At length, he one day received a letter, stating that the abductors of his son now offered to restore him, or at least to give notice where he might be found, on condition of receiving a large sum of money, by way of ransom.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo, Illustrated by Alexandre Dumas

There was a line of bonfires stretching as far as one could see, up and down the Thames; London Bridge was illuminated; Southwark Bridge likewise; the entire river was aglow with the flash and sheen of coloured lights; and constant explosions of fireworks filled the skies with an intricate commingling of shooting splendours and a thick rain of dazzling sparks that almost turned night into day; everywhere were crowds of revellers; all London seemed to be at large.
— from The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain

As for her own impressions of the great lady, she had only seen her once in the semi-darkness of the lecture-room, and could only remember a long, sallow face, with striking black eyes and a pointed chin, a general look of distinction and an air of one accustomed to the "chief seat" at any board—whether the feasts of reason or those of a more ordinary kind.
— from A Great Success by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.

Her conduct towards America is a compound of rage and lunacy; she aims at the government of it, yet preserves neither dignity nor character in her methods to obtain it.
— from The Writings of Thomas Paine — Volume 1 (1774-1779): The American Crisis by Thomas Paine

It is a city or rather a long street, twenty li or nearly seven miles long, and the houses were packed as closely together in that street as they are in London itself.
— from A Woman In China by Mary Gaunt

While these three persons are comfortably seated at the tea-table, enjoying their waffles, cold tongue, and canned peaches, and asking and answering questions helter-skelter in the delightful confusion of reunion after long separation, let us briefly inform the reader who and what they are.
— from The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 09, No. 52, February, 1862 A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics by Various

'It deals with things and men,' he concluded, 'on rather a larger scale than "Illusion" has done.
— from The Giant's Robe by F. Anstey

Parched maize served us for bread, and our beverage was cold water, while our beds were composed of rushes and leaves sprinkled on the bare ground; but this was more than we had enjoyed for some time, and we had walls to protect us from the night breeze, and a roof to keep out the rain.
— from Manco, the Peruvian Chief Or, An Englishman's Adventures in the Country of the Incas by William Henry Giles Kingston

Then turning to the twenty-first chapter of Revelation, "All liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone."
— from Christmas with Grandma Elsie by Martha Finley

She was conscious of receiving a large share of the attention he attracted, and, bathed again in the bright air of publicity, she remembered the evening when Raymond de Chelles' first admiring glance had given her the same sense of triumph.
— from The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton

[227] The land round this lake is very hilly, though not mountainous, and chiefly consists of rocks and loose stones; there must, however, be a small portion of soil {213} on the surface, as it is in most parts well clothed with tall poplars, pines, fir, and birch; particularly in the vallies, where the poplars, pine, and birch seem to thrive best; but the firs were as large, and in as flourishing a state, on the very summit of the hills, as in any other part.
— from A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean in the Years 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772 New Edition with Introduction, Notes, and Illustrations by Samuel Hearne