Kristin the princess gave the priest who kept the church keys a large sum of money to conceal one of her men in the church, so that she might know what Hakon and his counsellors intended.
— from Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson

Down in the vaults of saint Werburgh’s lovely old organ hundred and fifty they have to bore a hole in the coffins sometimes to let out the bad gas and burn it.
— from Ulysses by James Joyce

The wheels at the bottom of the square require for the foundation ring: 14 chain, on which you make 21 plain = on these: 4 chain, * 1 treble, 1 chain = repeat 19 times from *; 21 trebles in all, including the chain stitches = 3 plain, 1 picot, 3 plain, 1 picot, 3 plain, 1 picot, 3 plain, 4 chain, join to the 8th picot of the 2nd scallop; 4 chain, finish the picot, 3 plain, 1 picot, 3 plain, 8 chain, join to the 10th picot of the scallop, 8 chain, complete t
— from Encyclopedia of Needlework by Thérèse de Dillmont

In the closing sonnets Petrarch withdraws from the world, and they seem like voices from a cloister, growing more and more solemn till the door is closed.
— from Fifteen sonnets of Petrarch by Francesco Petrarca

It appears, however, that about forty years afterwards the emperor Valerian was persuaded of the truth of this assertion, since in one of his rescripts he evidently supposes, that senators, Roman knights, and ladies of quality, were engaged in the Christian sect.
— 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

Here in these confines slily have I lurk'd To watch the waning of mine enemies.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

All other dangers are contingent upon it, for the news is the chief source of the opinion by which government now proceeds.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. (Ernest Watson) Burgess

Mothers taught him more than they knew themselves; and he repaid the debt by telling them what they taught him in these "Cosseting Songs," which he gathered from many lips and brought together for the enriching of all.
— from Guide to the Kindergarten and Intermediate Class; and Moral Culture of Infancy. by Mary Tyler Peabody Mann

Cook milk, sugar, and eggs together; then stir in the corn starch, and put into baked crust.
— from Recipes Tried and True by Ohio). Ladies' Aid Society First Presbyterian Church (Marion

We need not have been surprised if this type, through which it would appear that insects must have passed so many ages since (for winged Neuroptera have been found in the carboniferous strata) had long ago become extinct.
— from On the Origin and Metamorphoses of Insects by Lubbock, John, Sir

No trace is to be observed here of Paul's noble glorying in the cross: so studiously is every allusion to the crucifixion avoided, till all the argumentative part of the Epistle has been completed, that a reader finds the conclusion already in sight, without having gained any notion of the mode of the Lord's death, whether even it was natural or violent,—a literal human sacrifice, or a voluntary self-immolation.
— from Studies of Christianity; Or, Timely Thoughts for Religious Thinkers by James Martineau

While I was interested in the curious spectacles presented, the sunset of 1907 to me was inspiration for the final work in directing the completion of the outfit with which to begin the conquest of the Pole at sunrise of [Pg 98] 1908.
— from My Attainment of the Pole Being the Record of the Expedition That First Reached the Boreal Center, 1907-1909. With the Final Summary of the Polar Controversy by Frederick Albert Cook

Inside, the customary shelves of labelled jars, glass cases holding cigars, nostrums and toilet knick-knacks, and in one corner an ancient revolving bookcase deposited long ago by the Tabard Inn Library.
— from The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley

Or art thou in thy chearful smiles so free, In scorn of thy rude father’s tyranny?
— from The Every-day Book and Table Book. v. 3 (of 3) Everlasting Calerdar of Popular Amusements, Sports, Pastimes, Ceremonies, Manners, Customs and Events, Incident to Each of the Three Hundred and Sixty-five Days, in past and Present Times; Forming a Complete History of the Year, Month, and Seasons, and a Perpetual Key to the Almanac by William Hone