An enterprise like that which the vagabonds were now undertaking against Notre-Dame was not a very rare thing in the cities of the Middle Ages.
— from Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo

Whereas (which is a very remarkable thing,) he hath been told by some of the Treasurers at Warr here of late, to whom the most of the L120,000 monthly was paid, that for most months the payments were gathered so duly, that they seldom had so much or more than 40s., or the like, short in the whole collection; whereas now the very Commissioners for Assessments and other publique payments are such persons, and those that they choose in the country so like themselves, that from top to bottom there is not a man carefull of any thing, or if he be, he is not solvent; that what between the beggar and the knave, the King is abused the best part of all his revenue.
— from The Diary of Samuel Pepys — Complete by Samuel Pepys

It was a gentle action, but not at all gently done; a very remarkable transformation had come over him in a few seconds.
— from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

They are very ready to communicate truths which are useless to you, but they continue to hold a different language in public.
— from Democracy in America — Volume 1 by Alexis de Tocqueville

Beware particularly, as the last piece of advice I shall give you, of sinister constructions and venomous rumours, the secret motives of which are often more dangerous than the actions at which they are levelled.
— from The Social Contract & Discourses by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

And now the patter of hurrying feet and the loud murmur of anxious voices resounded through the castle corridors, while inside and out ever and anon I could hear the cry now whispered and now outspoken,— “The little baron is making ready to leave home again.”
— from Baron Trump's Marvellous Underground Journey by Ingersoll Lockwood

“Drusilla, I have been in the habit of speaking very foolishly and very rudely to you, on former occasions.
— from The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

He dreamed and brooded over lost Margaret until she became a vivid reality to him and lived in his pages.
— from Anne's House of Dreams by L. M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery

Notwithstanding this, his enemies drew near to him, and approached Fossombrone, where they encountered some men of the duke and, with the aid of the Orsini and Vitelli, routed them.
— from The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli

In silence they tore down from the wall Beauchamp's electoral Address— flanked all its length with satirical pen and pencil comments and sketches; and they consigned to flames the vast sheet of animated verses relating to the FRENCH MARQUEES.
— from Beauchamp's Career — Volume 3 by George Meredith

A very rich thick soup.
— from When We Were Strolling Players in the East by Louise Jordan Miln

She breathed a vague relief: this was, oddly, so much to the good.
— from The Two Magics: The Turn of the Screw, Covering End by Henry James

We of the law, my dear sir——" Durgan perceived that it would be a vast relief to his conscience if Alden could visit 'Dolphus himself.
— from The Summit House Mystery; Or, The Earthly Purgatory by L. (Lily) Dougall

The Tyrolese were now alone, and after a vain resistance the combatants dispersed among the mountains.
— from The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte. Vol. 3 (of 4) by William Milligan Sloane

But his ability was recognized—owners were always very ready to recognize ability—and he was greatly trusted by Captain Nelson and Mr. Baker, the mate.
— from She Blows! And Sparm at That! by William John Hopkins

Another verse referred to, and representing quite a numerous class of similar ones, is found in Num. 14:21.
— from His Glorious Appearing: An Exposition of Matthew Twenty-Four by James White

They have already been indicated as the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, under the direction of Professor Haber, and the enormous research organisations of the I.G. There are various references to internal gas organisation in captured documents.
— from The Riddle of the Rhine: Chemical Strategy in Peace and War by Victor Lefebure

[838] For some years this revival of persecution raged with a virulence rivalling that of the earlier period.
— from A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 3 by Henry Charles Lea

Nevertheless, it was there, and back of it lay another, still hazy, but also very real, the ambition to be an Annie and have a John Coulson and a brick house with white pillars and a Vision lying on a sofa waving ten pink rosebud toes in one's face.
— from 'Lizbeth of the Dale by Mary Esther Miller MacGregor