The accumulations of vegetable mould in the primeval forests have been converted into grain, and sent to England, leaving permanent barrenness in what should be prolific plains; and the deposits of the Chincha and Ichaboe Islands have been imported in myriads of tons, to replace in our own land the resources of which it is bereft by the civic consumption of rural produce.
— from Landholding in England by Fisher, Joseph, F.R.H.S.

Now, while she sat alone, thinking quietly, and reviewing all her past life as it stood in relation to the future, she realised that love is not the principal factor in life; it is merely a beautiful adornment, a quality which tends to gladden, and sometimes to ennoble, life; but it is not the base on which the structure is supported.
— from The Bigamist by F. E. Mills (Florence Ethel Mills) Young

Stefano Colonna with three of his sons—Agapito and "the prosperous youth" Janni (grandson) and Stefanello, the eldest lay member of the family, along with a number of the Orsini, Luca de Savelli, the Conte di Vertolle, and several others.
— from The Makers of Modern Rome, in Four Books by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant

He offered to go and see the English lawyers for me, and to bring me back all particulars of my dear father’s death and of my unexpected fortune.”
— from Castles in the Air by Orczy, Emmuska Orczy, Baroness

In this hand to hand fighting, where the bayonet was almost the only weapon used, our men, more adroit and agile than the giant Russians, had a great advantage; so the enemy losses amounted to some four thousand five hundred men, while ours were three thousand only.
— from The Memoirs of General Baron de Marbot by Marbot, Jean-Baptiste-Antoine-Marcelin, baron de

be thou my good;" and so they exchanged light for darkness, and freedom for bondage, and good for evil, and, if you like, heaven for hell.
— from The Underground Railroad A Record of Facts, Authentic Narratives, Letters, &c., Narrating the Hardships, Hair-Breadth Escapes and Death Struggles of the Slaves in Their Efforts for Freedom, As Related by Themselves and Others, or Witnessed by the Author. by William Still

So the religion of ancient Rome domesticated all the gods; and so the English language, if it should become the medium of international intercourse, might by translation or imitation of other literatures or by the infiltration into it of foreign words and styles, really become a vehicle for all human ideas.
— from Soliloquies in England, and Later Soliloquies by George Santayana

This is one great step: and, as I understand from Mr. Murden he is to be in London, I will seek his friendship; give a spur to every lurking talent; endeavour to preserve him free from taint; and if I had judged too hastily, if he is beyond what I expect, with what delight shall I contemplate the merits of him whose fate you have interwoven with your own!—Ah, how close is the texture—with what firmness can you think—to what excess can you love!
— from Secresy; or, Ruin on the Rock by E. (Eliza) Fenwick