these friends of theirs they say inhabit a good country abounding with Elk, deer, bear, and Antelope, and possess a much greater number of horses and mules than they do themselves; or using their own figure that their horses and mules are as numerous as the grass of the plains.
— from The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by William Clark

In this cell, the man, who had not the firmness to leave a glass of liquor standing untasted on a table before him—in this cell, in solitary confinement, and working every day at his trade of shoemaking, this man remained nearly two years.
— from American Notes by Charles Dickens

Now he had a very fair and lovesome lady to wife, by name Mistress Tessa, who was the daughter of Mannuccio dalla Cuculia and was exceeding discreet and well advised.
— from The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio by Giovanni Boccaccio

The Nun changed colour, and was evidently disconcerted.
— from The Monk: A Romance by M. G. (Matthew Gregory) Lewis

It was said that Ippolit Kirillovitch was in a tremor at meeting Fetyukovitch, and that they had been enemies from the beginning of their careers in Petersburg, that though our sensitive prosecutor, who always considered that he had been aggrieved by some one in Petersburg because his talents had not been properly appreciated, was keenly excited over the Karamazov case, and was even dreaming of rebuilding his flagging fortunes by means of it, Fetyukovitch, they said, was his one anxiety.
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Giles popped out his nightcap again, preparatory to making some reply, when he was suddenly pulled back by a young gentleman who occupied the other corner of the chaise, and who eagerly demanded what was the news.
— from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

render weak &c. adj.; weaken, enfeeble, debilitate, shake, deprive of strength, relax, enervate, eviscerate; unbrace, unnerve; cripple, unman &c. (render powerless) 158; cramp, reduce, sprain, strain, blunt the edge of; dilute, impoverish; decimate; extenuate; reduce in strength, reduce the strength of; mettre de l'eau dans son vin[Fr].
— from Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget

A scale for measuring English composition derived by Dr. M.B. Hillegas, [26] consisting of sample compositions of values ranging from 0 to 9.37, will enable the teacher to tell just how many pupils in the class are writing each different quality of composition.
— from How to Teach by Naomi Norsworthy

She remained close to the cave, and when early dusk came she lugged the stone barriers into place and built a night-fire within the entrance.
— from The Story of Ab: A Tale of the Time of the Cave Man by Stanley Waterloo

Aldini’s reply contains the following remarkable passage:— “The Pope, who has never enjoyed the good opinion of the Roman public, has succeeded in these latter days in winning the sympathy of a few fanatics, who call his obstinacy heroic constancy, and wait every day for a miracle to be worked by God in his defence.
— from Rome in 1860 by Edward Dicey

He made his headquarters on the hill now, seldom going down into the main body of the camp, and worked each day from sunrise until it was too dark to see.
— from Tom Slade at Black Lake by Percy Keese Fitzhugh

{335} During the period in which the author has been engaged as a practical laborer in the field of education, her chief earthly reliance has been on the counsel, sympathy, and co-operation of her own sex ; and in closing a work especially dedicated to them, a few parting words may be permitted.
— from Common Sense Applied to Religion; Or, The Bible and the People by Catharine Esther Beecher

She was eternally in amazement that with powers so large, she had wishes so confined, and was evidently disappointed that upon coming to so ample an estate, she lived, with respect to herself and her family, with no more magnificence or shew than if Heiress to only ú500 a year.
— from Cecilia; Or, Memoirs of an Heiress — Volume 3 by Fanny Burney

But, after all, the distinction that intelligence draws between talent and genius is as marked and cruel as was ever drawn between poverty and wealth.
— from The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Complete Contents Dresden Edition—Twelve Volumes by Robert Green Ingersoll

2. 'Tis commonly reported, that some party, in a considerable action before the session, finding, that the Lord Durie could not be persuaded to think his plea good, fell upon a stratagem to prevent the influence and weight, which his lordship might have to his prejudice, by causing some strong masked men kidnap him, in the links of Leith, at his diversion on a Saturday afternoon, and transport him to some blind and obscure room in the country, where he was detained captive, without the benefit of day-light, a matter of three months (though otherways civilly and well entertained); during which time his lady and children went in mourning for him, as dead.
— from Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, Volume 3 (of 3) Consisting of Historical and Romantic Ballads, Collected in the Southern Counties of Scotland; with a Few of Modern Date, Founded Upon Local Tradition by Walter Scott