Can you undertake to say, 'She shall do nothing without my knowledge, she shall be my prisoner without suspecting it, she shall no more escape from me than from death, and her life shall be my life, and her soul my soul, till I have got her, if she did this murder?'
— from Bleak House by Charles Dickens

The light of hundreds of glow-worms shone amidst the grass and the moss, like green fire; and if she touched a twig with her hand, ever so lightly, the brilliant insects fell down around her, like shooting-stars.
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. (Hans Christian) Andersen

he complained to Kerry one day as he lay stretched out on the sofa, consuming a family of Fatimas with contemplative precision.
— from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott (Francis Scott) Fitzgerald

In the meanwhile the Master himself comes back from dinner; and having lately seen the Oxen in bad condition, comes up to the rack: “Why,” says he, “is there so little fodder?
— from The Fables of Phædrus Literally translated into English prose with notes by Phaedrus

Now, while these things were happening, Sebastian had escaped all the dangers of the deep, and had landed safely in Illyria, where he determined to make his way to the Duke's Court.
— from Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

A few days since, at Bergerac, five leagues from my house, up the river Dordogne, a woman having overnight been beaten and abused by her husband, a choleric ill-conditioned fellow, resolved to escape from his ill-usage at the price of her life; and going so soon as she was up the next morning to visit her neighbours, as she was wont to do, and having let some words fall in recommendation of her affairs, she took a sister of hers by the hand, and led her to the bridge; whither being come, and having taken leave of her, in jest as it were, without any manner of alteration in her countenance, she threw herself headlong from the top into the river, and was there drowned.
— from Essays of Michel de Montaigne — Complete by Michel de Montaigne

I thought so at the time; and, (by way, I suppose, of supporting my newly assumed philosophical character,) I thought too, how closely the greater number of our virtues are connected with the fear of death, and how little sympathy we bestow on pain, where there is no danger.
— from Biographia Literaria by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

As to the sad catastrophe itself, it could be canvassed only in one style by a couple of steady, sensible women, whose judgements had to work on ascertained events; and it was perfectly decided that it had been the consequence of much thoughtlessness and much imprudence; that its effects were most alarming, and that it was frightful to think, how long Miss Musgrove's recovery might yet be doubtful, and how liable she would still remain to suffer from the concussion hereafter!
— from Persuasion by Jane Austen

C. a. internal carotid; b. external carotid; c. common carotid; d. systemic aorta; e. fourth arch of right side (root of dorsal aorta); f. right subclavian; g. dorsal aorta; h. left subclavian (fourth arch of left side); i. pulmonary artery; k. and l. right and left ductus Botalli of pulmonary arteries.
— from The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 3 (of 4) A Treatise on Comparative Embryology: Vertebrata by Francis M. (Francis Maitland) Balfour

His self-complacency had been severely disturbed, and he looked severe and gloomy.
— from Julius, the Street Boy; or, Out West by Alger, Horatio, Jr.

One morning, lately, mother showed me the fine damask and house linen she is going to give me, and another morning she looked at my sewing and said, 'I might as well hurry a little; things might happen sooner than I thought for;'
— from The Lion's Whelp: A Story of Cromwell's Time by Amelia E. Barr

For neither midst the sweetness of his life Did he forget the ending of the strife, Nor yet for heavy thoughts of passing pain Did all his life seem lost to him or vain, A wasteful jest of Jove, an empty dream; [Pg 150] Rather before him did a vague hope gleam, That made him a great-hearted man and wise, Who saw the deeds of men with far-seeing eyes, And dealt them pitying justice still, as though The inmost heart of each man he did know; This hope it was, and not his kingly place That made men's hearts rejoice to see his face Rise in the council hall; through this, men felt That in their midst a son of man there dwelt Like and unlike them, and their friend through all; And still as time went on, the more would fall This glory on the King's belovéd head, And round his life fresh hope and fear were shed.
— from The Earthly Paradise: A Poem (Part II) by William Morris

The eyes become dull and heavy; lethargy succeeds, the strength is prostrated, fever, delirium, and melancholy seize the sufferer, and he commonly dies on the third day, unless a plague-boil preserves him for a miserable existence.
— from Helon's Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Volume 2 (of 2) A picture of Judaism, in the century which preceded the advent of our Savior. by Friedrich Strauss

They were never meant for anything but wall decorations," and he laughed somewhat nervously.
— from The Rover Boys on the Great Lakes; Or, The Secret of the Island Cave by Edward Stratemeyer

I've written another article; you better hurry down and help Livy squelch it.
— from Mark Twain's Letters — Volume 5 (1901-1906) by Mark Twain

"My friend, Frederick Morley, has been a romantic dreamer all his life," said the lieutenant.
— from The Wizard of West Penwith: A Tale of the Land's-End by William Bentinck Forfar

“Almost directly afterwards her launch steamed alongside towing a boat for our luggage.
— from From Dartmouth to the Dardanelles: A Midshipman's Log by Wolston B. C. W. (Wolston Beaumont Charles Weld) Forester