There had been times when, as he believed, that beautiful girl's high thoughts had tended toward him; there had been looks, gestures, even words, that had this effect to him, or that seemed to have had it; and Beaton saw that he might easily construe Mrs. Horn's confidential appeal to him to get Margaret interested in art again as something by no means necessarily offensive, even though it had been made to him as to a master of illusion.
"A Hazard of New Fortunes, Part Fifth"
William Dean Howells
He could no longer construe a line of Latin, he had not for months opened a book; and as to Italian, he knew it no better than any Piedmontese street porter.
"The Countess of Albany"
Violet Paget (AKA Vernon Lee)
If you consider them to be so, you may construe my words in that way.
"The Sins of Séverac Bablon"
Sax Rohmer