"Did not you tell me that when you first came to the house there was an old woman sitting where you sit now who had been housekeeper to the famous Peter Goldthwaite?" "So there was, Mr. Peter," answered Tabitha, "and she was near about a hundred years old.
— from Twice Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Take of the juice of Ground Ivy, Colt’s-foot, Scabious, Lungwort, of each one pound and a half, the juice of Purslain, Plantain, Ambrosia, Paul’s Bettony, of each a pound, Hog’s blood, white Wine, of each four pounds, Garden Snails, two pound, dried Tobacco leaves eight, [290] powder of Liquorice two ounces, of Elecampane half an ounce, of Orris an ounce, Cotton seeds an ounce and a half, the greater cold seeds, Annis seeds of each six drams, Saffron one dram, the flowers of red Roses, six pugils, o
— from The Complete Herbal To which is now added, upwards of one hundred additional herbs, with a display of their medicinal and occult qualities physically applied to the cure of all disorders incident to mankind: to which are now first annexed, the English physician enlarged, and key to Physic. by Nicholas Culpeper

He added: “I didn’t feel particularly gay sitting there and thinking of you.”
— from The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph Conrad

= KEY: Smooth \a.\. SYN: Even, plain, level, flat, polished, glossy, sleek, soft, unruffled, unobstructed, bland, oily, suave.
— from A Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms or, Synonyms and Words of Opposite Meaning by Samuel Fallows

gras, grasse , qui a beaucoup de graisse. gratification , f. , pourboire. gratis , sans qu'il en coûte rien.
— from French Conversation and Composition by Harry Vincent Wann

Some think it service in the place Where we, with late, celestial face, Please God, shall ascertain!
— from Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series, Complete by Emily Dickinson

I set out for Sussex—consult Mrs. Sagely—achieve an Interview with Narcissa—return to the Ship—we get clear of the Channel—I learn our Destination—we are chased by a large Ship—the company are dismayed, and encouraged by the Captain's speech—our pursuer happens to be an English Man of War—we arrive at the Coast of Guinea, purchase four hundred Negroes—sail for Paraguay, get safe into the River of Plate, and sell our Cargo to great Advantage It was now I put in execution the scheme I had projected at London; and asking leave of the captain for Strap and me to stay on shore till the wind should become favourable, my request was granted, because he had orders to remain in the Downs until he should receive some dispatches from London, which he did not expect in less than a week.
— from The Adventures of Roderick Random by T. (Tobias) Smollett

A hundred fears possessed Gaston's soul as the strange transit through the air was being accomplished -- a transit so strange that he felt as though he must surely be dreaming.
— from In the Days of Chivalry: A Tale of the Times of the Black Prince by Evelyn Everett-Green

Fig. 80.—Diagram of Transverse Section of Lagenostoma Seed near the Apex, showing the nine flutings f of the coat c ; v , the vascular strand in each; nc , cone of nucellar tissue standing up in the fluted apex of the nucellus n ; pc , the pollen chamber with a few pollen grains; s , space between nucellus and coat.
— from Ancient Plants Being a Simple Account of the past Vegetation of the Earth and of the Recent Important Discoveries Made in This Realm of Nature by Marie Carmichael Stopes

Before she could reach the entrance to his palace, she had to drive through field after field of poppies, red as the sunset she had just left in the sky, for poppies give sleep to the people of Dreamland.
— from Classic Myths by Mary Catherine Judd

15 Holy Father, Powerful God, stay Thy avenging hand! and save the souls which Thou hast created for Thyself, and for which till the end of time I die!”
— from The Shepherd Of My Soul by Charles J. (Charles Jerome) Callan

However, it was at Germantown, at present a suburb of Philadelphia, that Germans broke ground for the first permanent German settlement in North America.
— from American Lutheranism Volume 1: Early History of American Lutheranism and The Tennessee Synod by F. (Friedrich) Bente

Flors i avoit de maintes guises Qui furent par grant sens assises; Nulle flor en esté ne nest Qui n'i soit, neis flor de genest, Ne violete, ne parvanche, Ne fleur inde, jaune ne blanche; Si ot par leus entremeslées Foilles de roses grans et lées.
— from Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) — Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems by Geoffrey Chaucer