Such a man must plainly either have such confidence in his rhetoric as to adventure to prove that what has been once for all decided is still undetermined, or be bribed to try to delude us by elaborate sophisms.
— from The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides

One day it was a foreign embassy, or a great feudatory who had come a thousand miles with his retinue to pay his respects; another day it was the return visit of the Viceroy; a third day it was the laying of some foundation-stone; a fourth, the inspection of a local institution or hospital; a fifth, a rapid run upon a railway to see some new works, or examine a bridge across a deltaic estuary hitherto deemed uncontrollable by engineering skill; a sixth, the letting in of the water at the head-lock of a canal; a seventh, a great speech as Chancellor of the Calcutta University, or some words of encouragement at the distribution of prizes at a college or school.
— from Rulers of India: The Earl of Mayo by William Wilson Hunter

[Page Twenty-nine] Brown Beef Stew with Dumplings Use Bony End Shoulder (10) or Veiny Piece (lower 3) 2 pounds uncooked beef cut in inch cubes 2 tablespoonfuls flour 1 teaspoonful kitchen bouquet 1 small carrot cut in dice ¼ teaspoonful pepper 1 teaspoonful salt 2 ounces of suet 2 cupfuls Swift's Beef Extract or of stock 1 onion 1 bay-leaf
— from The Kitchen Encyclopedia Twelfth Edition (Swift & Company) by Anonymous

I'se a foot-washin' Baptis', I is, but dey ain't none of dem kind er Baptis' 'roun' here, en I jes goes wid de udder Baptis' en sets in de amen corner,
— from Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves: Volume I, Alabama Narratives by United States. Work Projects Administration

To an increasing extent, franchises are drawn up by experts, so that the terms of the grant will safeguard the interests of the public.
— from Problems in American Democracy by Thames Williamson

"The Germans are driving us back everywhere, sir, driving the French too.
— from The Passion for Life by Joseph Hocking

A signal of the same description used by English schoolboys or workmen is “nix!”
— from Argot and Slang A New French and English Dictionary of the Cant Words, Quaint Expressions, Slang Terms and Flash Phrases Used in the High and Low Life of Old and New Paris by Albert Barrère

It is true that, according to the old “ natar cursiya system” [176] this lad was the lawful heir of his departed uncle; but even so the election, according to that very tribal custom to which they were appealing, was an affair for the whole nation, and not of a minority in it.
— from The Cradle of Mankind; Life in Eastern Kurdistan by Edgar Thomas Ainger Wigram