"Countersign" Quotes from Famous Books
 ... hide,' put in Hilary; 'they're always jumping up somewhere and wanting you to give the countersign. It isn't like home, ...
— The Talking Horse - And Other Tales • F. Anstey
... assumptions of the purple, for many generations, commenced in the hopes inspired by auguries, prophecies, or sortileges. And had the great Delphic Oracle, consecrated to men's feelings by hoary superstition, and privileged by secrecy, come forward to countersign such hopes, many more would have been the wrecks of ambition, and even bloodier would have been the blood-polluted line of the imperial successions. Prudence, therefore, it was, and state policy, not the power of Christianity, which gave the final shock (of the original ...
— Memorials and Other Papers • Thomas de Quincey
... countersign," replied Dick, quietly. "But I am a friend, and I wish to see the commander in charge ...
— The Dare Boys of 1776 • Stephen Angus Cox
... troops in the immediate neighborhood, some three regiments of infantry and a section of artillery. There was one regiment encamped by the side of mine. I assumed command of the whole and the first night sent the commander of the other regiment the parole and countersign. Not wishing to be outdone in courtesy, he immediately sent me the countersign for his regiment for the night. When he was informed that the countersign sent to him was for use with his regiment as well as mine, it was difficult to make him understand ...
— Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, Complete • Ulysses S. Grant
... turnkey. "But I must have the countersign. There are heads to lose in this, yours and mine, ...
— The Mississippi Bubble • Emerson Hough
... suffer is divine. Pass the watchword down the line Pass the countersign, Endure! Not to him who rashly dares, But to him who nobly bears, Is ...
— Poems with Power to Strengthen the Soul • Various
... them, and have an air about them which makes people feel respectful. These two handled their little guns in a most businesslike manner. The taller of the two, who seemed by his uniform to be a superior officer, now stepped forward and snapped out: "Give the countersign!" ...
— The Wonderful Bed • Gertrude Knevels
... that warder sad and stern, Each one responded with his countersign, Then entered the cathedral; and in turn 55 I entered also, having given mine; But lingered near until I heard no more, And marked the closing ...
— The City of Dreadful Night • James Thomson
... to serve until the end of the campaign and the termination of the war. It was to him the negro or soldier brought the celebrated countersign of "Beauty and booty," found on the battle-field, and which he carried to General Jackson. His enemies laid hold of this incident and perverted it slanderously to his injury, by asserting the note to be a forgery of his, done for the purpose of winning favor with the General, ...
— The Memories of Fifty Years • William H. Sparks
... friend Charles Wesley, but though he longed, if God so led, to undertake the work, he feared greatly that many who were violently opposed to some of his views would resist the appointment, and that the greatest barrier of all, the Bishop of Lichfield, would refuse to countersign his testimonials. ...
— Fletcher of Madeley • Brigadier Margaret Allen
... twenty-four hours returned them to their home; they were at first threatened by their fellows, but were soon recognised and allowed to pass. Hence each ant certainly recognises, independently of odour, its fellow; and if all the ants of the same community have not some countersign or watchword, they must present to each ...
— The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Volume II (of 2) • Charles Darwin
... organize his followers. He at last announced to them that he intended to land near Caracas; the whole country would rise at his name; his brave Americans would form the nucleus and the heart of a great army; there was no Spanish force in the province to resist him. In a general order, "Parole, America; Countersign, Liberty," he assigned to his officers their rank in the Columbian army, distributing them into the Engineers, Artillery, Dragoons, Riflemen, and Foot. Another general order, "Parole, Warren; Countersign, Bunker's Hill," fixed the uniforms of the different corps,—to ...
— Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 31, May, 1860 • Various
... he has gone with the main body, not venturing to try for Jones and Dick without help? No, that was not like Jack. This was his special part in the plan—if it were not done, Jack was still about. He can find out readily—thanks to the countersign. He steals back over the low hillock, mounts the horse, and by a detour reaches the sentry guarding the river front of the prison. He is challenged, but, possessed of the countersign, finds no difficulty in riding up ...
— The Iron Game - A Tale of the War • Henry Francis Keenan
... Dicey's care, with orders to deliver it to no one, except by his direction. On reaching the house one of the party who were directed to call for it, made known their errand. Whereupon she brought and was about to deliver the weapon. At this moment it occurred to her that she had not demanded the countersign agreed on between herself and brother. With the gun still in her hand, she looked the company sternly in the face, and remarking that they wore a suspicious look, called for the countersign. Thereupon one of them, in jest, told her she was too tardy in her requirements; that both the gun and ...
— Woman on the American Frontier • William Worthington Fowler
... knocking at the door, followed by a band attempting to play a Dutch medley. The door was immediately thrown open. Ten citizens, savage and hairy of visage entered, to the consternation of the Congress assembled. One of their number advanced, having exchanged the countersign with Noggs; but he failed to make himself understood until Monsieur Souley politely tendered his aid, introducing him in succession to every one present. They were, according to the rendering of ...
— The Adventures of My Cousin Smooth • Timothy Templeton
... our car came to a sudden stop as a stentorian "Halt!" pierced the darkness and our second chauffeur went forward to give the countersign. One weak-voiced guard failed to make himself heard until our car was almost past. Major Hazlett ...
— The Fight for the Argonne - Personal Experiences of a 'Y' Man • William Benjamin West
... disproportion between the explanation and the phenomena it seeks to explain? How does it happen, that, under the influence of such an impression, many suffer themselves to be seduced into an admission of diabolical or miraculous agency? It happens, because Dr. Calmeil, faithful to the countersign of all learned bodies in England and France, refuses to admit fluidic action, or to make a single step in advance of the ordinary theory of nervous excitement. Now it is in vain to talk of contractions, of spasms, of turgescence; all this evidently fails to ...
— The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 13, No. 77, March, 1864 • Various
... either one of them, and forgotten; these two looked—and remembered. You cannot tell why; it is the old story; the hidden, unreadable affinity making itself known to its counterpart; the sign and countersign of nature. But it was only nature that gave and took; ...
— Diana • Susan Warner
... on land, the authorities seemed more afraid of the beloved beer barrel than of the bullets of the Boers; and for the most part no countersign sufficed to secure for it admittance to our camps. An occasional tot of rum was distributed among the men; but even that seemed to be rather to satisfy a sentiment than to serve any really useful purpose. At any rate, some of ...
— With the Guards' Brigade from Bloemfontein to Koomati Poort and Back • Edward P. Lowry
... distressingly limited, and they make such amazing work of every new one. At first, to be sure, they did not quite recognize the need of any variation: one night some officer asked a sentinel whether he had the countersign yet, and was indignantly answered, "Should tink I hab 'em, hab 'em for a fortnight"; which seems a long epoch for that magic word to hold out. To-night I thought I would have "Fredericksburg," in honor of Burnside's ...
— Army Life in a Black Regiment • Thomas Wentworth Higginson
... the last man will be about twenty yards in rear of me. All will have bayonets fixed, loaded and pieces locked. One short, low whistle will mean, Halt, two short whistles will mean, Forward, and the word "Sandy" will be the countersign by which ...
— Manual of Military Training - Second, Revised Edition • James A. Moss
... sent instantly to Golden-square, and wrote an order, as she called it, for his coming immediately to her, quitting all dulcimers and dulcimer boys, under pain of his mother's displeasure. "Here, Mad. de Rosier," said she, with peremptory playfulness, "countersign my order, that I may ...
— Tales And Novels, Volume 1 • Maria Edgeworth
... pretty good row, if they should advance on us. Four of the enemy were captured to-day. A company of cavalry is approaching. "Halt! who comes there?" cries the sentinel. "Lieutenant Denny, without the countersign." "All right," shouts Colonel Wagner, "let him come." I write with at least four fleas ...
— The Citizen-Soldier - or, Memoirs of a Volunteer • John Beatty
... clothing-accounts, as they should do. Buxton wanted to see for himself what the night-lights meant, and was plunging heavily ahead through the darkness, when suddenly brought to a stand by the sharp challenge of the sentry at the coal-shed. He whispered the mystic countersign over the levelled bayonet of the infantryman, swearing to himself at the regulation which puts an officer in such a "stand-and-deliver" attitude for the time being, and then, by way of getting square with the soldier for the sharply military way ...
— The Deserter • Charles King
... acquaintances should be together; for thus they defend each other best, and know each other. We will have all our men distinguished by a mark, so as to be a field-token upon their helmets and shields, by painting the holy cross thereupon with white colour. When we come into battle we shall all have one countersign and field-cry,—'Forward, forward, Christian men! cross men! king's men!' We must draw up our meal in thinner ranks, because we have fewer people, and I do not wish to let them surround us with their ...
— Heimskringla - The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway • Snorri Sturluson
... in that direction," said the sentinel, pointing with his musket, "but my orders are not to let any one pass along the wharf after ten o'clock without they give the countersign." ...
— Daughters of the Revolution and Their Times - 1769 - 1776 A Historical Romance • Charles Carleton Coffin
... of men lounging about. My heart beat rather faster than usual, and it suddenly struck me that I was very far from home; but I descended with dignity, wondering whether I should be stopped for want of a countersign, and forced to pass the night in the street. Marching boldly up the steps, I found that no form was necessary, for the men fell back, the guard touched their caps, a boy opened the door, and, as it closed behind me, I felt that I was fairly started, and Nurse Periwinkle's ...
— Hospital Sketches • Louisa May Alcott
... not? Yes, reader, each of these biographical forms exists in favour among us, and of one it is very doubtful indeed whether it ought not to exist. The eloge is found abundantly diffused through our monumental epitaphs in the first place, and there every man will countersign Wordsworth's judgment (see 'The Excursion' and also Wordsworth's prose Essay on Epitaphs), that it is a blessing for human nature to find one place in this world sacred to charitable thoughts, one place at least offering a sanctuary from ...
— The Posthumous Works of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. 1 (2 vols) • Thomas De Quincey
... has its guardians stationed all along the river, and they are quite as inflexible in seeing that their employers keep this law as the famous sentinel was in refusing to let Napoleon pass without the countersign. But I do not think that these keen sportsmen regard it as a hardship; they are quite willing that the fish should have "an off day" in every week, and only grumble because some of the net-owners down at the mouth of the river have brought political influence to bear in their favour and ...
— Little Rivers - A Book Of Essays In Profitable Idleness • Henry van Dyke
... his tent-mate and break the news to him that the enemy was advancing. It was not easy to rouse the young man, but finally they both succeeded in dressing in the dark, and hastened away between the tents across the most remote sentry beat. They were duly challenged, whispered the countersign, and in a few moments were climbing the rough and thickly ...
— Captain Jinks, Hero • Ernest Crosby
... bugles sang the "Dismount!" Joan gave the word to trot, and that was a great relief to me. She was always at herself, you see. Before the command to dismount had been given, somebody might have wanted the countersign somewhere along that line if we came flying by at speed, but now we seemed to be on our way to our allotted camping position, so we were allowed to pass unchallenged. The further we went the more formidable was the strength revealed by ...
— Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc - Volume 1 (of 2) • Mark Twain
... life.—I fill it out for George Leblanc.—It will convey you, alone, safely beyond our borders. Here is another. I make this out for George Leblanc and Diane his daughter. This will enable both of you to escape.—These passes have the signatures of the chief of police; I countersign them, thus—a double surety for you, a double risk for me.—Now, Monsieur, either one of these passes is yours, as your daughter may decide, if you will offer her the choice of remaining under my protection, or of leaving ...
— Representative Plays by American Dramatists: 1856-1911: Paul Kauvar; or, Anarchy • Steele Mackaye
... that she had given him a white rose when he had asked for her colors. He had made it his countersign on ...
— An Original Belle • E. P. Roe
... light companies of the 41st Regiment, and a detachment of his own corps, crossed the river about two miles above the fort, upon which they immediately advanced. On approaching the fortress, sentries, planted on the outer works, were surprised and taken, the countersign obtained, and in a few minutes the fort was carried at ...
— The Loyalists of America and Their Times, Vol. 2 of 2 - From 1620-1816 • Edgerton Ryerson
... said to one after bathing or head-shaving: the proper reply, for in the East every sign of ceremony has its countersign, is "Allah benefit thee!" (Pilgrimage i. 11, iii. 285; Lane M. E. chaps. viii.; Caussin de Perceval's Arabic Grammar, etc., etc.) I have given a specimen (Pilgrimage i., 122) not only of sign and countersign, but also of the rhyming repartee which rakes love. Hanien ! (pleasant ...
— The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 2 • Richard F. Burton
... compromise you in the least." "Sire, a minister who countersigns the decree of his sovereign becomes morally responsible. Your Majesty has declared by proclamation that you granted a general amnesty. I countersigned that with all my heart; I will not countersign ...
— Memoirs To Illustrate The History Of My Time - Volume 1 • Francois Pierre Guillaume Guizot
... grace as his should have been portrayed by one who could scarcely, I think, even if he tried, compose a sentence that would not be 'a thing of beauty.' His means and materials for undertaking that labour of love were as superior to mine as his power of performing it. I will only say that I countersign, with full assent, to the best of my knowledge, the several traits which Dr. Newman has given. He must have much more to say. I shall at once lay before you all my little store of knowledge, in addition to that worthier tribute ...
— Memoirs of James Robert Hope-Scott, Volume 2 • Robert Ornsby
... vouch for; sign, seal, undersign[obs3], set one's hand and seal, sign and seal, deliver as one's act and deed, certify, attest; acknowledge &c. (assent) 488. [provide conclusive evidence] make absolute, confirm, prove (demonstrate) 478. [add further evidence] indorse, countersign, corroborate, support, ratify, bear out, uphold, warrant. adduce, attest, cite, quote; refer to, appeal to; call, call to witness; bring forward, bring into court; allege, plead; produce witnesses, confront witnesses. place into evidence, ...
— Roget's Thesaurus
... customs officers, and fifty to the health-officer. Not a kreutzer is wanting. These receipts are delivered to the owner of the cargo, who has never left his cabin the whole time—he is at supper. He also must countersign the receipts. From these signatures and indorsements, the shipowner and the honorable officials in question mutually learn that the captain gave away as many kreutzers as he received, and that not one remained sticking to ...
— Timar's Two Worlds • Mr Jkai
... see General Waller after the test, and he will probably countersign the permit," explained ...
— Tom Swift and his Giant Cannon - or, The Longest Shots on Record • Victor Appleton
... was given after a swaggering attitude had been assumed, and a knowing wink, the countersign for 'Now I'm going to do something for your amusement,' had been bestowed on his pals. The speaker, a rough man with a beard and a fez cap, became the prominent figure of a group loitering before a square hole with an earthward descent, ...
— A Mummer's Wife • George Moore
... will exactly slip in to the holes in it, and thrust them so far in at each hole that each white rod may touch the figure in different parts of it. And colour the portion of the rod that remains outside black, and mark each rod and each hole with a countersign so that each may fit into its place. Then take the clay figure out of this case and put in your piece of marble, taking off so much of the marble that all your rods may be hidden in the holes as far as ...
— The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, Complete • Leonardo Da Vinci
... voice of thunder, "who goes there?" "A friend," would be the invariable response, the tone, pitch, and temper of which would be regulated by the "pass" the friend had or had not in his pocket. "Advance, friend, and give the countersign," Excited families would by this time have their heads thrust through the windows to watch the denouement. Satisfactory explanations would generally follow the final command; but occasionally a babel of recrimination would ensue, and become gradually ...
— The Siege of Kimberley • T. Phelan
... gave herself quite up for lost. Then she remembered that by the merest chance in the world she knew the countersign for that night. The officer of the day had playfully asked her to name it, and in honor of the patriotic citizens of the capital who had lent to the empty treasury the money needed to equip and supply the force of militia ...
— The Duke of Stockbridge • Edward Bellamy
... such, is not invested with any diplomatic character, and he cannot enter on his official duties until a rescript, termed an exequatur (sometimes a mere countersign endorsed on the commission), has been delivered to him by the authorities of the state to which his nomination has been communicated by his own government. This exequatur, called in Turkey a barat, may be revoked at any time at the discretion of the government where ...
— Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 2 - "Constantine Pavlovich" to "Convention" • Various
... got bicycles at a place where they were well known. Du Chaillu had given them the countersign, and they needed it near Boncelles, since they were challenged. They rode swiftly along, and as they neared the house, they saw a bright ...
— The Belgians to the Front • Colonel James Fiske
... to resign, hang the chiefs of the National Guard and of the conservative party,[2439] and take possession of the municipal offices.—After this their band increases to the dimensions of an army, which, with license for its countersign and pillage for its pay, is the same as that of Tilly and Wallenstein, "a veritable roving Sodom, at which the ancient city would have stood aghast." Out of 3,000 men, only 200 belong in Avignon; the rest are composed of ...
— The Origins of Contemporary France, Volume 3 (of 6) - The French Revolution, Volume 2 (of 3) • Hippolyte A. Taine
... morning, a slim, black figure crept out from among the trees and gave the countersign to the challenging sentry. He was soon on his way to the Captain's headquarters bearing news of importance. The brown-skinned scout had travelled all night over a hazardous route, and he was more than welcome. He brought news that Pilar's men were off to the ...
— Jane Cable • George Barr McCutcheon
... other's eyes. One evening she feigned to be mounted on guard, pacing to and fro inside the gate, against which rested an enormous icicle. When I started to enter she seized the icicle, presented arms, and demanded the countersign. ...
— Aftermath • James Lane Allen
... not bring himself to acknowledge a provincial officer as his superior. He encamped separately, kept separate guards, would not agree that Washington should assign any rallying place for his men in case of alarm, and objected to receive from him the parole and countersign, though necessary for their ...
— The Life of George Washington, Volume I • Washington Irving
... gates are shut to hardiest will, Thy countersign of long-lost speech,— Those fountained courts, those chambers still, 55 Fronting Time's far East, ...
— The Vision of Sir Launfal - And Other Poems • James Russell Lowell
... and which were widely whispered among patriotic Poles. "The dawn will soon be at hand. We must get up in the morning. Poland will yet be free." The sergeant stared at them in astonishment, and answering in a low tone in some words which were, the boys guessed, the countersign to the pass, sat down by them. "But you are not Poles?" he said in a low voice in Russian. "Your language is strange. I ...
— Jack Archer • G. A. Henty
... the dense jungles resounded here and there the shrill and, at the same time, mockingly mirthful laugh of the hyenas, which in that gory region found far too many corpses. From time to time the detachment conducting the caravan encountered other patrols and exchanged with them the agreed countersign. They came to the hills on the river banks and through a long pass reached the Nile. The people and the camels embarked upon wide and flat "dahabeahs," and soon the heavy oars began with measured movements to break and ruffle the smooth ...
— In Desert and Wilderness • Henryk Sienkiewicz
... Soldiers' Deputies acted on the principle of a direct mandate from the whole people. It issued orders to revolutionary democracy, as we saw. It insisted on the exercise of a real control, even on the right to countersign, as it were, some of the orders of the Provisional Government. Then it definitely questioned the policy and measures of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of War. When these two men were forced to resign, the other members of the government demanded ...
— The Russian Revolution; The Jugo-Slav Movement • Alexander Petrunkevitch, Samuel Northrup Harper,
... ah! monseigneur. Stop, stop, you fellows!" And he effectually checked the soldiers, who were on the point of revenging their companions. Fouquet desired them to open the gate, but they refused to do so without the countersign; he desired them to inform the governor of his presence; but the latter had already heard the disturbance at the gate. He ran forward, followed by his major, and accompanied by a picket of twenty men, persuaded that an attack was being made on the Bastile. Baisemeaux also recognized Fouquet immediately, ...
— The Man in the Iron Mask • Alexandre Dumas, Pere
... look as if he were a military sentry. You know the sort of thing I mean. Bandolier, belt, and frightfully stiff about the back. He held up his hand and I stopped. 'A loyal man,' he said. Well, I was, so far as I knew at that time, so I said 'You bet.' 'That's not right,' said he. 'Give the countersign.' I hadn't heard anything about a countersign, so I told him not to be a damned fool, and that I'd break his head if he said I wasn't a loyal man. That seemed to puzzle him a bit He got out a notebook and read a page or two, looking at me and the car every now and then as ...
— Our Casualty And Other Stories - 1918 • James Owen Hannay, AKA George A. Birmingham
... either case we are going to do our duty. Send Franklin up to the bridge, make the course for Scarborough, get the evidence of any of the watch who saw what we have seen, and I'll go and make the report. Then you can countersign it, and the men can make theirs. I think that's the best we ...
— The World Peril of 1910 • George Griffith
... upon me to see our guest safely deposited. We are at the Mitchell House, you remember, which is beyond the inner lines; and while, of course, I have been furnished with a pass," she held up the paper for his inspection, "and have been also instructed as to the countersign, I fear this will scarcely suffice for the safe passage ...
— My Lady of the North • Randall Parrish
... less than the life of General Botha; and the Main Guard, which had been mounted at the General's house from the day of the Bodyguard's formation, was doubled. Not a soul was allowed within or around the modest grounds of the house without challenge at the point of the bayonet and presentment of the countersign. It will be long before memory loses the picture of those evenings, when through the lighted windows of the left wing of the house the Main Guard first and second reliefs got a view of a familiar ample figure in ...
— With Botha in the Field • Eric Moore Ritchie
... Measles, and they were with me in an instant. We passed a couple of sentries, and gave the countersign, and then mounted to the long stone passage which led to where the ...
— Begumbagh - A Tale of the Indian Mutiny • George Manville Fenn
... have this King at peace for a space that Cromwell may fall, why I am at one with thee. For this King is such a palterer that without this knave at his back I might have had him down ten years ago. Therefore, thou shalt write, and I will countersign the words.' ...
— The Fifth Queen • Ford Madox Ford
... length a man whose society I can no longer enjoy? Is it to make myself feel my loss the more? For my time is all taken up by the duties of an office—important, no doubt, but tedious in the extreme. I sit at my magisterial desk; I countersign petitions, I make out the public accounts; I write hosts of letters, but what illiterary productions they are! Sometimes—but how seldom I get the opportunity—I complain to Euphrates about these uncongenial duties. He consoles ...
— The Letters of the Younger Pliny - Title: The Letters of Pliny the Younger - - Series 1, Volume 1 • Pliny the Younger
... Agnes. Oh! yes: permission had been obtained from the lordly minister that I should see my wife. Is it possible? Can such condescensions exist? Yes: solicitations from ladies, eloquent notes wet with ducal tears, these had won from the thrice radiant secretary, redolent of roseate attar, a countersign to some order or other, by which I—yes I—under license of a fop, and supervision of a jailer—was to see and for a time to ...
— The Uncollected Writings of Thomas de Quincey, Vol. 2 - With a Preface and Annotations by James Hogg • Thomas de Quincey
... on guard in the corridor communicating with the prisoner's apartment in the tower, when at about half-past two o'clock, after Lacheneur had been placed in his cell, I saw an officer approaching me. I challenged him; he gave me the countersign, and, naturally, I allowed him to pass. He went down the corridor, and entered the room adjoining that in which Monsieur d'Escorval was confined. He remained there ...
— The Honor of the Name • Emile Gaboriau
... hand, share, or participation. Many years after the payment of the eight pesos which were collected for it, and slightly before the death of Don Juan de Silva, Gaspar Alvarez, then government notary, petitioned the governor to allow him to countersign them after the former had signed them, in order to get hold of it. This is the same thing that his nephew demands now. Don Juan, who was under many obligations to him, and was by nature very liberal, did not hesitate to concede it to him. Consequently, Gaspar Alvarez countersigned the licenses ...
— The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 • Emma Helen Blair
... getting possession, the artillery-men who were attached to our division, were to point and fire them against the quarters of Narvaez. Those who happened at this moment to be deficient in defensive armour, would have given every thing they had in the world for a morion, a helmet, or a breast-plate. Our countersign for the engagement was Spiritu Santo, that of Narvaez Santa Maria. Just before marching, Captain Sandoval, who had always been my intimate friend, called me aside, and made me promise, if I survived the capture of the ...
— A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. IV. • Robert Kerr
... room. One look at Grace's sensitive face was sufficient. Emma had lived close to her friend too long not to know the signs of dejection in the features that usually shone with hope and cheerfulness. "Advance and show your countersign," she commanded. ...
— Grace Harlowe's Problem • Jessie Graham Flower
... not want him to come again, and promised to resume her visits to his flat. He told her the times when she would be least likely to disturb his work. They arranged a countersign. She was to knock at the door in a certain way, and he was to open or not ...
— Jean-Christophe Journey's End • Romain Rolland
... that his time had been spent more in camps than in courts. We were much pleased to find, that full justice was done to his merits as an officer by all ranks of the allied armies. On the day that he entered Paris, the watch-word in the whole armies in the neighbourhood was Wellington, and the countersign Talavera. We have often heard Russian and Prussian officers say, "he is the hero of the war:—we have conquered the French by main force, but his triumphs are the result ...
— Travels in France during the years 1814-1815 • Archibald Alison
... engaged in drawing and modelling that miracle which I had seen, upon the morning of All Saint's day he sent his nephew, Piero Ugolini, to show me certain jewels. No sooner had I set eyes on them than I exclaimed: "This is the countersign of my deliverance!" Then the young man, who was not a person of much intelligence, began to say: "Never think of that, Benvenuto!" I replied: "Take your gems away, for I am so treated here that I have no light to see by ...
— The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini • Benvenuto Cellini
... rejoined the Professors, and read the depositions: the Mayor administered the oath according to Erewhonian custom; the Professors signed without a word, and George then handed the document to his father to countersign. ...
— Erewhon Revisited • Samuel Butler
... distinction. "The Emperor, leaving Paris for a short summer excursion in 1865, left the Empress as Regent. From the imperial residence at Fontainebleau it was only a short drive to By (the home of Mademoiselle Bonheur). The countersign at the gate was forced, and unannounced, the Empress entered the studio where Mademoiselle Rosa was at work. She rose to receive the visitor, who threw her arms about her neck and kissed her. It was only a short interview. The imperial vision had departed, ...
— Lives of Girls Who Became Famous • Sarah Knowles Bolton
... to challenge any one approximating this post," he said; "and if they say 'friend' or 'rounds' you must stop them and make them give the countersign. If they can't you must run them in, and if they won't be run in you must run them through with your bayonet; if they won't be run through you must wait and see if there's many of them, and if there is you must shoot. But you mustn't alarm the ...
— For Fortune and Glory - A Story of the Soudan War • Lewis Hough
... twinges as his thoughts touched on this point, but at that moment some one took his stand in front of him and exclaimed: "Surrender or give the countersign." ...
— Two Boys and a Fortune • Matthew White, Jr.
... veld, apparently, and not from town," said the picket Commander. "Must have known the countersign, or the sentries out there would have ...
— The Dop Doctor • Clotilde Inez Mary Graves
... Mackay, its commander, holding his commission from the King, thought himself above any officer commissioned by the Governor. There was great courtesy between him and Washington; but Mackay would take no orders, nor even the countersign, from the colonel of volunteers. Nor would his men work, except for an additional shilling a day. To give this was impossible, both from want of money, and from the discontent it would have bred in the Virginians, who worked for nothing besides their daily ...
— Montcalm and Wolfe • Francis Parkman
... discussion between the King and the Ministers. The King maintained his right based on the Constitutional law, to exercise his veto according to his own judgment and maintained the duty of the Minister of State to countersign his decision. The Cabinet sought, on their side, to defend the interpretation given in later years to the fundamental law, that it presupposed the right of refusing countersignature, but could, as a precedent, for present circumstances, only quote the not altogether applicable ...
— The Swedish-Norwegian Union Crisis - A History with Documents • Karl Nordlund
... short time after, the general had been at a small distance from Chatham, to pay a visit, and returning in the evening in a blue coat, claimed entrance at the yard gate. The sentinel demanded the countersign, which the general not knowing, desired the officer of the guard to be sent for, who proved to be the lieutenant whom the general had treated so cavalierly.—"Who are you?" inquired the officer.—"I am General Mackenzie," was the reply.—"What, without an uniform?" rejoined the lieutenant; ...
— The Book of Three Hundred Anecdotes - Historical, Literary, and Humorous—A New Selection • Various
... Petersburg sent him, because of course they couldn't help learning that Boris rather lacked zeal in repressing the students and did not encourage the general in being as severe as was necessary for the safety of the Empire. But Michael, he has a heart of stone; he knows nothing but the countersign and massacres fathers and mothers, crying, 'Vive le Tsar!' Truly, it seems his heart can only be touched by the sight of Natacha. And that again has caused a good deal of anxiety to Feodor and me. It has caught ...
— The Secret of the Night • Gaston Leroux
... Brother, by your sign and by your countersign that you are indeed one of us," said McGinty. "We would have you know, however, that in this county and in other counties of these parts we have certain rites, and also certain duties of our own which call for good men. Are you ready to ...
— The Valley of Fear • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
... hour, already great in history, he found himself hemmed in by the band of heroes whose watchword and countersign rang out across the ...
— Sinking of the Titanic - and Great Sea Disasters • Various
... rode on boldly, and having the countersign the difficulties vanished. When I was come to town it was well past candle-lighting; and the patrol was out in force. But by dint of using the password freely I made my way unhindered to the house of the gentleman to whom Colonel Davie's letter ...
— The Master of Appleby • Francis Lynde
... countersign," answered Frank; "I haven't got it. Have you seen any thing of an escaped Yankee prisoner ...
— Frank on a Gun-Boat • Harry Castlemon
... till he was the open derision of the mess. Next time they returned, the Protestant major was radiant with a geniality that they could not explain till they had to make their way out of barracks in a hurry, and found that the countersign (arranged by the major) was "Bloody end to the Pope." Told as Lever tells it, with all manner of jovial amplifications, that story would make anyone laugh. But it does not go deep. The thing is funny in too obvious a way; the mirth finds too large an outlet in laughter; it does not hang ...
— Irish Books and Irish People • Stephen Gwynn
... then gives his patrol information and instructions. These embrace instructions from higher authority; his detailed plans; information of the country and enemy; the countersign, if any; the point where the patrol will assemble if scattered. He will see that the men ...
— Manual for Noncommissioned Officers and Privates of Infantry • War Department
... wrote the monarch, under the countersign of Sunderland, to the government in Virginia, "take all care that they continue to serve for ten years at least, and that they be not permitted in any manner to redeem themselves by money or otherwise, until that term be fully expired. Prepare a bill for the assembly ...
— The Witch of Salem - or Credulity Run Mad • John R. Musick
... is not known obtained the countersign by which Mad Anthony Wayne was enabled to take Stony Point, and guided and ...
— History of the American Negro in the Great World War • W. Allison Sweeney
... order," he said as he returned it; "but the sentry had the strictest orders that no one coming from the side of the enemy was to be allowed to enter our lines, even if he gave the countersign correctly, until he had been examined ...
— Won by the Sword - A Story of the Thirty Years' War • G.A. Henty
... on exhibiting herself with all her little airs, setting herself off like a fine peach magnificently exhibited in a fruiterer's window. But since you have dined rather heartily, you kiss her upon the forehead merely, not feeling able to countersign your opinions. Caroline ...
— Analytical Studies • Honore de Balzac
... position, and then he felt the animal put in motion, and heard by the trampling of feet that a considerable number of horsemen were around him. For some time they passed over the rough, uneven streets of the city; then there was a pause and exchange of watchword and countersign, a creaking of doors, and a lowering of a drawbridge, and the party issued out into the open country. Not for very long did they continue their way; a halt was called, and Cuthbert was ...
— The Boy Knight • G.A. Henty
... walking, inclined by reason of weariness and the weight of the saddle-bags thrown across my shoulders. The weather was bad, a heavy mist had come up, and was so dark that I could hardly see my way. As I started on, a soldier yelled at me from the mist: "Halt! advance and give the countersign." I stopped immediately, almost scared out of my wits. "Come right up here," said the soldier, "or I'll blow you into eternity." I saw at once he was a rebel soldier. I knew not what to do. This place where ...
— Thirty Years a Slave • Louis Hughes
... reverse of your bright medal!" He took a paper from his desk and beckoned the count to approach. "Just look at this; it is the morning report. Do you want to know how many soldiers deserted last night? Over a hundred, and in order to put a stop to further desertions, the countersign had ...
— Napoleon and the Queen of Prussia • L. Muhlbach
... time, the major was endeavoring to convince the lieutenant of the guard that, although they did not have the countersign, they ...
— Frank on a Gun-Boat • Harry Castlemon
... progress was opposed by two men in green uniform, who, with supported arms and fixed bayonets, were pacing the road to and fro as sentinels, in a very steady and soldier-like manner. On the challenge of one of these fellows, with arms at port demanding the countersign, I answered that I had none to give, that I was travelling on lawful business to the next town, and required to know by what authority he stopt me on the King's highway, "By the powers," he exclaimed, "this is my authority then," and immediately brought his ...
— Real Life In London, Volumes I. and II. • Pierce Egan
... divine; Pass the watchword down the line, Pass the countersign: "Endure." Not to him who rashly dares, But to him who nobly bears, Is the victor's ...
— The Complete Works of Whittier - The Standard Library Edition with a linked Index • John Greenleaf Whittier
... 6. A member of The Mother Church shall not endorse nor countersign an application for membership therewith until after the blank has been properly filled out by an applicant. A member who violates this By-Law ...
— Manual of the Mother Church - The First Church of Christ Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts • Mary Baker Eddy
... thought I. These barbarians have given me the sign of their Order; now let me respond with the countersign. Not without practical protest shall I die a nude fugitive on their premises; and not if I can help it shall the post-mortem people find the word ...
— Such is Life • Joseph Furphy
... no occasion to stir yet. Which is the way to Sir Reginald's room? I must speak one word to Joshua before we start. I know the countersign—it will bring him out to me in a moment. I would advise you, in the meantime, just to step to the chaise and see all right, and bring it up nearer the door quietly—mind, quietly, for these ...
— Rattlin the Reefer • Edward Howard
... the whole country was sown with wheat, as if it were time of peace, and the fields promised an abundant harvest. He was confirmed in his idea of the meaning of his dream when he heard that the watchword of the enemy was 'Athena,' with the countersign 'Alexander.' Hearing this, he himself gave the word 'Demeter,' with the countersign 'Alexander,' and ordered all his soldiers to crown themselves and adorn their arms with ears of wheat. He was often tempted to explain ...
— Plutarch's Lives Volume III. • Plutarch
... hastily adjusted "Gretchen's" bridle, leaped into the saddle, and awaited the night rider, whoever he might be. At a distance of three hundred feet he cried: "Halt!" The rider drew rein, hastily gave the countersign, and Biedenkopf, recognizing the aide-de-camp, saluted ...
— The Man Who Rocked the Earth • Arthur Train
... cannon-shot, and how many tears and how much fatigue it would cost to rebuild even in ten years, that which the bombs had destroyed in ten minutes. Oh! how happy I was as I went along. No more marches and counter-marches; I did not need the countersign from Sergeant Pinto where I was going! And how sweetly the lark sang as it soared tremblingly upward, and the quails whistled and linnets twittered. The sweet freshness of the morning, the fragrant eglantine in the hedges, urged me on till I caught sight of the gable ...
— Waterloo - A sequel to The Conscript of 1813 • Emile Erckmann
... with their knives, and made him rise again. So he tottered along, until the column, marching in a sort of military order, and passing numerous sentinels, who challenged the leaders, and stopped them till they gave the countersign, entered suddenly on a large encampment of men, squatting on the ground amidst a circle of fires. There were no tents nor waggons to bear out the illusion, but otherwise the scene resembled a bivouac of some ...
— Picked up at Sea - The Gold Miners of Minturne Creek • J.C. Hutcheson
... and to have no law but your own will, you have no need of the addition of my signature. Your Majesty has declared, by your proclamations, that you would grant a general amnesty. I countersigned them most cordially; and I will not countersign the decree, that revokes them."—"But you well know, I always told you, that I never would pardon Marmont, Talleyrand, and Augereau; and that I promised only to overlook, what had passed since my abdication. I know better than you, what I ought to do, to keep my promises, and ensure the tranquillity ...
— Memoirs of the Private Life, Return, and Reign of Napoleon in 1815, Vol. I • Pierre Antoine Edouard Fleury de Chaboulon
... a safe place, for fear they would be fired by the enemy. The sentinels were ordered to cry out every half hour of the night while on their posts, and no man was allowed to approach after the shades of night came on, without giving the countersign. It proved to be well that these precautions were taken; for, on the neighboring mountains, Indian watch-fires were seen nightly; and, on several mornings, Indian moccasin tracks were discovered in close proximity to the fort, showing thereby that ...
— The Life and Adventures of Kit Carson, the Nestor of the Rocky Mountains, from Facts Narrated by Himself • De Witt C. Peters
... position—Mr. Pape. He said to me: "The emperor has no veto." I replied, "Constitutionally he has not, but suppose a measure is expected of him which he thinks he should not take, and against which his then chancellor warns him, saying: I cannot advocate it, and I shall not countersign it. Well, in this case is the emperor obliged to look for another chancellor, and to dismiss him who opposes the measure? Is he obliged to accept anyone as chancellor, suggested perhaps by the other party? Will ...
— The German Classics of The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Vol. X. • Kuno Francke
... throwing a look of close scrutiny on the black, as he brought him to the light; "advance, and deliver your dispatches. Have you the countersign?" ...
— The Spy • James Fenimore Cooper
... along the foreshore, and right in the midst that cluster of brave lights with which the town of Honolulu advertises itself to the seaward. Presently a ruddy star appeared inshore of us, and seemed to draw near unsteadily. This was the anticipated signal; and we made haste to show the countersign, lowering a white light from the quarter, extinguishing the two others, and laying the schooner incontinently to. The star approached slowly; the sounds of oars and of men's speech came to us across the water; and then ...
— The Wrecker • Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne
... of the Cabinet shall countersign all Bills introduced by the Provisional President, and all laws and orders issued ...
— The Fight For The Republic In China • B.L. Putnam Weale
... gave the countersign, and at the same time inquired the sentinel's name, and to what regiment he belonged. The following day the man was sent for, to appear forthwith at head-quarters. The soldier went with great trepidation, anticipating severe treatment from the General for the previous night's conduct. ...
— Incidents of the War: Humorous, Pathetic, and Descriptive • Alf Burnett
... I set out, equipped with the countersign, and picked my way toward the lonely region where Adler was to keep his watch. It was so dark that I stumbled right on a dim figure almost before I could get out a protecting word. The sentinel hailed and I answered, both at the same moment. ...
— Innocents abroad • Mark Twain
... were challenged what should he say? To the sentinel's "Wer da?" he could answer "Freund." But when he was told to advance and give the countersign what would be ...
— Army Boys on the Firing Line - or, Holding Back the German Drive • Homer Randall
... says, 'I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.' Now, see if your own heart can give the countersign 'Thou art my portion, O ...
— Queechy, Volume II • Elizabeth Wetherell
... my challenge cry, It rings along the watchful line; "Relief!" I hear a voice reply— "Advance, and give the countersign!" With bayonet at the charge I wait— The corporal gives the mystic spell; With arms aport I charge my mate, Then onward ...
— The World's Best Poetry, Volume 8 • Various
... toward the bridge, I caught sight of a sentry walking his post. His appearance was so very important and efficient that I slipped behind my companion to give him a chance to explain us. "Halt! Who goes there?" "Friend," replied Finch Hatton. "Advance, friend, and give the countersign." F.H. started to advance, followed by a still suspicious me, and rightly so, for the Tommy, evidently member of a recent draft, came forward to meet us with lowered bayonet, remarking in a businesslike manner: "There ...
— War in the Garden of Eden • Kermit Roosevelt
... the countersign, and off we started over the breastworks and through the thick woods. We soon came to our skirmish or pickets, only a few rods in front of our works, and cautioned them not to fire on us in going or returning. We went out as much as half a mile or more, ...
— Andersonville, complete • John McElroy
... course, pleasantries and pleasantries. The other night a correspondent was returning to camp when he was met with the usual challenge. 'Who goes there?' shrieked the sentry. 'A friend,' replied the correspondent. 'Stand, friend, and give the countersign,' promptly demanded the watchful guardian of the camp. The correspondent had forgotten the countersign. He knew it related to Yarmouth. As a matter of fact, it was Yarmouth. So he made a desperate bid for bed, and replied 'Bloaters.' The sentry replied, ...
— South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 2 (of 6) - From the Commencement of the War to the Battle of Colenso, - 15th Dec. 1899 • Louis Creswicke
... emblem proved to be as good as a countersign, and Captain Beardsley was permitted to sail on through the Inlet without going ashore to give an account of himself. As soon as he was safe inside the bar he directed his course toward Newbern, which he reached without any more adventures; but ...
— Marcy The Blockade Runner • Harry Castlemon
... progress. It is only another name for conservatism. With conservatism the minority have no quarrel. It is essential to the stability of mankind, of government and of social life. To every new proposal it rightfully calls a halt, demanding countersign, whether it be friend or foe. The enfranchisement of women must pass this ordeal like everything else. It must give good reason for its demand to be, or take its place among the half-forgotten fantasies which have challenged the support of mankind and have not stood the test ...
— The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV • Various |
