1890, J[ames] M[atthew] Barrie, “English-grown Tobacco”, in My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke, Boston, Mass.: Joseph Knight Company, published 1896, →OCLC, page 184:
It was an extraordinary thing that, try as we might, we could not finish our pipes at the same time.
She again took up the shining skimmer, held it beneath the pump, and began anew. But she could not, as at other times, hit the exact under-surface of the cream with the delicate dexterity required, try as she might: sometimes she was cutting down into the milk, sometimes in the air. She could hardly see, her eyes having filled with two blurring tears drawn forth by a grief which, to this her best friend and dear advocate, she could never explain.
The pub was so noisy it hardly seemed the most sensible place for a top-secret meeting. Try as he might, the boy couldn’t spot his father anywhere. Just as he was about to give up and head home, Frank heard muffled voices coming from the car park. The boy turned round to see some men sitting talking in a Rolls-Royce.
