This is the harder task to choose, yet the only success that satisfies, the only honor that outlives death.
— from Work: A Story of Experience by Louisa May Alcott

‘Good God, Jane, how can you think of such things?’ replied the mamma indignantly.
— from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

Only one driving road exists in Capri, yet that one serves the purpose of a score, so rich is it in a charm that perpetually changes.
— from Naples, Past and Present by Arthur H. (Arthur Hamilton) Norway

“How can you talk of such things?
— from The Great Stone of Sardis by Frank Richard Stockton

Oh, Walter, cannot you think of something to separate them and turn his heart to me!"
— from Jaquelina by Miller, Alex. McVeigh, Mrs.

"Hell and the—: I beg your pardon, my good Bradley, but you vex me beyond patience; how can you think of such trifles when our very lives are in so imminent a danger?"
— from The Disowned — Volume 08 by Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron

'How, O how, my dear Fergus, can you talk of such things at such a moment!'
— from Waverley; Or, 'Tis Sixty Years Since — Volume 2 by Walter Scott

“Cannot you think of something that can be made quickly?
— from Breakfast, Luncheon and Tea by Marion Harland

For a while Domsie's voice was very shaky when he was speaking about himself, but afterwards it grew strong and began to vibrate, as he implored the new generation to claim their birthright of learning and to remember that “the poorest parish, though it have but bare fields and humble homes, can yet turn out scholars to be a strength and credit to the commonwealth.” The Professor saw Domsie home, and noticed that he was shaking and did not wish to speak.
— from Afterwards, and Other Stories by Ian Maclaren

And how will you settle precedence between the three ermines passant and the bear and boot-jack?' 'How, O how, my dear Fergus, can you talk of such things at such a moment!'
— from Waverley; Or, 'Tis Sixty Years Since by Walter Scott