Indeed it is very difficult to compute what its produce might have been.
— from The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 01 (of 12) by Edmund Burke

In vain did the enemy himself invest in a pea-shooter, and endeavour to answer the fire while he fed the young birds with his other hand; his attention was divided, and his shots flew wild, while every one of theirs told on his face and hands, and drove him into howlings and imprecations.
— from Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes

It is very doubtful whether Judy knows how to laugh.
— from Bleak House by Charles Dickens

The gamblers, Isaac List and Jowl, with their trusty confederate Mr James Groves of unimpeachable memory, pursued their course with varying success, until the failure of a spirited enterprise in the way of their profession, dispersed them in various directions, and caused their career to receive a sudden check from the long and strong arm of the law.
— from The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens

In vain did Philosophy and Reason importune him to return; he was deaf to their call, and thought of nothing but how to enjoy the sight and company of his dear Heloise .
— from Letters of Abelard and Heloise To which is prefix'd a particular account of their lives, amours, and misfortunes by Héloïse

It was not until he had quite exhausted his several subjects of meditation, and had breathed into the flute the whole sentiment of the purl down to its very dregs, and had nearly maddened the people of the house, and at both the next doors, and over the way—that he shut up the music-book, extinguished the candle, and finding himself greatly lightened and relieved in his mind, turned round and fell asleep.
— from The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens

In vain did I endeavour to chastise these foolish conceits by reflections more reasonable and severe: the amusing images took full possession of my mind, and my dreams represented my hero sighing at my feet, in the language of a despairing lover.
— from The Adventures of Roderick Random by T. (Tobias) Smollett

It is very difficult to make people understand this; it is necessary our Lord Himself should take the matter seriously into His own hands.
— from The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus, of the Order of Our Lady of Carmel by Teresa, of Avila, Saint

Slowly Sime resumed: "The bats had begun to disperse in various directions, but the panic which had seized upon the camp does not seem to have dispersed so readily.
— from Brood of the Witch-Queen by Sax Rohmer

I must see, not merely that it is very desirable that Great Britain should be brought to our feet, by this embargo, but that there is some likelihood of such a consequence to the measure, before I can concur in that universal distress and ruin which, if much longer continued, will inevitably result from it.
— from Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856, Vol. 4 (of 16) by United States. Congress

Here is another incident that happened, which I think is very diverting, even amidst the horrors of war.
— from Historical Romance of the American Negro by Charles Henry Fowler

This substance contains many of the structural units of meat protein but in very different relative amounts.
— from Dietetics for Nurses by Fairfax T. (Fairfax Throckmorton) Proudfit

In vain did the mass bear itself up, and, fiercely striving, fire indiscriminately on friend and foe; while the cavalry, hovering on their flanks, threatened to charge the advancing line.
— from A Soldier's Experience; or, A Voice from the Ranks Showing the Cost of War in Blood and Treasure. A Personal Narrative of the Crimean Campaign, from the Standpoint of the Ranks; the Indian Mutiny, and Some of its Atrocities; the Afghan Campaigns of 1863 by T. (Timothy) Gowing

Et vltrà hanc insulam alia maior et populosior, vbi cùm multi sint vsus nobis insueti, vnum describo.
— from The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 09 Asia, Part II by Richard Hakluyt