Great surprise was expressed when it was known that my children had returned to their grandmother's.
— from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself by Harriet A. (Harriet Ann) Jacobs

He wondered if Susan Sowerby had taken courage and written to him only because the motherly creature had realized that the boy was much worse—was fatally ill.
— from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

And when a ram-tortoise had approached to batter down the wall, they let down a noose, and when they had caught the ram with it, winding it over a drum by turning a capstan, having raised the head of the ram, they did not allow the wall to be touched, and finally they destroyed the entire machine by glowing fire-darts and the blows of ballistae.
— from The Ten Books on Architecture by Vitruvius Pollio

'I should be glad to countermine him, respecting the handsome gal, your friend.
— from Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens

The Saracens landed 174 at the pillar or point of Europe; the corrupt and familiar appellation of Gibraltar (Gebel el Tarik) describes the mountain of Tarik; and the intrenchments of his camp were the first outline of those fortifications, which, in the hands of our countrymen, have resisted the art and power of the house of Bourbon.
— 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

When little E things are elaborated with an infinity of pains, in order that they may appear in their full beauty and utmost clearness, how ridiculous that we should not think the highest truths worthy of attaining the highest accuracy!
— from The Republic of Plato by Plato

As soon as the returning messengers arrived in Asgard, the gods crowded round them to learn the result of their mission; but their faces, all aglow with the joy of anticipation, grew dark with despair when they heard that one creature had refused the tribute of tears, wherefore they would behold Balder in Asgard no more.
— from Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas by H. A. (Hélène Adeline) Guerber

During the Consulate he returned to France, at which time he declined certain offers made by Bonaparte.
— from Repertory of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A — Z by Anatole Cerfberr

Till Diocletian, in the twentieth year of his reign, celebrated his Roman triumph, it is extremely doubtful whether he ever visited the ancient capital of the empire.
— 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

John Mostyn served in the thirty-first foot, in which corps he rose to the rank of captain, and in 1742 he was appointed captain-lieutenant in the second foot guards.
— from Historical Record of the Seventh, or the Queen's Own Regiment of Hussars Containing an Account of the Origin of the Regiment in 1690, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1842 by Richard Cannon

When the teacher asked him how many buildings were said to have been consumed, he replied: "Three hundred and fifty—five hundred and thirty—no, three hundred and fifty.
— from Oscar The Boy Who Had His Own Way by Walter Aimwell

His character is not stained with acts of cruelty; on the contrary, wherever he commanded, he restrained the ferocity of his companions.
— from History of the Buccaneers of America by James Burney

I should, indeed, mention that on my venturing to put to Mr. James a question or two about his theory of such changes he replied that no theory could be stated, at any rate in the off-hand manner that I seemed to invite, without childish injustice to the various considerations by which a writer is moved.
— from New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 2, May, 1915 April-September, 1915 by Various

"I confess," he replied, "that you throw for me a new and lurid light on a question always difficult for the lay mind to grapple with.
— from Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894 by Various

Not content, he returned to the easel and verified it.
— from The Little Lady of the Big House by Jack London

When Sing Pete hammered the iron triangle announcing supper Parker and the cowboys had returned, the hides from the dead steers had been unloaded and the men were ready for the meal.
— from The Ramblin' Kid by Earl Wayland Bowman

It was there that my father, who then resided at Kew, became first acquainted with him; and expressing his surprise that Turner could paint under such circumstances, he remarked that lights and room were absurdities, and that a picture could be painted anywhere.
— from Turner's Golden Visions by C. Lewis (Charles Lewis) Hind

(Of course the Spaniards had shown their love for their old country in some of the names they gave, as when Columbus called one place Isabella , in honour of the noble Spanish queen who had helped and encouraged him when other rulers of European countries had refused to listen to what they thought were the ravings of a madman.)
— from Stories That Words Tell Us by Elizabeth (Elizabeth Speakman) O'Neill