The mother who went down to death's door for 'em, and had most to do in mouldin' their destiny during infancy should have at least equal rights with the father in controllin' their surroundin's during their entire youth, and to do this she must have equal legal power or her best efforts are wasted.
— from Samantha on the Woman Question by Marietta Holley

The stalk of a flower or leaf, for instance, if made to do duty in silver to support a heavy cup or vase, is a very disagreeable thing to contemplate; if the article were really Page 48 what it represented, it would break under the strain.
— from Arts and Crafts in the Middle Ages A Description of Mediaeval Workmanship in Several of the Departments of Applied Art, Together with Some Account of Special Artisans in the Early Renaissance by Julia de Wolf Gibbs Addison

The adz and saw of the carpenter are made to do duty in some sensational tale of chopping and sawing of a Christian sufferer, and the baker’s corn measure is transformed into a martyr’s fiery furnace.
— from The Catacombs of Rome, and Their Testimony Relative to Primitive Christianity by W. H. (William Henry) Withrow

Moreover, they detested dealing in slaves and those who practised it, saying that it was better to kill a man than to deprive him of his freedom.
— from Allan and the Holy Flower by H. Rider (Henry Rider) Haggard

[3] “There be here both Englishmen and Irishmen many that doth daily invent slander to the realm of England, with as many naughty Popish practices as they can and may do, and specially Irishmen.”—Ibid.
— from History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth. Vol. III by James Anthony Froude

My mushroom theory died directly I set foot on it.
— from The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers

{119} DERBYSHIRE SONG Come loving me to Darley Dale In spring time or sickle time, And we will make as proud a tale
— from Poems, 1908-1919 by John Drinkwater

As a catch crop crimson clover may be made to do duty in seasons in which other clover crops may have failed.
— from Clovers and How to Grow Them by Thomas Shaw

363 ’Tis great, ’tis manly, to disdain disguise; It shows our spirit, or it proves our strength.
— from Young's Night Thoughts With Life, Critical Dissertation and Explanatory Notes by Edward Young