He then said to the executioner, "You are now going to burn a goose, (Huss signifying goose in the Bohemian language;) but in a century you will have a swan whom you can neither roast nor boil."
— from Fox's Book of Martyrs Or A History of the Lives, Sufferings, and Triumphant Deaths of the Primitive Protestant Martyrs by John Foxe

But already Grimm has shown that another fly, a Chironomus, reproduces itself in nearly the same manner, and he believes that this occurs frequently in the order.
— from The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection Or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, 6th Edition by Charles Darwin

A woman has proved that before he became a gentleman he sold his wife for five guineas in a booth at a fair.”
— from The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy

Having become aware, ever since her father's death, that her brother could not appease the anguish of her mother's heart, she at once dispelled all thoughts of books, and gave her sole mind to needlework, to the menage and other such concerns, so as to be able to participate in her mother's sorrow, and to bear the fatigue in lieu of her.
— from Hung Lou Meng, or, the Dream of the Red Chamber, a Chinese Novel, Book I by Xueqin Cao

After she has purified herself from the suspicion of infidelity by the ordeal of fire, Rāma joyfully returns with her to Ayodhyā, where he reigns gloriously in association with his faithful brother Bharata, and gladdens his subjects with a new golden age.
— from A History of Sanskrit Literature by Arthur Anthony Macdonell

For now the elder began to embrace, to press and kiss the younger, to put his hands into his bosom, and give him such manifest signs of an amorous intention, as made me conclude the other to be a girl in disguise: a mistake that nature kept me in countenance for, for she had certainly made one, when she gave him the made stamp.
— from Memoirs of Fanny Hill A New and Genuine Edition from the Original Text (London, 1749) by John Cleland

The belief of a God and a future state, (if a passive acquiescence may be flattered with the name of belief,) does not indeed always beget a good heart; but a good heart so naturally begets the belief, that the very few exceptions must be regarded as strange anomalies from strange and unfortunate circumstances.
— from Biographia Literaria by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The hand of the bandaged arm gripped his shoulder, and he was suddenly tripped and flung backwards upon the bed.
— from The Invisible Man: A Grotesque Romance by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

The Saxon historians say that he retreated from England because Alfred gave him such a reception that he saw that it would be impossible for him to maintain his footing there.
— from King Alfred of England Makers of History by Jacob Abbott

“I hear some of those hotel boys and girls have some fast turtles.
— from The Brownie Scouts at Silver Beach by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt

He was building a gas house so that he could have a light all night and work niggers day and night, but peace came before he could get it finished and use it.
— from Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Arkansas Narratives, Part 3 by United States. Work Projects Administration

She was tall, not stout, but with a full figure; with a head of chestnut hair neatly dressed, frizzed by curling-irons, and adorned by tortoiseshell combs; with a plain, black gown of a soft material, and a high, white linen collar buttoned by a gold horseshoe stud.
— from The conquest of Rome by Matilde Serao

It was he who came From monstrous shades, to journey yet awhile In pleasant nooks, and vainly seek the smile Of one lov'd woman—she to whom his fame Had been a glory had she sought the same, And lov'd a soul so grand, so free from guile.
— from Love Letters of a Violinist, and Other Poems by Eric Mackay

He knew not his name or his dwelling, but angels guided his steps and helped him to reach the inaccessible cave.
— from More Italian Yesterdays by Fraser, Hugh, Mrs.

“He has been a good horse,” said the farmer.
— from The Parent's Assistant; Or, Stories for Children by Maria Edgeworth

"I think you will have to give me your whole hand, my good Bishop and Governor," he said very pleasantly, for he did not want to disturb the harmony on this great day.
— from The Emperor of Portugallia by Selma Lagerlöf