On the doors of the establishment all the latches, nails, and hooks were either cut off or bore the marks of sabres; evidently here they had tested the temper of those swords of the time of the Sigismunds, with which one might boldly cut off the heads of nails or cleave hooks in two without making a notch in the blade.
— from Pan Tadeusz Or, the Last Foray in Lithuania; a Story of Life Among Polish Gentlefolk in the Years 1811 and 1812 by Adam Mickiewicz

Of course as he sat down to table, Ivan Ilyitch would sooner have had his hand cut off than have owned, not only aloud, but even to himself, that this was really so.
— from Short Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

511 Note 481 ( return ) [ There were three actions; one near Cyzicus, on the Hellespont, one near Nice, in Bithynia, the third near the Issus, in Cilicia, where Alexander conquered Darius.
— 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

And cut off the heads of nine hundred and ninety-nine!
— from The Choir Invisible by James Lane Allen

It is kept in the church of the hospital of Nuremberg, with the crown and sceptre and other regalia of Charlemagne.
— from The Every-day Book and Table Book. v. 2 (of 3) or Everlasting Calendar of Popular Amusements, Sports, Pastimes, Ceremonies, Manners, Customs and Events, Incident to Each of the Three Hundred and Sixty-five Days, in past and Present Times; Forming a Complete History of the Year, Month, and Seasons, and a Perpetual Key to the Almanac by William Hone

“A great chief of the House of Ndhlambe is a great liar.
— from A Veldt Vendetta by Bertram Mitford

Forgive me, friend, it is long since a Roman existed, else I could never be the Count of the Harbour of Neapolis.
— from A Struggle for Rome, v. 1 by Felix Dahn

They resounded, too, from Italy, where, in this blessed year of 1806, so productive of new crowns, on one day, March 30, 1806, suddenly twelve duchies sprang from the ground and placed as many ducal crowns on the heads of Napoleon’s friends and comrades.
— from Louisa of Prussia and Her Times: A Historical Novel by L. (Luise) Mühlbach

King HUSSEIN bin Talal Al-Hashimi (since 2 May 1953) head of government : Prime Minister Abd al-Salam al-MAJALI (since 19 March 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the king elections: none; the king is a constitutional monarch; prime minister appointed by the king Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the House of Notables or Majlis al-A'ayan (a 40-member body appointed by the king from designated categories of public figures; members serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives (80 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: House of Representatives - last held 8 November 1993 (next to be held NA November 1997 election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - IAF 16, Jordanian National Alliance Party 4, Al-Yaqazah Party 2, Al-Watan Party 2, Al-'Ahd Party 2, Jordanian Arab Democratic Party 2, Al-Mustaqbal Party 1, Jordanian Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 1, Jordanian Democratic Progressive Party 1, Jordanian People's Democratic Party-Hashd 1, Jordanian Socialist Democratic Party 1, independents 47 note : the House of Representatives has been convened and dissolved by the king several times since 1974; in November 1989 the first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held Judicial branch: Court of Cassation Political parties and leaders:
— from The 1997 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

"Yes, he shall have charge of the hanging of new pictures, and the general arrangement of the store, so as to keep up your tasteful and artistic methods.
— from Barriers Burned Away by Edward Payson Roe

At the far corner of this hearth, one night in the wane of September, when days are hot and evenings are chilly, sat a fair youth of about eighteen years of age, for whom the good hostess, an honest, ancient dame, that always prayed God's blessing on a pair of rosy cheeks, was mulling some spiced wine, to cheer him after a long and heavy day's riding.
— from Philip Augustus; or, The Brothers in Arms by G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James

If ever man could feel confident that he was absolutely alone, and that there was no remote possibility of being watched by prying eyes, that man was the cashier of the house of Nucingen and Company, in the Rue Saint-Lazare.
— from The Works of Balzac: A linked index to all Project Gutenberg editions by Honoré de Balzac