a verry warm morning, passed a butifull Prarie on the right Side which extends back, those Praries has much the appearance from the river of farms, Divided by narrow Strips of woods those Strips of timber grows along the runs which rise on the hill & pass to the river a Cleft above, one man sick (Frasure) Struck with the Sun, Saw a large rat on the Side of the bank, Killed a wolf on the Bank passed (2) a verry narrow part of the river, all confined within 200 yards, a yellow bank above, passed a Small willow Island on the S. point, (in Low water those Small Willow Islands are joined to the Sand bars makeing out from the Points) a pond on the S. S near the prarie we passed yesterday in which G D. Saw Several young Swans we Came to and Camped on the L. S. and two men Sent out last evening with the horses did not join us this evening agreeable to orders—a hard wind with Some rain from the N, E at 7 oClock which lasted half an hour, with thunder & lightning.
— from The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by William Clark

Some of them acquired the property of landed estates, which they held by some base or ignoble tenure, sometimes under the king, and sometimes under some other great lord, like the ancient copy-holders of England.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

They were ladies of lofty ambition, who for that reason were incapable of taking the least interest in what might be called the 'pinchbeck' things of life, even when they had an historic value, or, generally speaking, in anything that was not directly associated with some object aesthetically precious.
— from Swann's Way by Marcel Proust

They soon got into a furious passion, and then their bodies became less erect, with their heads pushed forwards; they made grimaces at each other; their shoulders were raised; their arms rigidly bent inwards at the elbows, and their hands spasmodically closed, but not properly clenched.
— from The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin

But who can oppose the voice of prudence to the 'mightiest passions of mankind' (Laws), especially when they have been licensed by custom and religion?
— from The Republic by Plato

He aided it in person; he fought in the front ranks; he risked his life equally with the humblest of the wretched and misguided fanatics; he was ten times wounded in twenty engagements, seeking death but finding it not, but at length the sanguinary rebels were utterly defeated, and the atrocious mutiny was brought to an end.
— from The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne

Weakened and humiliated by the last English war, they had replaced themselves in the rank of great powers.
— from The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by A. T. (Alfred Thayer) Mahan

"But, guardian, may we not hope that a little experience will teach him what a false and wretched thing it is?"
— from Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Upon the polished floor were spread Fresh buds and blossoms white and red, And women shone, a lovely crowd, As lightning flashes through a cloud: A palace splendid as the sky Which moon and planets glorify: Like earth whose towering hills unfold Their zones and streaks of glittering gold; Where waving on the mountain brows The tall trees bend their laden boughs,
— from The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Valmiki

Jeannette's bloodied letters stumped her although she could read a little English; with the help of the British doctor they read Jean's scrawl and made out the address at the hospital.
— from Forward, Children! by Paul Alexander Bartlett

What the Committee on the War and the Religious Outlook and the Webbs state in slightly different language explains why the history of constitutional government in industry is fundamentally the history of the rise of the workers through their unions and collective bargaining toward a democratic equality of status with their employers.
— from The Coming of Coal by Robert W. (Robert Walter) Bruère

Bricks are generally made in wooden moulds, which, being laid on some level spot, previously swept, so as to remove stones, &c., are filled with mud; the surface is then levelled, either with the hand, or with a strike, when the mould is raised, by means of handles, and washed in a large pan of 516 water, and then placed on a fresh spot, contiguous to the brick already formed.
— from The East India Vade-Mecum, Volume 1 (of 2) or, complete guide to gentlemen intended for the civil, military, or naval service of the East India Company. by Thomas Williamson

The meeting wanted to vote straight away and adopt Telsize without hearing Leicester, especially when they heard that he would contribute practically nothing to the funds.
— from The Man Who Rose Again by Joseph Hocking

I admit that the fault lies entirely with the harassed and long-suffering gentleman who boasts the proud title of "spoil's officer."
— from No Man's Land by H. C. (Herman Cyril) McNeile

They, therefore, though of the latest, endeavoured, where they had any remaining influence, to discourage the renewal of these indecorous festivities.
— from The Abbot by Walter Scott

The poor still had to buy the quantity of dear salt ordered by law, even when they had no meat to eat it with.
— from The Peasant and the Prince by Harriet Martineau

But the merchant differed: there were things, he said, too precious to be given up for lost, even when the hope of finding them seemed as feeble and thin as a rotten reed.
— from The Bride of the Nile — Volume 03 by Georg Ebers

Then he went on: "In the last eleven weeks, Thurston has dropped just sixteen new men."
— from The Young Engineers in Colorado; Or, At Railroad Building in Earnest by H. Irving (Harrie Irving) Hancock