besicles

The fact is, I found it desirable to have recourse to my good friends “les besicles;” not exactly to ascertain the identity of my visitor — for I already knew him, confound his impudence! but to see how he looked — to get a clear notion of his mien and countenance.

The Professor, by Charlotte Bronte 2006

At the beginning of the last century, in 1810, when David was ruler of the arts in Paris, the two masterpieces in pastel, now in the Louvre, the portraits of Chardin aux besicles, and the portrait of Marguerite Pouget, his second spouse, could have been bought for twenty-four francs.

Promenades of an Impressionist James Huneker 1890

Douze savans improvises, portans des besicles, et qui ne connaissent rien des insectes, si ce n'est les morsures du CULEX, se precipitent sur l'instrument, et voient -- une grande bulle d'air, dont ils s'emerveillent avec effusion.

Autocrat of the Breakfast Table Oliver Wendell Holmes 1851

Douze savans improvises, portans des besicles, et qui ne connaissent rien des insectes, si ce n'est les morsures du CULEX, se precipitent sur l'instrument, et voient -- une grande bulle d'air, dont ils s'emerveillent avec effusion.

Complete Project Gutenberg Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Works Oliver Wendell Holmes 1851

“Pour moi,” she continued, “il me fait tout l’effet d’un chat-huant, avec ses besicles.”

The Professor, by Charlotte Bronte 2006