Now there were slain in this battle a hundred thousand more; but Benhadad, the king of the Syrians, fled away, with certain others of his most faithful servants, and hid himself in a cellar under ground; and when these told him that the kings of Israel were humane and merciful men, and that they might make use of the usual manner of supplication, and obtain deliverance from Ahab, in case he would give them leave to go to him, he gave them leave accordingly.
— from Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus

The memory has as many moods as the temper, and shifts its scenery like a diorama.
— from Middlemarch by George Eliot

So there being nobody that came out to accept the man's challenge, and the Jew cutting them with a great number of reproaches, as cowards, [for he was a very haughty man in himself, and a great despiser of the Romans,] one whose name was Pudens, of the body of horsemen, out of his abomination of the other's words, and of his impudence withal, and perhaps out of an inconsiderate arrogance, on account of the other's lowness of stature, ran out to him, and was too hard for him in other respects, but was betrayed by his ill fortune; for he fell down, and as he was down, Jonathan came running to him, and cut his throat, and then, standing upon his dead body, he brandished his sword, bloody as it was, and shook his shield with his left hand, and made many acclamations to the Roman army, and exulted over the dead man, and jested upon the Romans; till at length one Priscus, a centurion, shot a dart at him as he was leaping and playing the fool with himself, and thereby pierced him through; upon which a shout was set up both by the Jews and the Romans, though on different accounts.
— from The Wars of the Jews; Or, The History of the Destruction of Jerusalem by Flavius Josephus

Nay, one whispered to his fellow that the image grinned and frowned horribly during this harangue, and made mouths at the trenchant dame.
— from Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 2 by John Roby

Now, however pleasant cats’ music heard at midnight may appear to the pussies themselves, it certainly is not conducive to the sleep of any nervous invalid who may happen to dwell in the neighbouring houses, or very soothing either.
— from Aileen Aroon, A Memoir With other Tales of Faithful Friends and Favourites by Gordon Stables

I never heard anything more melodious and touching than the song altogether: Eugénie's voice was soft, clear, and full, and had a melancholy thrill in it, which it was impossible to hear without being affected; she seemed to delight in drawing out her last notes, and hearing their sound prolonged on the air.
— from Béarn and the Pyrenees A Legendary Tour to the Country of Henri Quatre by Louisa Stuart Costello

He asked me minutely about the topography of the valley, and I described it to him as well as I could,—the surrounding wall of cliff, the little harbor, the buildings, fields, orange groves, etc.
— from The Spanish Galleon Being an account of a search for sunken treasure in the Caribbean Sea. by Charles Sumner Seeley

"Kindly," he added, "make my adieux to the princess; I will not trouble her."
— from The Sowers by Henry Seton Merriman

I would write to her and my mother, and tell them where I am, and entreat them to come for me, but I know not how to send a letter.
— from The Magician's Show Box, and Other Stories by Lydia Maria Child

Now the prizes were to be presented to the girls of the school by the great Duke himself, and Mrs Macintyre assumed that the three or four young maids who were to perform their deeds of daring would choose the daytime for the display of their courage.
— from Hollyhock: A Spirit of Mischief by L. T. Meade

I always believed in education, in intelligence, in enlightenment, and I have always made my appeal to the reason and to the conscience of the people.
— from The Debs Decision by Scott Nearing

Perhaps he did experience a certain amount of gratification at seeing his name at the head of subscription lists, when any of his neighbours suffered from either fire, famine, or pestilence; and to clothe the naked savage of the sunny south, where clothing, except the smallest amount for decency's sake, is absolutely unnecessary, seemed to be to him a more meritorous action than the mending of the rags of his own poverty stricken people.
— from The Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer A Page of Past History for the Use of the Children of To-day by Richard Clynton