A turmoil of smoke eddied down upon an empty wooden crate in the middle of the floor, a litter of rags and straw tried to soar, but only stirred feebly in the draught.
— from Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad

Had London been built on municipally-owned land, its rents would not only have easily provided for all current expenditure, without any need for a levy of rates or for incurring loans for long periods, but it would have been enabled to own its own water-supply and many other useful and profit-bearing undertakings, instead of being in its present position with vast debts and small assets.
— from Garden Cities of To-Morrow Being the Second Edition of "To-Morrow: a Peaceful Path to Real Reform" by Howard, Ebenezer, Sir

Adjoining to this, on the south side the roof, is the bishop of Rochester’s inn or lodging, by whom first erected I do not now remember me to have read; but well I wot the same of long time hath not been frequented by any bishop, and lieth ruinous for any lack of reparations.
— from The Survey of London by John Stow

If the Egoist strictly confines himself to stating his conviction that he ought to take his own happiness or pleasure as his ultimate end, there seems no opening for any line of reasoning to lead him to Universalistic Hedonism as a first principle;
— from The Methods of Ethics by Henry Sidgwick

The Iliad, the tragic poetry of Greece,—Shakspeare, in the Tempest, and Midsummer Night's Dream,—and most especially Milton, in Paradise Lost, conform to this rule; and the most humble novelist, who seeks to confer or receive amusement from his labours, may, without presumption, apply to prose fiction a licence, or rather a rule, from the adoption of which so many exquisite combinations of human feeling have resulted in the highest specimens of poetry.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Here and there were flowering plants, unknown to me; here and there I saw snakes, and one raised his head from a ledge of rock and hissed at me with a noise not unlike the spinning of a top.
— from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Iliad , the tragic poetry of Greece,—Shakespeare, in the Tempest and Midsummer Night’s Dream ,—and most especially Milton, in Paradise Lost , conform to this rule; and the most humble novelist, who seeks to confer or receive amusement from his labours, may, without presumption, apply to prose fiction a licence, or rather a rule, from the adoption of which so many exquisite combinations of human feeling have resulted in the highest specimens of poetry.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Yet he had introduced himself to Lady Caroline—he flinched a little on remembering the circumstances—as Mellersh-Wilkins.
— from The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim

hagpù v [B26] for a line or rope to break under tension.
— from A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan by John U. Wolff

The Persians were equally successful, and more fortunate, in the sack of Caesarea, the capital of Cappadocia; and as they advanced beyond the ramparts of the frontier, the boundary of ancient war, they found a less obstinate resistance and a more plentiful harvest.
— 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

It appears from a letter of Romanes (June 6th) that it was the abstract in the "Times" that gave the impression referred to.
— from More Letters of Charles Darwin — Volume 1 A Record of His Work in a Series of Hitherto Unpublished Letters by Charles Darwin

The delicacy of his health seemed to mark him out for a life of retirement, and as he grew older he evinced much of the love of knowledge, the capacity for study and the interest in philanthropic and ecclesiastical movements which had characterized his father, the prince consort.
— from The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg

Not all, though, for a line of red noses and trembling hands and unsteady knees filed into the store, and not the sick people sent orders, but old topers frequented the place more and more.
— from The Knights of the White Shield Up-the-Ladder Club Series, Round One Play by Edward A. (Edward Augustus) Rand

He also contrived at Nürnberg (June 1538) to form a league of Romanist princes, ostensibly for defence, but really to force the Protestants to submit to the decisions of the Reichskammersgericht .
— from A History of the Reformation (Vol. 1 of 2) by Thomas M. (Thomas Martin) Lindsay

If a man meets a lady with whom he is but slightly acquainted, he should wait for a look of recognition from her before he salutes her.
— from The Mentor A little book for the guidance of such men and boys as would appear to advantage in the society of persons of the better sort by Alfred Ayres

The first and last of Richardson's productions he read only when his own talent was formed.
— from Balzac by Frederick Lawton

He had married twice; his second wife was Isabella of Fiesco, a lady of rare beauty but shameless conduct, on whose 182 account he had exiled his nephew Galeazzo .
— from A Ride on Horseback to Florence Through France and Switzerland. Vol. 2 of 2 Described in a Series of Letters by a Lady by Augusta Macgregor Holmes

By slow degrees he amassed a small fortune, and when Samarendra’s growing impecuniosity forced him to ask his brother for a loan of Rs. 2,000, it was readily granted on a mere note of hand.
— from Tales of Bengal by S. B. Banerjea

Among the prehistoric civilisations of the Americas—Mexico and Peru—some of these analogies are remarkable, and might well give rise to such speculation; among them being the stories of the Deluge, and of a virgin birth for a leader or redeemer of men.
— from Mexico Its Ancient and Modern Civilisation, History, Political Conditions, Topography, Natural Resources, Industries and General Development by C. Reginald (Charles Reginald) Enock

A craving for beauty and pleasure, dancing, music, singing and laughter, an innate hereditary desire to adorn and beautify herself, which comes down to her from 18 primitive woman, together with a burning desire for and love of romance, characterize the adolescent girl and often remain with her far beyond the adolescent age.
— from What Every Girl Should Know by Margaret Sanger