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Commence   /kəmˈɛns/   Listen
Commence

verb
(past & past part. commenced; pres. part. commencing)
1.
Take the first step or steps in carrying out an action.  Synonyms: begin, get, get down, set about, set out, start, start out.  "Who will start?" , "Get working as soon as the sun rises!" , "The first tourists began to arrive in Cambodia" , "He began early in the day" , "Let's get down to work now"
2.
Set in motion, cause to start.  Synonyms: begin, lead off, start.  "The Iraqis began hostilities" , "Begin a new chapter in your life"
3.
Get off the ground.  Synonyms: embark on, start, start up.  "We embarked on an exciting enterprise" , "I start my day with a good breakfast" , "We began the new semester" , "The afternoon session begins at 4 PM" , "The blood shed started when the partisans launched a surprise attack"



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"Commence" Quotes from Famous Books



... answer that no inquest had been held, or any body found, which could by any possibility be that of the young Englishman. The only alternative appeared to be that he had taken the first opportunity to break all the old ties, and had slipped away to the backwoods or to the States to commence life anew under an altered name. Why he should do this no one professed to know, but that he had done it appeared only too probable from the facts. Hence many a deep growl of righteous anger rose from the brawny smacksmen when Mary with her pale face ...
— The Captain of the Pole-Star and Other Tales • Arthur Conan Doyle

... had for some time been among straggling trees and bushes. And now, again, they rode two and two, up to this place of halting, Arkwright and Ring well knowing that from hence their labours would in truth commence. ...
— Returning Home • Anthony Trollope

... on good authority that Patrick Henry in speaking of Great Britain, as early as 1773, said, 'She will drive us to extremities; no accommodation will take place; hostilities will soon commence, and a desperate and bloody touch ...
— Elsie's Vacation and After Events • Martha Finley

... retrieve losses, and to make his estate an agreeable home, and suitable to his position in life. The mansion, two stories in height, with only four rooms on a floor, was too small to accommodate the visitors who he well knew, might be expected at Mount Vernon, and he had already determined to commence its enlargement with the opening of the spring, as well as the adornment of the grounds around it, and the improvement of his farms. To do this required a large outlay of time and money; and, notwithstanding Washington had an ample fortune for a private gentleman of moderate tastes, ...
— Washington and the American Republic, Vol. 3. • Benson J. Lossing

... Excellency's judgment, either to commence a negotiation for passes for American vessels immediately, or to wait until we can write to Congress, and obtain power to treat with those States, and conclude treaties of commerce with them, when we shall request to commence and conclude the negotiation ...
— The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. I • Various

... two boys and the girl dashed down into the valley as fast as their legs could carry them. There was no desire in their youthful hearts to be made younger than they were, and for fear that their parents might think it well that they should commence their careers anew, they never said a word about finding the ...
— Children's Literature - A Textbook of Sources for Teachers and Teacher-Training Classes • Charles Madison Curry

... purpose. Since those days Fate had woven round her a mantle of depression. She was now a faded, watery-eyed little woman, prone on the slightest provocation to sit down suddenly On the nearest chair and at once commence a history of her troubles. Quite unconscious of this failing, it was an idea of hers that she was ...
— Paul Kelver • Jerome Klapka, AKA Jerome K. Jerome

... look down the mentally seen page and see the words that commence all the lines, and from any one of these words I can continue the line. I find this much easier to do if the words begin as in a straight line than ...
— Power of Mental Imagery • Warren Hilton

... I've oiled it with No. 27—an excellent rust solvent and lubricant, Mr. Ruthven—and now the cylinder spins around in a manner perfectly trustworthy. So, as I was saying, I have this very excellent and serviceable weapon, and shall give myself the pleasure of using it on you if you ever commence any such action for divorce or separation against your wife. This ...
— The Younger Set • Robert W. Chambers

... Miscellaneous Prose Works, forming 24 vols., the publication of which did not commence until May 1834, although, as is shown by the Journal, the author was busy in its preparation. The "criticism on Defoe" will be found in the fourth volume, pp. 247-296, forming a supplement to John ...
— The Journal of Sir Walter Scott - From the Original Manuscript at Abbotsford • Walter Scott

... very manner in which they affected humility. She at once accepted Dumiger, though some months elapsed before it was possible for them to marry. At last, by dint of great exertion, they laid aside sufficient money to commence the world with. Dumiger had the small apartment, within whose narrow limits his mind expanded to the contemplation of the vast field of inquiry on which he presumed to enter, and he transported Marguerite to her new home; there to indulge in imaginations of love, boundless and ...
— International Weekly Miscellany, Vol. 1, No. 2, July 8, 1850 • Various

... room at the hotel, so busy, so happy and excited, as though she were expecting a dear guest. She felt so sure they would bring the child back with them straightway. At all events she would commence packing the trunks, for when they had got it they would want to get home, home as quickly as possible. "The hotel is no place for such a little darling. It must have its nursery, a bright room with flowered ...
— The Son of His Mother • Clara Viebig

... hickories, and Simpson produced from a basket some salt pork, hard crackers, and a bottle of cold coffee. Their long walk had given them good appetites, and the meal, homely as it was, was eaten with a relish. After they had rested a few moments, they started off in different directions, to commence the hunt. As Frank walked slowly along, with his gun on his shoulder, he could not help thinking of the many times he had been on such excursions about his native village. What a change a year had made! The "Boys of Lawrence" were ...
— Frank on a Gun-Boat • Harry Castlemon

... at Howkey till it was impossible for Old Smith to avoid asking the friend of his preserver to stay all night, he managed to make good his quarters on the ground of his operations, and resolved to commence proceedings as early as possible in the morning. Sibylla lay awake half the night, revolving all the strange speeches he had made her—his allusions to the hidden treasure in the house—the lost star— the incognito ...
— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine — Vol. 56, No. 346, August, 1844 • Various

... freedom came, I was fishing with pappy. My remembrance is sure good. All a-suddent cannons commence a-booming, it seem like everywhere. You know what that was, Miss? It was the fall of Richmond. Cannons was to roar every place when Richmond fell. Pappy jumps up, throws his pole and everything, and grabs my hand, and starts flying towards the house. "It's victory," he keep ...
— Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves: Volume II, Arkansas Narratives, Part 2 • Works Projects Administration

... an account of his peregrination and the description of the river and country as before detailed from this view of the subject I found it a folly to think of attemping to decend this river in canoes and therefore to commence the purchase of horses in the morning from the indians in order to carry into execution the design we had formed of passing the rocky Mountains. I now informed Cameahwait of my intended expedition overland ...
— The Journals of Lewis and Clark • Meriwether Lewis et al

... think that you and the Governor-General agree in opinion on the subject of the affairs of Malabar. He says, "examine and report the state of the province before you commence your military operations; define the evils, and propose a system of government which shall afford a remedy, towards the establishment of which system military operations may ...
— Maxims And Opinions Of Field-Marshal His Grace The Duke Of Wellington, Selected From His Writings And Speeches During A Public Life Of More Than Half A Century • Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington

... to wipe off the slate and commence all over. Accordingly, he had selected a new field, and, in order to make it a real standing start, he had likewise chosen a new name. He had arrived at Wichita Falls with one suit of clothes and nothing more, except an assortment of contusions ranging in color ...
— Flowing Gold • Rex Beach

... no one speak—all hadter go by signs, an' dat'd keep de sperits fum pesterin' us. John Gomus, he had de rod goin' roun', an' fonn' a place to stick it. I dunno why he stick it whey he did. De rod pinted right down dere; and right whey de rod pinted we digged. When we commence diggin', it was about half-past eight o'clock, and we worked hard, sah. We digged a hole big enough to set a small house in. John, he kep' bearin' on de rod, an' de rod it kep' goin' down. Den de rod at las' struck sumpn; and we was so glad, thinkin' we'd struck de pot! Every one was rejoiced! We ...
— Money Island • Andrew Jackson Howell, Jr.

... the legislature directs a certain act to be done "within two months after Easter" in 1850, under a penalty for non-performance. I have no difficulty in finding that two calendar months are meant, but am puzzled how to compute when they should commence. I should be much obliged by being informed when Easter ends? that question set at rest, the other part ...
— Notes & Queries,No. 31., Saturday, June 1, 1850 • Various

... and instead of lowering myself, as many had imprudently done, at the moment when the boat was inclining towards us—and consequently being unable to descend the whole distance before it again receded,—I calculated that while the boat was retiring I ought to commence my descent, which would probably be completed by the time the returning wave brought it underneath; by which means I was, I believe, almost the only officer or soldier who reached the boat without being either severely bruised or ...
— The Loss of the Kent, East Indiaman, in the Bay of Biscay - Narrated in a Letter to a Friend • Duncan McGregor

... and Jeanne became quite anxious that the doctor should commence his visits once more. Yet her health had much improved. To humor her, Helene had been constrained to accept two or three invitations to dine with ...
— A Love Episode • Emile Zola

... Es-S[a]dik assured M. Roustan that order had been restored among the tribes; in vain he appealed to all the Powers, and, above all, to England. Lord Granville believed the French Government when it solemnly assured him that "the operations about to commence on the borderland between Algeria and Tunis are meant solely to put an end to the constant inroads of the frontier clans into Algerian territory, and that the independence of the Bey and the integrity of his territory are in no way threatened." It was Algiers over again, but with even more serious ...
— The Story of the Barbary Corsairs • Stanley Lane-Poole

... arranged so that we can work at all hours in it. If you will take off your coat, and put yourself in position, we will commence." ...
— Bohemians of the Latin Quarter • Henry Murger

... several minutes at their devotions, occasionally offering a candle to the Virgin or some saint. Now and then it must happen that a speculator for the rise and a speculator for the fall enter the chapel and commence their orisons at the same time. Probably they pray that they may not be tempted to cheat ...
— Russia - As Seen and Described by Famous Writers • Various

... was the sanctus or sacringe bell, thus placed that, being near the altar, it might be the more readily rung, when, in concluding the ordinary of the mass, the priest pronounced the Ter-sanctus, to draw attention to that more solemn office, the canon of the mass, which he was now about to commence; it was also rung at a subsequent part of the service, on the elevation and adoration of the host and chalice, after consecration[171-*]; but though the arch remains on the gable of the nave of many churches, the bell ...
— The Principles of Gothic Ecclesiastical Architecture, Elucidated by Question and Answer, 4th ed. • Matthew Holbeche Bloxam

... you, Gaston. Now I must go to my grandmother and learn what she says; for I can see Madeleine's 'fairy fingers' are impatient to commence their ...
— Fairy Fingers - A Novel • Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie

... defrauding all the gains. But, nevertheless, as all this cause is for the service of our Lord, I am confident that your Lordship and all the orders will favor it. I am awaiting joyful news this afternoon, in order to be able to commence openly to be the mediator of harmony which, it is represented to me, this community will hereafter enjoy. And should that harmony unfortunately be not attained, I rely, in everything, upon this ...
— The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XXV, 1635-36 • Various

... and mules, with all other matters which would assist the War Department in fully appreciating the situation. Garfield's term as member of Congress began with the 4th of March preceding, but the active session would only commence on the first Monday of December. There was some doubt as to the status of army officers who were elected to Congress. General Frank P. Blair had been elected as well as Garfield, and it was in Blair's case that the issue was made by those who objected to the legality of what they ...
— Military Reminiscences of the Civil War V2 • Jacob Dolson Cox

... The contempt which the Dutch had learnt for England was writ large over the whole social and political fabric of South Africa. Englishmen could not look the Dutch in the face as equals. If, after all our previous humiliations and failures; after Majuba, and after the Raid, we were going to commence a struggle for equality—nothing more, and then not to get it, the shame would be too grave for any great Power to support, or for those who sympathised with us in South Africa to endure. We had raised the British party in South ...
— Lord Milner's Work in South Africa - From its Commencement in 1897 to the Peace of Vereeniging in 1902 • W. Basil Worsfold

... religion. Moved by such feelings, he resolved to address the colliers in their own haunts. The resolution was a bold one, for field-preaching was then utterly unknown in England, and it needed no common courage to brave all the obloquy and derision it must provoke, and to commence the experiment in the center of a half-savage population. Whitefield, however, had a just confidence in his cause and in his powers. Standing himself upon a hillside, he took for his text the first words ...
— Introduction to the Science of Sociology • Robert E. Park

... sport. The whole adornments took an appropriate and silvan character; and the mass itself, being considerably shortened, proved to be of that sort which is called a hunting mass, because in use before the noble and powerful, who, while assisting at the solemnity, are usually impatient to commence ...
— Quentin Durward • Sir Walter Scott

... to build one ship," Edmund said. "The fort is now finished, and with the revenues of the land I could at once commence a ship; and if the Danes give us time, when she is finished I would build another. I will the more gladly do it, since it seems to me that if the Danes entirely overrun our country we must take to the sea and ...
— The Dragon and the Raven - or, The Days of King Alfred • G. A. Henty

... medium for the transmission of energy to immense distances, and also as something continually emanating from human beings. In the present chapter I shall consider it more particularly in this last aspect, which, as included in our own personality, very immediately concerns ourselves. I will commence with an instance of the practical application of this fact. Some years ago I was lunching at the house of Lady —— in company of a well-known mental healer whom I will call Mr. Y. and a well-known London ...
— The Law and the Word • Thomas Troward

... clergyman that beautiful girl, who advanced at once with diffidence, and with a species of affectionate pride. In the meantime, and just as the clergyman had arranged the bridal company before him, and seemed about to commence the service, another group of persons, of whom two or three were officers, entered the church. They moved, at first, forward, as though they came to witness the bridal ceremony, but suddenly one of the officers, whose back was towards ...
— Waverley Volume XII • Sir Walter Scott

... commence a great number of pictures. On some of them he would work as long, according to his own expression, as he saw the scene in nature before him; for, at least at this epoch, he never painted directly from nature. For a picture ...
— McClure's Magazine, Vol. VI., No. 6, May, 1896 • Various

... enough is seen of the presents at Christmas, without describing them; and after a "day spent merrily," they in the evening commence card playing, which is kept up till morning, generally speaking, and from thenceforth a whole run of merry days, ...
— The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, No. 290 - Volume X. No. 290. Saturday, December 29, 1827. • Various

... am making a forward movement, which will commence at once. If I find it necessary to diverge from the course laid down, on account of the extent of the convoy I have captured and the number of prisoners, I shall give you fair warning, so that you may make a dash for yourselves. There, gentlemen, ...
— A Dash from Diamond City • George Manville Fenn

... the English invasion, anyhow," he said, in writing to Joseph. "In the first place, they wanted me to go in October, when the London season doesn't commence until spring, and, in the second place, I hate fogs and mutton-chops. Egypt is more to my taste. England would enervate me. Egypt, with the Desert of Sahara in its backyard, will give me plenty of sand, and if you knew what projects I have in mind—which, of course, you don't, for you never knew ...
— Mr. Bonaparte of Corsica • John Kendrick Bangs

... This education must commence with the very first opening of the infant mind. Our lessons will multiply and be of a still higher character with the progress of our years. Truth may succeed truth, according to the mental power and capacity; nor must ...
— The True Citizen, How To Become One • W. F. Markwick, D. D. and W. A. Smith, A. B.

... propre a rendre une idee, nous aimons mieux affoiblir l'idee que de ne pas employer un terme noble.[3] Quelle perte pour ceux d'entre nos Ecrivains qui ont l'imagination forte, que celle de tant de mots que nous revoyons avec plaisir dans Amyot & dans Montagne. Ils ont commence par etre rejettes du beau style, parce qu'ils avoient passe dans le peuple; & ensuite rebutes par le peuple meme, qui a la longue est toujours le singe des Grands, ils sont ...
— Society for Pure English, Tract 3 (1920) - A Few Practical Suggestions • Society for Pure English

... 1/4th King's Own—waiting to go over the top for a bombing raid on a section of the enemy front line. 'Good-byee!' they laughed as we passed them. Eventually we reached the point at which we were to commence work. Flares were going up the whole time; the enemy must have seen us: the whole crowd of us all in the open by the side of the trench which was to be repaired! When a flare goes up the whole place is as light as day for a few seconds; and ...
— At Ypres with Best-Dunkley • Thomas Hope Floyd

... objects of our kindness and care. If any wife, therefore, wishes for the pleasure of loving her husband, or which is, perhaps, a better supposition, if any husband desires the happiness of loving his wife, conscious that it is a pleasure which he does not now enjoy, let him commence by making her the object of his kind attentions and care, and love will spring up in the heart as a consequence of the kind of action of which it is ...
— Mary Queen of Scots, Makers of History • Jacob Abbott

... of the act providing for the temporary government of Louisiana, the necessary officers for the Territory of Orleans were appointed in due time to commence the exercise of their functions on the first day of October. The distance, however, of some of them and indispensable previous arrangements may have retarded its commencement in some of its parts. The form of government thus provided having ...
— Complete State of the Union Addresses from 1790 to the Present • Various

... whole and undivided power himself, and left Mr. Fox no choice, but of obeying or disobeying, as he might choose. This produced the next day a letter from Mr. Fox, carried by Lord Hartington, in which he refused secretary of state, and pinned down the lie with which the new ministry is to commence. It was tried to be patched up at the Chancellor's on Friday night, though ineffectually: and yesterday morning Mr. Fox in an audience desired to remain secretary at war. The Duke immediately kissed hands-declared, in the most unusual manner, ...
— The Letters of Horace Walpole, Volume 2 • Horace Walpole

... them, it is as ready to aid in their destruction. Like calumny, which blackens whatsoever is suspected, oxygen pounces upon the failing and completes their ruin. The processes of fermentation and putrefaction cannot commence in any substance, until it has first taken oxygen into combination. Thus, cans of meat, hermetically sealed, with all the air first carefully expelled, undergo no change so long as the air does not get access to them. If the minutest opening remain, the oxygen ...
— Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 4, No. 21, July, 1859 • Various

... the rent generally paid on their account before settlement?-Very often it is, or about that time. The term for the payment of their rent is at Martinmas, upon 11th November, and it is generally same time after that before we commence to settle with the fishermen. We must know what price we are to get in the market for the fish before we know what we are to give them, or how we are to ...
— Second Shetland Truck System Report • William Guthrie

... organization was complete—his men were in New Orleans—he had great lands purchased as a rendezvous below. He had understandings with foreign powers, that is sure. Well, then, here is Colonel Burr at St. Louis, all his plans arranged. He is ready to march, to commence his campaign, to form this valley into a great kingdom, with Mexico as part of it. He was a man able to make plans, believe me. But of all this there comes—nothing! Why? At the last point something failed—no one knew what. He waited for something—no one knew what. ...
— The Magnificent Adventure - Being the Story of the World's Greatest Exploration and - the Romance of a Very Gallant Gentleman • Emerson Hough

... admiring herself and anticipating the time when she would be a grown-up lady, and as a matter of course, a belle. Her mother unfortunately belonged to that class who seem to think that the chief aim in life is to secure a "brilliant match," and thinking she could not commence too soon, she had early instilled into her favorite daughter's mind the necessity of appearing to the best possible advantage, when in the presence of wealth and distinction, pointing out her own marriage as a ...
— 'Lena Rivers • Mary J. Holmes

... corner does not exist in the world. From the corner of Bingen must be dated the beauties of the Rhine, and from the corner of Bingen I commence my next letter; suffice it now to say that the moment we turned the Corner we both, with one impulse, called out, "Oh!" and sat in the boat with our ...
— Before and after Waterloo - Letters from Edward Stanley, sometime Bishop of Norwich (1802;1814;1814) • Edward Stanley

... account of the tribes now occupying the dominions of Nepal, I shall first commence with these Hindu colonists, as having acquired the predominance; but I must premise, that very considerable differences prevail in their customs in different parts, and especially that those in the countries east from the Kali differ much from those who live west from that ...
— An Account of The Kingdom of Nepal • Fancis Buchanan Hamilton

... for a bicker never rose flakily from the yellow East. Far out of distance, and prodigal of powder lying three feet deep on the flats, and heaped up in drifts to tree and chimney-top, the tirailleurs, flung out in front, commence the conflict by a shower of balls that, from the bosom of the yet untrodden snow between the two battles, makes spin like spray the shining surface. Then falling back on the main body, they find their places in the front rank, and the whole mottled mass, grey, blue, ...
— Recreations of Christopher North, Volume 2 • John Wilson

... witnesses. We shall run over the various nations of the earth, of whom we have any thing like satisfactory evidence. Here we avail ourselves of the labours of several authors, as Dr Jenkin, De Paauw, Mr Bryant, Mr Parkhurst, Dr Magee, and others. We commence with the Egyptians, of whom alone, we believe, any doubt as to their being implicated in the practice has been entertained. Thus Dr Forster, in his Observations on Cook's Second Voyage, excepts them from his remark that all the ancient nations sacrificed men, saying that where-ever ...
— A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16 • Robert Kerr

... these representations were judged to require legislative interference, the statutes which were passed in consequence were returned through the Chancellor to the mayors of the various towns and cities, by whom they were proclaimed as law. No person was allowed to open a trade or to commence a manufacture, either in London or the provinces, unless he had first served his apprenticeship; unless he could prove to the satisfaction of the authorities that he was competent in his craft; and unless he submitted as a matter of course to their supervision. The ...
— The Reign of Henry the Eighth, Volume 1 (of 3) • James Anthony Froude

... home with him any more. I don't want to. I wish you'd commence to-night, instead of choir practice night. I'd much rather walk ...
— The Fortune Hunter • Louis Joseph Vance

... moistened their lips, one or two uttered a little sigh, the hearts of all beat faster. The step had quickened. The trees grew more thinly, came down to a mere bordering fringe of sumach. Cleave motioned to the bugler; the latter raised the bugle to his lips. Forward!—Commence—Firing! The two companies in blue, marched down that morning superfluously to picket a region where was no danger, received that blast and had their moment of stupour. Laughter died suddenly. A clock might have ticked twice while they sat or stood as though that were all there was to ...
— The Long Roll • Mary Johnston

... of May we called a meeting of the male members of our church, to take into consideration the subject of immediately sending two of their number to Chiangchiu, to commence permanent operations. The members were unanimous in the opinion that the Master had opened the way before us, and was calling us to go forward. It was decided that if two men qualified for the work would volunteer, they should immediately be sent. It was then suggested that if two more men ...
— Forty Years in South China - The Life of Rev. John Van Nest Talmage, D.D. • Rev. John Gerardus Fagg

... was likewise easily excused; and this Society being resolved not only to make it their Business to pass their Time agreeably for the present Season, but also to commence such Habits in themselves as may be of Use in their future Conduct in general, are very ready to give into a fancied or real Incapacity to join with their Measures, in order to have no Humourist, proud Man, impertinent or sufficient ellow, break in upon ...
— The Spectator, Volumes 1, 2 and 3 - With Translations and Index for the Series • Joseph Addison and Richard Steele

... statesmanship at least to divide the responsibility. I am told that some days must elapse before our troops can be in position to reach and feed these starving people. Our food and our forces are here, ready to commence at once. ...
— Campaigning in Cuba • George Kennan

... emigration with a view to these Sabbath emergencies. When prayers were read, and the usual psalms and lessons gone through, he would mount his silver spectacles, fix himself in a particularly stately attitude in his high-backed chair, and commence to read one of the discourses (taking out a paper mark beforehand) in a particularly stately voice. It is not exceeding the truth to say that George oftentimes was driven to frantic efforts to keep himself awake; and even Arthur felt ...
— Cedar Creek - From the Shanty to the Settlement • Elizabeth Hely Walshe

... part of the mission has been one of blessedness and promise. And in this, as in everything else, I have aimed to teach self-development. In connection with the gathering of the people in religious meetings, I proposed to commence Sabbath and week-day schools, with such teachers as I had at hand. Meanwhile, some of the children of the vicinity, getting perhaps some hint of my intention, or prompted by an impulse from on high, called on Mrs. Peake, and requested her to teach them, as she had taught the children ...
— Mary S. Peake - The Colored Teacher at Fortress Monroe • Lewis C. Lockwood

... the jerk with which the poor devil is brought up, when he has reached the length of his tether, often turns him quite over on the surface of the water. Then commence the loud cheers, taunts, and other sounds of rage and triumph, so long suppressed. A steady pull is insufficient to carry away the line; but it sometimes happens that the violent struggles of the shark, when too speedily drawn up, snap either ...
— The Lieutenant and Commander - Being Autobigraphical Sketches of His Own Career, from - Fragments of Voyages and Travels • Basil Hall

... removed from white and fast-coloured cottons by the use of chloride of soda. Commence by cold-soaping the article, then touch the spot with a hair-pencil or feather dipped in the chloride, dipping it immediately into cold water, to prevent the texture of the ...
— The Book of Household Management • Mrs. Isabella Beeton

... city of Rome the solar year, or complete cycle of the seasons, was divided into ten lunar months covering 304 days, and it is not known how the remaining days necessary to complete the solar revolution were dealt with, or disposed of. The year was considered to commence with March, probably with the intention of getting New Year's Day near to the spring equinox. The Celtic people and the Druids, with their mistletoe rites, kept New Year also at that time. The ten Roman months were named Martius, Aprilus, Maius, Junius, Quintillis, Sextilis, September, ...
— More Science From an Easy Chair • Sir E. Ray (Edwin Ray) Lankester

... viewed as a trouble instead of a privilege, and no small pains are taken to escape from it. For example, it is stated by Mr. Mudie, that when a clergyman had been able to attend, and divine service was about to commence, upon his estate, he noticed but few of the convicts there, the rest declining to come, upon the plea of their being Roman Catholics. But this trick was of no avail, for their master, being satisfied ...
— Australia, its history and present condition • William Pridden

... Florence entered the room. She sat down at her desk, unlocked it, and took out her papers. She was just about to commence her study—for the Scholarship study was all extra, and had to be done in odd hours and moments—when, glancing up, she met the disturbed and questioning gaze ...
— A Bunch of Cherries - A Story of Cherry Court School • L. T. Meade

... in a low voice. They rise and go down to the shore, attracted by some force which they cannot explain. Here they find their boats, apparently empty, yet the water rises to the bulwarks, as if they were crowded. Once they commence the voyage their vessels cleave the water speedily, making the passage, usually a day and a half's sailing, in an hour. When the British shore is reached the souls of the dead leave the boats, which at once rise in the sea as ...
— Legends & Romances of Brittany • Lewis Spence

... "Now gentlemen and fellow-citizens here is a big black buck Negro. He's stout as a mule. Good for any kin' o' work an' he never gives any trouble. How much am I offered for him?" And then the sale would commence, and the nigger would be sold to the ...
— Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States • Various

... Irkutsk cathedral was about to strike two o'clock in the morning, and not a movement amongst the besiegers had yet shown that they were about to commence the assault. The Grand Duke and his officers began to suspect that they had been mistaken. Had it really been the Tartars' plan to surprise the town? The preceding nights had not been nearly so quiet—musketry rattling from the outposts, ...
— Michael Strogoff - or, The Courier of the Czar • Jules Verne

... stand or sit at nearly every moment, and note down what he is to think and feel and talk about at the time. Only after the entire play has been planned out thus minutely does the average playwright turn back to the beginning and commence to write his dialogue. He completes his primary task of play-making before he begins his secondary task of play-writing. Many of our established dramatists,—like the late Clyde Fitch, for example—sell their plays ...
— The Theory of the Theatre • Clayton Hamilton

... am working for Salomon's concerts, and feel bound to take all possible trouble, for our rivals of the Professional Society have sent for my pupil Pleyel from Strassburg, to direct their concerts. So a bloody harmonious war will now commence between master and scholar. All the newspapers have begun to discuss the subject, but I think an alliance will soon ensue, my reputation here being so firmly established. Pleyel, on his arrival, displayed ...
— Haydn • J. Cuthbert Hadden

... the other the first of March. Select a place on some small constant running stream, not liable to overflow, with a moist, sandy soil; cut down all trees close to the ground; get off all shrubbery, leaves, etc. The patch will then be ready for wooding. Commence by laying on skids ten or twelve feet long, four in diameter, three and a half feet apart; cover thickly with brush, then put on wood regular all over, and thick enough to burn dry an inch in depth. Commence your fires on the side, and continue to move after it has burnt hard enough. After ...
— Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce • E. R. Billings

... fairly begun the work; but the climate of the peninsula offering an obstacle to the introduction of a large number of men of the Caucasian race, it will be more probably from the foot of the Himalaya Mountains that the spread of the race will commence. Already the English and the Russians are concentrating their forces on the Upper Indus. The question merely is, Which nation will be the first to inoculate the dreamy sons of Sem with the spirit ...
— Irish Race in the Past and the Present • Aug. J. Thebaud

... considerable detail by my observations on the natural history of the various parts of the Archipelago; and, as in the description of my travels and residence in the several islands I shall have to refer continually to this view, and adduce facts in support of it, I have thought it advisable to commence with a general sketch of the main features of the Malayan region as will render the facts hereafter brought forward more interesting, and their bearing upon the general question more easily understood. I proceed, therefore, to sketch the limits and extent of the Archipelago, ...
— The Malay Archipelago - Volume I. (of II.) • Alfred Russel Wallace

... entertain the idea of yellowness without entertaining at the same time all the other ideas necessary for composing the idea of gold, and entertaining, too, that idea in addition to all the rest? Does he mean that a train of thought cannot commence with place without terminating with weight? Of course he means nothing of the kind, although so he distinctly says. Rather, he appears to mean the direct converse, viz., that we cannot have the idea of gold or of weight present to the ...
— Old-Fashioned Ethics and Common-Sense Metaphysics - With Some of Their Applications • William Thomas Thornton

... hurdy-gurdy on which she plays: her father shews his skill upon a violin, and the mother is equally active with the organ; after "a flourish"—not of "trumpets"—but of these instruments—the tumblers commence their operations. But a great crowd is collected to the right. What may this mean? All are silent; a ring is made, of which the boundaries are marked by small lighted candles stuck in pieces of clay. Within this circle stands a man—apparently ...
— A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany, Volume Two • Thomas Frognall Dibdin

... the second counterscarp, but by the time the ditch is reached the lull reveals itself to be but the precursor of a storm. It begins with a heave of the whole atmosphere, like the sigh of a weary strong man on turning to re-commence unusual exertion, just as I stand here in the second fosse. That which now radiates from the sky upon the scene is not so ...
— A Changed Man and Other Tales • Thomas Hardy

... "I commence by a piece of information. This morning while you descended the King's staircase on one side, Father Joseph ...
— Cinq Mars, Complete • Alfred de Vigny

... June, 1805, a resolution was passed by the House of Commons, and that the fullest House that ever was known, for ordering the Attorney-General to commence, in the Court of King's Bench, a criminal prosecution against Lord Melville, for having used the public money for private purposes. This resolution of the Honourable House gave universal satisfaction to the people throughout the ...
— Memoirs of Henry Hunt, Esq. Volume 2 • Henry Hunt

... distant and remote, but cannot perceive those within your grasp. Let us have the distribution of present goods, and cut out and manage as you please the interests of futurity." This day, I trust, the reign of political protestantism will commence. We have explored the temple of royalty, and found that the idol we have bowed down to has eyes which see not, ears that hear not our prayers, and a heart like the nether millstone. We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom alone men ought to be obedient. He reigns in ...
— The World's Best Orations, Vol. 1 (of 10) • Various

... cast our shapes, and in sleek skins Delve with the timid mole, that aptly delves From our example; so the spider spins, And eke the silk-worm, pattern'd by ourselves: Sometimes we travail on the summer shelves Of early bees, and busy toils commence, Watch'd of wise men, that know not we are elves, But gaze and marvel at our stretch of sense, ...
— The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood • Thomas Hood

... alluded to by Dr. Burney in the course of his "History of Music," has been kindly placed at the disposal of the Council of the Musical Antiquarian Society, by George Townshend Smith, Esq., Organist of Hereford Cathedral. But the Council, not feeling authorised to commence a series of literary publications, yet impressed with the value of the work, have suggested its independent publication to their Secretary, Dr. Rimbault, under whose editorial ...
— Notes And Queries,(Series 1, Vol. 2, Issue 1), - Saturday, November 3, 1849. • Various

... a gesture to his partner, who was about to speak. "Then let us commence at the root of the matter. Mr. Kaufmann and I have often discussed the subject. In this case you are the one who has 'tried it.' Suppose you explain ...
— The Spinner's Book of Fiction • Various

... deportment of those employed in subordinate positions, see that they do their duty, and report to the Superintendent any instance of neglect or misconduct, that he may observe, or of which he may be informed; he shall see to the opening and closing of the house; that the employees rise and commence their duties at the ringing of the bell, and return at proper season at night; that the bell is rung promptly at such hours as may be designated, from time to time, by the Superintendent. He shall have a general care ...
— Rules and Regulations of the Insane Asylum of California - Prescribed by the Resident Physician, August 1, 1861 • Stockton State Hospital

... easy. You want to get a Christmas Number out of them. All right—give me the subjects, and I will just jot down how they shall be worked in. We will commence—hero and heroine—say, for the moment, Edwin ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 103, December 17, 1892 • Various

... on a sufficiently intimate footing with the object of her interest to justify her, as a proper young lady, to commence the active search for him that youthful impulsiveness prompted, and as, nevertheless, for a nascent reason connected with those divinely cut lips of his, she did not like him to be absent from her side, she wandered desultorily back to the oak staircase, pouting and casting ...
— A Pair of Blue Eyes • Thomas Hardy

... at Pittston, opposite Gardiner. Well, when we arrived at that place, we found the batteaux ready, and immediately transferred our baggage and provisions to them, and pushed up the river to Fort Western. At that place our real work was to commence. Colonel Arnold knew a great deal about the route, and he had undertaken it because he knew what he had to encounter, and how much glory he would win if he succeeded; but we men, who were to work and suffer ...
— The Yankee Tea-party - Or, Boston in 1773 • Henry C. Watson

... still some thoughts of returning?" Trafford wondered; then said aloud, "Well, it shall be as you like. And when will you commence?" ...
— Culm Rock - The Story of a Year: What it Brought and What it Taught • Glance Gaylord

... to have her voice trained, and about what age do people generally commence to go on the stage?" The first part of this question as to voice training touches on the value of an Academy of Acting. Of the value—the practical value—of such an institution rightly conducted there can ...
— [19th Century Actor] Autobiographies • George Iles

... coalition against Maria Theresa. But an English fleet had suddenly appeared in the Bay of Naples. An English captain had landed, had proceeded to the palace, had laid a watch on the table, and had told his Majesty that within an hour a treaty of neutrality must be signed, or a bombardment would commence. The treaty was signed; the squadron sailed out of the bay twenty-four hours after it had sailed in; and from that day the ruling passion of the humbled prince was aversion to the English name. He ...
— The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. IX., March, 1862., No. LIII. - A Magazine Of Literature, Art, And Politics, • Various

... which lasted a fortnight, discussed several questions touching the future of Greece and her mission in the East. We are unable at this moment to say what were the results. What we hope is that from this moment may commence a new era of work and of activity, greater, more important, than that which has already preceded our modern history. Alone, more or less proscribed, finding in the policy of the Western Powers only a cold indifference, our future depends entirely ...
— The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, September 1879 • Various

... door; gate, gateway; postern, wicket, threshold, vestibule; propylaeum[obs3]; skirts, border &c. (edge) 231. first stage, first blush, first glance, first impression, first sight. rudiments, elements, outlines, grammar, alphabet, ABCE. V. begin, start, commence; conceive, open, dawn, set in, take its rise, enter upon, enter; set out &c. (depart) 293; embark in; incept[obs3]. [transitive] initiate, launch, inaugurate. [intransitive] inchoate, rise, arise, originate. usher in; lead off, lead the way; ...
— Roget's Thesaurus

... men, among whom was Isaac, were accordingly selected, to pass out by the eastern gate and commence firing rapidly; while the remainder, with loaded muskets, were to range themselves along the western pickets, and be ready to pour their deadly contents into the swarthy horde of besiegers, in case their attack should be made in that quarter. As the young ...
— Ella Barnwell - A Historical Romance of Border Life • Emerson Bennett

... He is about to commence his discourses on the Parmenides, that book in which we generally now consider that Plato has been most untrue to himself, and fallen from his usual inductive method to the ground of a mere e priori theoriser—and yet of which Proclus is reported to have said, and, I should conceive, said honestly, ...
— Alexandria and her Schools • Charles Kingsley

... adaptation to local conditions and requirements will, I doubt not, quickly ensure success for the small detachment of Officers we have just sent to commence operations in Russia. ...
— Regeneration • H. Rider Haggard

... value of their productions satisfied with the approbation of the few; Collins was too impatient of applause, and too anxious to attain perfection, to be a voluminous writer. To plan much rather than to execute any thing; to commence to-day an ode, to-morrow a tragedy, and to turn on the following morning to a different subject, was the chief occupation of his life for several years, during which time he destroyed the principal part of the little that he wrote. To a man nearly pennyless, such a life must be ...
— The Poetical Works of William Collins - With a Memoir • William Collins

... Rio Cuyuni, between the town of Upata, Cupapui and Santa Marta. Westward of the meridian of the rapids of Camiseta (longitude 67 degrees 10 minutes) the high mountains in the basin of the Rio Caura only commence at 7 degrees 20 minutes of latitude, on the south of the mission of San Luis Guaraguaraico, where they occasion the rapids of Mura. This chain stretches westward by the sources of the Rio Cuchivero, the Cerros del Mato, the Cerbatana ...
— Equinoctial Regions of America V3 • Alexander von Humboldt

... with whatever God is pleased to give us.'" Her protestations and pleadings proving ineffectual, she burst into another fury and made an ugly scene, threatening to retain "the biggest lawyer in the 'Nited States" and to commence action against me ...
— The Rise of David Levinsky • Abraham Cahan

... a slave State, Ohio itself is a free-soil State. When the time comes for arranging the line of division, if such time shall ever come, it will be very hard to say where Northern feeling ends and where Southern wishes commence. Newport and Covington, which are in Kentucky, are suburbs of Cincinnati; and yet in these places slavery is rife. The domestic servants are mostly slaves, though it is essential that those so kept should be known as slaves who will not run away. It ...
— Volume 2 • Anthony Trollope

... are certain times for all the works of life, and in accordance with this law of periodicity each impulse in spiritual uplift must also be undertaken at an appropriate time to be successful. The first and sixth decades of each century are particularly propitious to commence the promulgation of new spiritual teachings. Therefore the Rosicrucians were much concerned at this failure, for only five years were left of the first ...
— The Rosicrucian Mysteries • Max Heindel

... respects they had considerably improved. They had come hither from the country in order to better their positions, and to that end had accepted situations which would serve them until they had saved sufficient to allow them to commence a more distinguished career. Albinus had advanced no further, as he had no inclination to any handicraft. He was a good-tempered youth, who was willing to give up everything else if only he could practise ...
— Pelle the Conqueror, Complete • Martin Andersen Nexo

... among the nations;" xxviii. 64: "And the Lord disperses thee among all the nations from the one end of the earth even unto the other,"—an announcement which, at the time of Zephaniah, had already been fulfilled upon the ten tribes, and the fulfilment of which was soon to commence upon Judah. It is only when the members of the old Congregation are understood by the suppliants and dispersed, that the call, "Wait ye upon me" is here established and confirmed. The offering of the meat-offering signifies, in the symbolism of the Mosaic law, diligence ...
— Christology of the Old Testament: And a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions. Vol. 2 • Ernst Hengstenberg

... I am candid and sincere in telling you that I fear if we yield to passion, and without sufficient cause shall take that step, that instead of becoming greater or more peaceful, prosperous and happy,—instead of becoming gods we will become demons, and at no distant day commence cutting one ...
— The Negro and the Nation - A History of American Slavery and Enfranchisement • George S. Merriam

... I commence with wolf-stories, which are rather numerous in Esthonia. One of them relates the creation of the wolf. When God had created the world, he asked the Devil what he thought of his work; and the Devil objected that there was no animal ...
— The Hero of Esthonia and Other Studies in the Romantic Literature of That Country • William Forsell Kirby

... are perfect," I cried, "and I make no doubt that the classification into colors, or castes, enables the authorities to commence the imposts with the ...
— The Monikins • J. Fenimore Cooper

... To commence with what is of most moment, you may rest assured that what you said in your last letter about religion has had my most earnest attention. I am sorry that I have not got it by me to refer to (I lent it to Charlie), but I think I have the contents in ...
— The Stark Munro Letters • J. Stark Munro

... thought no more about the matter. He then arranged with Leonard that he should visit the window at certain hours on alternate nights with himself, and appointed the following night as that on which the apprentice's duties should commence. ...
— Old Saint Paul's - A Tale of the Plague and the Fire • William Harrison Ainsworth

... notes. The notes, indeed, have no names, being all alike for the various notes; but names are given to the lines and spaces of the staff; and, alas! the names of these lines and spaces change continually with the change of key or pitch. For example: if we commence a scale with C, our do will be on the first added line below the staff, and its octave, do, on the third space counting from the lowest. If we commence a scale with G, our do will be on the second line from the bottom, ...
— Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 22, August, 1878 • Various

... earlier in the day. The Intelligence officer held his peace, but, armed with this information, determined to watch future developments, and flung himself down on the roadside to snatch half an hour's sleep before the forward march should commence. ...
— On the Heels of De Wet • The Intelligence Officer

... explosions took place, while the rising sun shining on the place had a most beautiful effect. The Russians were leaving the town by the bridge; all the three-deckers were sunk, the steamers alone remaining. Tons and tons of powder must have been blown up. About 8 A.M. I got an order to commence a plan of the works, for which purpose I went to the Redan, where a dreadful sight was presented. The dead were buried in the ditch—the Russians with the English—Mr. Wright reading the burial service ...
— General Gordon - A Christian Hero • Seton Churchill

... and in a few weeks found himself at the head of a force amounting to nearly five hundred in all, horse and foot, ill provided with arms and ammunition, but apparently zealous in the cause. Finding himself in sufficient strength to commence active operations, he now sallied forth against several of Pizarro's captains in the neighbourhood, over whom he obtained some decided advantages, which renewed his confidence, and flattered him with the hopes of reestablishing his ...
— The History Of The Conquest Of Peru • William H. Prescott

... character: since the necessary functions of government, and those which are so manifestly expedient that they have never or very rarely been objected to, are too various to be brought under any very simple classification. We commence, [under] the first head, with the theory ...
— Principles Of Political Economy • John Stuart Mill

... an egg, but, after fruitlessly chipping at the shell throughout this conversation, put down her spoon and appeared to abandon the effort to commence her meal. Presently she broke ...
— A Life's Morning • George Gissing

... seeing the King commence to write, and then toss the pen aside as he finished, while afterwards he was about to summon the officer of the guards without, but checked himself, extending his hand to ...
— The King's Esquires - The Jewel of France • George Manville Fenn

... wounded in an ambulance, wrote to Meade, recommending that this be done. Meade, it is true, recognized in some sort the good effects of a counter-blow; but to be effective the movement should have been prepared beforehand. It was too late to commence making preparations for an advance when some time had elapsed and when Lee had rallied his troops and had made all his arrangements to resist an assault. It was ascertained afterward that he had twenty rounds of ammunition left per gun, but it was not evenly distributed and some batteries ...
— Chancellorsville and Gettysburg - Campaigns of the Civil War - VI • Abner Doubleday

... little during breakfast; for he was now eager to commence the struggle. He longed to act, and yet he scarcely knew how to begin the campaign. First of all, he must study the enemy's position—gain some knowledge of the men he had to deal with, find out exactly who the Marquis de Valorsay and the Viscount ...
— Baron Trigault's Vengeance - Volume 2 (of 2) • Emile Gaboriau

... soon arranged, and an early day appointed for her to commence her duties as housekeeper in ...
— The Path of Duty, and Other Stories • H. S. Caswell

... know when the various seasons commence for picking sweet and savory herbs for drying. Care should be taken that they are gathered on a dry day, by which means they will have a better color when dried. Cleanse them well from dirt and dust, cut off the roots, separate the bunches into smaller ones, and dry them by the ...
— A Poetical Cook-Book • Maria J. Moss

... Goodenough said, "we are fairly embarked on our journey, and we will commence operations at once. I have heard the cries of a great many birds which are strange to me today, and I expect that we shall have a good harvest. We may remain here for some time. The first thing to do is to find food for our followers. ...
— By Sheer Pluck - A Tale of the Ashanti War • G. A. Henty

... based on a sense of nationality, and the Syrian and Cilician in Asia would feel joy and hope stirring in his heart at the doings of his brethren who had been deported to the far West. The series of organised revolts in the Roman provinces and protectorate which commence shortly after the fall of Carthage and close for the moment with the war of resistance to the Romans in Asia, forms a single connected chain. Dangerous risings had to be repressed at the Italian coast towns of Minturnae and Sinuessa; at the former place four hundred and fifty slaves ...
— A History of Rome, Vol 1 - During the late Republic and early Principate • A H.J. Greenidge

... begin with any Number. When no time is specified, it will be understood that the subscriber desires to commence with the Number issued after the ...
— Harper's Young People, June 15, 1880 - An Illustrated Weekly • Various



Words linked to "Commence" :   enter, get to, get rolling, jumpstart, jump-start, strike out, set off, inaugurate, attack, auspicate, commencement, plunge, jump off, start up, end, break in, bestir oneself, launch, get started, get cracking, lead off, get weaving, introduce, get moving, get going, kick off, open, embark, come on, get down, usher in, fall



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