M. Krempe was not equally docile; and in my condition at that time, of almost insupportable sensitiveness, his harsh blunt encomiums gave me even more pain than the benevolent approbation of M. Waldman.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

You would begin talking to her, and she would stare at you and suddenly interrupt: “Excuse me, excuse me, Petrov, the other day you said the very opposite!”
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of 233 Short Stories of Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

‘What do you mean?’ exclaimed Mr. Pickwick, turning pale; ‘no other secret marriage, I hope?’
— from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

Some of the miserable Creatures jump’d down into the Hold, but could not avoid the Massacre; they met Death every where, for if they escaped it from one Hand, they were sure to perish by another; the only Prospect they had of Life, was to fly from the Rage of those merciless Men, and to trust to the more merciful Sea; and accordingly a great many leap’d over-board, and swam for the Shore; but Low perceiving it, ordered the Canoa to be mann’d, and sent in pursuit of them, by which Means several of the poor unhappy Men were knock’d in the Head in the Water, as they were endeavouring to get to Land; however, about 12 of them did reach the Shore, but in a miserable Condition, being very much wounded, and what became of them afterwards was not known, except one, who while the Pyrates were at their Sports and Pastimes ashore, finding himself very weak and fainting with his Wounds, and not knowing where to go for Help and Relief, in this Extremity, he came back to them, and begg’d for God sake, in the most earnest Manner possible, that they would give him Quarters; upon which, one of the Villains took hold of him, and said, G— d—
— from A General History of the Pyrates: from their first rise and settlement in the island of Providence, to the present time by Daniel Defoe

The murderers of Tarquinius were arrested and his wife and Tullius learned the plan of the plot; but instead of making Tarquinius's death known at once, they took him up and tended him (pretending that he was still alive), and meantime exchanged mutual pledges that Tullius should take the sovereignty but surrender it to Tanaquil's sons when they became men.
— from Dio's Rome, Volume 1 (of 6) An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek during the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form by Cassius Dio Cocceianus

ê dêladê tôn aporrheontôn tês lithou moriôn enia men proskrousanta tô sidêrô palin apopallesthai kai tauta men einai, di' hôn kremannysthai symbainei ton sidêron,
— from Galen: On the Natural Faculties by Galen

tou synechous heautô sômatos, hoionper to haploun angeion Erasistratos hypotithetai, ta men epipolês merê prôta tês homilousês apolauei trophês; ek de toutôn au metalambanei kata to syneches helkonta ta toutôn hexês, eit' ex ekeinôn authis hetera kai tout' ou pauetai gignomenon, achris an eis hapant' autou diadothê ta moria tês trephousês ousias hê poiotês.
— from Galen: On the Natural Faculties by Galen

The lad from the posting house who came to groom the mare every morning passed through the passage with his heavy wooden shoes; there were holes in his blouse; his feet were bare in list slippers.
— from Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

A lot of good fellows—Peacocke, Matthews, Edmonds, Mundey, Price, “Tony,” and many others were victimized in turn.
— from The Road to En-Dor Being an Account of How Two Prisoners of War at Yozgad in Turkey Won Their Way to Freedom by E. H. (Elias Henry) Jones

One Páshik Two Ninch Three Nissou Four Neau Five Naran Six Ningoutwassou Seven Ninchowassou Eight Nissowassou Nine Shongassou Ten Mittaussou Eleven Mittaussou Páshik Twenty Ninchtawnaw Thirty Nissou Mittawnaw Forty Neau Mittawnaw Fifty Naran Mittawnaw Sixty Ningoutwassou Mittawnaw Seventy Ninchowassou Mittawnaw
— from Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America, in the Years 1766, 1767 and 1768 by Jonathan Carver

As heaven is considered to have the most enchanting music, perhaps the new visiters brought with them their instruments, and began their courtship by a heavenly jig.
— from A Legacy to the Friends of Free Discussion Principal Historical Facts and Personages of the Books Known as The Old and New Testament; With Remarks on the Morality of Nature by Benjamin Offen

For the seeds of the Thirty Years' War of Germany were already sown broadcast in those fatal duchies, and it was the determination of the agents of Spain to acquire the mastery of that most eligible military position, that excellent 'sedes belli,' whenever Protestantism was to be assailed in England, the Netherlands, or Germany.
— from History of the United Netherlands, 1590-99 — Complete by John Lothrop Motley

"I simply meant," explained Mollie patiently, "that we were after two men—" "Oh!" cried Amy, turning upon her in horror.
— from The Outdoor Girls at the Hostess House; Or, Doing Their Best for the Soldiers by Laura Lee Hope

After breakfast I collected the men, explained my plans to them and drew them a rough map of the area over which our search was to be made.
— from Camp Fire Yarns of the Lost Legion by G. Hamilton-Browne

I recollect one poor fellow, who had lost his last tlacko, pulled off his shirt and, in the most excited manner, put that up on the turn of a card.
— from Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, Part 1. by Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson) Grant

An account of an experiment in fertilizing a vineyard may make even more plain the difficulties in carrying on experiments in fertilizing fruits and the caution that must be observed in drawing conclusions.
— from Manual of American Grape-Growing by U. P. Hedrick

HALE HALL Speke suggests the idea of botanical metamorphosis even more powerfully than Smithills.
— from Lancashire: Brief Historical and Descriptive Notes by Leo H. (Leo Hartley) Grindon

The White Lady of Avenal—a sort of astral spirit, neither fairy nor Brownie, but made up of many elements more Persian than Gothic—can only be excused as part and parcel of the superstition of the times; and the portrayal of Sir Percy Shafton is in no way edifying, save as a satire upon that dudish portion of humanity, the excrescence of that school of Euphuists which took its rise with Sir John Lilly in the age of Elizabeth, and blossomed out again but yesterday in the full blown sunflower of modern estheticism.
— from The Chautauquan, Vol. 04, March 1884, No. 6 by Chautauqua Institution