Vainly

Examples

• Since that, we have quarrelled, and I have vainly asked him to return me my farce or pay me for it. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
• I tried vainly, in the gathering darkness, to see his face. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
• She had often vainly applied to her parents, as well as to her uncle, Lord Carysfort, who only wrote to load her with reproaches. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
• Down to that moment, I had vainly supposed that my creditor had withdrawn, or suspended proceedings until I should be quite recovered. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
• At first I was painfully awake and vainly tried to lose myself, with my eyes closed, among the scenes of the day. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
• He can influence the blood-thirsty war-dogs, while I resist their propensities vainly. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
• The old man saw him coming, and vainly strove to elude his grasp. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
• I had given him leave to find me out if he could, and I guessed that he was busily but vainly employed in the pursuit. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
• Your censor-pencil scored it with condemnatory lines, whose signification I strove vainly to fathom. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
• So persons vainly reason when their minds are already made up and their fortunes irrevocably linked together. Plato. The Republic.
• But he is incapable of defending them in a discussion, and vainly tries to cover his confusion with banter and insolence. Plato. The Republic.
• I longed only for what suited me--for the antipodes of the Creole: and I longed vainly. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
• Vainly endeavouring to moisten those dry lips, with a painful sound she struggles with herself and complies. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
• Mrs. Pryor stood near, vainly urging her to rise and dress. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
• Not the reign of your vainly-expected Messiah offers such power to your dispersed tribes as my ambition may aim at. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
• Thus, though words of solace were vainly uttered in his presence, he found relief in a direction of his own choosing when left to himself. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
• Raymond questioned vainly; the mysterious Greek would say no more. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
• I struggled vainly for firmness sufficient to answer him, but the effort destroyed all my remaining strength; I sank on the chair, and sobbed aloud. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
• Stung to madness, he vainly hoped, as many another has done, to fling the whole thing from his heart by one desperate effort. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
• I tried vainly to soothe her and reason with her--she was past being soothed, and past being reasoned with. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
• I courted serenity and confidence for her, and not vainly. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
• I vainly pleaded my own total ignorance of music, and total want of taste in that direction. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
• My mistress came out among us (with Mr. Franklin following, and trying vainly to compose her), quite beside herself with the horror of the thing. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
• Archer's heart had slammed itself shut in the queer way it had, and he sat vainly groping for a word. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
• He would have me sought for: vainly. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
• She tried to rally, but vainly. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
• She tried to stop him; but vainly; he would go on, and say it all. Jane Austen. Emma.
• Having, in that hope, vainly courted sleep for several hours, my mind being deeply impressed with the subject, I sat down. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
• He set out; but the English fleet did not come his way, and he spent the summer vainly reconnoitering along the coast. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
• Vainly did Caroline inquire repeatedly if he would have another cup, if he would take a little hot tea, as that must be cold, etc. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.

Typed by Bert