One sense in which buildings were more engineered was that old bulk masonry forms were often replaced by calculated frame construction and light wall cladding. Buildings also were more engineered in the sense that thermal, ventilating and lighting provision were the subject of calculation and mechanical plant rather than hit-or-miss guesswork.

He then changed his battery, and being ambidexter, raised such a clatter upon the turnkey’s blind side, that this hero, believing him left-handed, converted his attention that way, and opposed the unenlightened side of his face to the right hand of Pipes […]

Which reminds me that I have never remembered from that hour to consult the dictionary upon a selvage.

thy lubrical and glibbery muse