I may add, that as some organisms will breed most freely under the most unnatural conditions (for instance, the rabbit and ferret kept in hutches), showing that their reproductive system has not been thus affected; so will some animals and plants withstand domestication or cultivation, and vary very slightly—perhaps hardly more than in a state of nature.
— from On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection Or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life by Charles Darwin

For the Vintry, to end therewith, I read, that in the reign of Henry IV., the young prince Henry, Thomas Duke of Clarence, John Duke of Bedford, and Humfrey Duke of Glocester, the king’s sons, being at supper among the merchants of London in the Vintry, in the house of Lewes John, Henry Scogan sent to them a ballad beginning thus:— “My noble sonnes and eke my lords deare, I your father, called unworthily, Send unto you this ballad following here, Written with mine own hand full rudely,
— from The Survey of London by John Stow

They alone were excepted from the general prohibition: Hugo, king of France, was the lineal descendant of Charlemagne; 62 and his daughter Bertha inherited the prerogatives of her family and nation.
— 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

A reviewer of the old dispute and separation made the following comments on them in a paper ten years ago: "It was in America, where there had been no persecution worth mentioning since Mary Dyer was hang'd on Boston Common, that about fifty years ago differences arose, singularly enough upon doctrinal points of the divinity of Christ and the nature of the atonement.
— from Complete Prose Works Specimen Days and Collect, November Boughs and Goodbye My Fancy by Walt Whitman

In the distance one could see a long wavering line of torches drifting down the main street, and could hear the throbbing of the bass drum, the clash of cymbals, the squeaking of a fife or two, and the faint roar of remote hurrahs.
— from The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain

“Come,” said the abbé, closing his hiding-place, and pushing the bed back to its original situation, “let me hear your story.” Dantès obeyed, and commenced what he called his history, but which consisted only of the account of a voyage to India, and two or three voyages to the Levant, until he arrived at the recital of his last cruise, with the death of Captain Leclere, and the receipt of a packet to be delivered by himself to the grand marshal; his interview with that personage, and his receiving, in place of the packet brought, a letter addressed to a Monsieur Noirtier—his arrival at Marseilles, and interview with his father—his affection for Mercédès, and their nuptual feast—his arrest and subsequent examination, his temporary detention at the Palais de Justice, and his final imprisonment in the Château d’If.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo, Illustrated by Alexandre Dumas

The events of my life have been absolutely unperceived by any one save myself; getting an old silver crucifix at a bargain (I’ve never bought anything dear, of course), or discovering, as I once did, a sketch by Correggio on a panel daubed over by some inspired idiot.”
— from The Portrait of a Lady — Volume 1 by Henry James

I saw mankind in this weary old age of the world either enduring a sluggish existence amid the smoke and dust of cities, or, if they breathed a purer air, still lying down at night with no hope but to wear out to-morrow, and all the to-morrows which make up life, among the same dull scenes and in the same wretched toil that had darkened the sunshine of today.
— from Twice Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne

With such words did Juno tutor the unsuspecting daughter of Cadmus.
— from The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII by Ovid

A gift of God bestowed upon debtors in compensation for their destitution of conscience.
— from The Cynic's Word Book by Ambrose Bierce

On the death of Charles IX.
— from History of the United Netherlands from the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Year's Truce — Complete (1584-1609) by John Lothrop Motley

There was not even a retired oil and colourman, who, as mayor, had been knighted on a royal visit; for royalty never did visit Launceston, not even the Duke of Cornwall, though the city was the capital of the county from which he drew his title, and in which he owned estates.
— from John Herring: A West of England Romance. Volume 2 (of 3) by S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould

what a depth of color, what eyes, what hair!
— from The Little Princess of Tower Hill by L. T. Meade

At the same time, as these internal conditions of animated existence are severally dependent on certain external conditions, which, again, are not always fully and equally supplied; so it follows, that the life of every organized being is determined in its amount, and in the direction of its development, by the outward circumstances of its individual situation.
— from On Naval Timber and Arboriculture With Critical Notes on Authors who have Recently Treated the Subject of Planting by Patrick Matthew

The king read it in a great agitation, and immediately said, “Well?” “Well, sire; your majesty knows a certain carved lock, closing a certain door of carved ebony, which separates a certain apartment from a certain blue and white sanctuary?”
— from Louise de la Valliere by Alexandre Dumas

This result is entered at once on the contract card, and when all analyses have been received, covering the entire delivery of coal, the average quality is calculated, and the results are reported to the proper department.
— from Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. LXX, Dec. 1910 Federal Investigations of Mine Accidents, Structural Materials and Fuels. Paper No. 1171 by Herbert M. (Herbert Michael) Wilson

The guards dragged off Calvaster, babbling his pitiful gratitude.
— from The Unwilling Vestal by Edward Lucas White

Are you absolutely lacking in decision of character?
— from The Yoke of the Thorah by Henry Harland

At Frankfort, Bismarck had many opportunities of seeing distinguished men of all nations; he took their gauge, and penetrated the designs of cabinets.
— from Beacon Lights of History, Volume 10: European Leaders by John Lord