One of these you will see drawing a full length character against the light;—that's illiberal,—dishonest,—and hard upon the character of the man who sits.
— from The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne

I rose, and searching among the embers of my fire, I found a few live coals and soon had a blaze again.
— from Erewhon; Or, Over the Range by Samuel Butler

However I into the church (which is a fair, large church, and a great chappell) and there heard the service, and staid till they buried him, and then out.
— from The Diary of Samuel Pepys — Complete by Samuel Pepys

By changes in the form of the land and of climate, marine areas now continuous must often have existed within recent times in a far less continuous and uniform condition than at present.
— from On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection Or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life by Charles Darwin

Then I saw the Gwrach y Rhibyn, saw her plainly, sir, a horrible old woman with long red hair and a face like chalk, and great teeth like tusks, looking back over her shoulder at me as she went through the air with a long black gown trailing along the ground below her arms, for body I could make out none.
— from British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions by Wirt Sikes

While his delicate and flexible limbs can adjust themselves to the bodies upon which they are intended to act, while his senses are keen and as yet free from illusions, then is the time to exercise both limbs and senses in their proper business.
— from Emile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Her high birth, and her graces sweet, Quickly found a lover meet; The Virgin quire for her request The God that sits at marriage feast; He at their invoking came But with a scarce-wel-lighted flame; 20 And in his Garland as he stood, Ye might discern a Cipress bud. Once had the early Matrons run To greet her of a lovely son, And now with second hope she goes, And calls Lucina to her throws; But whether by mischance or blame Atropos for Lucina came; And with remorsles cruelty, Spoil'd at once both fruit and tree: 30 The haples Babe before his birth Had burial, yet not laid in earth, And the languisht Mothers Womb Was not long a living Tomb.
— from The Poetical Works of John Milton by John Milton

I offer this work as a copious collection of materials for the future historian; and am far less concerned at the idea of giving too much, than at the apprehension of suppressing what might possibly be useful.
— from Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, v. 1 of 3 or the Central and Western Rajput States of India by James Tod

As Amy spoke, a great tear dropped on the golden hair of the sleeping child in her arms; for her one well-beloved daughter was a frail little creature and the dread of losing her was the shadow over Amy's sunshine.
— from Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott

(They are fighting like cats and dogs here as to where in our speck of time we are.)
— from The Letters of Henry James (Vol. I) by Henry James

They had seen no human beings, and few living creatures at all save insects and snakes; Mbutu, indeed, assured his master that beasts of prey were not much to be dreaded in such dense forest, though he would not be surprised if an elephant should come rushing out upon them.
— from Tom Burnaby: A Story of Uganda and the Great Congo Forest by Herbert Strang

Do me a favour...." Lukyánitch coughed and shivered with cold.
— from The Diary of a Superfluous Man, and Other Stories by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev

—The Singer Sewing Machine Company brought out a machine some years ago for lacing cards, and it performs its work very well, though many object to it, as it stitches a lacing tape along the cards, instead of lacing them in the usual way.
— from Jacquard Weaving and Designing by T. F. Bell

“She’s a fine little car,” agreed Morris proudly, as he brought it to a stop behind the extra seats.
— from The Lucky Seventh by Ralph Henry Barbour

But of all the female portraits, the one which struck me most was that of Lady Charlotte Boyle, the young Marchioness of Hartington, in a masquerade habit of purple satin, embroidered with silver; a fanciful little cap and feathers, thrown on one side, and the dark hair escaping in luxuriant tresses; she holds a mask in her hand, which she has just taken off, and looks round upon us in all the consciousness of happy and high-born loveliness.
— from Visits and Sketches at Home and Abroad, Vol. 2 (of 3) With Tales and Miscellanies Now First Collected by Mrs. (Anna) Jameson

In Persia, where a far larger community, already numerically superior to the Christian, the Jewish and the Zoroastrian minorities living in that country, had, notwithstanding the traditionally hostile attitude of the civil and ecclesiastical authorities, succeeded in rearing the structure of its administrative institutions, the reaction to so momentous a declaration was such as to inspire its members and induce them to exploit, in the fullest measure possible, the enormous advantages which this wholly unexpected testimonial had conferred upon them.
— from God Passes By by Effendi Shoghi