Had the deviser been less charitable, William and John had been less guilty: the gift of one man becomes a temptation to another.
"An History of Birmingham (1783)"
William Hutton
No doubt a more experienced deviser, and more constant supervision, might have shown a speedier profit.
"Two Years in Oregon"
Wallis Nash
So little could he do alone, that, were he the chief deviser and performer, Mr. Morse was incompetent to distinguish with common acuteness between the ordinary and the marvelous, or else he was an egregious fictionist and impostor.
"Witchcraft of New England Explained by Modern Spiritualism"
Allen Putnam