From that moment I could think of nothink else; I neglekted my wittles and my master, and wanderd about like a knight-errand-boy who had forgotten his message.
— from Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, August 7, 1841 by Various

But we cannot enter too much into enumeration of these taboos and observances, and have only to make it clear that the proper behaviour of the magician is one of the essentials of magic, and that in many cases this behaviour is dictated by the contents of the spell.
— from Argonauts of the Western Pacific An Account of Native Enterprise and Adventure in the Archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea by Bronislaw Malinowski

The same memory contains also the affections of my mind, not in the same manner that my mind itself contains them, when it feels them; but far otherwise, according to a power of its own.
— from The Confessions of St. Augustine by Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo

The list is representative of the Great Moderns and is one of the most important contributions to publishing that has been made for many years.
— from Candide by Voltaire

K. moved in closer to him.
— from The Trial by Franz Kafka

“Well, we live in strange times,” said Egremont, struck by the observation of his companion, and relieving a perplexed spirit by an ordinary exclamation, which often denotes that the mind is more stirring than it cares to acknowledge, or at the moment is capable to express.
— from Sybil, Or, The Two Nations by Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield

We have no means of following the campaigns in detail; but thus much is certain, that in the end the Romans succeeded in crushing the barbarian tribes, and effecting a settlement which made the empire more secure.
— from Meditations by Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius

He then describes, with minute accuracy, the slightest mitigations of their deplorable condition; he attributes to the virtue or the policy of the emperors the progressive amelioration in the lot of the slaves; and he passes over in silence the most influential cause, that which, after rendering the slaves less miserable, has contributed at length entirely to enfranchise them from their sufferings and their chains,—Christianity.
— 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

shorthand Magnifying the graces of the nobility and prelates Make a man wonder at the good fortune of such a fool Making their own advantages to the disturbance of the peace Man cannot live without playing the knave and dissimulation Mankind pleasing themselves in the easy delights of the world Many thousands in a little time go out of England Many women now-a-days of mean sort in the streets, but no men Mass, and some of their musique, which is not so contemptible Matters in Ireland are full of discontent Mazer or drinking-bowl turned out of some kind of wood Mean, methinks, and is as if they had married like dog and bitch Meazles, we fear, or, at least, of a scarlett feavour Methought very ill, or else I am grown worse to please Mightily pleased with myself for the business that I have done Mightily vexed at my being abroad with these women Mighty fond in the stories she tells of her son Will Milke, which I drank to take away, my heartburne Mind to have her bring it home Mirrors which makes the room seem both bigger and lighter Money I have not, nor can get Money, which sweetens all things Montaigne is conscious that we are looking over his shoulder Most flat dead sermon, both for matter and manner of delivery Most homely widow, but young, and pretty rich, and good natured Most of my time in looking upon Mrs. Butler Mottoes inscribed on rings was of Roman origin Mr. Evelyn’s translating and sending me as a present
— from The Diary of Samuel Pepys — Complete by Samuel Pepys

Each morning it coaxed them in for a swim.
— from The Brownie Scouts at Silver Beach by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt

You would thus take advantage of Virginia and Maryland in ceding to you this District, without expressly forbidding Congress to abolish slavery here whilst it exists within their limits.
— from Life of James Buchanan, Fifteenth President of the United States. v. 1 (of 2) by George Ticknor Curtis

The first door that I opened revealed the meaning of the phrases which I took for mad ravings; and I saw the length to which covetousness goes when it survives only as an illogical instinct, the last stage of greed of which you find so many examples among misers in country towns.
— from Gobseck by Honoré de Balzac

North of the vihâra two or three li there was the Smasânam, which name means in Chinese "the field of graves into which the dead are thrown."
— from Chinese Literature Comprising the Analects of Confucius, the Sayings of Mencius, the Shi-King, the Travels of Fâ-Hien, and the Sorrows of Han by Faxian

Joseph blessed them for their journey, and gave much instruction concerning their coming duties, and unfolded many of the glorious things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
— from The Latter-Day Prophet: History of Joseph Smith Written for Young People by George Q. (George Quayle) Cannon

Then I saw the girl stumble and appear about to fall, but His Majesty caught her in his arms, and madame immediately closed the door upon them.
— from The Great White Army by Max Pemberton

S. Maria in Capitolio, triapsal church, Cologne, ii, 232 .
— from A History of Architecture in All Countries, Volume 2, 3rd ed. From the Earliest Times to the Present Day by James Fergusson

After an examination as full as I could make, I came to the conclusion that there were three ribs broken and an injury, more or less serious, to the lungs; but how serious, I could not tell.
— from Michael McGrath, Postmaster by Ralph Connor

At the opening of the session of 1846 Sir Robert Peel then made it clear, that as Lord John Russell had been unable to form a ministry, he himself intended to propose the abandonment of the Corn Laws, and to follow this up by the gradual removal of protective duties, not only upon agriculture, but also upon manufactures, and thus to place himself in opposition to the sentiment and principles of the party of which he was the leader.
— from Charles Philip Yorke, Fourth Earl of Hardwicke, Vice-Admiral R.N. — a Memoir by Biddulph, Elizabeth Philippa, Baroness

In England, owing to the smallness of the tunnels and the present cost of enlarging them, the railway management is compelled to keep to the ancient diminutive style of carriage first introduced sixty years ago.
— from Through Scandinavia to Moscow by William Seymour Edwards