface of the leaf a gray, powdery appearance, hence the name. Eventually the diseased leaves become light brown and if the disease is severe, soon fall. Infected berries take on a gray, scurfy appearance, speckled with brown, are checked in growth and often burst on one side, exposing the seeds. The berries, however, do not become soft and shrunken as when attacked by the downy-mildew. ...
— Manual of American Grape-Growing • U. P. Hedrick

... been discovered of late (it is one of the few things that we have discovered) that very rarely has any really good thing, even in the most famous or infamous attacks on it, been attacked, even with a shadow of success, for its goodness. The critics were severe on Byron's faults, on Keats's faults, and on the present Laureate's faults; they were seldom severe on their goodness, though they often failed ...
— Essays in English Literature, 1780-1860 • George Saintsbury

... severe service to perform as if I had. Linden, we shall want your help—it's too ...
— Say and Seal, Volume II • Susan Warner

... tranquilly sets at rest its turbulent passions. Mr. Loudon's Encyclop. of Gardening, after giving some interesting points of his history, thus concludes: "In the spring of 1806, being in his eightieth year, he met with a severe fall, by which he broke the upper part of his thigh bone. This accident, which happened to him on the 15th of April, terminated in his death. After lying in a very weak exhausted state, without much pain, he expired in the night, between April and May, as St. Paul's church struck ...
— On the Portraits of English Authors on Gardening, • Samuel Felton

... was a faithful and steady friend—a severe chastiser of ambition—a rigid upholder of both military and civil discipline—always careful that no one should assume importance on account of any relationship to himself; slow both in conferring office, and in taking it away; ...
— The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus • Ammianus Marcellinus

... political groupings 22, independents 8; note - 43 seats unconfirmed note: irregularities and violence at some polling stations necessitated the rescheduling of voting in certain constituencies; voting postponed in Somali regional state because of severe drought ...
— The 2004 CIA World Factbook • United States. Central Intelligence Agency

... brother at sea," said Edmund, "whose excellence as a correspondent makes her think you too severe ...
— Persuasion • Jane Austen

... Three good wounds, according to your own somewhat severe definition of a wound. I'm one behind Dick, but I believe that when I was thrown over my horse's head I was hurt worse than he was at ...
— The Tree of Appomattox • Joseph A. Altsheler

... a very plain and severe-looking building from the outside, suggesting a gigantic doll's house with real steps up to the front door all complete. Although it does not look as inspiring on approaching it as most Dickensian inns do, its interior, nevertheless, makes up ...
— The Inns and Taverns of "Pickwick" - With Some Observations on their Other Associations • B.W. Matz

... drift of public opinion from the firm stand taken in the "Association" resolutions. The clique of political philosophers to which Jefferson belonged never imagined the continued existence of the country with slavery. It is well known that the first draft of the Declaration contained a severe arraignment of Great Britain as the real promoter of slavery and the slave-trade in America. In it the king was charged with waging "cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant ...
— The Suppression of the African Slave Trade to the United States of America - 1638-1870 • W. E. B. Du Bois

... soundly and dreamlessly in Chilcote's canopied bed. To him the big room with its severe magnificence suggested nothing of the gloom and solitude that it held in its owner's eyes. The ponderous furniture, the high ceiling, the heavy curtains, unchanged since the days of Chilcote's grandfather, all hinted at a far-reaching ownership that stirred him. The ownership was mythical ...
— The Masquerader • Katherine Cecil Thurston

... from the time when their Chiefs were so cruelly butchered within its walls, had been closely invested by a formidable force of Cherokees. The fort was relieved. The Indians fled at his approach; and, thinking that the severe chastisement which he had inflicted upon them, had inclined their hearts to peace, the General of the Carolinians paused in his progress, to give them an opportunity to sue for it, as the former friends ...
— The Life of Francis Marion • William Gilmore Simms

... to me the secret of her life,—not without burning tears. I have loved you better since the day I learned from the priest as he absolved my mother that there are passions condemned by the world and by the Church. But surely God will not be severe when they are the sins of souls as tender as that of my mother; only, that dear woman could never bring herself to repent. She loved much, Jules; she was all love. So I have prayed daily for her, but ...
— Ferragus • Honore de Balzac

... butt of constant and abominable insults, written and sketched on every wall; there was the comptroller Pifard, whose wonderful nose betrayed his presence behind every door, when he went eavesdropping; and there were all the teachers, each befouled with some insulting nickname: the severe 'Rhadamantus,' who had never been seen to smile; 'Filth,' who by the constant rubbing of his head had left his mark on the wall behind every professional seat he occupied; 'Thou-hast-deceived-me-Adele,' the professor of physics, at whom ten generations of schoolboys had tauntingly ...
— His Masterpiece • Emile Zola

... every roof but his; children came into life, grew to maturity, wedded, faded away, threw themselves away; the whole drama of life was played in that stock-company's theatre of a dozen houses, one of which was his, and no deep sorrow or severe calamity ever entered his dwelling. Peace be to those walls, forever,—the Professor said,—for the many pleasant years he ...
— The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table • Oliver Wendell Holmes

... prolonged as to induce fatigue. Walking is the best form of exercise. Riding in a badly-constructed carriage, or over a rough road, or upon horseback, as well as running, dancing, and the lifting or carrying of heavy weights, should be scrupulously avoided, as liable to cause rupture, severe flooding, and miscarriage. During the early months, in particular, extraordinarily long walks and dancing ought not to be indulged in. Journeys are not to be taken while in the pregnant state. Railway travelling is decidedly objectionable. ...
— The Physical Life of Woman: - Advice to the Maiden, Wife and Mother • Dr. George H Napheys

... wait. Perhaps I shall be better by that time. I think it's half fancy; but I should like your father to tell me so. He will laugh at me, I daresay; but I don't think I shall mind that. He always is severe on fanciful ...
— Wives and Daughters • Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

... verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled." John the Baptist describes his own preaching, which was confessedly severe and legal, as being far less searching than that of the Messiah whose near advent he announced. "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: ...
— Sermons to the Natural Man • William G.T. Shedd

... the Hermit to move back into the cave, where he was able to light some matches and examine the wound. Not being a physician, Frank could not tell how severe it was; but, with considerable difficulty, he finally succeeded in stanching the flow of blood to a ...
— Frank Merriwell's Bravery • Burt L. Standish

... several days previous having been rather cool and moist for the season. A strong wind was blowing from the south-west, producing (as I have been accustomed to term it) an active condition of the atmosphere, when storms quickly gather, move rapidly, and are apt to be severe, ...
— A Full Description of the Great Tornado in Chester County, Pa. • Richard Darlington

... conductor of religion that Christianity has produced in eighteen centuries condemned for two pages in a hundred volumes. But when he had refused the test of the weakest link, judging the man by his totals, he was not less severe on his theological ethics. ...
— The History of Freedom • John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton

... not seen Christal for many days until yesterday. She has had a severe illness; during which Lady Arundale has been almost like a mother to her. We thought it best that she should see no one else; but yesterday she sent for me, and I went. She was lying on a sofa, her high spirit utterly broken. She faintly smiled when I came in, but ...
— Olive - A Novel • Dinah Maria Craik, (AKA Dinah Maria Mulock)

... education, we found it killing work, and had to grind away incessantly, late and early. Both of us, before the year closed, broke down in health; partly by hard study, but principally, perhaps, for lack of nourishing diet. A severe cough seized upon me; I began spitting blood, and a doctor ordered me at once home to the country and forbade all attempts at study. My heart sank; it was a dreadful disappointment, and to me a bitter trial. Soon after, my companion, though apparently ...
— The Story of John G. Paton - Or Thirty Years Among South Sea Cannibals • James Paton

... and customs of the Greeks at the time of their greatest prosperity were not calculated to encourage display or luxury in private life, or the collection of sumptuous furniture. Their manners were simple and their discipline was very severe. Statuary, sculpture of the best kind, painting of the highest merit—in a word, the best that art could produce—were all dedicated to the national service in the enrichment of Temples and other public buildings, the State having indefinite and almost unlimited power over the ...
— Illustrated History of Furniture - From the Earliest to the Present Time • Frederick Litchfield

... on its return from Massua to India, the fleet commanded by the governor Don Stefano de Gama encountered so severe a storm that one of the galliots sunk bodily, a bark was lost, and all the other vessels dispersed. During the continuance of this dreadful tempest, many religious vows were made by the people; but that made by one of the soldiers afterwards occasioned much mirth. He vowed, if he survived ...
— A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume VI - Early English Voyages Of Discovery To America • Robert Kerr

... grief, my Lord, assails you now? Why sits this pallor on your noble brow? Does Allah lend your plans no helping hand? Or cruel Ali, with severe command, Remove to other shores the beauteous dame, Who charmed your eyes and set ...
— Bohemians of the Latin Quarter • Henry Murger

... It was a severe trial for Don Marcelo to be obliged to keep silent when at table with his family. He had to avoid the hysterics of his sister-in-law who promptly burst into sighs and sobs at the slightest allusion to her hero; and he feared equally the complaints of his wife, always ready to defend ...
— The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse • Vicente Blasco Ibanez

... the walls of the church echoed with their yells. This was often carried on until they worked themselves up to a pitch of madness, and then they began boxing each other until the floor of the church would be smeared with blood; upon which most severe expiations were exacted from them; as, however, much has been shed in the cause of the church, it was not to be permitted that the holy sanctuary should ever be stained with aught so impure. The ecclesiastics at last quitting the church, got into carts filled ...
— How to Enjoy Paris in 1842 • F. Herve

... through weakness or inattention, often err in their conceptions of what would produce their own happiness, no wonder they should miss in the application of what will contribute to that of others; and thus we may, without too severe a censure on their inclinations, account for that frequent failure in true good-breeding which daily experience gives ...
— Miscellanies, Volume 2 (from Works, Volume 12) • Henry Fielding

... scriptures and allowed everyone to preach, without distinction of age, or rank, or sex. The Waldenses spread through many European countries, but being poor and lowly men they did not exert much influence as reformers. The sect survived severe persecution and now forms a branch of the Protestant ...
— EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY • HUTTON WEBSTER

... Staff, Maj. Gen. Henry I. Hodes, objected to the timing of the Paul proposal since it would require action by field commanders during a period when continuing mass demobilization and severe budget limitations were already causing rapid and frequent adjustments, especially in overhead installations. He also felt that sending men to school would disrupt unit activities; altogether too ...
— Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965 • Morris J. MacGregor Jr.

... and the improvement a sensible mind may receive from it: with some hints to the censorious, not to be too severe on errors, the circumstances of which they are ignorant of, occasioned by a remarkable instance of an involuntary ...
— Life's Progress Through The Passions - Or, The Adventures of Natura • Eliza Fowler Haywood

... in a quite magic way, for besides satisfying her longing for pretty things, they seemed to have deprived of urgency all her other longings, even including her desire for a vote, for eminence of some severe sort, for an income of three hundred pounds a year (which was the most she believed a person with a social conscience could enjoy), for a perpetual ticket for the Paterson Concerts at the MacEwan Hall, and for perfect self-possession. She ...
— The Judge • Rebecca West

... Anne of Austria, in a severe tone: for in her ears the word "duel," which had been forbidden in France during the time she had reigned over ...
— The Vicomte de Bragelonne - Or Ten Years Later being the completion of "The Three - Musketeers" And "Twenty Years After" • Alexandre Dumas

... the earl, finishing his glass of claret with an air of virtuous resignation. "Perhaps so." His own martyrdom, however, had not been severe, for the rest and quiet of home had never been peculiarly satisfactory to his tastes. Soon after this they ...
— Doctor Thorne • Anthony Trollope

... majesty, an article of three hundred thousand pounds relating to the duty upon wrought plate was totally omitted. This extraordinary omission being discovered, gave rise to a very warm debate, and to very severe reflection against those who superintended the public accounts. This error being rectified, a committee appointed for the purpose drew up the representation, containing a particular detail of the national debts discharged and incurred since the twenty-fifth ...
— The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.II. - From William and Mary to George II. • Tobias Smollett

... the poor rhymes, yet the mad poet had not given himself his full meed of praise. No storm was too wild, no cold too severe, no snow too deep for the faithful mail-carrier to make his rounds. Rather than give up the leathern bag entrusted to him to teasing country boys or desperate highwayman, he would ...
— Little Tora, The Swedish Schoolmistress and Other Stories • Mrs. Woods Baker

... is come To know his Sentence, and receive his Doom, But pray before you are resolv'd to be Severe, look on your selves, and then on me; Observe me well, I am a Man of Show, Of Noise, and Nonsense, as are most of you. Though all of you don't share with me in Title, In Character you differ very little. Tell me in what you find a Difference? It may be you will say, ...
— The Works of Aphra Behn, Vol. III • Aphra Behn

... is the sacred asylum of Kakshasena, and O Yudhishthira, the asylum of Chyavana also, which is famed over every country, O son of Pandu! In that spot, O exalted one, men attain to (ascetic) success without severe austerities. Here also, O mighty king, is the region called Jamvumarga, inhabited by birds and deer, and which constitutes the retreat of ascetics with souls under control, O thou foremost of those that have ...
— Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 3 Pt. 1 • Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa

... in jest, and with no idea that they could possibly annoy any one, and that I sincerely regret any annoyance I may have thus inadvertently given. May I hope that in future they will recognise the distinction between severe language used in sober earnest, and the "words of unmeant bitterness," which Coleridge has alluded to in that lovely passage beginning "A little child, a limber elf"? If the writer will refer to that ...
— A Tangled Tale • Lewis Carroll

... men have suffered this severe affliction. The chosen companions of their pilgrimage have been strangers to their religious feelings, and could cherish no kindred sympathies. Instead of proving help meets, they have been hinderances; instead of assisting, they have retarded their journey. In some cases, this must be imputed ...
— Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. I • Francis Augustus Cox

... the world was frowning, but happily this quality is not uncommon among our nobler natures. That which was most uncommon in Houghton's character was his willingness to befriend a man even when he knew that the disgrace into which he had fallen was not undeserved. He could be severe—as severe as anybody I have ever known—upon vice and meanness; but if the sinner needed help he pitied him at once, and was ready to aid him to the ...
— Memoirs of Sir Wemyss Reid 1842-1885 • Stuart J. Reid, ed.

... Windsor Castle, together with Edmund Mortimer, earl of March, and placed both under the nominal charge of the Prince of Wales, a youth of a few years older. Unjust as was the detention, it had been far from severe; the boys had as much liberty as their age and recreation required, and received the choicest training both in the arts of war and peace. They were bred up in close intercourse with the King's own four sons, and were united with them by ...
— The Caged Lion • Charlotte M. Yonge

... above remarks on Schleiermacher will perhaps be considered severe by those who know his works, and will be regarded as putting the worst face on his system. The criticism however of the late Mr. Vaughan, who deeply appreciated Schleiermacher, and had devoted much patient study to his works, ...
— History of Free Thought in Reference to The Christian Religion • Adam Storey Farrar

... plenty of it to be obtained from the British American Land Company in Lower Canada, in that portion called "The Townships," which adjoin the states of Vermont and New York; and, excepting that the winters are longer, the climate more severe, it is as desirable as any other part of the province, and, in point of health, perhaps more so, as it is sufficiently far from the great river and lakes to make it less subject to ague; which, however, ...
— Canada and the Canadians - Volume I • Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle

... politics. That appears from a letter Hume writes Smith from London on 13th September, wanting information about his new chief's eldest son, Lord Beauchamp, regarding whom he had once heard Smith mention something told by "that severe critic Mr. Herbert," and to whom Hume was now to act in the capacity of tutor in conjunction with his official duties as Secretary of Legation. Then after relating the story of Bute's negotiations with Pitt ...
— Life of Adam Smith • John Rae

... rest, as is aforesaid. First by thrawing of his head with a rope, whereat he would confesse nothing! Secondly, he was persuaded by faire means to confesse his follies, but that would prevaile as little. Lastly, he was put to the most severe and cruell paine in the world, called the Bootes, who, after he had received three strokes, being inquired if he would confesse his damnable actes and wicked life, his toong would not serve him to spaake.' This inability, produced no doubt by pain, ...
— Popular Tales from the Norse • Sir George Webbe Dasent

... Monitor doing the same for the Federal wooden fleet in Hampton Roads and the Chesapeake waters. The injuries received by the Virginia in ramming the Cumberland, on the previous day, were probably greater than those inflicted on her by the Monitor; in neither case were they severe enough to disable or force her to ...
— Life of Rear Admiral John Randolph Tucker • James Henry Rochelle

... poetical privileges for the clergy; and no one, I believe, is more thoroughly convinced that the standard which society prescribes for us, and to which we ordinarily conform ourselves, instead of being too severe and lofty, is far too secular and grovelling. But I apprehend the limitations of this kind which are imposed upon us are themselves exceedingly secular, betokening an entire misconception of the nature of our work, proceeding ...
— The Saint's Tragedy • Charles Kingsley

... came along from the Chatham and I jumped in whilst we were still going pretty fast and shot off to see de Robeck. He seemed to think things naval were going pretty well and that Rear-Admiral Christian had been coping quite well with his share, but suggested that, as he was under a severe strain, I had better leave him alone. As to the soldiers' show, he said what Turks were on the ground, and there weren't many, had been well beaten—but—but—but; and all I could get him to say was that although he was well aware the ...
— Gallipoli Diary, Volume 2 • Ian Hamilton

... not smile. It was the tragedy of her life to see her sister, once devoted purely to domestic interests, quick-tongued, cleanly, severe, calvinistic, spend fruitless hours day by day seeking a futile vengeance. Joan she had always thought of as a typical farmer's housewife—severe with her tongue perhaps, shrewd, and a trifle of a scold. But this woman who ...
— The Survivor • E.Phillips Oppenheim

... soldiers to take their arms, coats and peltry, excepting a castor robe, was a severe trial to them, as many of them had bought skins from the Hurons to the extent of seven to eight hundred francs, and preferred to fight rather than ...
— The Makers of Canada: Champlain • N. E. Dionne

... the fire come into our parish; but not one handsome face in all of them, as if, indeed, there was a curse, as Bishop Fuller heretofore said, upon our parish. This month ends with my mind full of business and concernment how this office will speed with the Parliament, which begins to be mighty severe in the examining our accounts, and the expence of the ...
— The Diary of Samuel Pepys • Samuel Pepys

... dead nettles, however, are not at all related to the true nettle, and belong to quite a different family called the Labiate tribe, from the Latin word Labium, "a lip," in allusion to the form of the corolla. Is the pain better, now, Jacko? "Yes, it is getting less severe; look what large white lumps have arisen on the back of my hand." The sting of the nettle is a very curious and interesting object under the microscope. It consists of a hollow tube with a glandular organ at the bottom of it, in which is contained an acrid fluid very irritating ...
— Country Walks of a Naturalist with His Children • W. Houghton

... not the temerity to ally ourselves to this severe and intolerant school, we simply say that these two natures were made to understand each other—to sympathize. They in fact did ...
— Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 7 • Various

... thing, I conceive that I have bound myself, and that delivering it to the knowledge of another, I have positively enjoined it my own performance. Methinks I promise it, if I but say it: and therefore am not apt to say much of that kind. The sentence that I pass upon myself is more severe than that of a judge, who only considers the common obligation; but my conscience looks upon it with a more severe and penetrating eye. I lag in those duties to which I should be compelled ...
— The Essays of Montaigne, Complete • Michel de Montaigne

... character, most systems for transportation and water and power generation and distribution, as a whole, are resistant to failure, despite potentially severe local damage. These systems would suffer serious local outages, particularly in the first several days after the event, but would resume service over a few weeks to months. The principal difficulty would be the greatly increased need for these systems in the first few days after the event, ...
— An Assessment of the Consequences and Preparations for a Catastrophic California Earthquake: Findings and Actions Taken • Various

... scourged himself through the streets with such severity that he fell down as one dead, and was considered as such. He came later to our house to confess his offenses, and was as disfigured as if he were recovering from a severe illness; but, not content with the former scourging, he desired to inflict on himself another—for, as he said, his heart was transfixed, as by a nail, with grief for his sins. The father, however, commanded him to cease for the present, and he obeyed. ...
— The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, - Volume XIII., 1604-1605 • Ed. by Blair and Robertson

... before him with a set, severe face.—"Did you call me out in this alarming manner only to quarrel with me?"—"No, but why do you choose this time to tell me that my coming for help to you was nothing but impudence in your sight? Well, I beg your pardon for intruding on your dignity."—"You misunderstood me," said Mrs. Travers, ...
— The Rescue • Joseph Conrad

... that he had heard—came out of his room just in time to see the stretcher-bearers disappearing with their burden through the front door, and the door itself closed to with a bang by Crystal. Truly his sense of decorum and of the fitness of things had received a severe shock and now he had the additional mortification of seeing his beautiful daughter—his dainty and aristocratic Crystal—in a ...
— The Bronze Eagle - A Story of the Hundred Days • Emmuska Orczy, Baroness Orczy

... best, the task is a severe one, and we need, here as elsewhere in education, carefully controlled tests and experiments, that will enable us to get at the facts. Above all, let me protest against the incidental theory of teaching pupils how to study. To adopt the incidental policy ...
— Craftsmanship in Teaching • William Chandler Bagley

... present. Hundreds of their occupants had been obliged to part by degrees with all that was valuable or could be turned into money. The elegant and accomplished young female, hitherto accustomed to all the comforts and luxuries of life, was now to be taught a lesson of suffering and endurance as severe as it was unexpected. Many—many such lessons were taught, and we may add—well and nobly, and with true Christian fortitude, were they borne. We have already said that Purcel had the collection of tithe for four Parishes, ...
— The Tithe-Proctor - The Works of William Carleton, Volume Two • William Carleton

... room and went to find Madame Jaubert, whom he awakened, and briefly told her that his wife had been seized with a severe nervous attack—the effect of a chill. The amiable little woman ran hastily to her friend and spent ...
— Monsieur de Camors, Complete • Octave Feuillet

... hills and made them bright. She in the long fresh grass scattered her rains Sparkling and glittering like a host of stars, But not like stars cold, severe, terrible. Hers was the laughter of the wind that leaped Arm-full of shadows, flinging them far and wide. Hers the bright light within the quick green Of every new leaf on the oldest tree. It was her swimming made the river ...
— Georgian Poetry 1916-17 - Edited by Sir Edward Howard Marsh • Various

... instructions for the sandatahan, from other documents among the papers of the insurgents and from what was done in Manila on February 22 that Aguinaldo and his advisers about the middle of January, 1899, drew up a plan of attack upon Manila which would, if carried out, have inflicted a severe blow upon the Americans. It was not carried out, but that was not the fault of Aguinaldo ...
— The Philippines: Past and Present (vol. 1 of 2) • Dean C. Worcester

... who had worked so well to keep the foe in check, and keep in safety the southern portion of the city. The Master Builder's scheme had been attended with marked success. The demolished buildings had arrested the progress of the flames, although not without severe labour on the part ...
— The Sign Of The Red Cross • Evelyn Everett-Green

... have written to you were intended for the private entertainment of a liberal friend, and not for the general perusal of a severe public. Had I imagined that their contents would have penetrated beyond your closet or the circle of your intimate acquaintance, several of the narratives would have been extended, while others would have been compressed; the anecdotes ...
— Memoirs of the Court of St. Cloud, Complete - Being Secret Letters from a Gentleman at Paris to a Nobleman in London • Lewis Goldsmith

... message aided her. The shook of what she had just heard was not, in its immediate effect, as severe as others had feared it would be. Perhaps Emily's own sojourn at the gates of death lessened the distance between her and him who had passed them; perhaps the vast misery which lay behind her, the darkness threatening in the future, brought first to her mind death's attribute of deliverance. This, ...
— A Life's Morning • George Gissing

... work out their destinies in that pleasant atmosphere of English country life which no one since Trollope's death has reproduced with greater truth and delicacy than Mr. Marshall. This time, however, the clash of temperaments and traditions is more severe, the story cuts deeper into humanity, and the narration of it is, I think, more closely knit. The Rector of Roding, the Rev. Henry French, is a fine figure of a man honourably devoted to the duties of his ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, May 27, 1914 • Various

... the successor of Alexander the Second from restoring the system of serfage, with all its concomitant horrors. It will not be difficult to find a predominating influence among the nobles to accomplish that object; for this has been a long and severe struggle against their influence, and owes its success entirely to the unremitting labors of the sovereign. The next autocrat may labor with equal earnestness to undo this good work; but it matters little, save in name. Despotism ...
— The Land of Thor • J. Ross Browne

... scolding poor little Toby to his heart's content, vowed that the amount should be kept from his first week's wages, and then handed back the coin, with orders to give it to the first man who gave him money to change, under the penalty of a severe flogging if ...
— Toby Tyler • James Otis

... operation of the neutrality laws of the United States as authoritatively interpreted as aforesaid, and may be misled into participation in transactions which are violations of said laws and will render them liable to the severe penalties provided for ...
— Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents - Volume 8, Section 2 (of 2): Grover Cleveland • Grover Cleveland

... from the invasion of Allied territory and from the submarine campaign. At that time there were serious doubts as to whether Germany intended to accept our terms, which in other respects were inevitably very severe, and it would have been thought an unstatesmanlike act to risk a continuance of the war by demanding a money payment which Allied opinion was not then anticipating and which probably could not be secured in any case. The French, I think, ...
— The Economic Consequences of the Peace • John Maynard Keynes

... have lately been made on the conduct of various scientific bodies, and of their officers, and severe criticism has been lavished upon some of their productions. Newspapers, Magazines, Reviews, and Pamphlets, have all been put in requisition for the purpose. Odium has been cast upon some of these for being anonymous. If a fact is ...
— Decline of Science in England • Charles Babbage

... I don't mean to be severe. He would think it a great compliment paid to him, though you don't think it nice. He does not look seriously at life. He amuses himself with everything. Just compare him with ...
— The Inglises - How the Way Opened • Margaret Murray Robertson

... charge, most of whom were of the party who had sworn to slay the lieutenant. He now charged the rebels so manfully and was so well seconded by his party, that John Sanchez and John Barba were killed, some others were brought to the ground by severe wounds, and Francis de Porras their captain was made prisoner. Sanchez was the person from whom Quibio escaped in the river of Veragua, and Barba was the first man whom I saw draw his sword at the breaking ...
— A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. III. • Robert Kerr

... into modern European literature. He has been criticised for his style and blamed for his immorality. The former, it seems to us, is not bad, and the latter no worse than that of many contemporaneous writers who have escaped the severe judgment meted out ...
— Italian Popular Tales • Thomas Frederick Crane

... lay, Impatient both of night and day, Lamenting in unmanly strains, Called every power to ease my pains, Then Stella ran to my relief With cheerful face and inward grief; And though by Heaven's severe decree She suffers hourly more than me, No cruel master could require, From slaves employed for daily hire, What Stella by her friendship warmed, With vigour and delight performed. My sinking spirits now supplies With cordials in her hands and eyes, Now with a soft and silent tread, Unheard she ...
— The Battle of the Books - and Other Short Pieces • Jonathan Swift

... ceased to produce a beneficial effect. She was stimulated with wine; she was soothed with opium; but in vain. Her breath began to fail. The whisper that she was in a decline spread through the Court. The pains in her side became so severe that she was forced to crawl from the card-table of the old Fury to whom she was tethered, three or four times in an evening for the purpose of taking hartshorn. Had she been a negro slave, a humane planter would have excused ...
— Critical and Historical Essays Volume 2 • Thomas Babington Macaulay

... book of lyrics since Mrs. Dollie Radford's Light Load. Whitman, you will remember, always used to take his songs out into the presence of the fields and skies to try them. A severe test, but a little book may bear it as well as a great one. The Leaves of Grass claims measurement with oaks; but Whisper I tried by speedwell and cinquefoil, and many other tiny sweet things for which I know no name, by all airs and sounds coming ...
— Prose Fancies • Richard Le Gallienne

... then caught me in her arms, hugging and kissing me with great earnestness, and for a long time. I then told her what my aunt had said to me, both going and returning, and this being told to her husband when he returned, he not only reproved her for it, but gave her a severe flogging. The bear was sent for, and, as being the first I had killed, was cooked all together, and the hunters of the whole band invited to feast with us, according to the custom of the Indians. The same day one of the Crees killed ...
— The True Story Book • Andrew Lang

... Steve could not think, so severe had been their cruel blows; then indignation, such as he had never known in his life, swept over him in a sudden flood. He sprang to his feet, ignoring pain and keenly watching which way they went, stealthily followed after. For two hours he kept within hearing of them, though ...
— The Boy from Hollow Hut - A Story of the Kentucky Mountains • Isla May Mullins

... is used generally as a means of ingratiation with the ladies, to whom my vagabond always shows a demeanor of agreeable gallantry. I never saw him sell any of these dogs, nor ever in the least cast down by his failure to do so. His air is grave, but not severe; there is even, at times, a certain playfulness in his manner, possibly attributable to sciampagnin. His curling black locks, together with his velveteen jacket and pantaloons, are oiled and glossy, and his beard is cut in the ...
— Venetian Life • W. D. Howells

... I had a severe sickness in the spring, and the doctors recommended me to absent myself for a time from the excitement of the town and take up my residence ...
— Andy Grant's Pluck • Horatio Alger

... dared to remonstrate with him on the irresponsible life he was leading, and sought to inculcate in him the doctrine of moderation. I felt that I had an influence over him; and it was the consciousness of this that prompted me not to be too severe in the matter of his attentions and little gifts. When I talked to him, as I often did, on the error of his ways and the waste of his talents, he would listen to me with tears in his eyes, and promise better things for the future. He would become systematic and serious in ...
— A Romantic Young Lady • Robert Grant

... came near capsizing. The current at the spot happened to be not so swift and she escaped with no damage. Then we were brought up by another rapid, a very bad one. Evening was drawing on and every man was feeling somewhat used up by the severe exertions of the day. Camp was therefore ordered at the head of this rapid in the midst of scenery that has probably as great beauty, picturesqueness, and grandeur as any to be found in the whole ...
— A Canyon Voyage • Frederick S. Dellenbaugh

... obstruction a sufficient ground for breaking up the Constitution. The whole thing is a question of proportion. The nation suffers a good deal from obstruction, but the suffering is not of a kind to justify revolution. A toothache is a bad thing, but a severe toothache hardly suggests suicide; and though life might not be worth having, if toothache were to last for years, the thoughts of putting an end to one's existence are removed by the knowledge that an aching tooth can ...
— England's Case Against Home Rule • Albert Venn Dicey

... through the air directly toward him, made a swift leap to one side. But the animal was not quick enough. The boy landed against the broncho with a jolt that nearly knocked the little animal over, while to Phil the impact could not have been much more severe, it seemed to him, had he collided with ...
— The Circus Boys on the Flying Rings • Edgar B. P. Darlington

... more prophecy than statement. We must make allowances for young men. There is quite a difference between getting scared and being hurt. My beef outfit has orders to go three hundred miles south of our range and cover all round-ups northward. It was a severe winter, and the drift was heavy, but I'm not worrying any about that sore-fingered outfit. Promptly meeting government contracts is our work to-day. My cattle are two weeks behind time, and the beef herds must leave Dodge to-morrow. Help me figure it out: Can you put me on the railroad ...
— Wells Brothers • Andy Adams

... and outwardly severe man—but inwardly weak and easy; loving a joke and a glass of port-wine. I get on with him, therefore, much better than Mr. Prince, who scorns him for an ass, and under whose keen eyes the worthy Doctor writhes like a convicted impostor; and many a sunshiny ...
— The Christmas Books • William Makepeace Thackeray

... Ava, and down the Irrawadi to Rangoon, in the course of which he was reported to have been assassinated. The hardships through which he passed during the journey and his excessive application produced, soon after his arrival in Calcutta, a severe attack of fever: on his recovery from which he was appointed Surgeon to the Embassy to Bootan, then about to depart under the charge of the late Major Pemberton. He took this opportunity of revisiting the Khasiya Hills, among which he formed a most extensive collection; ...
— Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and The - Neighbouring Countries • William Griffith

... it was about to capsize Mr. Sneed let go of the steering wheel, and gave a jump which carried him out of harm's way, so the only mishap he suffered was a rather severe shaking up, and being covered with snow. Considerable of the white ...
— The Moving Picture Girls Snowbound - Or, The Proof on the Film • Laura Lee Hope

... his good sense interfered everywhere to temper the extravagant conclusions into which a severe logician could have driven him. [Footnote: The "Wealth of Nations" has never yet been ably reviewed, nor satisfactorily edited. The edition of Mr. Buchanan is unquestionably the best, and displays great knowledge of Political Economy as it stood before the revolution effected by ...
— Memorials and Other Papers • Thomas de Quincey

... conversation, as if he were pleased with the misfortunes of the palatine and his wife. The commons were in a flame; and, pretending to be a court of judicature and of record, proceeded to condemn him to a severe punishment. The house of lords checked this encroachment; and, what was extraordinary, considering the present humor of the lower house, the latter acquiesced in the sentiments of the peers. This is almost the only pretension of the English commons in which they have not prevailed. Happily ...
— The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.I., Part D. - From Elizabeth to James I. • David Hume

... Vanda,—one of our charming fugitives, as those of the chroniclers who still remember Vanda, say of her in their articles sometimes—is an elegant establishment, severe in external appearance, but of entirely modern interior arrangements, with a wealth of choice knickknacks, and is regarded as one of the most attractive houses in Rue Prony. Since the flight of the pretty courtesan, it bears the sad notice: Residence to let. ...
— His Excellency the Minister • Jules Claretie

... was because I did not feel very bright that the voices of my guests were not restful to me. I was almost irritated by one shrill-voiced creature who insisted on going through every room, even to our study. Her tone was dictatorial and severe. Still I might have retained her had she not commented disagreeably on the dishes in ...
— The Van Dwellers - A Strenuous Quest for a Home • Albert Bigelow Paine

... truth, and they who have been about the Emperor's person will vouch for it, that he was far from being so unfeeling, as he was commonly thought. His military education, and the necessity of commanding fear and respect, had rendered him grave, severe, and inflexible; and had accustomed him, to check and despise the suggestions of his sensibility. But when nature resumed her rights, he felt a delight in yielding to the movements of his soul, and he then expressed the emotions or sentiments, that had overpowered him, in an ardent ...
— Memoirs of the Private Life, Return, and Reign of Napoleon in 1815, Vol. I • Pierre Antoine Edouard Fleury de Chaboulon

... woodsmen and rangers, accustomed to severe toil, soon beat out what was left of the fire. Then they went over the entire line of the fire to make sure every spark was extinguished. The forester and Charley found Lew, and the three crossed the valley ...
— The Young Wireless Operator—As a Fire Patrol - The Story of a Young Wireless Amateur Who Made Good as a Fire Patrol • Lewis E. Theiss

... to China and the bickering about the Five-Power Group and the determination on the part of the last named that no one else should share the spoil! Or shall we transfer our attention to Mexico, where the severe struggle between the two rival Oil Companies—the Cowdray group and the American group—threw into the shade the quarrel between Huerta and Carranza? These are only a few instances taken at random to illustrate the dealings of modern finance. ...
— Armageddon—And After • W. L. Courtney

... it may tumble over the Great Falls of the West! Owing to reasonable skill in our seamen, and uncommon resolution in the passengers, we happily made a good time of it, through ourselves; though I care not who knows it, I will own it is a severe trial to the courage to enter that same dreadful Strait. We cast out our anchors at certain islands, which lie a few furlongs this side the place, and sent the pinnace, with the captain and two stout seamen, to reconnoitre the ...
— The Red Rover • James Fenimore Cooper

... her; at her severe aquiline features, at her heavy eyelids drooping over eyes of implacable wrath, at her firm mouth and jaw, cold as if cut in marble. She was not a woman to trifle or to waver; perhaps she was one who having received offence ...
— The Waters of Edera • Louise de la Rame, a.k.a. Ouida

... real Whittington. A gentleman by birth, a rich and successful man, happy in his private life, a great stickler for justice, as a magistrate severe upon those who cheat and adulterate, a loyal and patriotic man, and always filled with the desire to promote the interests of the City which had received him and ...
— The History of London • Walter Besant

... urged his cruel chase, When the stern panther sought his midnight prey; What fate reserved me for this Christian race? O race more polished, more severe than they! ...
— The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the - Abolition of the African Slave-Trade, by the British Parliament (1839) • Thomas Clarkson

... Diemen's Land, we had very uncertain weather, with rain and very heavy gusts of wind. On the 24th, we were surprised with a very severe squall, that reduced us from top-gallant sails to reefed courses, in the space of an hour. The sea rising equally quick, we shipped many waves, one of which stove the large cutter, and drove the small one from her lashing in the waist; and with much difficulty we ...
— A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 14 • Robert Kerr

... came Vane was sleeping quietly, and, while he was examining him, Sir Arthur arrived, and was told that he had been taken ill shortly after dinner, and this the Doctor explained was probably due to the very severe mental strain to which he had subjected himself during the last week or so. He went up to his room and found Koda Bux on guard. Koda salaamed ...
— The Missionary • George Griffith

... sinking at her heart she saw the unloving looks in her scholars' faces as they entered the schoolroom after this stormy consultation. She had a severe headache that afternoon, so that, altogether, she did not wear nearly so smiling a face as usual; and the girls, prejudiced as they were, found ample occasion ...
— The King's Daughter and Other Stories for Girls • Various

... must recognize that much of the language of the Scripture dealing with this condition is couched in figurative terms. But the condition is none the less real because of that, for, generally speaking, the reality is more severe than the figure in which it is set forth. Yet we need caution here, and must distinguish between the things that are stated in clear unmistakable language and those that are set forth ...
— The Great Doctrines of the Bible • Rev. William Evans

... was to "come upon all the world, to try them that dwell on the earth," was to be one of peculiar trial. Some suppose it had reference to the persecution under Trajan, which was more severe and extensive than those under Nero, or Domitian: and others that it was the Mohammedan delusion. In such times there are peculiar temptations to apostatize, and the less faithful are in more danger of apostasy than others. But because the Philadelphian church ...
— A Brief Commentary on the Apocalypse • Sylvester Bliss

... religion, the inmost region of Spirit; but to introduce the principle into the various relations of the actual world involves a more extensive problem than its simple implantation—a problem whose solution and application require a severe and lengthened process of culture. In proof of this we may note that slavery did not cease immediately on the reception of Christianity. Still less did liberty predominate in States; or governments and constitutions adopt a rational organization, or recognize ...
— The German Classics of The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Vol. VII. • Various

... the Americans; Arnold determined to have one more try of the chances. He did not know the full force of the enemy, but he expected that "it would be very formidable, if not equal to ours."[8] The season, however, was so near its end that a severe check would equal a defeat, and would postpone Carleton's further advance to the next spring. Besides, what was the worth of such a force as the American, such a flotilla, under the guns of Ticonderoga, the ...
— The Major Operations of the Navies in the War of American Independence • A. T. Mahan

... Then the large beast, seeing a small opening in the gate that was not yet entirely closed, made for it. A moment later he was rushing straight at Tom, who was somewhat stunned by his fall, though it was not a severe one. ...
— Tom Swift and his Wizard Camera - or, Thrilling Adventures while taking Moving Pictures • Victor Appleton

... pastime is greatly abused, and is so perverted as to have become one of the most serious evils. In this view, it is subject to severe and well-grounded censure. As dancing is usually conducted in modern times, it has proved one of the greatest evils into which the youthful have fallen. The routs and balls to which the young resort, as generally managed, cannot be too severely condemned. The late hours to which they are ...
— Golden Steps to Respectability, Usefulness and Happiness • John Mather Austin

... at myself in the glass. Assuredly I shall have to take some severe measures with my countenance before it falls under my sister's gaze. Small sympathy and smaller joy is there in it now—it wears only a lantern-jawed, lack-lustre despondency. I practise a galvanized smile, and say out loud, as if in dialogue ...
— Nancy - A Novel • Rhoda Broughton

... hostility until it seemed that there would never be an end to that strife. This at length so incensed his powerful overlord that he was forcibly deprived of his possessions and driven out beggared from his home. But no punishment, however severe, could change his nature; it only roused him to greater fury, a more fixed determination to have his revenge, so that outcast as he was his enmity was still to be feared and he was a danger to the ruler and the community in general. Then, at last, the great earl said ...
— Dead Man's Plack and an Old Thorn • William Henry Hudson

... unconstitutional was the "grandfather clause." Without expressly disfranchising the Negro, but with a view to facilitating the permanent placement of white residents on the voting lists while continuing to interpose severe obstacles upon Negroes seeking qualification as voters, several States, beginning in 1895, enacted temporary laws whereby persons who were voters, or descendants of voters on January 1, 1867, could be registered notwithstanding ...
— The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation • Edward Corwin

... of Spaine. He shoulde firste have don as the prophetts dyd; that is, he shoulde firste have gon himselfe and preached the worde of God to those idolatrous kinges and their people; and then, if they woulde not, by any meanes, have repented, he mighte have pronounced the severe and heavie judgemente of God againste them, shewinge oute of the worde of God that one kingdome is translated from another for the sinnes of the inhabitantes of the same, and that God in his justice, woulde surely bringe some nation or other upon them, ...
— The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of - the English Nation. Vol. XIII. America. Part II. • Richard Hakluyt

... ones had organizations and offered a promising field. For the first time plans were made for extended canvassing for members. To the courageous women of that period who carried on steadfastly under severe handicaps and with little encouragement may be attributed much of the inspiration of the suffragists of later years. Miss Jane Campbell of Germantown, poet, author and orator, president for many years of the large, active Philadelphia County Society, ...
— The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume VI • Various

... that would come out, if he only put his best foot forward. It was a tower of strength within him. It told him that he could do wonders; that he could go out into the world and accomplish all that would be required to free his mother from debt, and relieve her from the severe drudgery of her life. ...
— Now or Never - The Adventures of Bobby Bright • Oliver Optic



Words linked to "Severe" :   serious, spartan, dangerous, life-threatening, stern, grievous, terrible, stark, knockout, strict, critical, bad, austere, severeness, severe acute respiratory syndrome, hard, severity, wicked



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