Her eyes, a deep grey, with dark eye-lashes and eyebrows, had never been denied their praise; but the skin, which she had been used to cavil at, as wanting colour, had a clearness and delicacy which really needed no fuller bloom.
— from Emma by Jane Austen

By a philosophic observer, the system of the Roman government might have been mistaken for a splendid theatre, filled with players of every character and degree, who repeated the language, and imitated the passions, of their original model.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Table of Contents with links in the HTML file to the two Project Gutenberg editions (12 volumes) by Edward Gibbon

The explanation of the neglect of an experimental study of scurvy appears to be that this was considered a disorder which required little investigation—its etiology, its prevention and its cure seemed thoroughly understood.
— from Scurvy, Past and Present by Alfred F. Hess

The result was that the authorities could not carry on their accustomed tasks, courts came to a stop, no contract was entered into, and other sorts of confusion and disorder were rife everywhere.
— from Dio's Rome, Volume 1 (of 6) An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek during the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form by Cassius Dio Cocceianus

To pause in the midst of a storm at sea for comment and definition would result merely in checking the movement of the story and putting a damper upon the imagination.
— from Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana

But, if the victims of Tiberius and Nero anticipated the decree of the prince or senate, their courage and despatch were recompensed by the applause of the public, the decent honors of burial, and the validity of their testaments.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Table of Contents with links in the HTML file to the two Project Gutenberg editions (12 volumes) by Edward Gibbon

Now, seeing that only a calm mind can rest in the light of contemplation, he grieved that his eye was disturbed with anger; because, whilst he was correcting evil actions below, he was obliged to be confused and disturbed with regard to the contemplation of the highest things.
— from Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England by Bede, the Venerable, Saint

Creeping stealthily through corridor after corridor and down winding runways which turned hither and thither I finally reached the great hall in which I had broken my long fast that morning.
— from A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

She was hospitality itself, receiving her friends in a large-hearted, gentleman-like style, keeping open house for man and beast, proud of her wine, still prouder of her garden and greenhouses, proudest of her stables; fond of this life, and of her many comforts, yet without a particle of selfishness; ready to leave her cosy fireside at a moment's notice on the bitterest winter night, to go and nurse a sick child, or comfort a dying woman; religious without ostentation, charitable without weakness, stern to resent an injury, implacable against an insult.
— from The Golden Calf by M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon

Parrots, like all other hooked-clawed birds, walk awkwardly, and make use of their bill as a third foot, climbing and descending with ridiculous caution.
— from Macmillan's Reading Books. Book V by Anonymous

Cats and dogs were running here and there, playing with the many infants, or else fighting with each other.
— from The Green Odyssey by Philip José Farmer

The bishops became Counts and Dukes with royal prerogatives, such as the administration of justice, privilege of coining money, collecting customs, and other public revenues.
— from The Project Gutenberg Collection of Works by Freethinkers With Linked On-line and Off-line Indexes to 157 Volumes by 90 Authors; Plus Indexes to 15 other Author's Multi-Volume Sets. by Various

Ducks, teal, widgeon, coots, and divers were recognisable, despite the distance, by their prow-like heads, their balance on the water, and their motion through it, "like little galleys," Owen said.
— from Sister Teresa by George Moore

One of the most prominent of the League's workers has been certified a lunatic by an authority whose bitter prejudice is well known, and against whom we have as yet had no grant of a mandamus , and we have all noticed the quiet contempt, the sort of organized boycott or conspiracy of silence with which a company at dinner will receive the subject when it is brought forward.
— from On Something by Hilaire Belloc

The column and dials were removed in June 1773, to search for a treasure said to be concealed beneath the base.
— from Things to be Remembered in Daily Life With Personal Experiences and Recollections by John Timbs

—Labeling groups of ailments with a single term gives rise to many unfortunate conclusions and dreads with regard to what a particular condition really is.
— from Psychotherapy Including the History of the Use of Mental Influence, Directly and Indirectly, in Healing and the Principles for the Application of Energies Derived from the Mind to the Treatment of Disease by James J. (James Joseph) Walsh

Its courage and daring won recognition, and again it was received into the family circle.
— from Birds and Nature Vol. 11 No. 2 [February 1902] Illustrated by Color Photography by Various

—A certain mother while pregnant, longed for gin, which could not be gotten; and her child cried incessantly for six weeks till gin was given it, which it eagerly clutched and drank with ravenous greediness, stopped crying, and became healthy.
— from Searchlights on Health: The Science of Eugenics by B. G. (Benjamin Grant) Jefferis