“I thought better not interrupt your cogitations the other day,” said he; “you were walking like a man absent in mind, having your head bowed down, and noticing nothing around you.
— from Palissy the Huguenot Potter: A True Tale by C. L. (Cecilia Lucy) Brightwell

In the cellar therefore, chilled to the bone, he remained all day, all next night, and yet another day, after which, waiting until it was dark, he crept secretly back to his room.
— from The Black Monk, and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov