"absent" hidden in books

alchemy begun Seems ever near the

Reaping the whirlwind from the oft-sown winds; The stubborn heart, its alchemy begun, Seems ever near the prize—wealthiest when most undone. CXXIV.
— from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage by Byron, George Gordon Byron, Baron

all been straining every nerve to

"You know that for months we have all been straining every nerve to break off this horrible entanglement, and, just as we had begun to hope that something might be done, you announce the engagement in the most public manner.
— from A Damsel in Distress by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse

and British strained every nerve the

Both French and British strained every nerve, the one to hold, the other to take, the greatest fortress in America.
— from The Winning of Canada: a Chronicle of Wolfe by William Charles Henry Wood

a brick structure erected near the

The Tryon house was also a brick structure erected near the corner of Third avenue and Second street; Mr. Tryon was a surveyor and well known in the early days.
— from History of Linn County Iowa From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time [1911] by Luther Albertus Brewer

a bleak spring evening near the

On a bleak spring evening, near the end of February, young Gourlay had gone to the Howff, to escape the shuddering misery of the streets.
— from The House with the Green Shutters by George Douglas Brown

anxious but subdued eagerness never thought

" Abroad , sir!" interrupted Titmouse, with anxious but subdued eagerness; "never thought of such a thing!"
— from Ten Thousand a-Year. Volume 1. by Samuel Warren

and blessings she enjoys never to

This, then, may properly be called the Rattlesnake Union Standard, and the other, the Great Union, or Striped Union Flag; and together they indicated that existence as a people was inseparable from union—the strength resulting from that union—the necessary subordination of each colony to the whole Union, the intimate connection of the colonies composing the Union, their equality and perpetuity under it, and the power of fascination in the Union and harmony in the colonies, which would draw everybody to America, and cause those who had once tasted the liberty and blessings she enjoys, never to leave her, but to "spend their lives with her." Having thus described the flags of the United Colonies, and shown that they were emblematic of union, and hence called Union flags, in imitation of the prevailing custom of the mother country, we now proceed to consider the Flag of the United States, described in the following Resolution of Congress, passed June 14, 1777:— " Resolved , That the Flag of the Thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white: That the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.
— from History of the National Flag of the United States of America by Schuyler Hamilton

This tab, called Hiding in Plain Sight, shows you passages from notable books where your word is accidentally (or perhaps deliberately?) spelled out by the first letters of consecutive words. Why would you care to know such a thing? It's not entirely clear to us, either, but it's fun to explore! What's the longest hidden word you can find? Where is your name hiding?

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