The narrowest escape was that of young Mr. Oberman.
— from Peck's Compendium of Fun Comprising the Choicest Gems of Wit, Humor, Sarcasm and Pathos of America's Favorite Humorist by George W. (George Wilbur) Peck

Nothing else was talked of yesterday at Court and elsewhere but the resignation of four members of the Ministry, which deprives it of much of its moral force.
— from Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1831-1835 by Dino, Dorothée, duchesse de

I know that you, in your peerless beauty—so fair, so sweet, so good, so talented, so admired and sought after—are worthy of a throne, and I have not even wealth to offer you—nothing, in fact, but the love of a man whose honor is unstained, and who would cherish you as the apple of his eye.
— from Grandmother Elsie by Martha Finley