Sophia presently recovered her confusion, and, with a smile full of sweetness, said, “Is this the mighty favour you asked with so much gravity?
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding

As on his head she chanced to sit, A Man’s bald pate a Gadfly bit; He, prompt to crush the little foe, Dealt on himself a grievous blow: At which the Fly, deriding said, “You that would strike an insect dead For one slight sting, in wrath so strict, What punishment will you inflict Upon yourself, who was so blunt To do yourself this gross affront?”— “O,” says the party, “as for me, I with myself can soon agree.
— from The Fables of Phædrus Literally translated into English prose with notes by Phaedrus

I roved where Daṇḍak wood is spread; On flesh of slaughtered saints I fed.
— from The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Valmiki

Another important form of submerged sexuality is ennui.
— from Criminal Psychology: A Manual for Judges, Practitioners, and Students by Hans Gross

‘Words are like leaves, and where they most abound, Much fruit of solid sense is seldom found.’” Friend now congratulated Alfred with all his honest affectionate heart, and said, with a frown that struggled hard with a smile, “Well, I believe I must allow you to be an orator.
— from Tales and Novels — Volume 07 Patronage [part 1] by Maria Edgeworth

290 There, fed by food they love, to rankest size Around the dwellings docks and wormwood rise; Here the strong mallow strikes her slimy root, Here the dull night-shade hangs her deadly fruit; On hills of dust the henbane's faded green, And pencil'd flower of sickly scent is seen; At the wall's base the fiery nettle springs, With fruit globose and fierce with poison'd stings; Above (the growth of many a year) is spread
— from George Crabbe: Poems, Volume 1 (of 3) by George Crabbe

The greatest wonder of all was the way Mrs. Beale addressed her announcement, so far as could be judged, equally to Mrs. Wix, who, as if from sudden failure of strength, sank into a chair while Maisie surrendered to the visitor's embrace.
— from What Maisie Knew by Henry James

"Well, some folks out Sinepuxin said it was a sin and a shame—sech extravagins; but Misc Somers she said Uncle Meshach was rich an' hadn't but one Rhudy.
— from The Entailed Hat; Or, Patty Cannon's Times by George Alfred Townsend

Of it he writes: “The fountain, which perhaps is the largest in America, is situated in a pleasant level plain, about twenty-five yards from the river, into which it falls over some steep irregular rocks, with a sudden descent of about six feet in one part of its course.
— from Explorers and Travellers by A. W. (Adolphus Washington) Greely

With this resolution he made sail from Amherstburg on the 9th of September, manned with only fifty or sixty seamen (including a small reinforcement of thirty-six men from Lake Ontario), and detachments from the 41st and Royal Newfoundland Regiment as marines.
— from The Loyalists of America and Their Times, Vol. 2 of 2 From 1620-1816 by Egerton Ryerson