" "He plays before emperors and kings," said the town musician.
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. (Hans Christian) Andersen

Years afterwards she could bring the whole scene back again, as if it had been only yesterday—the mild blue eyes and kindly smile of the Knight—the setting sun gleaming through his hair, and shining on his armour in a blaze of light that quite dazzled her—the horse quietly moving about, with the reins hanging loose on his neck, cropping the grass at her feet—and the black shadows of the forest behind—all this
— from Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll

The taint of which I speak is clearly perceptible even in a poem so full of brilliancy and spirit as “The Health” of Edward Coate Pinckney:— I fill this cup to one made up Of loveliness alone, A woman, of her gentle sex The seeming paragon; To whom the better elements And kindly stars have given A form so fair that, like the air, ‘Tis less of earth than heaven.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition Table Of Contents And Index Of The Five Volumes by Edgar Allan Poe

i' th' Ameriky war, and then 't were bad enough.' 'And Kinraid?' said Sylvia, drawing a long breath, after the effort of realizing it all; her cheeks had flushed up, and her eyes had glittered during the progress of the tale.
— from Sylvia's Lovers — Volume 1 by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

I suppose the "Achilles" stood for a model of all the ships in which successively the great commander hoisted his flag; and if the hero himself did not take the form and features of a certain American midshipman, it was probably because there was a likeness of the subject of the Memoir opposite to the title-page; and the rather plain, rather melancholy, rather feeble traits of the English naval captain, could by no effort of imagination be confounded with the quiet strength and gentle manliness which Dolly had found in the straight brows and keen blue eyes and kindly smile of her midshipman friend.
— from The End of a Coil by Susan Warner

The taint of which I speak is clearly perceptible even in a poem so full of brilliancy and spirit as "The Health" of Edward Coote Pinkney: I fill this cup to one made up Of loveliness alone, A woman, of her gentle sex The seeming paragon; To whom the better elements And kindly stars have given A form so fair, that like the air, 'Tis less of earth than heaven.
— from The Complete Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe Including Essays on Poetry by Edgar Allan Poe

Now listen to me; I got the best brass bed ever a king slept on.
— from White Shadows in the South Seas by Frederick O'Brien

Planché tells us dukes and marquises were allowed sixteen yards for their gowns, sloppes (or mourning cassocks) and mantles; an earl, fourteen; a viscount, twelve; a baron, eight; a knight, six; and all inferior persons, two yards only; but an archbishop had the same privilege as a duke.
— from The Evolution of Fashion by Florence Mary Gardiner

Not only the railroad battalion, which was nearly 3000 strong, but every available Khedivial soldier, laboured in some way or other at the task.
— from Khartoum Campaign, 1898; or the Re-Conquest of the Soudan by Bennet Burleigh

Sitting in, not leaning against, a shaped cushion, with body erect and knees slightly bent, and yielding to the motion of the cart, the danger mentioned will be materially lessened, and if forewarned of a wheeler's falling, the driver may save himself from being landed beyond the horse's head, even if he fails to retain his seat in the cart.
— from Riding and Driving by Edward L. (Edward Lowell) Anderson