Les Misérables vocabulary

The reason for the staring became clear to Thomas suddenly. He tightened his fingers on the breviary.

Sue Monk Kidd. The Mermaid Chair, p.117 (2005)

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In the middle was a slate sundial on a brick pedestal; four flower beds with eglantines surrounded symmetrically the more useful kitchen garden bed. Right at the bottom, under the spruce bushes, was a cure in plaster reading his breviary.

Gustave Flaubert. Madame Bovary.