At last daylight began to show itself confusedly through tangled growth overhanging the mouth of the passage; and the Badger, bidding them a hasty good-bye, pushed them hurriedly through the opening, made everything look as natural as possible again, with creepers, brushwood, and dead leaves, and retreated.
— from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Then George tried taking it out with him late at night, and practising round the square.
— from Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome

He then addressed us at great length, as near as possible, to the following effect.
— from The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Vol 1 (of 2) Written by Himself Containing a True and Full Account of the Discovery and Conquest of Mexico and New Spain. by Bernal Díaz del Castillo

Her secretarial duties consist in writing impersonal letters and notes and probably paying bills; she may have occasional invitations to send out, and to answer, though a lady needing a companion is not apt to be greatly interested in social activities.
— from Etiquette by Emily Post

Our six educated frogs have learnt a new and pretty feat.
— from Amusements in Mathematics by Henry Ernest Dudeney

Think of the half tones as part of the lights and not as part of the shadows.
— from The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed

Having landed at Newcastle, a place mostly inhabited by the Dutch, Penn next day summoned the people to the court-house, where possession of the country was legally given him.
— from Curiosities of Human Nature by Samuel G. (Samuel Griswold) Goodrich

that Executive sh l have a right to negative legislative acts not afterwards passed by 2/3 of each branch, agreed to nem.
— from The Journal of the Debates in the Convention which Framed the Constitution of the United States, May-September 1787. Volume 1 by United States. Constitutional Convention (1787)

When it was reaching its height, a speaker arose on the Tory side of the House whose appearance on the scene of the debate lent a new and piquant interest to the night's discussion.
— from Modern Leaders: Being a Series of Biographical Sketches by Justin McCarthy

The philosophers taught that death is “a law and not a punishment;” 296 the fathers taught that it is a penal infliction introduced into the world on account of the sin of Adam, which was also the cause of the appearance of all noxious plants, of all convulsions in the material globe, and, as was sometimes asserted, even of a diminution of the light of the sun.
— from History of European Morals From Augustus to Charlemagne (Vol. 1 of 2) by William Edward Hartpole Lecky

Every door was locked, and not a person in sight.
— from Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, Vol. I. by John L. Stephens

We must transport as large a number as possible of adult healthy individuals to some intermediate station, and increase them as much as possible for some years.
— from The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg

Mr. Harvey, afterwards created Lord Harvey, by King William, and since that made Earl of Bristol by King George, lived many years in this town, leaving a noble and pleasantly situated house in Lincolnshire, for the more agreeable living on a spot so completely qualified for a life of delight as this of Bury.
— from Tour through the Eastern Counties of England, 1722 by Daniel Defoe

What d'ye think would a happent to you, ye beach-comber, if some ship had run ashore and been wrecked and scuttled and all hands lost, and not a pound of cargo left at her, and never a light on the pier, and all along of you, ye idiot waistrel!"
— from She's All the World to Me by Caine, Hall, Sir

Some few varieties are nearly permanent and universal, but most are adapted to particular localities, and need a process of acclimation to adapt them to other soils and situations.
— from Soil Culture Containing a Comprehensive View of Agriculture, Horticulture, Pomology, Domestic Animals, Rural Economy, and Agricultural Literature by J. H. Walden

Gray appeared to know exactly what he wanted to do, for he stopped at the telephone booths, inquired the number of the leading afternoon newspaper, and put in a call for it.
— from Flowing Gold by Rex Beach