It is not easy to convey a person’s manner by words, and I can hardly give any idea of the peculiar feeling that came upon me when I saw the ladies on the point of starting for the bank.
— from Erewhon; Or, Over the Range by Samuel Butler

It is not easy to conceive a possibility that dangers so formidable can assail the whole Union, as to demand a force considerable enough to place our liberties in the least jeopardy, especially if we take into our view the aid to be derived from the militia, which ought always to be counted upon as a valuable and powerful auxiliary.
— from The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton

It is not easy to conceive a plan better calculated than this to promote a judicious choice of men for filling the offices of the Union; and it will not need proof, that on this point must essentially depend the character of its administration.
— from The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton

It was not enough to convoke a Parliament or to open a negotiation with the Prince of Orange.
— from The History of England, from the Accession of James II — Volume 2 by Macaulay, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron

But by the awkward quarrel with Clodius, Pompeius had lost the command of the streets, and could not expect to carry a proposal in his favour in the popular assembly.
— from The History of Rome (Volumes 1-5) by Theodor Mommsen

It is not easy to conceive a pair in more consummate astonishment than Walter and his spouse were by the time the conversation had reached this point.
— from The Brownie of Bodsbeck, and Other Tales (Vol. 1 of 2) by James Hogg

Whenever capital is withdrawn from production, or from the fund destined for production, to be lent to the state and expended unproductively, that whole sum is withheld from the laboring-classes: the loan, therefore, is in truth paid off the same year; the whole of the sacrifice necessary for paying it off is actually made: only it is paid to the wrong persons, and therefore does not extinguish the claim; and paid by the very worst of taxes, a tax exclusively on the laboring-class.
— from Principles of Political Economy Abridged with Critical, Bibliographical, and Explanatory Notes, and a Sketch of the History of Political Economy by John Stuart Mill

They landed at Coruna—at which place they certainly could not expect to create a Portuguese revolution, which was the first object of the expedition—destroyed some shipping in the harbour, captured and sacked the lower town, and were repulsed in the upper; marched with six thousand men to Burgos, crossed the bridge at push of pike, and routed ten thousand Spaniards under Andrada and Altamira—Edward Norris receiving a desperate blow on the head at the passage' of the bridge, and being rescued from death by his brother John—took sail for the south after this action, in which they had killed a thousand Spaniards, and had lost but two men of their own; were joined off Cape Finisterre by Essex; landed a force at Peniche, the castle of which place surrendered to them, and acknowledged the authority of Don Antonio; and thence marched with the main body of the troops, under Sir John Norris, forty-eight miles to Lisbon, while Drake, with the fleet, was to sail up the Tagus.
— from History of the United Netherlands from the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Year's Truce — Complete (1584-1609) by John Lothrop Motley

His appeal to New Englanders to come and plant was in like manner scorned.
— from Caribbee by Thomas Hoover

I have already discussed that supposition in a former note : but in reference to the expression οὐ σμικρῷ, we may observe, first, that the use of negative expressions to convey a positive idea would be in the ordinary manner of Thucydidês.
— from History of Greece, Volume 06 (of 12) by George Grote

As he finished speaking, the old negro entered the cabin, and perceiving the intruders, enquired the cause of their presence.
— from The Trials of the Soldier's Wife A Tale of the Second American Revolution by Alex. St. Clair (Alexander St. Clair) Abrams

Since I have undertaken the task of drawing sketches of colonial life, I must not endeavour to conceal any portion of the truth, nor tacitly allow erroneous conclusions to be drawn from my remarks.
— from The Bushman — Life in a New Country by Edward Wilson Landor