"Murmur" Quotes from Famous Books
 ... strains of Mendelssohn's Spring Song. He was surprised, presently, to note a strange hush settling down over the woods. A chill vapor seemed to arise from the water. There was a melancholy note in the tweet of the low-flitting birds. The rustling trees softened their murmur to a continuous whisper, soothing and caressing. The tinkle of the creek became more metallic and pronounced. Near by, down the stream, a sudden chorus of frogs burst into croaking, their isolated notes blended by the chirping undertone of the crickets and ...
— The Wit and Humor of America, Volume V. (of X.) • Various
... delightful than he anticipated. The fragrance that filled his room had a magic in it which he had never known before, and there was a murmur of doves in the palms and in the dovecot hanging above the dog-kennel. As he lay between sleeping and waking, a pair of pigeons flew past his window, their shadows falling across his bed. An Arab came to conduct him to his bath; and after bathing he ...
— Sister Teresa • George Moore
... looked at each other with raised eyelids; and a murmur of astonishment ran through ...
— The Pickwick Papers • Charles Dickens
... to assure him that the outcry was occasioned by a quarrel between two nobles, which was about to terminate in a duel; and the unhappy prisoner thus remained for a short time in uncertainty as to his ultimate fate. Yet still, as he sat in his dreary prison, he heard the continued murmur of the excited citizens, who, believing that he was to be put to death by torchlight, persisted in holding their weary watch ...
— The Life of Marie de Medicis, Vol. 1 (of 3) • Julia Pardoe
... behind the brown earthen walls of the oasis; together watched the burning sunsets of Africa; at meal-times they met in the hotel; in the evenings they sat upon the verandah, and heard the Zouaves singing in chorus, the distant murmur of the tom-toms. ...
— The World's Greatest Books, Volume V. • Arthur Mee and J.A. Hammerton, Eds.
... trifle "knobby;" Whilst I'm reclining at mine ease, I leave you standing in the lobby. I ever treat you thus, and yet I haven't got a friend who's firmer; In point of fact, you even let Me shut you up without a murmur. ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 99, Sept. 27, 1890 • Various
... sighing by a Sycamore tree. Sing all a green Willow; Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee, Sing Willow, Willow, Willow. The fresh streams ran by her, and murmur'd her moans; Sing Willow, Willow, Willow. Her salt tears fell from her and soften'd the stones, Sing Willow, Willow, Willow. Sing all a green Willow must be ...
— The plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare • Henry Nicholson Ellacombe
... and nobly-born statesman was filled with vexation, nay, with an embarrassment that made him feel estranged, when he had to glance round the room to find the persons in it, collected, as they were, into small knots. He could hear nothing but hushed voices; here an unintelligible murmur and there a suppressed laugh, but from no one a frank speech or full utterance. For a moment he felt as if he had found admittance to the abode of whispering calumny, and yet he knew why here no one dared to speak out or above a murmur. Loud voices hurt the Empress, and a clear voice ...
— Uarda • Georg Ebers
... great surprise. The starling, which has been taught to murmur Evelyn's name, to-day shrieked out, 'Eva! Eva!' My first impulse was to wring its neck, my next to take it from its cage and hide it in my bosom. But I did neither. I am still ...
— The Circular Study • Anna Katharine Green
... artist. Yet such is the marvelous power of words when handled by a master that one can see by them almost as vividly as by the sense of sight. The reader is transported to far-away lands, strange men and animals surround him, the skies glare above him, silver lakes sparkle in the sun, brooks murmur against their fern-covered sides, and birds move the soul with their sweet music. Evening draws on, and the landscape glimmering fades away; the stars come out one by one and by and by the moon steals slowly ...
— Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 10 - The Guide • Charles Herbert Sylvester
... willingly kill, wound or lay a trap for the animals he thinks consecrated by the indwelling of a spirit, this is so true that even whilst preparing one of the usual traps for catching big game he will turn himself towards the thickest part of the forest and murmur, "this is not for thee" to warn the tiger to be on his guard. And should one happen to be caught it causes real grief to the Sakai who you may be sure would give it back its liberty at once if he had not found it dead or did not fear to be killed himself ...
— My Friends the Savages - Notes and Observations of a Perak settler (Malay Peninsula) • Giovanni Battista Cerruti
... a soft murmur, as much as to say that Mrs Harris's remark, though perhaps not quite so intelligible as could be desired from such an authority, did equal honour to her head ...
— Life And Adventures Of Martin Chuzzlewit • Charles Dickens
... other missionaries at Kiukiang tells of going through the hospital one evening, as the nurses were getting the patients settled for the night. She noticed a low murmur which she did not at first understand, until she saw that at every bed someone was in prayer. Here a mother was kneeling by the side of her little suffering son; there another mother of high rank was praying ...
— Notable Women Of Modern China • Margaret E. Burton
... mortal! doom'd, alas! to find The grave sole refuge from thy restless mind. This turf, these flow'rs, this lake, this silent wave, These poplars pale, that murmur o'er your grave, Invite repose.—Enjoy the tranquil shore, Where vain chimeras shall torment no more. See to thy tomb the wife and mother fly, And pour their sorrows where thy ashes lie! Here the fond youth, and here the blushing maid, Whisper their loves to thy congenial shade; And grateful ...
— Tales and Novels, Vol. V - Tales of a Fashionable Life • Maria Edgeworth
... murmur not. Rightly disgraced, The weak hand stretched abroad in haste For gifts barely allowed ...
— Gloucester Moors and Other Poems • William Vaughn Moody
... the sword, and thus exposed the iron box. The light of the torches striking upon the polished rivets, displayed it to all lookers on, but no remark was made. Wallace, not observing what was done, again shook hands with Monteith, and calling his servants about him, galloped away. A murmur was heard, as if of some intention to follow him; but deeming it prudent to leave the open and direct road, because of the English marauders who swarmed there, he was presently lost amid ...
— The Scottish Chiefs • Miss Jane Porter
... at him. He did not dare peep at them, but he could hear their murmur of amazement. Now that he was up he rather enjoyed ...
— The Trail of the Hawk - A Comedy of the Seriousness of Life • Sinclair Lewis
... blue, and the sun so bright, that an eternal summer seemed to reign over this prospect. Thistledown floated round them, enraptured by the serenity, of the ether. The heat danced over the corn, and, pervading all, was a soft, insensible hum, like the murmur of bright minutes holding ...
— Forsyte Saga • John Galsworthy
... much rapture in the young woman that she drops the key of her state-room from her hand. They both stoop, and a jocose scuffle for it ensues, after which the talk takes an autobiographical turn on the part of the young man, and drops into an unintelligible murmur. "Ah! poor Real Life, which I love, can I make others share the delight I find in ...
— Henry James, Jr. • William Dean Howells
... voice cry ever so distinctly from the altar, "Come unto Me, and I will refresh you;" and though it be ever so true that this refreshment is nothing short of life, eternal life, yet we recollect the words which follow, "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me," and we forthwith murmur and complain, as if the gift were most ungracious, laden with conditions, and hardly purchased, merely because it is offered in that way in which alone a righteous Lord could offer it,—the way ...
— Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII (of 8) • John Henry Newman
... little. "Making people happy!" She repeated the phrase as she had formulated the idea again, very softly, with a persistence that would have surprised Mrs. Delancy, could she have caught the inaudible murmur. Presently, the faint rose in the pallor of her cheeks blossomed to a deeper red, and the amber eyes grew radiant, as she lifted the long, curving lashes, and fixed her gaze on her aunt. There was a new animation in her voice as ...
— Making People Happy • Thompson Buchanan
... And it came to pass that the people began to murmur with the king because of their afflictions; and they began to be desirous to go against them to battle. And they did afflict the king sorely with their complaints; therefore he granted unto them that they should ...
— The Book Of Mormon - An Account Written By The Hand Of Mormon Upon Plates Taken - From The Plates Of Nephi • Anonymous
... silent, until the hush was broken by a low murmur:—"For Thou only art holy." Holmes had taken off his hat, unconscious that he did it; he put it on slowly, and walked on. What was it that Knowles had said to him once about mean and selfish taints on his divine soul? "For Thou only art holy:" if ...
— Margret Howth, A Story of To-day • Rebecca Harding Davis
... was to enjoy the goods of this world. Jacob's blessing, however, depended upon his pious deeds; through them he would have a just claim upon earthly prosperity. Isaac thought: "Jacob is a righteous man, he will not murmur against God, though it should come to pass that suffering be inflicted upon him in spite of his upright life. But that reprobate Esau, if he should do a good deed, or pray to God and not be heard, he would say, 'As I pray to the idols for naught, so it is in vain to pray ...
— The Legends of the Jews Volume 1 • Louis Ginzberg
... both scouts. Their eyes were afire with enthusiasm. But as they passed toward the door, Dick Mercer's quick ears caught a sullen murmur ...
— Facing the German Foe • Colonel James Fiske
... all right—he's one of US!" Miss Gostrey, after the first exchange, soon found a chance to murmur to her companion; and Strether, as they proceeded and paused and while a quick unanimity between the two appeared to have phrased itself in half a dozen remarks—Strether knew that he knew almost immediately ...
— The Ambassadors • Henry James
... Fortune! Fortune! thou spiteful gipsy! was this an honest trick to pass upon a faithful servant, who has worn thy livery from his cradle, and taken off thy hands a thousand knocks and buffetings without a murmur? Just at this moment too, when hope and fancy were dancing merrily, and had made the prettiest ball-room of my heart—just too when the image of my Geraldine— (rain, storm increases) but a truce with meditation, this pelting shower rather ...
— The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor - Volume I, Number 1 • Stephen Cullen Carpenter
... him. It was the first time he had been behind the scenes, though there was not as much to observe in this little theatre as in a larger one. Beyond the dropped curtain he could hear the strains of the music and the murmur in the audience. The show had come to a sudden ...
— Andy at Yale - The Great Quadrangle Mystery • Roy Eliot Stokes
... youth and marriage. She recalled the time when, alone at Buisson during her husband's enforced absences, she wandered with her child in the cool and shaded walks of the park, and sat out in the evening, inhaling the scent of the flowers, and listening to the murmur of the water, or the sound of the whispering breeze in the leaves. Then, coming back from these sweet recollections to reality, she shed tears, and called on her husband and son. So deep was her reverie that she did not hear the room door open, did not perceive that darkness had come on. ...
— CELEBRATED CRIMES, COMPLETE - DERUES • ALEXANDRE DUMAS, PERE
... bed, though, she got a tray, and collecting on it a tempting meal, carried it to Dan's room. She hoped he would let her in, for she badly needed a talk with him, but just as she was about to knock at his door the murmur of voices within arrested her attention. Whom could Dan have got in there? she wondered in great surprise. Tony was in bed, and Betty was in her room. She listened more closely, and nearly dropped the tray in her astonishment, for the voice she heard was her father's, and ...
— Kitty Trenire • Mabel Quiller-Couch
... here that the animal has a peculiar language on occasions like this; it emits a succession of short, bellowing cries, like excited exclamations, followed by a very loud cry, alternately sinking into a hoarse murmur and rising to a kind of scream that grates harshly on the sense. Of the ordinary "cow-music" I am a great admirer, and take as much pleasure in it as in the cries and melody of birds and the sound of the wind in trees; but this performance of cattle excited by the smell of blood ...
— Introduction to the Science of Sociology • Robert E. Park
... command of the white oligarch. But that sort of pusillanimous cowardice cannot be expected to last always. Men in a state of freedom instinctively question the right of others to impose unequal burdens upon them, or to deny to them equal and exact protection of the laws. When oppressed people begin to murmur, grow restless and discontented, the opposer had better change his tactics, or lock himself up, as does the ...
— Black and White - Land, Labor, and Politics in the South • Timothy Thomas Fortune
... branches of the Rowan Tree or walked about the court-yard or lapped up great crocks of milk. Morag's Little Red Hen went hopping round the courtyard. She seemed to be sleepy or to be always considering something. If one of the twenty-four yellow cats looked at her the Little Red Hen would waken up, murmur something, and ...
— The King of Ireland's Son • Padraic Colum
... I was desirous of prevailing upon my people to consent to be abridged, during our stay here, of their stated allowance of spirits to mix with water. But as this stoppage of a favourite article, without assigning some reason, might have occasioned a general murmur, I thought it most prudent to assemble the ship's company, and to make known to them the intent of the voyage, and the extent of our future operations. To induce them to undertake which with cheerfulness and perseverance, I took notice of the rewards offered by parliament ...
— A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16 • Robert Kerr
... said Tchitchikof, 'it is the will of God: we must not murmur against Providence! But tell me—will you ...
— Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 460 - Volume 18, New Series, October 23, 1852 • Various
... punt best." He stepped back, balancing the ball in his right hand, took a long stride forward, swung his right leg in a wide arc, dropped the ball, and sent it sailing down the field toward the distant goal. A murmur of applause took the place of the derisive laugh, and Blair glanced curiously at the former right end-rush ...
— The Half-Back • Ralph Henry Barbour
... a murmur of satisfaction, as he laid aside his shiny hat and bulging umbrella, "it is a long time since I have been in a ...
— Crucial Instances • Edith Wharton
... tribes of the mountains, who were continually penetrating into Campania and disturbing the degenerate earlier settlers. Rome was a compact state, having the strength of all Latium at its disposal; its subjects might murmur, but they obeyed. The Samnite stock was dispersed and divided; and, while the confederacy in Samnium proper had preserved unimpaired the manners and valour of their ancestors, they were on that very account completely at variance with the ...
— The History of Rome (Volumes 1-5) • Theodor Mommsen
... they was out o' repair, as you may read to this day in the lease; and the house has never had but one sign since—the George and Dragon, it is pretty well known in England—and one name to its master. It has been owned by a Turnbull from that day to this, and they have not been counted bad men." A murmur of applause testified the assent of his guests. "They has been steady churchgoin' folk, and brewed good drink, and maintained the best o' characters, hereaways and farther off too, though 'tis I, Richard Turnbull, that says it; and while they pay their rent, no man ...
— J. S. Le Fanu's Ghostly Tales, Volume 3 • Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
... with delirium and the nerves excited to second sight by the loss of sleep. Then, in that state of trance, he would sit down on the ground, draw up his knees, bend down his head between them, and murmur magic spells, until, through the reversed circulation of the blood, the maddened brain, and the unstrung nerves, he would imagine that he saw the heaven opening to his inspection, palace after palace thrown widely open to his gaze, hosts of angels passing within view, until ...
— The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 03 • Various
... galleries, and the birds for an orchestra; and unless the minister preached because his heart was so full of love to God that he couldn't help preaching, I should rather hear my Maker preach to me, in the soft whisper of the leaves, the happy hum of the tiny insect, and the low, soft murmur ...
— Little Ferns For Fanny's Little Friends • Fanny Fern
... and winter, at evening and at dawn, night and day, growls the Wolf—so named from the continuous low-pitched murmur of its waters through the defile a mile below the village. The men of the valley of the Wolf have a hundred tales of their river in its different moods, and firmly believe that the voice which is ever in their ears speaks to such as have ...
— The Velvet Glove • Henry Seton Merriman
... evil ways, O house of Israel! Ye fields of light, celestial plains, ye scenes divinely fair! proclaim your Maker's wondrous power. O king! live for ever. The murmur of thy streams, O Lora, brings back the memory of the past. The sound of thy woods, Garmallar, is lovely in my ear. Dost thou not behold, Malvina, a rock with its head of heath? Three aged pines bend from its face; ...
— English Grammar in Familiar Lectures • Samuel Kirkham
... his arms, his legs, as the strokes rained upon him, imploring, promising, and getting away at last with a wild effort to rub himself all over all at once. When it came the hero's turn, he bore it without a murmur, and as if his fortitude exasperated him, the teacher showered the blows more swiftly and fiercely upon him than before, till a tear or two did steal down the boy's cheek. Then he was sent to his seat, and in a few minutes he was happy ...
— A Boy's Town • W. D. Howells
... give me de pleasure of yo' comp'ny to de dance aftah de festabal?" some ardent and early swain would murmur to his lady love, and the whisper would fly back in well-feigned affright, "Heish, man, you want to have Brothah Todbu'y chu'chin' me?" But if the swain persisted, there was little chance of his being ultimately refused. So the world, the flesh, ...
— The heart of happy hollow - A collection of stories • Paul Laurence Dunbar
... darem;—Operosa parvus, carmina fingo." Trust him in such words; he absolutely means them; knows thoroughly that he cannot sail the Tyrrhene Sea,—knows that he cannot float on the winds of Matinum,—can only murmur in the sunny hollows of it ...
— Val d'Arno • John Ruskin
... that the sympathies of the population, in general, were naturally with the English in their struggle against the Spaniards who had, for all time, been the deadly foe of the Moors. Unfortunately, the emperor has supreme power, and anyone who ventured to murmur against his will would have his head stuck up over a gate, in no time; so that the sympathy of the population does not ...
— Held Fast For England - A Tale of the Siege of Gibraltar (1779-83) • G. A. Henty
... farmers who came to witness the interesting ceremony generally evinced the most respectful tenderness for the memory of the unfortunate dead, and many of the children wept. A few idlers, educated by militia trainings and Fourth of July declaration, began to murmur that the memory of General Washington was insulted by any respect shown to the remains of Andre; but the offer of a treat lured them to the tavern, where they soon became too drunk to guard the character of Washington. It was a beautiful day, and these disturbing spirits being removed, ...
— Notes and Queries, Number 218, December 31, 1853 • Various
... Gallagher had spoken in a way that was acceptable to the other members of the committee. There was a general murmur of assent. Everyone present was more or less conscious of the enormous numbers of inspectors in Ireland. Even Major Kent, who had been in a bad temper all along, brightened ...
— General John Regan - 1913 • George A. Birmingham
... had soon to end in sick, impotent Scepticism; the worser sort explode (crepiren) in finished Self-conceit, and to all spiritual intents become dead.—But this too is portion of mankind's lot. If our era is the Era of Unbelief, why murmur under it; is there not a better coming, nay come? As in long-drawn systole and long-drawn diastole, must the period of Faith alternate with the period of Denial; must the vernal growth, the summer luxuriance ...
— Sartor Resartus - The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdrockh • Thomas Carlyle
... wind arose and swept the plain with a long-drawn sigh. This increased to a murmur, till presently the whole expanse—before sunk in awful silence—seemed to awake with vague complaints, incessant sounds, and low moanings. At times he thought he heard the halloaing of distant voices, at times it seemed as a whisper in his own ...
— A Waif of the Plains • Bret Harte
... the race. When the horses came to the other side, Kuba was second, the white was so exhausted that he had to fall back, and the three following riders came up to him. It was now a race between the two, and there were only five or six lengths between them. Suddenly a loud murmur from the stand told us that something unusual had happened; Kuba was coming up to his adversary. The murmurs on the stand grew into a tumult. Aniela was so carried away by excitement that she squeezed my hand nervously, and asked ...
— Without Dogma • Henryk Sienkiewicz
... erect and slim; And I whisper'd: 'Fix on him!' Home we brought him, young and fair, Songs to trill in Surrey air. Here Matthias sang his fill, Saw the cedars of Pain's Hill; Here he pour'd his little soul, Heard the murmur ...
— Highways and Byways in Surrey • Eric Parker
... of the scouts attracted their share of attention. There was a murmur of surprise; one or two lads laughed aloud. But the chief emotion of the crowd was one of curiosity. As Paul walked up to the big self-satisfied butcher, the noise behind the barricade ...
— The Belgians to the Front • Colonel James Fiske
... later, as quietly as her life had ended, Etta's body, with her baby on its breast, was put into the ground, and mingled with David Guard's voice as he read the service for the dead was the far-off murmur of city noises, the soft rise and fall of city sounds. With Mrs. Mundy and Mrs. Banch, the old shoemaker and his wife, I stood at the open grave and watched the earth piled into a mound that marked a resting-place at last for a broken body and a soul no one had tried to reach that ...
— People Like That • Kate Langley Bosher
... A murmur of surprise arose from the ranks of the women; they perceived instinctively that something extraordinary was about to occur; their hearts comprehended that this pale young woman, who now stood before the general with flaming eyes and panting ...
— LOUISA OF PRUSSIA AND HER TIMES • Louise Muhlbach
... freshness and the promise of spring. The song seems to be born of ages of freedom beneath peaceful skies, of the rhythm of the universe, of a mingling of the melody of winds and waters and of all rhythmic sounds that murmur and echo out of doors and of every song that Nature sings in the wild gardens of the world. I am sure I have never been more thoroughly wide awake and hopeful than when listening to the solitaire's song. The world is flushed with a diviner atmosphere, every object ...
— Wild Life on the Rockies • Enos A. Mills
... and moving. Where the trails drew out of the flat lands to the watersheds, they were wide enough for eight or ten to walk abreast, trodden hard and white as country roads. There was a deep, continuous murmur from the cows like the voice of the earth talking to itself ...
— The Trail Book • Mary Austin et al
... years he revell'd, night and day. And when the mirth wax'd loudest, with dull sound Sometimes from the grove's centre echoes came, To tell his wondering people of their king; In the still night, across the steaming flats, Mix'd with the murmur of ...
— Poetical Works of Matthew Arnold • Matthew Arnold
... sent him to look for Paul, and to put him to work. Then we find him set apart to missionary service, and the leader of the first missionary band, in which he was accompanied by his friend Saul. He acquiesced frankly, and without a murmur, in the superiority of the junior, and yielded up pre-eminence to him quite willingly. The story of that missionary journey begins 'Barnabas and Saul,' but very soon it comes to be 'Paul and Barnabas,' and it keeps that order throughout. He was an older man than Paul, for when at Lystra the people ...
— Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts • Alexander Maclaren
... flowers stood upon the table; and their scent mingled with the faint smell of decay that hung about the room. Lying still, Dick heard the leather curtain rustle softly in the draught, muffled sounds of traffic, and the drowsy murmur of the surf. Its rhythmic beat was soothing and he thought he could smell the sea. By and by he made an abrupt move that hurt him as a voice floated into the room. It was singularly clear and sweet, and he thought he knew it, as he seemed to know the song, but could not catch the words ...
— Brandon of the Engineers • Harold Bindloss
... my silent servants wait,— My friends in every season, bright and dim Angels and seraphim Come down and murmur to me, sweet and low, And spirits of the skies all come and go Early and late; From the old world's divine and distant date, From the sublimer few, Down to the poet who but yester-eve Sang sweet and made us grieve, ...
— A Book for All Readers • Ainsworth Rand Spofford
... There was a murmur from the others: and Colonel Hoskyns gave me a look of very high disdain, as if I had been a toad or a serpent. For myself I said nothing: I remained with my eyes down. Once or twice before I had seen His Majesty in ...
— Oddsfish! • Robert Hugh Benson
... to be supposed that these encroachments of a foreign power were accepted without a murmur or remonstrance on the part of the people of England; on the contrary, there was a constant undercurrent of discontent, which found occasional expression in some official or popular protest. Such, on the one hand, was the ...
— A Key to the Knowledge of Church History (Ancient) • John Henry Blunt
... thy marble walls Are level with the waters, there shall be A cry of nations o'er thy sunken halls, A loud lament along the sweeping sea! If I, a northern wanderer, weep for thee, What should thy sons do?—anything but weep: And yet they only murmur in their sleep. In contrast with their fathers—as the slime, The dull green ooze of the receding deep, Is with the dashing of the spring-tide foam, 10 That drives the sailor shipless to his home, Are they to those that ...
— The Works of Lord Byron, Volume 4 • Lord Byron
... so?" Jerry said doubtfully. "There don't seem to me anything of guns in it. It is just a sort of murmur that keeps ...
— In The Heart Of The Rockies • G. A. Henty
... Filling all the land with beauty at the close of one sad day, And the last rays kissed the forehead of a man and maiden fair,— He with footsteps slow and weary, she with sunny floating hair; He with bowed head, sad and thoughtful, she with lips all cold and white, Struggling to keep back the murmur, "Curfew ...
— Poems Teachers Ask For • Various
... grass has not lost its verdure, and on August evenings the plane-trees' leaves glint golden in the sun. One may still hear the chimes at midnight as Falstaff and Justice Shallow heard them of old. Here, where only a muffled murmur comes from the work-a-day world, a man in the last century might have dreamed away his life, lonely as Peter Wilkins on the island. One can imagine the amiable recluse composing his homely romance amid such surroundings. Perhaps it was the one labour of his life. He may have come to the Inn originally ...
— Life And Adventures Of Peter Wilkins, Vol. I. (of II.) • Robert Paltock
... it greets us nobly in Homer, it sings to us in Anacreon, Sicilian shepherds tune their pipes to it in Theocritus: and anon in Virgil we dream of it to the coo of doves and the sound of bees' industrious murmur. ...
— The Legacy of Greece • Various
... of those rocks and shoals of speculation on which so many gallant argosies are wrecked. In short, everything except the law-business of the estate filtered through Mr. Madgin's hands, and as he did his work cheaply and well, and put up with her ladyship's ill-temper without a murmur, the mistress of Deepley Walls could hardly have found anyone who ...
— The Argosy - Vol. 51, No. 5, May, 1891 • Various
... Assumption the rains ceased, and the plague, which had begun to show itself, was stayed; but the ardency of the sun grew greater, and the Hermit's cliff was a fiery furnace. Never had such heat been known in those regions; but the people did not murmur, for with the cessation of the rain their crops were saved and the pestilence banished; and these mercies they ascribed in great part to the prayers and macerations of the two holy anchorets. Therefore on the eve of the Assumption they sent a messenger to the Hermit, saying ...
— The Hermit and the Wild Woman and Other Stories • Edith Wharton
... still morning air arose a sound like the drone of some gigantic hive, or of the sea when the tide is making. Affonso Henriques recognized it for the murmur of the multitude. ...
— The Historical Nights Entertainment, Second Series • Rafael Sabatini
... unintermitted gout, and, besides, a man of little experience in affairs. So at one of their festivals, when it was customary for the officers of the army to wish all health and happiness to the emperor, the common soldiers began to murmur loudly, and on their officers persisting in the ceremony, responded with the ...
— Plutarch's Lives • A.H. Clough
... until the stars of night Their journey had renew'd. But in the branches of the Oak Two Ravens now began to croak Their nuptial song, a gladsome air; And to her own green bower the breeze That instant brought two stripling Bees To feed and murmur there. ...
— Lyrical Ballads with Other Poems, 1800, Vol. 2 • William Wordsworth
... quite dead. I heard him murmur something but I wasn't able to distinguish what he said. I went straight to the village and told the constable and had the ...
— The Clue of the Twisted Candle • Edgar Wallace
... where no human creature could be seen. After roaming about a long time, he became tired, and lay down to rest in the shade of a tree near the bank of a river. While he was listening to the melodious sounds of the birds and the sweet murmur of the water, and was meditating on his wretched condition, an old humpback came upon him, and addressed him in this manner: "What is the matter, my friend? Why do ...
— Filipino Popular Tales • Dean S. Fansler
... F—— with the men, and I, a little way off, out of the smoke, with the dogs. Overhead, the sunlight streamed down on the grass which had sprung up, as it always does in a clearing; the rustle among the lofty tree tops made a delicious murmur high up in the air; a waft of cool breeze flitted past us laden with the scent of newly-cut wood (and who does not know that nice, clean perfume?); innumerable paroquets almost brushed us with their emerald-green ...
— Station Amusements • Lady Barker
... She heard Lucas accost him at once, and caught the murmur of the man's low-spoken reply. And then in a moment ...
— The Knave of Diamonds • Ethel May Dell
... which projected wooden balconies painted in gay colours, and with the glowing radiance of the moon, was mysterious despite its gaiety, its obvious dedication to the cult of pleasure. Alive with the shrieking sounds of music, the movement and the murmur of desert humanity made it almost solemn. This crowd of boys and men, robed in white from head to heel, preserved a serious grace in its vivacity, suggested besides a dignified barbarity a mingling of angel, monk and nocturnal spirit. ...
— The Garden Of Allah • Robert Hichens
... book and did as she requested. Soon she fell into a sleep which lasted about one hour, and again I commenced saying my rosary beads. Presently I heard her murmur, and, listening, I heard her whisper, 'My feet! oh, my feet!' I arose from my chair and removed the sheet with the intention of rubbing her limbs; as I did so her feet were disclosed. A thrill of ...
— Thirty Years In Hell - Or, From Darkness to Light • Bernard Fresenborg
... a land, o'er many a level of ocean, Here to the grave I come, brother, of holy repose, Sadly the last poor gifts, death's simple duty, to bring thee; Unto the silent dust vainly to murmur a cry. ...
— The Poems and Fragments of Catullus • Catullus
... fascination of the pathos which she could not fully analyze, the young girl sat silent. After a time, in which she seemed to be trying to think it all out, she asked in a low, deep murmur: "Why did you ...
— A Foregone Conclusion • W. D. Howells
... murmur to the same effect, though no man articulated a word. Every eye was fixed on Stephen's face. To repent of his determination, would be to take a load from all their minds. He looked around him, and knew that it was so. Not a grain of anger with them was in his ...
— Hard Times • Charles Dickens*
... their duty by the animals—an obsolete ceremony, by the bye. He even succeeded in hunting up and hiring a side saddle when the lovers, with the masterfulness of their nature, devised appropriating the horses at all the most beautiful places, in spite of Frank's murmur, 'What will mamma say?' But, as Griff said, it was a real mercy, for Ellen was infinitely more at her ease with Chancery than was Clarence. Then Emily had Clarence to walk up the hills with her, and help her in botany—her special department in our tour. Mine was sketching, Ellen's, keeping ...
— Chantry House • Charlotte M. Yonge
... in the room. Another rider is heard approaching, above the murmur of the gathering citizens. The second lady ...
— The Dynasts - An Epic-Drama Of The War With Napoleon, In Three Parts, - Nineteen Acts, And One Hundred And Thirty Scenes • Thomas Hardy
... traced again their former wanderings o'er. Now on the bank in silent grief he stood, And gazed intently on the stealing flood, Death in his mein and madness in his eye, He watch'd the waters as they murmur'd by; Bade the base murderess triumph o'er his grave— Prepared to plunge into the ...
— The Poetical Works of Henry Kirke White - With a Memoir by Sir Harris Nicolas • Henry Kirke White
... of him—and here somebody was dying, and she was sitting by the bed, and that silent person there was the husband.... It was all so quiet; only from the street, as though wafted up over the balcony and through the open door, came a confused murmur—men's voices, the rumble of the traffic, the jingle of a cyclist's bell, the clattering of a sabre on the pavement, and, now and then, the twitter of the birds—but it all seemed so far away, ...
— Bertha Garlan • Arthur Schnitzler
... At last the dishes were set on, and grace was said. It was succeeded by a breathless pause, as Mrs. Cratchit, looking slowly all along the carving-knife, prepared to plunge it in the breast; but when she did, and when the long expected gush of stuffing issued forth, one murmur of delight arose all round the board, and even Tiny Tim, excited by the two young Cratchits, beat on the table with the handle of his ...
— Junior Classics, V6 • Various
... their customary supplies of men for the army, is far more to be honoured than the conqueror of Zama. This we should the more carefully bear in mind because our tendency is to admire individual greatness far more than national; and, as no single Roman will bear comparison to Hannibal, we are apt to murmur at the event of the contest, and to think that the victory was awarded to the least worthy of the combatants. On the contrary, never was the wisdom of God's Providence more manifest than in the issue of the struggle between Rome ...
— The Fifteen Decisive Battles of The World From Marathon to Waterloo • Sir Edward Creasy, M.A.
... words, to follow other men's habits. Of course, if we do not, no formal ban issues; no corporeal pain, no coarse penalty of a barbarous society is inflicted on the offender; but we are called "eccentric"; there is a gentle murmur of "most unfortunate ideas," "singular young man," "well-intentioned, I dare say; but unsafe, sir, ...
— Library Of The World's Best Literature, Ancient And Modern, Vol 3 • Various
... upon a plan which must necessarily bring on the desired meeting. Accordingly, at the cordon of the Grand Duke, on the following week, at the Pitti Palace, when Carlton entered the gorgeous apartments, a murmur ran through the assembly, raised by the friends of Petro, who had preconcerted the plan, ...
— The Duke's Prize - A Story of Art and Heart in Florence • Maturin Murray
... he loved New England! He did love New Hampshire—that old granite world—the crystal hills, gray and cloud-topped; the river, whose murmur lulled his cradle; the old hearthstone; the grave of father and mother. He loved Massachusetts, which adopted and honored him—that sounding sea-shore, that charmed elm-tree seat, that reclaimed farm, that choice herd, that smell of earth, that dear library, those dearer friends; but the ...
— The American Union Speaker • John D. Philbrick
... murmur of surprise rippled along the tiers. Sigurd Olafson called out the name in wonder to ...
— The Proud Prince • Justin Huntly McCarthy
... casually that from Bangkok to the Indian Ocean was a pretty long step. And this murmur, like a dim flash from a dark lantern, showed me for a moment the broad belt of islands and reefs between that unknown ship, which was mine, and the freedom of the ...
— The Shadow-Line - A Confession • Joseph Conrad
... they made their way to the bow and crouched there as comfortably as possible. Hardly fifteen minutes had passed when there came a tramp of feet from the wharf, and a confused murmur of voices. Looking down the deck, by the gangway light the two boys could see Captain Hollinger and "Liverpool" Peters waiting. Swanson had disappeared, as it ...
— The Pirate Shark • Elliott Whitney
... throw the figures that he had counted out in the air in such a manner that they should fall down on the table-cloth. Jussuf did as he was desired, and the figures spread themselves in their fall over the whole table. The old man considered them attentively for some time, and began to murmur, half-singing, a form of words in a foreign language, and touched with his finger quickly, as if he were counting one or other of them, now and then taking away one and placing it with the others in the ...
— Eastern Tales by Many Story Tellers • Various
... man to know how long and how peacefully the gentle stars had travelled together, doing the work which God has appointed, without a murmur. But now that this distinguished stranger had arrived, the whole firmament was in dismay. How proudly he strode the heavens! how his blaze illumined the sky! The Stars whispered one to another, and cast angry eyes ...
— Fairy Book • Sophie May
... combined with the visible swelling, were taken as undeniable evidence, and the revelation undoubtedly met a general desire for information on a point of interest. Nevertheless, there was a murmur the reverse of delighted, and the feelings of some eminent animals were too strong for them: the Orang-outang's jaw dropped so as seriously to impair the vigour of his expression, the edifying Pelican screamed and flapped her wings, the Owl hissed ...
— Impressions of Theophrastus Such • George Eliot
... murmur among the archers, the lealest part of the earl's retainers, continued, till there stepped forth their captain, a gray old man, but still sinewy and unbent, the iron ...
— The Last Of The Barons, Complete • Edward Bulwer-Lytton
... great misfortune, one of the greatest that can be inflicted upon a human being—but she does not murmur. She confides in the love of those around her, and feels as if their eyes were her own. Were I to ask her to walk over burning coals, she would put her hand in mine, to lead her, so entire is her trust, ...
— Helen and Arthur - or, Miss Thusa's Spinning Wheel • Caroline Lee Hentz
... apple-trees, and the leaves almost forgot to rustle. From the tent in the corner of the little garden (little, but large for a garden in London) the quaint, rapturous music of the Hungarian band floated in fitful extravagance, now wildly dominating, now graciously accompanying the murmur of many voices, the mingled pace of feet, and the lingering sweep of silken skirts upon the shadowed grass. The light streamed in broad, electric rays from the open windows of the low, wide house, and from the tall double doors ...
— A Comedy of Masks - A Novel • Ernest Dowson and Arthur Moore
... lost in the prolonged murmur of admiration that suddenly rose from the crowd, and every gaze was turned upon one of the young girls who was strewing flowers before the holy Madonna. She was an exquisite creature. Her head glowing in the sun shine, her ...
— CELEBRATED CRIMES, COMPLETE - NISIDA—1825 • ALEXANDRE DUMAS, PERE
... the lady very weak and very feverish—a quick feeble pulse, now bounding, and now intermitting—and a restlessness in her eye which I felt contained the secret of her disorder. She kept glancing, as if involuntarily, towards the door, which would not open for all her looking, and I heard her once murmur to herself —for I was still quick of hearing then—'He won't come!' Perhaps I only saw her lips move to those words—I cannot be sure, but I am certain she said them in her heart. I prescribed for her as far as I could venture, but begged a word with her mother. ...
— Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood • George MacDonald
... Dea, what she felt cannot be expressed by human words. She knew that she was in the midst of a crowd, and knew not what a crowd was. She heard a murmur, that was all. For her the crowd was but a breath. Generations are passing breaths. Man respires, aspires, and expires. In that crowd Dea felt herself alone, and shuddering as one hanging over a precipice. Suddenly, in this trouble of innocence in distress, prompt to accuse ...
— The Man Who Laughs • Victor Hugo
... the liquor, and with the wetted end taps the sick man on the head, neck, shoulders, and back, and draws crosses over his arms. Finally the patient is given three spoonfuls of the liquor, while all the members of the family stand around and murmur approvingly, "Thank you, thank you." Occasionally tesvino is exclusively used for curing, with the aid of two small crosses, one of red Brazil wood, the other of white pine. If he chooses, a shaman may provoke ...
— Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2) • Carl Lumholtz
... if not her shame? Or say that I should wish it, canst thou think The senate, or the people (who have seen Her brother, father, and our ancestors, In highest place of empire) will endure it! The state thou hold'st already, is in talk; Men murmur at thy greatness; and the noble! Stick not, in public, to upbraid thy climbing Above our father's favours, or thy scale: And dare accuse me, from their hate to thee. Be wise, dear friend. We would not hide these things, For friendship's dear respect: Nor will we stand Adverse to ...
— Sejanus: His Fall • Ben Jonson
... come by twos and threes—pretty girls in shimmering dresses, young army officers with wound-stripes and clumsy limps. A faint murmur of conversation rose, faint and continuous as the murmur of ...
— World's War Events, Volume III • Various
... dear Plain! Where morn, and eve, my soul's fair Idol stray'd, While all your winds, that murmur'd thro' the glade, Stole her sweet breath; yet, yet your paths retain Prints of her step, by fount, whose floods remain In depth unfathom'd; 'mid the rocks, that shade, With cavern'd arch, their sleep.—Ye streams, that play'd Around her limbs in Summer's ...
— Original sonnets on various subjects; and odes paraphrased from Horace • Anna Seward
... prospect dreary. Close by, the woods, blackened by the recent fire, lay shadowy and spectral in the moon. Far above, the dim summits towards which their course lay whitened silently. There was no noise but the low murmur of these men, bent on bloody purposes. No wonder Dan's ...
— Cudjo's Cave • J. T. Trowbridge
... solemn service at that midnight hour: the bare little church made beautiful with our garlands of green, and the twinkle of many candles around the altar; the heads bowed in prayer; the subdued murmur of voices making the responses; the swelling note of triumph in the Gregorian chant; and then coming out under the quiet stars and exchanging greetings with friend ...
— The Rose of Old St. Louis • Mary Dillon
... as she dared and went to her dresser for another handkerchief. At the moment she opened the linen case her ears, strained to the utmost, caught a murmur from below stairs. Turning quickly to see if the man also had heard, the door was pushed open and Katie's neat ...
— Idle Hour Stories • Eugenia Dunlap Potts
... men as these are wanting in his host:" at the same instant, turning to three of his companions, he commanded the first to plunge a dagger into his breast, the second to leap into the Tigris, and the third to cast himself headlong down a precipice. They obeyed without a murmur. ...
— The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Volume 5 • Edward Gibbon
... coffee-trees, and tall palms with their rich festoons of creeping-plants, and sweet-scented flowers, that clambered over and round the hut and peeped in at the open door and windows, while he listened to the hermit who continued for at least ten minutes to murmur slowly, between the puffs of his cigar, "Yes, I will do it; I will tell ...
— Martin Rattler • R.M. Ballantyne
... sameness; Dashing shoreward with impatience To explore the landward mysteries. On the sand the waves spread boldly, Vainly striving to reach higher; Then abashed by vain ambition, Glided to their ordained duty. There the pine-tree, tall and stately, Whispered low the ocean's murmur; Strove to soothe the restless waters With its lullaby of sighing. There the tall and dank sea-grasses, From the storm-tide gathered secrets Of the caverns filled with treasures, Milky pearls and tinted coral, ...
— The White Doe - The Fate of Virginia Dare • Sallie Southall Cotten
... angio-sarcomas are those in which blood vessels form a prominent element in the structure of the tumour. They are sometimes derived from innocent angiomas, and they may be so vascular as to pulsate and on auscultation yield a blowing murmur like an aneurysm. The glio-sarcoma, myxo-sarcoma, chondro-sarcoma, and myo-sarcoma are mixed forms which usually develop in pre-existing innocent tumours. The osteo-sarcoma is characterised by the formation in the tumour of bone, the medullary spaces ...
— Manual of Surgery - Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. • Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles
... heard the baby's weary plaint; He heard the mother's soothing words; And sitting in his hushed restraint, One voice was murmur of the birds, And one ...
— The Mistress of the Manse • J. G. Holland
... quickset hedge, an old lady with silvery hair came slowly down the road, paused a moment by the gate before she went in, and then asked Mark if she had not seen him in church. Mark felt embarrassed at being discovered looking over a hedge into somebody's garden; but he managed to murmur an affirmative ...
— The Altar Steps • Compton MacKenzie
... may be conjectured when I mention that he had not such a thing as a chair, table, knife, fork or spoon to his name. Perforce, I had to dine sitting on the floor and with the sole aid of my fingers. However, I accepted my fate without a murmur, and soon learned to feed after the fashion of Eden as deftly as if I had been bred to it. Hindoo cookery I could rarely screw up my courage so heroically as to venture upon. Even the odor of my Calcutta washerman, redolent with the fragrance of castor oil, was too much for ...
— Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 15, - No. 87, March, 1875 • Various
... If I struck her as a little vague it was because I was thinking of another person. I indulged in another inarticulate murmur—"Poor George Gravener!" What had become of the lift HE had given that interest? Later on I made up my mind that she was sore and stricken at the appearance he presented of wanting the miserable money. This was the hidden reason ...
— The Coxon Fund • Henry James
... when he knew that startling news had reached the square. A murmur arose on the skirts of the mob, and swept with the roar of the sea towards the town-house. A detachment of the soldiers were marching down ...
— The Little Minister • J.M. Barrie
... dazzling all-pervading sunlight seemed to blot out the shadows and the lights of the laboratory, and he felt again the heated air beating in gusts about his face, saw the shimmer rising from the turf, and heard the myriad murmur of the summer. ...
— The Great God Pan • Arthur Machen
... — N. faintness &c. adj.; faint sound, whisper, breath; undertone, underbreath[obs3]; murmur, hum, susurration; tinkle; "still small voice." hoarseness &c. adj.; raucity[obs3]. V. whisper, breathe, murmur, purl, hum, gurgle, ripple, babble, flow; tinkle; mutter &c. (speak imperfectly) 583; susurrate[obs3]. steal on the ear; melt in the air, float on the air. Adj. ...
— Roget's Thesaurus • Peter Mark Roget
... airlock, they went directly to the power room. Here they heard the soft purring of a large oscillator tube and the indistinguishable murmur of smoothly running AC generators ...
— Islands of Space • John W Campbell
... away, but never to see him more!—never, never!' Thus thought Gladys. For half-an-hour, whilst she was striving to calm herself, such thoughts and thousands of others flitted through her mind; but she did not murmur again at the sad lot which had been assigned to her by Providence; she had gathered strength in that prayer which she had offered up out of her trouble of heart. Still she felt aggrieved by her master's hard words, ...
— Gladys, the Reaper • Anne Beale
... one might have walked all about and carried off what he pleased, as from the sleeping palace in the tale. "This is a pretty way to keep an inn," I thought. "Where have all the lazy rascals got to?" Then I heard a confused murmur of voices and shuffle of feet from the back, and I went through into the passage ...
— Helmet of Navarre • Bertha Runkle
... the crowd of warriors came the murmur: "Say but nay, say nay! The word of Thorsten's son is good as any king's. Say ...
— Told by the Northmen: - Stories from the Eddas and Sagas • E. M. [Ethel Mary] Wilmot-Buxton
... according to the measure of their power and rapaciousness. But their incessant demands despoiled the sanctuaries of Constantinople and Alexandria; and the authority of the patriarch was unable to silence the just murmur of his clergy, that a debt of sixty thousand pounds had already been contracted to support the expense of this scandalous corruption. [50] Pulcheria, who relieved her brother from the weight of an empire, was the firmest pillar of orthodoxy; ...
— The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Volume 4 • Edward Gibbon
... a few words muttered some time before death touched his lips. The pencil-writing is rubbed and only partly decipherable, but the letters "Dr." are distinct. I take the meaning to be that the doctor attending him heard him murmur the words. They are: "But it grows late, boys, let us dismiss!" One can easily realise the kind of picture that floated before the mind of the dying navigator. It was, surely, a happy vision of a night among friends and companions, ...
— The Life of Captain Matthew Flinders • Ernest Scott
... rose from his seat, and glanced westward over the plain. Already the hoarse murmur of the inundation was making itself heard in the ...
— The Tiger Hunter • Mayne Reid
... sailors were changed to prayers, and each thought only how to save his own life. "Children," said I, to my terrified boys, who were clinging round me, "God can save us if he will. To him nothing is impossible; but if he thinks it good to call us to him, let us not murmur; we shall not be separated." My excellent wife dried her tears, and from that moment became more tranquil. We knelt down to pray for the help of our Heavenly Father; and the fervour and emotion of my innocent boys proved to me that even children can pray, and find in prayer ...
— The Swiss Family Robinson; or Adventures in a Desert Island • Johann David Wyss
... once more clutched at the rough surface of the cliff and continued the climb, with bruised nails and bleeding fingers. At every moment he expected the inevitable fall. And what discouraged him most was to hear the murmur of voices rising from the boat, murmur so distinct that it seemed as though he were not increasing the distance ...
— The Crystal Stopper • Maurice LeBlanc
... with a murmur of dream in his wings; (Oh, weary, my Dearie, so weary!) And whispers of mermaids and wonderful things. ...
— The Home Book of Verse, Vol. 1 (of 4) • Various
... his dogs, and with Lashka behind took the trail down the creek bed of Bonanza. Spring was in the air. The sharpness had gone out of the bite of the frost and though snow still covered the land, the murmur and trickling of water told that the iron grip of winter was relaxing. The bottom was dropping out of the trail, and here and there a new trail had been broken around open holes. At such a place, where there ...
— The Faith of Men • Jack London
... temple of Aphrodite, on the threshold of Italy, I will lift up my heart. Though the songs we made are dead and the dances forgotten, though the statues are broken, the temples destroyed, still in my heart there is a song and in my blood a murmur as of dancing, and I will carve new statues and rebuild the temples every day. For I have loved you, O Gods, in the forests and on the mountains and by the seashore. I, too, am fashioned out of the red ...
— Florence and Northern Tuscany with Genoa • Edward Hutton
... admiration to the feelings of self-devotion which governed the conduct of Captain M—- it cannot be a matter of surprise that the officers of the frigate did not coincide with his total indifference to self, in the discharge of his duty. Murmur they did not; but they looked at each other, at the captain, and at the perilous situation of the vessel, in silence, and with a restless change of position that indicated their anxiety. Macallan was below attending to the ...
— The King's Own • Captain Frederick Marryat
... her, and I almost hoped that in a moment of forgetfulness she would allow her secret to escape her, and pronounce some name that was not mine, and I used to keep awake, with my ears on the alert, in the hope that she might betray herself in her sleep and murmur some revealing word, as she recalled the past, and my temples throbbed and my whole body ...
— The Works of Guy de Maupassant, Volume II (of 8) • Guy de Maupassant
... we drew near, a confused murmur fell upon our ears. People talking excitedly. Then came the sound ...
— The Brother of Daphne • Dornford Yates
... at the scene with an artist's quick eye, and I heard an instinctive murmur about its making a ...
— To-morrow? • Victoria Cross
... the steel road (that well-worn phrase of the "iron way" is a complete misnomer) with another glance of familiarity at the beautiful confluence of Sir John's Run with the Potomac, where the sunny waters still seem to murmur of the landing of Braddock's army and the novel disturbance of James Rumsey's steamer. The mountains extending from this point, the recesses of the Blue Ridge, in their general trend south-westerly through the State, are one great pharmacy of curative waters. Jordan and Capper Springs, in the neighborhood ...
— Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. XII. No. 31. October, 1873. • Various
... followed, but mid-way her courage deserted her, and she failed utterly. Marjorie came next. She was doing well surely! She was nearly through, reached for the last ring, missed it, and fell! There was an instant murmur of consternation from the audience. Was she injured? She sprang up ...
— The Luckiest Girl in the School • Angela Brazil
... in his blanket skillfully. Bolles heard him say once or twice in a sort of judicial conversation with the blanket—"and all in the house—but we were not all in the house. Not all. Not a full house—" His tones drowsed comfortably into murmur, and then to quiet breathing. Bolles fed the fire, thatched the unneeded wind-break (for the calm, dry night was breathless), and for a long while watched the moon and a tuft of the sleeping ...
— The Jimmyjohn Boss and Other Stories • Owen Wister
... he heard her say, and as he half turned his head at the grateful murmur he felt a sudden staggering blow on the side of his face. He whirled about, on guard, and as the man struck again, lunging heavily in his intoxication, Billy knocked up the ...
— The Palace of Darkened Windows • Mary Hastings Bradley
... was most dear to me, and I trembled when, amidst the bustle and broils of the city, I thought to myself, 'In a scene of tumult like this, or at least in one not much more quiet, I must soon take up my abode.' But I did not for this murmur against our good God; on the contrary, I praised Him in silence for the new-born babe. I should also speak an untruth, were I to say that anything befell me, either on my passage through the forest to the city, or on my returning homeward, that gave me more alarm than usual, ...
— Undine - I • Friedrich de la Motte Fouque
... take our goods away. But will the Lord (who to this day Our part did always take) Now leave us to be made a prey, And that too for His sake? Can any one who calls to mind Deliverances past, Discouraged be at what's behind, And murmur now at last? Oh that no unbelieving heart Among us may be found, That from the Lord would now depart, And coward-like give ground. For without doubt the God we serve Will still our cause defend, If we from Him do never swerve, ...
— The History of Thomas Ellwood Written by Himself • Thomas Ellwood
... upon the room. The place she had selected for him was near the platform and facing a little toward the audience. It had occurred to her, in a last moment of indecision, that Uncle William might enjoy the audience if the music proved too classic for him. She left him with a little murmur of apology. ...
— Uncle William - The Man Who Was Shif'less • Jennette Lee
... its flame; yes, while it still blew sharp upon him the flame of the candle did not move. Then the wind would cease, and within him the intangible, imponderable power would arise, and the voices would speak like the far, far, murmur of a stream, and the thoughts which he could not weigh or interpret would soak into his being like some strange dew, and, soft, soft as falling snow, invisible feet would tread the air about him, till ...
— Stella Fregelius • H. Rider Haggard
... Burroughs was found by the searchers. The lieutenant lay on his back not far from the telephone and directly under the glare of a huge arc-light. His eyes were open and he was conscious, but when he tried to speak, only a murmur came from his lips. There was a rattle in his chest and faint coughs tried in vain to force their way out between ...
— Poisoned Air • Sterner St. Paul Meek
... you were silent about yourself," said Mrs. Venables, in a vindictive murmur. "No wonder we ...
— The Shadow of the Rope • E. W. Hornung
... peak of Othrys and a spur of Oeta, as he had learnt from a slave who had travelled the road. Presently he was in the muddy Malian waters, and the sun was scattering the mist on the landward side. And then he became aware of a greater commotion than Poseidon's play with the ships off Pelion. A murmur like a winter's storm came seawards. He lowered the sail, which he had set to catch a chance breeze, and bade the men rest on their oars. An earthquake seemed to be tearing at the ...
— The Moon Endureth—Tales and Fancies • John Buchan
... aids, however, and by proceeding with the utmost caution, we had actually succeeded in attaining our object, when the floating mass shot into an eddy, and, turning slowly round, under this new influence, placed us on the outer side of the island again! Not a murmur escaped Anneke, at this disappointment; but, with a sweetness of temper that spoke volumes in favour of her natural disposition, and a resignation that told her training, she professed a readiness to renew her efforts. To this I would not consent, however; for I saw that the eddy was still whirling ...
— Satanstoe • James Fenimore Cooper
... knowledge. How often he would regret that convent garden, those familiar flower-beds, the deep silence that enveloped him as he sat working by the open window, the passage of a bird near him, as if to fan him with its wing, and the vague murmur of the canticles of the sisters ascending to his window like the ...
— His Excellency the Minister • Jules Claretie
... by the document, on men whose minds were filled with the most indefinite expectations, was just such as had been anticipated by the president. It was received with a general murmur of disapprobation. Even those who had got more than they expected were discontented, on comparing their condition with that of their comrades, whom they thought still better remunerated in proportion to their deserts. They especially ...
— History Of The Conquest Of Peru • William Hickling Prescott
... had named the cause, there was no mystery about the sound. It was less a sound, however, than a beating of the air. There were no sharp reports; it was a steady, ceaseless murmur. But even so, there was no mistaking it. For the first time they were within hearing distance ...
— The Boy Scouts on the Trail • George Durston
... surface of the sea, and he imagined that he saw these ruined palaces and temples arise from the deep, and a fleet navigate the waters. Around him arose mysterious voices whose sound mingled with the murmur of the waves, while the moon, which at this moment shone in the east, seemed to unite Asia and Europe by a silver ribbon. It was she who, emerging formerly from the bosom of Edebali,[55] had come to hide herself in ...
— The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 07 • Various
... one whispered his companion, who Whispered another, and thus it went round, And then into a hoarser murmur grew, An ominous, and wild, and desperate sound; And when his comrade's thought each sufferer knew, 'T was but his own, suppressed till now, he found: And out they spoke of lots for flesh and blood, And who should die to be ...
— The Works of Lord Byron, Volume 6 • Lord Byron
... out the chickens, one of which had mounted upon a table and was pecking at a few crumbs of bread left there, he sat down and looked about him. In the loft which could hardly be dignified with the name chamber, he heard a low murmur of voices, and the sound of footsteps moving rapidly, as if some one were in a hurry. The room in which he sat was evidently living and dining-room both, and was destitute of everything which he deemed necessary to ...
— The Cromptons • Mary J. Holmes
... rose. The next day there was a deep, unbroken quiet across our piece of world, as if a fragment of eternity had been quietly slipped into the place of one of our brief, noisy days. The trees stood motionless, as if awaiting some signal, and I listened in vain for that inarticulate and half-heard murmur of coming life which, day and night, had filled my thoughts these past weeks, and set the march of the hours ...
— Under the Trees and Elsewhere • Hamilton Wright Mabie |
