There was a knock at the door and Mrs. Markham entered, dressed as if for the street—fresh, blonde and smiling.
— from Before the Dawn: A Story of the Fall of Richmond by Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander) Altsheler

This journey aroused Madame Hanska's suspicions again, but he assured her he was not dissipating, but was traveling to rejuvenate his broken-down brain, since, working night and day as he did, a man might easily die of overstrain.
— from Women in the Life of Balzac by Juanita Helm Floyd

The old Watchman's eyes grew deeper and more mournful every day over the fading of his cherished hopes.
— from Duncan Polite, the Watchman of Glenoro by Mary Esther Miller MacGregor

You saw a mountain of water approach you, roaring as it came, which, if you delayed a minute, must either drag you with it or crush you against the wall.
— from The Memoirs of François René Vicomte de Chateaubriand sometime Ambassador to England, Volume 1 (of 6) Mémoires d'outre-tombe, volume 1 by Chateaubriand, François-René, vicomte de

How did I know, too, but, that, ere I saw my darling again, months might elapse, during which time all thoughts of me might be banished from her heart?
— from She and I, Volume 2 A Love Story. A Life History. by John C. (John Conroy) Hutcheson

"My papa was Lucien Duhon and my mama Euripe Dupuis.
— from Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Texas Narratives, Part 1 by United States. Work Projects Administration

"It is all the more remarkable, because my plebeian descent and my modest education do not entitle me to any of these aristocratic gifts."
— from Problematic Characters: A Novel by Friedrich Spielhagen

I had not even been asked to sit down, as Monsieur Mann evidently disdained my unfashionable clothes.
— from The Jew by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski