A great improvement it was called; but Margaret sighed over the old picturesqueness, the old gloom, and the grassy wayside of former days.
— from North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

Dark eyes, and black hair inclined to curl; but it can be made straight.
— from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself by Harriet A. (Harriet Ann) Jacobs

Intelligence can be more speedily obtained of their preparations and movements, and the military force in the possession of the usurpers can be more rapidly directed against the part where the opposition has begun.
— from The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton

could be more strongly attached to religion than I, and nothing can ever unloose the ties which bind me to it.”
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

Nothing can be more simple, you see.
— from Emma by Jane Austen

this man had the assurance to rise too, and walk close by my side, as if of my party!
— from Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World by Fanny Burney

If it was adopted, however, Great Britain would not only be immediately freed from the whole annual expense of the peace establishment of the colonies, but might settle with them such a treaty of commerce as would effectually secure to her a free trade, more advantageous to the great body of the people, though less so to the merchants, than the monopoly which she at present enjoys.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

Nor indeed can there be any creditable acquirement of ourselves in any one station of life, but we should sink without rescue into misery and despair, if we were not buoyed up and supported by self-love, which is but the elder sister (as it were) of Folly, and her own constant friend and assistant For what is or can be more silly than to be lovers and admirers of ourselves?
— from In Praise of Folly Illustrated with Many Curious Cuts by Desiderius Erasmus

“I only wanted to state,” he shouted, crimson with shame and afraid to look about him, “that you only wanted to show off your cleverness because Mr. Stavrogin came in—so there!”
— from The Possessed (The Devils) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

No one in the country had a larger collection of tales and songs respecting devils, fairies, ghosts, sorcerers, magicians, jack-o'-lanterns, hobgoblins, phantoms, apparitions, charms, giants, dragons, &c. "'Not only did these tales cultivate in me the germs of poesy, but they had such an effect upon my imagination, that, even now, in my night journeys, I have often, in spite of myself, the eye upon certain suspicious places; and although no one can be more sceptical in such matters, an effort of the reason is occasionally necessary to chase away these vain terrors.' "'Darkness, obscurity, the silence of night, solitariness, contribute strongly to develop the feeling of terror so wrongly cast in the minds of infants.
— from Fiends, Ghosts, and Sprites Including an Account of the Origin and Nature of Belief in the Supernatural by John Netten Radcliffe

'Were there any passengers by the 'Maid of Cashmere' besides Mrs. Steele?'
— from Inchbracken: The Story of a Fama Clamosa by Robert Cleland

Calico and Caliph, being mustangs, seemed to enjoy the sport as much as their riders.
— from Chicken Little Jane on the Big John by Lily Munsell Ritchie

The Pope with a face characterised by mingled strength and coarseness, his hands grasping the arms of his chair, sits looking at Platina, who kneels before him, a man whose face is that of a scholar, with square jaw, thin lips, finely cut mouth, and keen glancing eye.
— from The Makers of Modern Rome, in Four Books by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant

And as I moved to take my place in the dance, I was presently confronted by my school adversary and the partner she had immediately found.
— from Daisy by Susan Warner

The other schoolmasters, not liking the introduction of these free schools, spread the report that my intention was to make them Christians, and send them to Europe; in consequence of which the zemindars retracted their promises of land, and the parents refused to send their children; but my schoolmasters very sensibly went to the people, and told them, ‘We are men well known among you, and when we are made Christians then do you begin to fear.’
— from Henry Martyn, Saint and Scholar First Modern Missionary to the Mohammedans, 1781-1812 by George Smith

The text in many places will be found difficult to understand by the general reader, despite the author's efforts to fully and simply explain every point, and it seems questionable whether a thorough discussion of tidal phenomena can be made simple enough for the layman's comprehension.
— from Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, March 1899 Volume LIV, No. 5, March 1899 by Various

If we open a valve in the conduit both motors start into motion and begin consuming the energy stored in the tank.
— from The Birth-Time of the World and Other Scientific Essays by John Joly