But, all his arts were brought to a standstill, like himself when Bradley, turning into a green lane or riding by the river-side—a solitary spot run wild in nettles, briars, and brambles, and encumbered with the scathed trunks of a whole hedgerow of felled trees, on the outskirts of a little wood—began stepping on these trunks and dropping down among them and stepping on them again, apparently as a schoolboy might have done, but assuredly with no schoolboy purpose, or want of purpose.
— from Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens

It was the 6th of November, in the sixth year of my reign—or my captivity, which you please—that I set out on this voyage, and I found it much longer than I expected; for though the island itself was not very large, yet when I came to the east side of it, I found a great ledge of rocks lie out about two leagues into the sea, some above water, some under it; and beyond that a shoal of sand, lying dry half a league more, so that I was obliged to go a great way out to sea to double the point.
— from The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

It may be concluded from what precedes,—1st, that, while fortified places are essential supports, abuse in their application may, by dividing an army, weaken it instead of adding to its efficiency; 2d, that an army may, with the view of destroying the enemy, pass the line of these forts,—always, however, leaving a force to observe them; 3d, that an army cannot pass a large river, like the Danube or the Rhine, without reducing at least one of the fortresses on the river, in order to secure a good line of retreat.
— from The Art of War by Jomini, Antoine Henri, baron de

Under the belief that every exception (even though it be normal) to a general law or rule, is, like the anomaly itself, alone explicable according to such law, and expressing a fact not more singular or isolated from other parallel facts than is one form from another, or from all others constituting the graduated scale of being, I would, according to the light of this evidence alone, have no hesitation in stating that the liver and spleen, as opposites, represent corresponding organs, even though they appeared at first view more dissimilar than they really are.
— from Surgical Anatomy by Joseph Maclise

At last it was so dark that Groholsky left off reading the newspaper while Liza still gazed and gazed.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of 233 Short Stories of Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

It became very evident that now that was to be one of the great languages of Russia; and the real Russians, of course, did not take very kindly to it.'"
— from The International Jew : The World's Foremost Problem by Anonymous

The Female’s is often used for the purpose aforesaid, by reason the Male is so scarce a plant, that it is possessed by few, and those great lovers of rarities in this kind.
— 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

But in attempting to deduce rules, it should be remembered that in all and every armorial matter there was greater laxity of rule at the period of the actual use of arms as a reality of life than it was possible to permit when the multiplication of arms as paper insignia made regulation necessary and more restrictive; so that an occasional variation from any deduction need not necessarily vitiate the conclusion, even in a matter exclusively relating to the shield.
— from A Complete Guide to Heraldry by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies

As we entered the house, I summoned all my resolution to my aid, determined rather to die than give Lord Orville reason to attribute my weakness to a wrong cause.
— from Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World by Fanny Burney

"Oh, so you're here, Court," said Tennelly, slapping his shoulder with gentle roughness, "Great little old room, isn't it?
— from The Witness by Grace Livingston Hill

They, too, have revelled and feasted, and where are they?—gone?—nay, not altogether gone; for doth not the eye catch glimpses of them as they walk yonder in the gray limbo of romance, shining faintly in their coats of steel, wandering by the side of long-haired ladies, with long-tailed gowns that little pages carry?
— from Burlesques by William Makepeace Thackeray

There the greatest ladies of Rome had come in their grandeur to enjoy the piquant contrast and the still more piquant talk, the philosophies which they loved to penetrate and understand, the learning which went over their heads.
— from The Makers of Modern Rome, in Four Books by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant

The 15-pounders, man-killing guns, shower shrapnel on the German line of retreat.
— from Kelly Miller's History of the World War for Human Rights by Kelly Miller

The altered circumstances of the colonies would now probably enable an equipment to be prepared at much lower prices than were then estimated for, and I may remark that, although in my former letter to his Excellency, Sir G. Gipps, I specified, in accordance with his Excellency's request, the nature of the party I thought it advisable to have, and the general line of route I deemed most likely to be practicable, I shall be most happy to endeavour to carry out any views his Excellency may entertain upon the subject, with any party or any direction his Excellency may think desirable.
— from The History of Australian Exploration from 1788 to 1888 by Ernest Favenc

When he was admitted into the monastery, he contented himself with gnawing leaves of raw cabbage on Sunday.
— from En Route by J.-K. (Joris-Karl) Huysmans

The rigorous construction of the Marshal’s order yields that interpretation, but he contended, at his trial, that he merely indicated the general lines of retreat upon Verdun, and that the Staff and Corps Commanders should have used any and every road or track which would have served the main purpose.
— from The Campaign of Sedan: The Downfall of the Second Empire, August-September 1870 by George Hooper