The blazing brightneſſe of her beauties beame, And glorious light of her ſunſhyny face To tell, were as to ſtriue against the ſtreame.

The giant hyena, Pachycrocuta brevirostris, was a metre high at the shoulder and 190 kilograms in weight, making it the largest hyena that ever lived.

Four bucketsful of water—one for each cell—seven for the long passage, two for lavatory and w.c.'s, brasses to clean, paint to dust. It seemed a Sisyphean task, no sooner ended than a new one was exacted.

[…] he had huffed into his white plastic recorder while scowling at the sheets of music that lay open on the wobbly stainless-steel stand.