A mortal man, with once a human heart, has become a fiend for his especial torment!”
— from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

But, as for farming, sir, I canna think as you'd like it; and this house—the draughts in it are enough to cut you through, and it's my opinion the floors upstairs are very rotten, and the rats i' the cellar are beyond anything.”
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot

With him, who guides his life aright, In league of trusting love unite, And he, O valiant prince, will be A faithful friend and aid to thee.
— from The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Valmiki

Just then the village clock tolled eight, and as each deep stroke fell Dominicus gave a fresh bound and flew faster than before, till, dim in the solitary centre of the orchard, he saw the fated pear tree.
— from Twice Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne

So prodigiously good was the eating and drinking on board these sluggish but most comfortable vessels, that there are legends extant of an English traveller, who, coming to Belgium for a week, and travelling in one of these boats, was so delighted with the fare there that he went backwards and forwards from Ghent to Bruges perpetually until the railroads were invented, when he drowned himself on the last trip of the passage-boat.
— from Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

"Does not, then, the soul of the philosopher, in these cases, despise the body, and flee from it, and seek to retire within itself?"
— from Apology, Crito, and Phaedo of Socrates by Plato

You will have proof that I can be a firm friend?
— from Villette by Charlotte Brontë

At this time, the kingdom of the East Angles, after the death of Earpwald, the successor of Redwald, was [pg 172] governed by his brother Sigbert, 376 a good and religious man, who some time before had been baptized in Gaul, whilst he lived in banishment, a fugitive from the enmity of Redwald.
— from Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England by Bede, the Venerable, Saint

The conclusion of this whole business was, that it soon became a fixed fact of my chambers, that a pale young scrivener, by the name of Bartleby, and a desk there; that he copied for me at the usual rate of four cents a folio (one hundred words); but he was permanently exempt from examining the work done by him, that duty being transferred to Turkey and Nippers, one of compliment doubtless to their superior acuteness; moreover, said Bartleby was never on any account to be dispatched on the most trivial errand of any sort; and that even if entreated to take upon him such a matter, it was generally understood that he would prefer not to—in other words, that he would refuse pointblank.
— from Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street by Herman Melville

The terms of these contracts appear to be as favourable for Government as could reasonably be expected, under all circumstances; and it would appear, that some advantages are reaped by the Public, as the documents laid before the House of Commons in 1792 and 1798, shew that the labour performed by the Convicts is productive in a certain degree.—The following Statements explain how their labour is valued:— From the 1st of January 1789 to the 1st of January 1792, it appears that 653,432 days' work had been performed at Langston Harbour, Portsmouth, and Woolwich Warren; which being estimated at 9 d. a day, is £.24,503 14 0
— from A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis Containing a Detail of the Various Crimes and Misdemeanors by which Public and Private Property and Security are, at Present, Injured and Endangered: and Suggesting Remedies for their Prevention by Patrick Colquhoun

And should one meet him in the autumn of 1749, he will be wearing a suit of solemn black; and his grave, eager face will seem more sombre than wont, for his patron and godfather, the good and kind Sir Watkin Williams-Wynne, has been killed by a fall from his horse, to the unspeakable grief of every son of gallant little Wales. Guil.
— from Some Distinguished Victims of the Scaffold by Horace Bleackley

Fortunately, they found upon the shore whole trees, coming doubtless from Siberia, and driven here by the current, and in such quantity that they sufficed not only for the construction of their habitation, but also for firewood throughout the winter.
— from Celebrated Travels and Travellers, Part 1. The Exploration of the World by Jules Verne

As Leo gave the superintendent his hand at parting, he met a friendly, well-meaning glance from behind the eye-glasses, which seemed to say, "Taken altogether, you must be a fine fellow."
— from The Undying Past by Hermann Sudermann

It was farther advised, "that thirteen regiments of militia should be asked for from Massachusetts and the neighbouring colonies, in order to put the army in a condition to make the attempt.
— from The Life of George Washington, Vol. 2 Commander in Chief of the American Forces During the War which Established the Independence of his Country and First President of the United States by John Marshall

Consider the day is 'ot, I'm almost out of breath, and faint for want of food.
— from Jorrocks' Jaunts and Jollities by Robert Smith Surtees

At last Robert deposited her on the rug beside a fascinating farmyard which lay there spread out for her, and stood looking, not at the child, but at his wife.
— from Robert Elsmere by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.

The meal was chiefly composed of tinned meat, stewed or curried, with bacon added for flavour; and freshly-made damper, or “Johnny cakes,” to follow.
— from The Ghost Camp; or, the Avengers by Rolf Boldrewood