Whilst persons more equal to this business may be engaged in affairs of greater moment, I hope I shall be excused, if, in a few hours of a time not very important, and from such materials as I have by me (more than enough however for this purpose), I undertake to set the facts and arguments of this wonderful performance in a proper light.
— from The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 01 (of 12) by Edmund Burke

It would not have amounted to that in reality, because I had clothes on underneath; but the prejudices of one’s breeding are not gotten rid of just at a jump, and I knew that when it came to stripping off that bob-tailed iron petticoat I should be embarrassed.
— from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain

Elizabeth soon heard from her friend; and their correspondence was as regular and frequent as it had ever been; that it should be equally unreserved was impossible.
— from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

At noon Sir W. Batten told me Sir Richard Ford would accept of one-third of my profit of our private man-of-war, and bear one-third of the charge, and be bound in the Admiralty, so I shall be excused being bound, which I like mightily of, and did draw up a writing, as well as I could, to that purpose and signed and sealed it, and so he and Sir R. Ford are to go to enter into bond this afternoon.
— from The Diary of Samuel Pepys — Complete by Samuel Pepys

I shall be expected to return their calls, but if, upon inquiry, I find that any of them live too far away for Arthur to accompany me, they must expect in vain for a while, for I cannot bear to leave him, unless it be to go to church, and I have not attempted that yet: for—it may be foolish weakness, but I am under such constant dread of his being snatched away, that I am never easy when he is not by my side; and I fear these nervous terrors would so entirely disturb my devotions, that I should obtain no benefit from the attendance.
— from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

" I tried to speak, but he said coldly: "Not a word, daroga, or I shall blow everything up."
— from The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

I can only imagine that Mr. D. prizes any picture of her too much to like it should be exposed to the public eye.
— from The Letters of Jane Austen Selected from the compilation of her great nephew, Edward, Lord Bradbourne by Jane Austen

Justinian introduced his own jurisprudence into the schools and tribunals of the West; he ratified the acts of Theodoric and his immediate successors, but every deed was rescinded and abolished which force had extorted, or fear had subscribed, under the usurpation of Totila.
— 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

Nimirum enim inops ille, si bonus est vir, etiamsi referre gratiam non potest, habere certe potest.
— from De Officiis by Marcus Tullius Cicero

The ideal set before each was nominally much the same.
— from Meditations by Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius

It should be especially seen to that water may not stand under the building.
— from Farm Boys and Girls by William A. (William Arch) McKeever

It soon became evident that, whether from change of commanders or some other cause, the Rebels were pursuing a different policy in massing their forces.
— from Life of Wm. Tecumseh Sherman. Late Retired General. U. S. A. by Willis Fletcher Johnson

We paid little attention to him at first, though it soon became evident to us that he was enjoying a Pantagruelian banquet in lonely state, deliberately gorging himself with the richest and most incongruously varied food.
— from The Book of Susan: A Novel by Lee Wilson Dodd

“Dear Mrs Marriott, I shall be ever so much more uncomfortable if you don’t.
— from The Claw by Cynthia Stockley

The article shall not be repeated here at length, because it contained sundry quotations from Holy Writ which may as well be omitted, but the purport of it shall be explained.
— from Miss Mackenzie by Anthony Trollope

"I should be extremely interested," I said, "to learn something of what these social arrangements are."
— from Looking Backward: 2000-1887 by Edward Bellamy

A civil war, it should be explained, is one in which the civilians are at war but the military are not.
— from Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 159, August 18th, 1920 by Various

And that bold assertion received the approbation of King George III., in a despatch of the 5th May; the further principle being communicated by the writer, Lord Hobart, in His Majesty's name, "that it should be explicitly understood that in the distant possessions of the British empire during the existence of war, the want of the regular authority should not preclude an attack upon the enemy in any case that may appear calculated to promote the public interest."
— from The Fall of the Moghul Empire of Hindustan by H. G. (Henry George) Keene

The danger is reciprocative, just as, to return to my nautical simile, the peril of the helmsman is shared by each passenger if he by mischance steers upon a submerged rock.
— from The Bow, Its History, Manufacture and Use 'The Strad' Library, No. III. by Henry Saint-George