Gold or dross, it seemed to matter little; it had melted from them, burning their hands.
"The Furnace"
Rose Macaulay
"What have you done," she continues, "beyond devoting the gold of your genius to work, which dross, in the person of a dozen predecessors or contemporaries, has produced as well.
"A Handbook to the Works of Browning (6th ed.)"
Mrs. Sutherland Orr
With tender hands she gradually remolded his wayward, eccentric nature, stripping away much of its dross, bringing out its cleaner, nobler traits.
"Superwomen"
Albert Payson Terhune