' A pretty pass young men were coming to!
— from The Forsyte Saga, Volume I. The Man Of Property by John Galsworthy

Eumenes, though he knew all particulars passed, yet dissembling the matter, kindly embraced his brother, and took his wife into his favour again, as if on such matter had been heard of or done.
— from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton

"There you go," cried he, "and a precious pair you are.
— from The Odyssey Rendered into English prose for the use of those who cannot read the original by Homer

A pretty place your garret must be if it is like papa’s room!
— from Father Goriot by Honoré de Balzac

After severely reprimanding the people of Ostia for not sending some boats to meet him upon his entering the mouth of the Tiber, in terms which might expose them to the public resentment, he wrote to Rome that he had been treated as a private person; yet immediately afterwards he pardoned them, and that in a way which had the appearance of making them (327) satisfaction, or begging pardon for some injury he had done them.
— from The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Complete by Suetonius

Alas, poor Princess, Yes.
— from The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle

And at another hour, saith another philosopher; Put your hand before your mouth!
— from The Travels of Sir John Mandeville by Mandeville, John, Sir

To see what a pretty pair you
— from Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman by Thomas Hardy

This determination of action by the prospect of reward and punishment presupposes young, strong, and vigorous races.
— from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book III and IV by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

“A pleasant prospect you give us, Smith,” said I. “I wish I could draw a better, but my experience won’t let me differ from you.”
— from Tales of the Sea, and of Our Jack Tars by William Henry Giles Kingston

This letter was written on that Sabbath-eve, on which our story opens—written in a perfect passion, yes, of grief, and of despair.
— from Graham's Magazine, Vol. XXXVII, No. 6, December 1850 by Various

"Now, David, sit here and play; play your flute as you did that first time when I learned who made the music that I thought must be the 'Voices,' that time I climbed up to see."
— from The Mountain Girl by Payne Erskine

The cat, after a prodigious pink yawn, went to sleep.
— from The Inhabited by Richard Wilson

If [261] you have on land concentrated ten thousand men, you can detach any fraction of them you wish for a particular purpose; you can send one man or ten, or a company, or a regiment.
— from Lessons of the war with Spain and other articles by A. T. (Alfred Thayer) Mahan

At present perhaps you may not know that Lord Edward lurks about town and its vicinity; he with Nelson was a few days ago in the custody of a patrol in the neighbourhood of Lucan, but not being known and assuming other names, they were not detained for any length of time.
— from Secret Service Under Pitt by William J. (William John) Fitz-Patrick

What is this schooner, a passenger packet?" "You was sayin' she was already hoodooed," chuckled Horace Newbegin.
— from Sheila of Big Wreck Cove: A Story of Cape Cod by James A. Cooper

He is full of provincial ignorance, and provincial prejudices, you perceive; and, I dare say, he makes his paper the circulator of all these, in addition to the personal rancour, envy, and uncharitableness, that usually distinguish a pretension that mistakes itself for ambition.
— from Homeward Bound; Or, the Chase: A Tale of the Sea by James Fenimore Cooper

"It is a pay phone, you see, and is no expense except when in use.
— from The Enchanted Barn by Grace Livingston Hill