Omnibuses, those over-crowded moving houses, came rattling by; horsemen galloped among them; even carts and wagons asserted their rights.
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. (Hans Christian) Andersen

He received the proposal with profound respect and affected gratitude; and the eloquent Cassiodorus announced to the senate and the emperor, that Amalasontha and Theodatus had ascended the throne of Italy.
— 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

The words were scarcely out of his mouth, when they commended themselves to God, and gallopped among the enemy; Cortes poised his lance, and made a rush at the Mexican commander-in-chief, who dropped the standard; our other officers at the same moment cutting down the other chiefs, by whom he was immediately surrounded.
— from The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Vol 1 (of 2) Written by Himself Containing a True and Full Account of the Discovery and Conquest of Mexico and New Spain. by Bernal Díaz del Castillo

I dread, and I confess it, lest they should at last so entirely give way to a cowardly love of present enjoyment, as to lose sight of the interests of their future selves and of those of their descendants; and to prefer to glide along the easy current of life, rather than to make, when it is necessary, a strong and sudden effort to a higher purpose.
— from Democracy in America — Volume 2 by Alexis de Tocqueville

Gringoire and the entire Court of Miracles were suffering mortal anxiety.
— from Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo

For it is a part of their policy to let no man comment, dare to dispute or call in question to this day any part of it, be it never so absurd, incredible, ridiculous, fabulous as it is, must be believed implicite , upon pain of death no man must dare to contradict it, God and the emperor, &c.
— from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton

—About ten grains of pure and perfectly dry cantharidin was spread on the pan of an Oertling’s balance, (sensitive to 1-150th of a grain,) and the equilibrium carefully adjusted with platina weights.
— from New York Journal of Pharmacy, Volume 1 (of 3), 1852 Published by Authority of the College of Pharmacy of the City of New York. by College of Pharmacy of the City of New York

he cried disgustedly, gesturing at the enduring camels.
— from The Fortieth Door by Mary Hastings Bradley

To her hut at Itu came Government and trade experts, consulting her on all manner of subjects, and obtaining information which no other one could supply.
— from Mary Slessor of Calabar: Pioneer Missionary by W. P. (William Pringle) Livingstone

Miller glared at the electronics chief, then turned on his heel and stalked out of the shop.
— from The Scarlet Lake Mystery: A Rick Brant Science-Adventure Story by Harold L. (Harold Leland) Goodwin

He looked into Mr. Austin's room and shook his fist and grinned at the empty chair.
— from The Ivory Gate, a new edition by Walter Besant

He watched in glee as the English commander's face flushed with rage.
— from Caribbee by Thomas Hoover

The general plan of Mussulman doctrine, constructed as it was for inhabitants of a desert, is peculiarly comprehensible to people like the Yezdis, who are accustomed to isolated objects and ideas, and are slow at grasping a too elaborately connected argument.
— from Five Years in a Persian Town by Napier Malcolm

the mental palate tickle, yet very often, in the end, put human joys in pickle which ain't so cussed funny; though all of the expense of grub and the et ceteras the public pays for; hence, I ask this Court (believing that its feelings are not hampered) if justice should not ever be with human mercy tempered?
— from The History and Records of the Elephant Club by Edward F. (Edward Fitch) Underhill

You to whom the chilled grapefruit and the eggshell cup of morning coffee are a gastronomic feat not always easy to hurdle, raise not your digestive eyebrows.
— from Humoresque: A Laugh on Life with a Tear Behind It by Fannie Hurst

THE DANCE OF DEATH Carrying bouquet, and handkerchief, and gloves, Proud of her height as when she lived, she moves With all the careless and high-stepping grace, And the extravagant courtesan's thin face.
— from Baudelaire: His Prose and Poetry by Charles Baudelaire