Briskness

[John] Evelyn was astonished at the immense number of pictures he saw in the Dutch fairs. He attributes the briskness of the trade in paintings to the necessary limitations of the country. The farmer or the citizen of sea-locked Holland, unable to lay out his gains on tracts of land, found a medium for speculation or investment in these works of art.

During this first winter Thea got no city consciousness. Chicago was simply a wilderness through which one had to find one's way. She felt no interest in the general briskness and zest of the crowds. The crash and scramble of that big, rich, appetent Western city she did not take in at all, except to notice that the noise of the drays and street-cars tired her.

He was trying to do everything briskly these days. Briskness, he had decided, was the one common characteristic of all successful businessmen. The big shots up at Head Office were absolutely fantastically brisk all the time. They were amazing.