The child that was to have rested upon a magnificent couch, draped with silken curtains, in a luxurious home; it was to have been welcomed with joy to a life rich in all the good things of this world; and now Heaven had ordained that it should be born in this humble retreat, that it should not even receive a kiss from its mother, for when the fisherman's wife laid the child upon the mother's bosom, it rested on a heart that beat no more—she was dead.
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. (Hans Christian) Andersen

Each tree and flower had a name; each represented a human life, and belonged to men still living, some in China, others in Greenland, and in all parts of the world.
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. (Hans Christian) Andersen

But he laid hold of me with both his hands and spoke piteously, saying, 'Sir, do not force me to go with you, but let me stay here, for I know you will not bring one of them back with you, nor even return alive yourself; let us rather see if we cannot escape at any rate with the few that are left us, for we may still save our lives.' "'Stay where you are, then,' answered I, 'eating and drinking at the ship, but I must go, for I am most urgently bound to do so.'
— from The Odyssey Rendered into English prose for the use of those who cannot read the original by Homer

By the Editor If my poor Flatland friend retained the vigour of mind which he enjoyed when he began to compose these Memoirs, I should not now need to represent him in this preface, in which he desires, firstly, to return his thanks to his readers and critics in Spaceland, whose appreciation has, with unexpected celerity, required a second edition of his work; secondly, to apologize for certain errors and misprints (for which, however, he is not entirely responsible); and, thirdly, to explain one or two misconceptions.
— from Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Illustrated) by Edwin Abbott Abbott

New Edition, revised and improved by M. ROLLIN, B.A. London: WILLIAM TEGG & Co., 85.
— from Notes and Queries, Vol. IV, Number 97, September 6, 1851 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. by Various

Mrs Western, having drained Mrs Miller of all she knew, which, indeed, was but little, but which was sufficient to make the aunt suspect a great deal, dismissed her with assurances that Sophia would not see her, that she would send no answer to the letter, nor ever receive another; nor did she suffer her to depart without a handsome lecture on the merits of an office to which she could afford no better name than that of procuress.—This discovery had greatly discomposed her temper, when, coming into the apartment next to that in which the lovers were, she overheard Sophia very warmly protesting against his lordship's addresses.
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding

But I feel assured the French will not encourage rebellion and secession anywhere as a political doctrine.
— from Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete by William T. (William Tecumseh) Sherman

These it may be of interest to quote:— "Vous tous Princes, Seigneurs, Barons, Cheualiers, et Escuyers, qui auez intention de tournoyer, vous estes tenus vous rendre és heberges le quartrième jour deuan le jour du Tournoy, pour faire de vos Blasons fenestres, sur payne de non estre receus audit Tournoy.
— from A Complete Guide to Heraldry by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies

The marriage which Richard proposed, of his sister with the sultan's brother, was defeated by the difference of faith; the princess abhorred the embraces of a Turk; and Adel, or Saphadin, would not easily renounce a plurality of wives.
— 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

3. Established custom is not easily relinquished, and no man is very easily led to see with the eyes of another.
— from The Imitation of Christ by à Kempis Thomas

Now, each of these lines, taken individually, has been employed before, and what originality the "Raven" has, is in their combination into stanza ; nothing even remotely approaching this combination has ever been attempted.
— from How to Write a Novel: A Practical Guide to the Art of Fiction by Anonymous

Es giebt nur eine Religion, aber es kann vielerlei
— from Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources Including Phrases, Mottoes, Maxims, Proverbs, Definitions, Aphorisms, and Sayings of Wise Men, in Their Bearing on Life, Literature, Speculation, Science, Art, Religion, and Morals, Especially in the Modern Aspects of Them by Wood, James, Rev.

I had, however, written a note declining the intended honor; but the messenger, upon looking at it, for it was a letter patent, like the invitation, said he could not deliver it; that nobody ever refused; all of which I was informed of after he was gone.
— from Gouverneur Morris by Theodore Roosevelt

In the case of ten ploughs to a class, they do not each receive a tenth piece of the whole, but, in order to make it as fair as possible, the land is divided into strips, so that each portion consists of a collection of strips in different parts of the village lands .
— from The English Village Community Examined in its Relations to the Manorial and Tribal Systems and to the Common or Open Field System of Husbandry; An Essay in Economic History (Reprinted from the Fourth Edition) by Frederic Seebohm

Ah! this ring, too, has fallen from a station not easily regained, and I offer it my sympathy.
— from Sakoontala; Or, The Lost Ring: An Indian Drama by Kalidasa

Life was now ebbing rapidly: a gleaming smile of tenderness fled across her face: she half raised her hands and moved her lips; Edward Walladmor bent downwards to meet the action: she put her arms feebly about his neck; whispered something to him; and then, as he kissed her lips in anguish, her arms parted from their languid grasp, and fell powerlessly on each side; she sighed deeply; her eyes closed; opened upon him once again; once again smiled her farewell love upon him; and, with that smile upon her face, rendered up her innocent spirit in the arms of him for whom she died.
— from Walladmor, Vol. 2 (of 2) "Freely Translated into German from the English of Sir Walter Scott." And Now Freely Translated from the German into English. by Willibald Alexis

N EGRITO R ACES.
— from Essays: Scientific, Political, & Speculative; Vol. 2 of 3 Library Edition (1891), Containing Seven Essays not before Republished, and Various other Additions. by Herbert Spencer

That woman was now exceedingly rich, and she had all his wealth and all the properties and plantations of the town in her possession.
— from Black Tales for White Children by Nancy Yulee (Neff) Stigand

Nobody ever really aches to earn their living.
— from Susan Clegg and Her Love Affairs by Anne Warner

New Edition, revised and improved.
— from The Ocean World: Being a Description of the Sea and Its Living Inhabitants. by Louis Figuier