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Literary notes about doucely (AI summary)

In literature, "doucely" is often employed to convey a sense of gentleness, moderation, and decorum in both behavior and appearance. It can accentuate the calm manner in which a character acts or departs, as when one character "glided doucely away" [1] or was described as "behaving doucely" [2, 3]. The term also extends to describing attire and conduct that are unassuming yet refined, as in a "layman, doucely dressed in grey" [4] and in resolving matters "doucely" [5]. Moreover, its use alongside terms denoting restraint and careful composure, such as being "decorously and doucely" responsive [6] or "doucely and calmly" acting [7], imbues textual atmospheres with a subtle, measured elegance, enriching character portrayals and narrative tone [8, 9].
  1. He bestowed a paternal kiss on her brow, and glided doucely away before she could possibly cry again.
    — from A Simpleton by Charles Reade
  2. "Annie behaves doucely," was honest Wullie's comment after returning home.
    — from Honest Wullie; and Effie Patterson's Story by Lydia L. Rouse
  3. George was a peaceable man, My wife she did doucely behave; But now dae a' that I can, She 's just as wild as the lave.
    — from The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume 1. The Songs of Scotland of the Past Half Century
  4. Before he reached Laval he had made the accustomed transformation, and it was no priest, but a layman, doucely dressed in grey, that awaited Mme.
    — from A Book of Scoundrels by Charles Whibley
  5. “Noo, my laddie, let’s hae a’ this bet o’ besness settled doucely.
    — from Three Boys; Or, The Chiefs of the Clan Mackhai by George Manville Fenn
  6. She is a well-faur'd lassie as ony i' the realm, and answers decorously and doucely.
    — from The Lancashire Witches: A Romance of Pendle Forest by William Harrison Ainsworth
  7. Not dishonestly, mind you, nor violently, nor rudely, but doucely and calmly.
    — from A Simpleton by Charles Reade
  8. Syne o'er a glass o' Cameron Brig, [13] A nightcap we would doucely swig, Laughing at Conservative and Whig,
    — from Poems on Golf
  9. "Deil a fear o' ye," muttered Jean Gordon; "ye'll lie doucely and quietly in your bed till Jean gies ye leave to rise—tenth or no tenth!"
    — from Lochinvar: A Novel by S. R. (Samuel Rutherford) Crockett

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