"On the fly" Quotes from Famous Books
 ... in the habit of noting down on the fly-leaves of their books memoranda, sometimes critical, sometimes bibliographical, the result of their own knowledge or research. The following are specimens of the kind of Notes to which we allude; and the possessors of volumes enriched by the Notes and memoranda ...
— Notes And Queries,(Series 1, Vol. 2, Issue 1), - Saturday, November 3, 1849. • Various
... frenzy, and died raving in the Metropolitan Lunatic Asylum. Alfred Bourdon, after a lengthened imprisonment, was liberated. He called on me, by appointment, a few days previous to leaving this country forever; and I placed in his hands a small pocket-Bible, on the fly-leaf of which was written one word—"Ellen!" His dim eye lighted up with something of its old fire as he glanced at the characters; he then closed the book, placed it in his bosom, and waving me a mute farewell—I saw he ...
— The Experiences of a Barrister, and Confessions of an Attorney • Samuel Warren
... Transactions." ... Although the author of "Utopia" and "Carimania" was pilloried in good company, she suffered more than she deserved. She was indeed a friend of Theobald's, for a copy of "The Dunciad: with Notes Variorum, and the Prolegomena of Scriblerus," bearing on the fly-leaf ...
— The Life and Romances of Mrs. Eliza Haywood • George Frisbie Whicher
... coming of spring, there was of course some mitigation of the trials of the winter. Here is an almost idyllic passage from a letter to his sister, written on the fly-leaves of 'Les Confessions de J. J. ...
— Poems • Alan Seeger
... come forward. The church, then, through its pastor, at a cost of twenty-three dollars, presented to each child, (nineteen in number) a beautiful, well-bound copy of the Bible, with the following written on the fly leaf: "This Bible was presented to —— by the First Congregational Church at Chattanooga, in commemoration of his infant consecration to God at her sacred altar, by ...
— The American Missionary, Vol. 43, No. 8, August, 1889 • Various
... one of the players has the serve—that is, he attempts to strike the ball so that it will go over the net and into a specified space on the opposite side of the net. His opponent then attempts to return the serve—that is, to strike the ball either on the fly or the first bound and knock it back over the net somewhere within the playing space as determined by the lines. In this way the ball is volleyed or knocked back and forth until one of the players fails either to return it over the net or ...
— Outdoor Sports and Games • Claude H. Miller
... that Betty wrote in my Good Times Book the day she gave it to me," she said, opening her diary to verify the motto on the fly-leaf. ...
— The Little Colonel's Chum: Mary Ware • Annie Fellows Johnston
... Robbie Belle shut her mouth determinedly. She walked over to the wardrobe, pinned Berta's hat securely on the fly-away hair, caught up her jacket, tucked the tickets into her own pocket, and sternly marched her scatter-brained friend out of the room ...
— Beatrice Leigh at College - A Story for Girls • Julia Augusta Schwartz
... a copy of the 'Christian Year,' and writing on the fly-leaf showed that it belonged, or had once ...
— Demos • George Gissing
... used a copper in my life—played 'em wide open, all the time. Now," and he brought his fist down on the table, "I'm going to play that young man wide open, and I'll bet you I don't lose by him neither. He looks as honest as a mastiff pup, for all he dresses kind of nice. I might just as well try him on the fly, as to go lunk-heading around and get stuck anyhow, with the unsatisfactory addition of feeling that I was a ...
— Red Saunders • Henry Wallace Phillips
... under the roof at home was a pile of handsomely bound books, lying on a chest beside her mother's Bible. They were twelve in all, and had come in several different Christmas boxes, and each one had Betty's name on the fly-leaf, with the date of the Christmas on which it happened to be sent. Underneath was always written: "From your loving godmother, ...
— The Little Colonel's House Party • Annie Fellows Johnston
... He collected the data on the fly, slowing down now and then to read something, until a yell from Santos or Koa warned that the sun line was creeping close. When he had all data noted on the board, he started his mathematics. He was right in the middle of a laborious ...
— Rip Foster in Ride the Gray Planet • Harold Leland Goodwin
... station. Banners were flying, shouts rent the air; familiar forms in cassock and biretta waved benedictions from all points of the compass; while the gladness and the sadness of the hour were perpetuated by the aid of instantaneous photography. The enterprising kodaker caught us on the fly, just as the special train was leaving South Bend for Chicago; a train that was not to be dismembered or its exclusiveness violated until it had been run into the ...
— Over the Rocky Mountains to Alaska • Charles Warren Stoddard
... is also supposed that the missing verses at the beginning of the gospels were all written on purple-stained vellum, and that there may have been a miniature of the evangelist before each gospel. An inscription on the fly-leaf states that it belonged to the monastery of St. Augustine at Canterbury, and that it formed part of that library in the ...
— Studies from Court and Cloister • J.M. Stone
... "works." See note to the preface to the Last Essays of Elia. The old India House ledgers of Lamb's day are no longer in existence, but a copy of Booth's Tables of Interest is preserved, with some mock notices from the press on the fly-leaves in Lamb's hand. Lamb's portrait by Meyer was bought for the ...
— The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb, Volume 2 • Charles Lamb
... title-page is taken from the impression of a seal, stamped on the fly-leaf of one of ...
— The Complete Poetical Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge - Vol I and II • Samuel Taylor Coleridge
... the governor spindle, which motion is communicated to the throttle valve by suitable rods and bell-cranks. The governor, it will be seen, consists substantially of two heavy balls attached to arms fixed upon an upright shaft, which is kept in revolution by means of a cord driven by a pulley on the fly wheel shaft. The velocity with which the balls of the governor revolve being proportional to that of the fly wheel, it will follow, that if by reason of too rapid a supply of steam, an undue speed be given to the fly wheel, and therefore ...
— A Catechism of the Steam Engine • John Bourne
... to put anything over on the fly guy, the fly guy is next," Tamara cut her short and with a smile indicated the reporter ...
— Yama (The Pit) • Alexandra Kuprin
... her pretty gilt hymn-book to her guardian. He accepted it mechanically, and during the reading of the Scriptures that soon followed he slowly turned over the leaves until he reached the title-page. On the fly-leaf that fluttered over was written: "Regina Orme. With the love ...
— Infelice • Augusta Jane Evans Wilson
... a maverick by the head Or heel him on the fly, He could pick up his front ones Whenever he chose ...
— Cowboy Songs - and Other Frontier Ballads • Various
... respect. Almost all of them were "self-made men," autodidacts in the truest sense. Lacking the advantages of secular schools, they culled their first information from scanty, antiquated Hebrew translations. Maimon learned the Roman alphabet from the transliteration of the titles on the fly-leaves of some Talmudic tracts; Doctor Behr, from Wolff's Mathematics. But no sooner was the impetus given than it was followed by an insatiable craving for more and more of the intellectual manna, for a wider and wider ...
— The Haskalah Movement in Russia • Jacob S. Raisin
... at Jerusalem; but it was not for himself. It was a little souvenir volume bound in olive and balsam wood, and on the fly-leaf ...
— Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete - The Personal And Literary Life Of Samuel Langhorne Clemens • Albert Bigelow Paine
... kept him, thanks to me. If he'd seen the 'sissy' kick the ball once, same as I did, it might have changed his mind some. He was passin' along the end of the field when the gang was practicin', and the ball come his way. He caught it on the fly, and sent it back with his toe. It went a mile, seemed so, whirlin' and whizzin'. Willie never even looked to see where it went; just kept on his ...
— The Depot Master • Joseph C. Lincoln
... an outfit to be always a-reachin'," grinned the cowpuncher. "Well, if there ain't the ol' eagle-bird wheel! Give her a spin, Toney! They say you can't hit an eagle on the fly with a six-gun, but I'm willin' to try! Spin her good, 'cause I don't want no onfair advantage of that there noble bird. Stand back, Greasers, so you don't ...
— The Texan - A Story of the Cattle Country • James B. Hendryx
... I'm sure; they oughtn't to borrow valuable things like that and not return them. The laughing that Benlian and I have had over that diary! It fooled them all—the clever X-ray men, the artists of the academies, everybody! Written on the fly-leaf was "To My Pudgie." I shall publish it when ...
— Widdershins • Oliver Onions
... History of Blue Beard," was inclined to scorn Newbery's tales as lacking in imaginative quality. That Dr. Johnson was really interested in stories for the young people of his time is attested by a note written in seventeen hundred and sixty-three on the fly-leaf of a collection of chap-books: "I shall certainly, sometime or other, write a little Story-Book in the style of these. I shall be happy to succeed, for he who pleases children will ...
— Forgotten Books of the American Nursery - A History of the Development of the American Story-Book • Rosalie V. Halsey
... passed Australia on the fly,—cut over Capricorn, And as the sunset gun he heard, he swung around Cape Horn. Still at full speed, he sailed due north, he rounded Cape St. Roque, Crossed the equator, and found out the Gulf Stream was no joke. He coasted by the seaboard States. Hurrah! ...
— The Jingle Book • Carolyn Wells
... errors. It is now accurately printed from his original edition. The copy in Dr. Williams' Library, Redcross Street, is remarkably fine and clean, a present, most probably, in the first instance, from the author, having an inscription on the fly leaf, apparently in Bunyan's autograph, 'This for my good and dearly beloved frend mistris Backcraft.' It has a false title, bearing the imprint of 'London, Printed for Francis Smith, at the Elephant and Castle without Temple Barr, 1669.' The editor's copy, soiled and tattered, ...
— The Works of John Bunyan • John Bunyan
... acknowledged me! What was I to do now? What did the impudent fellow want me to do? Evidently he was trying an experiment. Anthony is great on experiments, and always has been. But this was a bomb. I thought he wanted to see if I could catch it on the fly, and drop it into water before it ...
— It Happened in Egypt • C. N. Williamson & A. M. Williamson
... machines used for metal tests are also used for wood, but in the case of wood tests the readings must be taken "on the fly," and the machine operated at a uniform speed without interruption from beginning to end of the test. This is on account of the time factor in the strength of wood. (See SPEED OF ...
— The Mechanical Properties of Wood • Samuel J. Record
... happy and pleasant life. Sometimes you will have a picnic or excursion to write about, and will want to fill more space than the printed page allows. Buy a substantially bound blank-book, made of good paper; write your name and address plainly on the fly-leaf, and, if you choose, paste a calendar inside the cover. Set down the date at the head of the first page, thus: "Tuesday, October 1, 1878." Then begin the record of the day, endeavoring as far as possible to mention the events in the correct order of time,—morning, afternoon ...
— St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5, October 1878, No. 12 • Various
... said, handing it to him. "I have written my name and address on the fly-leaf. If you ever need a friend, dear, or are in trouble of any kind, let me know and I will ...
— Big Brother • Annie Fellows-Johnston
... the night and unburden my heart to this argus-eyed watchman, and, lo! you come flying in answer to my wish. Quick service, Judge. In appreciation of your telepathy I present you with some lumbago cure." He tossed a bank-note to Regan, who snatched it eagerly on the fly. ...
— The Auction Block • Rex Beach
... supposed to be for our personal edification; albeit we were not, by reason of our tender years, specifically exposed to the heresies of Origen or Pelagius. It must have been on some afternoon when we were absent, then, that Dr. Baxter delivered the discourse of which we found a commentary written on the fly-leaf of the hymn-book in our pew,—"Terribly tedious this P.M., isn't he?" We have always felt that a great opportunity was lost to us. We should doubtless have been permitted to indulge unchecked in the solution ...
— The Atlantic Monthly, Volume V, Number 29, March, 1860 - A Magazine Of Literature, Art, And Politics • Various
... his arduous wanderings in these border wilds is full of interest, but want of space forbids further quotation. From a note on the fly-leaf it appears that from the time of quitting the gun-boat at Krenggyuen to his arrival at Toungoop he covered about 240 miles on foot, and that under immense difficulties, even as to food. He commemorated his tribulations in some cheery humorous verse, but ultimately ...
— The Travels of Marco Polo Volume 1 • Marco Polo and Rustichello of Pisa
... likely to reach that classic altitude with less exertion than to-day, and that on the whole it would be rather pleasant than otherwise to find himself at that particular height. There was a barbed-wire fence intervening, and it pleased him to take it "on the fly." He had undoubtedly been going down-hill of late, but his legs, at least, had held their own, he assured himself, with some satisfaction, as he alighted, right side up, within the enclosure. He thought, with a whimsical turn, ...
— Peak and Prairie - From a Colorado Sketch-book • Anna Fuller
... trying, she rose softly and went to the next room. There was a small table there, and on it a shaded lamp and a few books. One of them was turned with its face downward and looked unfamiliar; she lifted it, and saw on the fly-leaf, Cornelius Fleming, A.D. 1800. It was a pocket edition of the Alcestis in English, and the good man had drawn a pencil opposite some lines, which he doubtless intended Maggie ...
— A Daughter of Fife • Amelia Edith Barr
... score on his classmates on the fly-leaf of one of his books. Jimmy was a far harsher judge than the teacher. He marked them either wrong or right; he gave no credit for trying, or for their stumbling efforts to express their muddled ideas and incomplete grasp. He found their games fun at first, but quickly grew ...
— The Fourth R • George Oliver Smith
... form of a package addressed in her handwriting. Avidly he opened it. It was the promised Bible, mailed from New York City. On the fly-leaf was written "I.O.W. to E.B."—nothing more. He went through it page by page, seeking marked passages. There was none. The doubt settled down on him again. The Hunger bit ...
— Success - A Novel • Samuel Hopkins Adams
... conversation with him was in his house in Onslow Gardens, and there I very frequently sat for hours with him, and he also presented me with copies of all his books, with an autograph letter on the fly-leaf of each. I think the recent Land Purchase Act, having been followed by increased agitation for Home Rule in Ireland, bears out what he said about the folly of trying to reconcile the irreconcilables, and also bears out what Lord Morris called the 'criminal ...
— The Reminiscences of an Irish Land Agent • S.M. Hussey
... furniture was sold by auction after his death in 1806, amongst the books there happened to be the first volume of Gibbon's 'Decline and Fall,' which apparently had been given by the author to Fox, who wrote on the fly-leaf this note: 'The author at Brooks' said there was no salvation for this country, until six heads of the principal persons in the administration were laid on the table. Eleven days after, this same gentleman accepted a place ...
— The Book-Hunter in London - Historical and Other Studies of Collectors and Collecting • William Roberts
... escaped my memory, and the only other knowledge I had retained of the country was a confused sense of its being a sort of Arctic wilderness. Hubbard proceeded to enlighten me, by tracing with his pencil, on the fly-leaf of his notebook, an outline map of ...
— The Lure of the Labrador Wild • Dillon Wallace
... translation is preserved in the British Museum, Addit. MS. 18,638, and contains the translator's name perfectly clearly written, both on the title-page and at the end of the dedicatory epistle to Fulke Greville. This MS. is a copy of the original made by the translator himself about 1617, and bears on the fly-leaf the name 'Dorothy Grevell.' The title-page is worth transcribing: 'Diana de Monte mayor done out of Spanish by Thomas Wilso Esquire, In the yeare 1596 & dedicated to the Erle of Southampto who was then uppon y'e Spanish voiage w'th my Lord of Essex—Wherein under the names ...
— Pastoral Poetry and Pastoral Drama - A Literary Inquiry, with Special Reference to the Pre-Restoration - Stage in England • Walter W. Greg
... (associate), INTERPOL (subbureau), IOC, SPC Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of the US) Flag: blue with a white triangle edged in red that is based on the fly side and extends to the hoist side; a brown and white American bald eagle flying toward the hoist side is carrying two traditional Samoan symbols of authority, a ...
— The 1993 CIA World Factbook • United States. Central Intelligence Agency.
... and Holmes, I think; with others, about 1000 in all), and burned a town; and so come away. By and by the Duke of Yorke with his books showed us the very place and manner, and that it was not our design or expectation to have done this, but only to have landed on the Fly, and burned some of their store; but being come in, we spied those ships, and with our long boats, one by one, fired them, our ships running all aground, it being so shoal water. We were led to this by, it seems, a renegado captain of the Hollanders, who found himself ill used by De Ruyter for his ...
— Diary of Samuel Pepys, Complete • Samuel Pepys
... school of writers? Not to Rochester, at any rate, though Rochester did get many books written at Christchurch. If it had belonged to Rochester there would have been some trace, I think, of an inscription on the lower margin of the first leaf. No; the only clue to the history is a title written on the fly-leaf in the fifteenth century, which says: "The book of the decrees of the Pope of Rome," and it begins on the second leaf "tes viii." That does not tell us much; I do not recognize the handwriting of the title, though I guess it to have ...
— The Wanderings and Homes of Manuscripts - Helps for Students of History, No. 17. • M. R. James |
