With the pack-saddle I do not concern myself; but I may tell you on that head that my squire Sancho asked my permission to strip off the caparison of this vanquished poltroon's steed, and with it adorn his own; I allowed him, and he took it; and as to its having been changed from a caparison into a pack-saddle, I can give no explanation except the usual one, that such transformations will take place in adventures of chivalry.
— from Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

By the queen’s orders three of the wisest of the Mikkamenkies were selected to attend Bulger and me, look after our wants, explain everything to us—in a word, do all in their power to make our stay in Goggle Land as pleasant as possible.
— from Baron Trump's Marvellous Underground Journey by Ingersoll Lockwood

"I begged, when I hadn't enough to pay my university fees; and even if I hadn't begged it's easy enough to understand.
— from The Bet, and other stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

Thorpe then said something in the loud, incoherent way to which he had often recourse, about its being a d—thing to be miserly; and that if people who rolled in money could not afford things, he did not know who could, which Catherine did not even endeavour to understand.
— from Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Thenceforward the emperor "turned his eyes from the only field of battle where fortune had been unfaithful to him, and deciding to pursue England elsewhere than upon the seas, undertook to restore his navy, but without reserving to it any share in a strife become more than ever furious....
— from The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by A. T. (Alfred Thayer) Mahan

Have you been a beggar?" "I begged, when I hadn't enough to pay my university fees; and even if I hadn't begged it's easy enough to understand.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of 233 Short Stories of Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

The French pay no regard to these things, respect no monument of antiquity; ever eager to undertake, they never finish, nor preserve anything that is already finished to their hands.
— from The Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau — Complete by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

In the later years of the Apostle’s life he entirely effaced the unfavourable impression left by his earlier desertion; 2 Tim.
— from St. Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon A revised text with introductions, notes and dissertations by J. B. (Joseph Barber) Lightfoot

Walter had learned enough English to understand, and the tone warned him that obedience was expected.
— from South from Hudson Bay: An Adventure and Mystery Story for Boys by Ethel C. (Ethel Claire) Brill

If anybody had said to him that in the attraction exercised by amber there was the germ of a new branch of science and the rudimentary manifestation of an energy (electricity) then unknown, he would have replied that it was useless to "have recourse to the aid of the unknown."
— from Mysterious Psychic Forces An Account of the Author's Investigations in Psychical Research, Together with Those of Other European Savants by Camille Flammarion

At the end of the month he simply restates his decision: ‘Having such an enemy to contend with, and knowing (as I do) that there is no army in the Peninsula capable of contending with the enemy, excepting that under my command; that there are no means of replacing any large losses I might sustain; and that any success acquired by a large sacrifice of men would be followed by disastrous consequence to the cause of the allies, I have determined to persevere in the system which has hitherto saved all, and which will, I hope, end in the defeat of the enemy [2] .’
— from A History of the Peninsular War, Vol. 4, Dec. 1810-Dec. 1811 Massena's Retreat, Fuentes de Oñoro, Albuera, Tarragona by Charles Oman

When the Medes began to realize all this (for they now began to have a glimmering of their peril), though they refrained from speaking of the situation themselves through fear of Perozes, yet they earnestly entreated Eusebius to urge upon the king, who was completely ignorant of his own plight, that he should take counsel rather than make an untimely display of daring, and consider well whether there was any way of safety open to them.
— from History of the Wars, Books I and II The Persian War by Procopius

Sometimes Bellona, goddess of war, accompanied Mars in his chariot to watch over his safety; and since she was equally eager to urge men on to bloody fighting, their appearance together on the battle-field brought terror to the bravest heart.
— from Stories of Old Greece and Rome by Emilie K. (Emilie Kip) Baker

Bearing in mind these two new methods for explanation (repetition and contrast), as well as the methods previously explained (comparison and examples), explain the use and value of the study of geography, arithmetic, history, manual training, music, drawing, gymnasium work, military drill, sewing, reading aloud, spelling, a foreign language.
— from Elementary Composition by George R. (George Rice) Carpenter