half-curbed

Updated: May 11, 2025

The half-curbed joy and eagerness he showed so touched the sexton that, after inquiring as to the lad's belongings, and remembering that in his time he had enjoyed many a pipe and 'glass o' yell' with 'owd Reuben Grieve' at the 'Brown Bess, the worthy man actually lent him indefinitely three precious volumes 'Shirley, 'Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography, and 'Nicholas Nickleby.

Mrs. Humphry Ward - The History of David Grieve

He wrote as he felt, and under the influence of those strong, half-curbed feelings, wrote so easily, that he was astonished to find how quickly he composed, and how soon a sufficient number of sheets were written, to occupy his customary half-hour when preached. He did not read them over, but promised to do so on the morrow, which was Saturday.

Anne Beale - Gladys, the Reaper