Lay in a large stock of “gammon” and pennyroyal—carefully strip and pare all the tainted parts away, when this can be done without destroying the whole—wrap it up in printed paper, containing all possible virtues—baste with flattery, stuff with adulation, garnish with fictitious attributes, and a strong infusion of sycophancy.
— from Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, August 7, 1841 by Various

So that on the whole we may confidently conclude—since in mature life we never attend to anything without our interest in it being in some degree derived from its connection with other objects—that the two processes of sensorial adjustment and ideational preparation probably coexist in all our concrete attentive acts.
— from The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2) by William James

In the period of its prime Philippine coffee enjoyed fine repute, especially in Spain, Great Britain, and China (at Hong Kong), those three countries being the largest consumers.
— from All About Coffee by William H. (William Harrison) Ukers

A Cholo, or half-breed Indian woman of Payta in Peru, three years gone by, with her young new-wedded husband Felipe, of pure Castilian blood, and her one only Indian brother, Truxill, Hunilla had taken passage on the main in a French whaler, commanded by a joyous [pg 350] man; which vessel, bound to the cruising grounds beyond the Enchanted Isles, proposed passing close by their vicinity.
— from The Piazza Tales by Herman Melville

In some of the Hebrides they attributed the same oracular power to a large black stone by the sea-shore, which they approached with certain solemnities, and considered the first fancy which came into their own minds, after they did so, to be the undoubted dictate of the tutelar deity of the stone, and, as such, to be, if possible, punctually complied with.
— from The Lady of the Lake by Walter Scott

But this was only March: a cold, wet April, and two weeks of May passed over before we could venture forth on our expedition with the reasonable hope of obtaining that pleasure we sought in pleasant prospects, cheerful society, fresh air, good cheer and exercise, without the alloy of bad roads, cold winds, or threatening clouds.
— from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

It was they who first conducted a large business in bills of exchange, and who first struck a gold coin which, being kept of invariable purity, passed current in every land where men bought and sold—even in countries where the very name of Florence was unknown.
— from The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri: The Inferno by Dante Alighieri

A thousand and a thousand have charged their own heads by false confessions, amongst whom I place Philotas, considering the circumstances of the trial Alexander put upon him and the progress of his torture.
— from Essays of Michel de Montaigne — Complete by Michel de Montaigne

28, who has measured swords oftener with the enemy than anybody ever wrangled with an opponent in private life . sine ūllō metū in ipsum portum penetrāre coepērunt , V. 5, 96, without a bit of fear they began to make their way right into the harbour .
— from A Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges by George Martin Lane

But we now know that armies are not beaten without some physical cause, that the defeated soldiers are apt to be in poorer physical condition to begin with; that they have often been cut off from their base of supplies, have made desperate forced marches without food or shelter in the course of their retreat; and, until within comparatively recent years, were never half so well treated or well fed as their captors.
— from Preventable Diseases by Woods Hutchinson

"In Egypt, as you know, the degradation of the religious idea was in popular practice complete.
— from Oriental Religions and Christianity A Course of Lectures Delivered on the Ely Foundation Before the Students of Union Theological Seminary, New York, 1891 by Frank F. (Frank Field) Ellinwood

Then, however, sudden emotion came over the girl, and she stammered with a sob: "Ah! if poor papa could only see us!" Madame Theodore, meanwhile, had begun to take leave of Madame Toussaint.
— from The Three Cities Trilogy: Paris, Volume 5 by Émile Zola

While toiling for a reputation, he resided for a few years at a time in Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Chillicothe, Steubenville, and New York city; and, having visited Europe a number of times, established his reputation, and married a wife, he retired to the beautiful town of Catskill, on the Hudson, where he now resides, one of the most amiable of men, the best of husbands and fathers, and the most talented of living landscape painters.
— from Letters from a Landscape Painter by Charles Lanman

Will not the time come when we shall hear of “Moses’ Patent Paper Trousers,” and “Isaacs’ Patent Paper Coats?”
— from One Thousand Ways to Make Money by Page Fox

Did not Jones know that he was not to be interrupted till two, when he must meet, and, if possible, pacify certain half frantic, stampeding shareholders?
— from Moth and Rust; Together with Geoffrey's Wife and The Pitfall by Mary Cholmondeley

As Fenimore Cooper, when he determined to tell the fresh story of the backwoods and the prairies, found a pattern ready to his hand in the Waverley novels, so Ibsen availed himself of the "well-made play" of Scribe when he wrote the 'League of Youth,' which is his earliest piece in prose presenting contemporary life and character in Norway.
— from Inquiries and Opinions by Brander Matthews

If political power could really be turned to economic account, France ought to-day to be rich beyond any nation in history.
— from The Fruits of Victory A Sequel to The Great Illusion by Norman Angell