Not that in this I imitated the sceptics who doubt only that they may doubt, and seek nothing beyond uncertainty itself; for, on the contrary, my design was singly to find ground of assurance, and cast aside the loose earth and sand, that I might reach the rock or the clay.
— from Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences by René Descartes

She kicked aside the loose earth, and saw that box and Bunny were both gone, and, not content with that, they had partially chewed up the tombstone, which lay upon its face a little distance away.
— from Tattine by Ruth Ogden

He advanced carefully, picking his way among the loose earth and stones that were the floor of the cave.
— from The Enchanted Castle by E. (Edith) Nesbit

After their long efforts and search they are completely exhausted by the quest, and give it up from weariness, inasmuch as they can find no one who is in any way guilty.
— from Four Arthurian Romances by Chrétien, de Troyes, active 12th century

of the salary of the office for which the person is a candidate for one year, and the legitimate expenses are specified; that is to say, public meetings, printing, postage, and head-quarters expenses.
— from Popular Law-making A study of the origin, history, and present tendencies of law-making by statute by Frederic Jesup Stimson

And then came the parley, and the long explanation; and Stirling thanked his stars to see they were going to allow themselves to be peaceably arrested.
— from Red Men and White by Owen Wister

Rad, you begin at the lower end and spade toward the middle.
— from Tom Swift and His Air Scout; Or, Uncle Sam's Mastery of the Sky by Victor Appleton

small rodent (right) is a spouse; A trochee (left) encountering a spondee; Three fresh-water creatures.
— from U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1973 January - June by Library of Congress. Copyright Office

Three hundred of the Narraghansetts, at the least estimate, are supposed to have been killed, besides more than double that number wounded, and an unknown multitude of women, children and old men burnt in the wigwams.
— from Indian Biography; Vol. 1 (of 2) Or, An Historical Account of Those Individuals Who Have Been Distinguished among the North American Natives as Orators, Warriors, Statesmen, and Other Remarkable Characters by B. B. (Benjamin Bussey) Thatcher