And, indeed, this zealous adherent did wrangle so long with the merchant, that he was desired twenty times to leave the shop, and see if he could get one cheaper elsewhere.
— from The Adventures of Roderick Random by T. (Tobias) Smollett

The lion may hide or creep about or run, just as he feels inclined, but whenever the ground is hard or very greasy he must drop a few grains of corn every few yards to show the trail.
— from Boy Scouts Handbook The First Edition, 1911 by Boy Scouts of America

He married Eleanor, daughter of Gilbert of Clare, Earl of Gloucester, and sister and coheiress of the next Earl Gilbert.
— from The Devil is an Ass by Ben Jonson

But the Christian churches, enriched and adorned by the prevailing superstition of the times, afforded more plentiful materials for sacrilege; and the pious liberality of Pope Leo, who melted six silver vases, the gift of Constantine, each of a hundred pounds weight, is an evidence of the damage which he attempted to repair.
— 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

It is the stars, The stars above us govern our conditions; Else one self mate and make could not beget Such different issues.
— from The Tragedy of King Lear by William Shakespeare

“He has been guilty of certain escapades and fears he may be disturbed.”
— from Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas

"Mrs. Grundy" Of course every one has his own portrait of Mrs. Grundy, and some idea of the personality she shows to him; but has any one ever tried to ferret out that disagreeable old woman's own position; to find out where she lives and why she has nothing to do but meddle in affairs which do not concern her.
— from Etiquette by Emily Post

It was Charles V. who first thought of giving a more serious and useful character to the games of the people, and who, in a celebrated edict forbidding games of chance, encouraged the establishment of companies of archers and bowmen.
— from Manners, Customs, and Dress During the Middle Ages and During the Renaissance Period by P. L. Jacob

to gar hoti peristelletai monon auto kath' heauto gignôskein oudepô chrêston, ei mê kai tên aitian eideiêmen; houtô gar an oimai kai ta sphalmata therapeusaimen.
— from Galen: On the Natural Faculties by Galen

Throughout his hard-working life he had been irresistibly impelled to action by an absolute genius of commerce, expressing itself at the outset by the exhibition of courage in mere exchange and barter.
— from The Shuttle by Frances Hodgson Burnett

This was probably in accordance with the ancient Spanish division; for, in 1805 Cevallos declared to our ministers at Madrid that the province of Texas, "where the Spaniards have had settlements from the 17th century, was bounded on the east by Louisiana, and contains the extensive country which lies between the river Medina where the government of Coahuila ends , and the post now abandoned."
— from History of the War Between Mexico and the United States, with a Preliminary View of its Origin, Volume 1 by Brantz Mayer

Did not the genius of the great operatic composer exist in embryo, while Verdi was taking the lower rungs of the artistic ladder?
— from Verdi: Man and Musician His Biography with Especial Reference to His English Experiences by Frederick James Crowest

It likewise distributed Federal jurisdiction among the three grades of courts, established the office of Attorney General, and provided for a Federal marshal in each judicial district.
— from Problems in American Democracy by Thames Williamson

In June 1734, General Oglethorpe carried eight pounds of raw silk, the first produced in Georgia, to England, which was followed by a small trunk full of the same article, on the 2d of April, 1735, and after being made into orgazine, by the engine of Sir Thomas Lombe, at Derby, who said that it "proved exceedingly good through all the operations," was sent up to London on the 13th of August, 1735, when the Trustees, together with Sir Thomas Lombe, waited on her majesty Queen Caroline and exhibited to her the elegant specimen of Georgia silk.
— from Biographical Memorials of James Oglethorpe Founder of the Colony of Georgia, in North America. by Thaddeus Mason Harris

But the chief difference between Cambridge and Oxford is in the spirit and influence of the two upon the nation and the world, and here the glory of Cambridge excelleth.
— from A Year in Europe by Walter W. (Walter William) Moore

please don't go on!" cried Ethel, with mock earnestness. "
— from Brooke's Daughter: A Novel by Adeline Sergeant