To speak the truth, I had no especial relish for such amusement at any time, and, at that particular moment, would most willingly have declined it; for the night was coming on, and I felt much fatigued with the exercise already taken; but I saw no mode of escape, and was fearful of disturbing my poor friend’s equanimity by a refusal.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 1 by Edgar Allan Poe

A large picture-book was spread out across the young lady's knees, and her most serious attention was being bestowed on a picture of Joseph in the pit, which subject her uncle elucidated by a commentary not exactly remarkable for Scriptural accuracy.
— from The Tree of Knowledge: A Novel by Reynolds, Baillie, Mrs.

" I did not know, for I could see no earthly reason for such feeling.
— from A Bicycle of Cathay by Frank Richard Stockton

He had no earthly reason for saying this.
— from A Likely Story by William De Morgan

The aid of neighbors, ever ready for such an undertaking, was called into requisition, and soon they removed from the small and only too well ventilated hut, through the chinks of which the sun shone in by day and the moon by night, and the rain penetrated whenever it would, to the ample, pleasant home already described.
— from Holidays at the Grange; or, A Week's Delight Games and Stories for Parlor and Fireside by Emily Mayer Higgins

Sed mihi non sumo, ut meum consilium valere debuerit; secutus sum tuum neque id rei publicae causa, de qua desperavi, quae et nunc adflicta est nec excitari sine civili perniciosissimo bello potest, sed te quaerebam, tecum esse cupiebam neque eius rei facultatem, si quae erit, praetermittam.
— from Cicero: Letters to Atticus, Vol. 2 of 3 by Marcus Tullius Cicero

During this night, the longest and most dreary conceivable, our hero used to relate that he felt a ray of cheerfulness come casually across his mind, and could not even refrain from smiling, when he reflected on this ludicrous group for a painter, of which he himself was the principal figure.
— from The Indian: On the Battle-Field and in the Wigwam by John Frost

Add to this list Melos, Patmos, Rhodes, Lemnos, and Naxos, each remarkable for something.
— from The Complete Club Book for Women Including Subjects, Material and References for Study Programs; together with a Constitution and By-Laws; Rules of Order; Instructions how to make a Year Book; Suggestions for Practical Community Work; a Resume of what Some Clubs are Doing, etc., etc. by Caroline French Benton