In modern usage, "by-law" is used to designate a rule less general and less easily amended than a constitutional provision.
— from History of the Plague in London by Daniel Defoe

While the humming noise drew nearer she lifted the local paper from the ground and looked eagerly at the account of the Martover meeting.
— from The Coryston Family A Novel by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.

It was her father who kept her little head all day over Greek and Latin exercises at the age of seven years, when she should have been playing with her dolls and romping in the fresh outdoor air.
— from Old Times in Dixie Land: A Southern Matron's Memories by Caroline E. (Caroline Elizabeth) Merrick

A girl of about sixteen, of decidedly pleasing appearance, and one who bore a sufficient resemblance to old Mrs. Wetmore to be recognised, advanced a step out of the group, a little eagerly, and then as suddenly checked herself, with the timidity of her years and sex, as if afraid of going too far.
— from Miles Wallingford Sequel to "Afloat and Ashore" by James Fenimore Cooper