I had the means of an excellent education placed within my reach; a fondness for some of my studies, and a desire to excel in all, together with a great delight in pleasing my teachers, especially such as I loved, urged me on: I
availed myself fully of the advantages offered me.
He made no ceremony of knocking or announcing his name: he was master, and
availed himself of the master's privilege to walk straight in, without saying a word.
Her day of reckoning with the captain had not come yet -- she merely added the new item to her list, and
availed herself of the camp-stool.
Spenlow was fetched, I
availed myself of the opportunity.
It seemed then to be your opinion, that the charm lay entirely in the art with which the unknown author had
availed himself, like a second M`Pherson, of the antiquarian stores which lay scattered around him, supplying his own indolence or poverty of invention, by the incidents which had actually taken place in his country at no distant period, by introducing real characters, and scarcely suppressing real names.
He said, too, that to go on, mind, hand, pen always restricted to writing upon one single subject, and speaking through the mouths of a few characters, was intolerable drudgery, the result of which was never equal to the author's labour, and that to avoid this he had in the First Part
availed himself of the device of novels, like "The Ill-advised Curiosity," and "The Captive Captain," which stand, as it were, apart from the story; the others are given there being incidents which occurred to Don Quixote himself and could not be omitted.
And, just as in pulling down an old house, we usually reserve the ruins to contribute towards the erection, so, in destroying such of my opinions as I judged to be Ill-founded, I made a variety of observations and acquired an amount of experience of which I
availed myself in the establishment of more certain.
Had the Greeks, says the Abbe Milot, been as wise as they were courageous, they would have been admonished by experience of the necessity of a closer union, and would have
availed themselves of the peace which followed their success against the Persian arms, to establish such a reformation.
Athos
availed himself of the permission, ascended the stairs with his lightest step, gained the landing, and through the open door perceived Milady putting on her hat.
