From the dawn of light to the moment of dinner, he assiduously labored to enrich his master and himself at the expense of the Roman world; the remainder of the day was spent in sensual and obscene pleasures, 931 and the silent hours of the night were interrupted by the perpetual dread of the justice of an assassin.
— 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

“I am delighted to hear it, sir, as otherwise I should have had no chance of forgiving you for waking me up the other night.”
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

In any event, it's better to perish with it than be accomplices in some act of revenge whose merits we can't gauge."
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World by Jules Verne

This rock which I shall Call Pompy's Tower is 200 feet high and 400 paces in secumphrance and only axcessable on one Side which is from the N. E the other parts of it being a perpendicular Clift of lightish Coloured gritty rock on the top there is a tolerable Soil of about 5 or 6 feet thick Covered with Short grass.
— from The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by William Clark

the loss we sustained was not so great as we had at first apprehended; our medicine sustained the greatest injury, several articles of which were intirely spoiled, and many others considerably injured; the ballance of our losses consisted of some gardin seeds, a small quantity of gunpowder, and a few culinary articles which fell overboard and sunk, the Indian woman to whom I ascribe equal fortitude and resolution, with any person onboard at the time of the accedent, caught and preserved most of the light articles which were washed overboard all matters being now arranged for our departure we lost no time in seting out; proceeced on tolerably well about seven miles and encamped on the Stard.
— from The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by William Clark

I write that rubbish because it sells, and ordinary people like it.
— from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

In the piece called Tucait baile Mongâin in the Leabhar na h-Uidhre , p. 134, col. 2, ‘Mongan is seen living with his wife the year of the death of Ciaran mac int Shair, and of Tuathal Mael-Garb, that is to say in 544,’ following the Chronicum Scotorum , Hennessy’s ed., pp. 48-9.
— from The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries by W. Y. (Walter Yeeling) Evans-Wentz

About the room, some amazing coffee-coloured pictures varnished an inch deep, and some stuffed creatures in cases; dotted among the audience, in Sung and out of Snug, the ‘Professionals;’ among them, the celebrated comic favourite Mr. Banjo Bones, looking very hideous with his blackened face and limp sugar-loaf hat; beside him, sipping rum-and-water, Mrs. Banjo Bones, in her natural colours—a little heightened.
— from The Uncommercial Traveller by Charles Dickens

On this estate, as on most others, there was a festival fund for the coolies, that is a certain sum of money is spent annually on their recreation, providing for musical instruments and paying for travelling shows, etc.
— from From Jungle to Java The Trivial Impressions of a Short Excursion to Netherlands India by Arthur Louis Keyser

Besides the teacups and other domestic treasures there was a tin case, in size about one foot by nine inches.
— from Clutterbuck's Treasure by Frederick Whishaw

It is in itself still an open question which of these two authors exerted the initial influence on the other, although eighteenth-century criticism invariably held that in Marianne Richardson found his inspiration.
— from Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, June 1899 Volume LV by Various

Why this is the case: Israel is such an one, nay, a worse.
— from Works of John Bunyan — Complete by John Bunyan

And since there is scarce any one bad, but some others are the worse for him; tempt not Contagion by proximity, and hazard not thy self in the shadow of Corruption.
— from The Works of Sir Thomas Browne, Volume 3 by Browne, Thomas, Sir

If I should appear on South Clark street in my present apparel, the police would pinch me for neglecting to patronize the clothing stores.
— from The River Motor Boat Boys on the Columbia; Or, The Confession of a Photograph by Harry Gordon