As a finish to the ornament, a little gold clasp was needed; fortunately I possessed it in the fastening of my sole necklace; I duly detached and re-attached it, then coiled compactly the completed guard; and enclosed it in a small box I had bought for its brilliancy, made of some tropic shell of the colour called "nacarat," and decked with a little coronal of sparkling blue stones.
— from Villette by Charlotte Brontë

No! Ignorance, dirt, drunkenness, a terribly high rate of infant mortality—everything is just as it was, and no one is any the better for your having ploughed and sown and my having spent money and read books.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of 233 Short Stories of Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

Nay I do declare, according to Information from the Indians themselves, that there are to this day far greater Quantities of Gold kept hid and concealed than ever were yet detected or brought to light, which by means of the Spanish Injustice and Cruelty, they would not then, nor ever will discover so long as they are so barbarously treated, but will rather chose to dye with the Herd.
— from A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies Or, a faithful NARRATIVE OF THE Horrid and Unexampled Massacres, Butcheries, and all manner of Cruelties, that Hell and Malice could invent, committed by the Popish Spanish Party on the inhabitants of West-India, TOGETHER With the Devastations of several Kingdoms in America by Fire and Sword, for the space of Forty and Two Years, from the time of its first Discovery by them. by Bartolomé de las Casas

Spenser once more arrived in London, but he was now in dire distress and prostrated by the hardships which he had suffered.
— from Spenser's The Faerie Queene, Book I by Edmund Spenser

Footnote 8 : (return) 'Naturane nobis, inquit, datum dicam, an errore quodam, ut, cum ea loca videamus, in quibus memoria dignos viros acceperimus multum esse versatos, magis moveamur, quam siquando eorum ipsorum aut facta audiamus aut scriptum aliquod legamus?
— from An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume

Rain, wind, and darkness filled the air; nevertheless, I dimly discerned a wall before me and a door open in it; through this door I passed with my new guide: she shut and locked it behind her.
— from Jane Eyre: An Autobiography by Charlotte Brontë

It is the symbol of the object of all building of guns, armour, and ships, all the nursing in dry dock, all the admiral's plans, all the parliamentary appropriations, all the striving on board ship in man's competition with man, crew with crew, gun with gun, and ship with ship.
— from My Year of the War Including an Account of Experiences with the Troops in France and the Record of a Visit to the Grand Fleet Which is Here Given for the First Time in its Complete Form by Frederick Palmer

I believe the right name is Diego de Abrego.
— from The Conquest of the River Plate (1535-1555) by Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar, active 16th century

But the national intellectual development demands above all individual emancipation.
— from The Promise of American Life by Herbert David Croly

I shall ride over about eleven to urge my suit in person; may I hope that your good nature will spare me the negative I doubtless deserve, and that you will give me a chance?
— from The Pit Town Coronet: A Family Mystery, Volume 1 (of 3) by C. J. (Charles James) Wills

The police forces of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and the rest yield nothing in demeanour, devotion, and daring to their colleagues of the Metropolis.
— from Mysteries of Police and Crime, Vol. 1 (of 3) by Arthur Griffiths