The army contained only from fifteen to eighteen thousand men: the fleet was quite large, and was manned by nine thousand sailors; M. Ancillon must, however, be mistaken in stating that it carried eight thousand cannon.
— from The Art of War by Jomini, Antoine Henri, baron de

Hareton and the woman laughed, and she joined them, and waxed more impertinent still; till I cried, in great irritation,—‘Well, Miss Cathy, if you were aware whose house this is you’d be glad enough to get out.’
— from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Because her superior Merit is such, that I cannot approach her without Awe, that my Heart is checked by too much Esteem: I am angry that her Charms are not more accessible, that I am more inclined to worship than salute her: How often have I wished her unhappy that I might have an Opportunity of serving her?
— from The Spectator, Volume 1 Eighteenth-Century Periodical Essays by Steele, Richard, Sir

My friends had argued very well, for, in spite of all the objections of my mind, I saw that I could not on my side put any obstacle in their way.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

I shall say that he is mistaken in supposing that I can regret the birth of my daughters (who have been the pride of my life, and are likely to be the comfort of my old age), or the thirty years I have passed in the company of my best and dearest friend;—that, had our misfortunes been three times as great as they were (unless they had been of my bringing on), I should still the more rejoice to have shared them with your father, and administered what consolation I was able; and, had his sufferings in illness been ten times what they wore, I could not regret having watched over and laboured to relieve them;—that, if he had married a richer wife, misfortunes and trials would no doubt have come upon him still; while I am egotist enough to imagine that no other woman could have cheered him through them so well: not that I am superior to the rest, but I was made for him, and he for me; and I can no more repent the hours, days, years of happiness we have spent together, and which neither could have had without the other, than I can the privilege of having been his nurse in sickness, and his comfort in affliction.
— from Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë

Michael informs Seth that it can only be obtained after the lapse of the ages intervening the Fall and the Atonement.
— from Demonology and Devil-lore by Moncure Daniel Conway

When I had learned the name and position of every visible feature of the river; when I had so mastered its shape that I could shut my eyes and trace it from St. Louis to New Orleans; when I had learned to read the face of the water as one would cull the news from the morning paper; and finally, when I had trained my dull memory to treasure up an endless array of soundings and crossing-marks, and keep fast hold of them, I judged that my education was complete: so I got to tilting my cap to the side of my head, and wearing a tooth-pick in my mouth at the wheel.
— from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain

This has made his volumes highly interesting and valuable; but I am deeply persuaded, that were a man of equal penetration to visit the United States with no other means of becoming acquainted with the national character than the ordinary working-day intercourse of life, he would conceive an infinitely lower idea of the moral atmosphere of the country than Captain Hall appears to have done; and the internal conviction on my mind is strong, that if Captain Hall had not placed a firm restraint on himself, he must have given expression to far deeper indignation than any he has uttered against many points in the American character, with which he shows from other circumstances that he was well acquainted.
— from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain

I'll work for my grub if you'll break me in so that I can get the job.
— from The Grain Ship by Morgan Robertson

If it is on account of pity and because I suffer, you are mistaken in supposing that I can cure myself; it might have been done, perhaps, two months ago; but I preferred to see you and to suffer, and I do not repent, whatever may come of it.
— from The Confession of a Child of the Century by Alfred de Musset

The human mind is such that it cannot possibly conceive of creation, neither can it conceive of an infinite being who dwelt in infinite space an infinite length of time.
— from The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Complete Contents Dresden Edition—Twelve Volumes by Robert Green Ingersoll

If you should have anything to discuss about my MS., I see that I could get to you by about 12, and then could return by the 2.19 o'clock train, and be home by 5.30 o'clock, and thus I should get two hours' talk.
— from More Letters of Charles Darwin — Volume 1 A Record of His Work in a Series of Hitherto Unpublished Letters by Charles Darwin

Of these the last-named was, doubtless, the most important, since through it chiefly were drained off the fugitives that came from Missouri over the routes of Iowa and Illinois.
— from The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom: A comprehensive history by Wilbur Henry Siebert

Perhaps the most important suggestion that I can offer here to Scouters may be summed up in the motto: — “Laugh while you work.”
— from Scouting for Girls Adapted from Girl Guiding by Baden-Powell of Gilwell, Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, Baron

[12] Otherwise we shall readily fall into this way of reasoning,—"Since there must have been some in these Churches who were only nominally and not really believers, the word saints must include such; therefore it can imply only an outward separation of men, apart from any determination of their inward state."
— from The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Philippians by Robert Rainy

There had really been very little said on the matter; the offence was too serious and too shocking to Gracie's young companions to make it an agreeable subject of conversation; and, although there had been some wondering as to whether Gracie would ever be allowed to return to the school, but few unkind remarks had been made, and these were more in sorrow than in censure.
— from Jessie's Parrot by Joanna H. (Joanna Hooe) Mathews

As most of the work yet to be done, such as the attachment of the rudder, landing skis, and wheels, would increase the car so much in size that it could not be taken in and out of the shop, everything was immediately moved out of doors.
— from A Cruise in the Sky; or, The Legend of the Great Pink Pearl by H. L. (Harry Lincoln) Sayler