He had painted gourds filled with pebbles that rattled when they were shaken; the long clarin of the Mexicans, into which the performer does not blow, but through which he inhales the air; the harsh ture of the Amazon tribes, that is sounded by the sentinels who sit all day long in high trees, and can be heard, it is said, at a distance of three leagues; the teponaztli , that has two vibrating tongues of wood and is beaten with sticks that are smeared with an elastic gum obtained from the milky juice of plants; the yotl -bells of the Aztecs, that are hung in clusters like grapes; and a huge cylindrical drum, covered with the skins of great serpents, like the one that Bernal Diaz saw when he went with Cortes into the Mexican temple, and of whose doleful sound he has left us so vivid a description.
— from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The attempt has awakened fully the public attention to that important subject; and has led to investigations which must terminate in a thorough and universal conviction, not only that the constitution has provided the most effectual guards against danger from that quarter, but that nothing short of a Constitution fully adequate to the national defense and the preservation of the Union, can save America from as many standing armies as it may be split into States or Confederacies, and from such a progressive augmentation, of these establishments in each, as will render them as burdensome to the properties and ominous to the liberties of the people, as any establishment that can become necessary, under a united and efficient government, must be tolerable to the former and safe to the latter.
— from The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton

He was always looking after other people’s affairs and trying to interest some one on their behalf, and was always delighted about something.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of 233 Short Stories of Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

Being myself one of the laziest of mortals, I had altogether too much fellow-feeling for the lazy; and when poor, shiftless dogs put stones at the bottom of their cotton-baskets to make them weigh heavier, or filled their sacks with dirt, with cotton at the top, it seemed so exactly like what I should do if I were they, I couldn’t and wouldn’t have them flogged for it.
— from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

The proof of Miss Keller's early skill in the use of English, and the final comment on the excellence of this whole method of teaching, is contained in an incident, which, although at the time it seemed unfortunate, can no longer be regretted.
— from The Story of My Life With her letters (1887-1901) and a supplementary account of her education, including passages from the reports and letters of her teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, by John Albert Macy by Helen Keller

‘At the time I speak of, as the time when papa spoke to me,’ pursued Agnes, ‘he had told papa that he was going away; that he was very sorry, and unwilling to leave, but that he had better prospects.
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Page 142, “moistens” changed to “moisten” (moisten the stomach) Page 142, “*hroat” changed to “throat” (throat, to dry the) Page 143, “an” changed to “and” (to make Unguentum and) Page 144, “black” changed to “Black” (Black of the Garden) Page 144, “baers” changed to “bears” (it bears its flower) Page 146, “snd” changed to “and” (dreams, and the like) Page 146, “vitue” changed to “virtue” (the heat and virtue of) Page 146, “serect” changed to “secret” (ulcers in the secret) Page 146, “lightening” changed to “lightning” (blasting by lightning) Page 147, “imflammation” changed to “inflammation” (inflammation in the eyes) Page 148 “anoin*” changed to “anoint” (available to anoint) Page 148, word “a” added to text in space (Quinces, and boiled in a) Page 148, “hea*” changed to “heat” (good to cool the heat) Page 148, “hai*” changed to “hair” (it brings hair to them) Page 148, “man*” changed to “many” (at the top many) Page 155, “*ed” changed to “red” (red, every one standing) Page 155, “*talk” changed to “stalk” (his own foot-stalk) Page 155, “lethary” changed to “lethargy” (the lethargy, and fallen-sickness) Page 156, the first letters of two lines were traded thus “ro” was changed to “to” and “tequires” to “requires” (to take one drop) (requires, for the inward) Page 158, “slght” changed to “sight” (dimness of the sight) Page 158, “rwu” changed to “rue” ( Meadow-rue rises) Page 160, “*hready” changed to “thready” (thready branches round) Page 161, “abundaily” changed to “abundantly” (come down too abundantly) Page 167, “*ong” changed to “long” (long crested, brownish) Page 167, “o*” changed to “of” (of a sad green color) Page 167, “*talks” changed to “stalks” (stalks stand umbels) Page 169, “costs” changed to “coasts” (sea coasts to Dover) Page 169, “hedges” changed to “edges” (dented about the hedges)
— from The Complete Herbal To which is now added, upwards of one hundred additional herbs, with a display of their medicinal and occult qualities physically applied to the cure of all disorders incident to mankind: to which are now first annexed, the English physician enlarged, and key to Physic. by Nicholas Culpeper

Twice at that time I saw a similar piece performed, which afforded me the greatest pleasure; in fact, nothing ever surprised me so much, for I had always imagined that a thing of this kind would make no effect.
— from The Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Volume 01 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

"Whence I am to infer," replied I, "that the drinking population constitutes the majority in your country, and that temperance is somewhat unpopular.
— from Democracy in America — Volume 1 by Alexis de Tocqueville

And Snippy proceeded to eat her luncheon with such a dragon-like air that the Italian soldier wondered what he had done to deserve reproof.
— from Patty's Pleasure Trip by Carolyn Wells

they are all furnished with more or less Cross bars agreeably to thier sizes of the Canoe, those bars are round Sticks about 1 inch and 1/2 diameter which are atached to the iner Side of the canoes a little below the rim on either Side with throngs of Cedar bark which is incerted through holes and made fast to the ends of the Stick, which is made Smaller than the other part of the Stick to prevent the cord Slipping off these cross bears Serve to Strengthen the canoe, and by which they lift and manage her on land.
— from The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by William Clark

The rice, the staple of the country, is so cared for and tended that it sells for much more than other rice.
— from An Ohio Woman in the Philippines Giving personal experiences and descriptions including incidents of Honolulu, ports in Japan and China by Emily Bronson Conger

She would examine the false gems with a passionate attention, as though they imparted some deep and secret joy; and she often persisted in passing a necklace around her husband's neck, and, laughing heartily, would exclaim: “How droll you look!”
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant

The iceberg towered high above their topmast, its summit still wreathed in a cloud of mist, while far and wide it extended over the sea.
— from The Catholic World, Vol. 15, Nos. 85-90, April 1872-September 1872 A Monthly Magazine by Various

They had objected to excise taxes, particularly on whisky; these they quickly abolished, to the intense satisfaction of the farmers.
— from History of the United States by Mary Ritter Beard

It seems as if the ice has taken a more decided course towards the northwest than ever, and therefore it is not to be wondered at that there is some pressure when the wind blows athwart the course of the ice.
— from Farthest North, Vol. II Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration of the Ship 'Fram' 1893-1896 by Fridtjof Nansen

Members of the Beecher family have been quite conspicuous in their allusions to the old and abhorrent doctrines of Calvinism; as for instance, Mrs. Stowe, in her "Minister's Wooing" and "Old Town Folks;" her sister Catherine, in her emphatic saying, that, as this theology is set forth, "there must be an awful mistake somewhere;" Dr. Edward Beecher, in his "Conflict of Ages" (a work ably reviewed by Rev. Moses Ballou); and Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, who has just now affirmed that he will never more preach the horrible doctrine of endless punishment.
— from Fifty Notable Years Views of the Ministry of Christian Universalism During the Last Half-Century; with Biographical Sketches by John G. (John Greenleaf) Adams

Somewhere between ten and twenty thousand, I suppose.”
— from Gold by Stewart Edward White