It can say it was not in existence last December.
— from The Mysterious Stranger, and Other Stories by Mark Twain

The most sensible and intelligent of all nations in Europe lays down the rule, Never Interrupt !
— from The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; Studies in Pessimism by Arthur Schopenhauer

The scabbard was of gold, and was ornamented with a scroll running nearly its entire length, displaying in engraved letters the names of the battles in which General Grant had participated.
— from Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, Complete by Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson) Grant

Ce vigoureux génie au travail si constant, Dont la vaste prudence à tous emplois s'étend, Qui du choix souverain tient par son haut mérite Du commerce et des arts la suprême conduite, A d'une noble idée enfanté le dessein, Qu'il confie au talent de cette docte main, Et dont il veut par elle attacher la richesse Aux sacrés murs du temple où son cœur s'intéresse (St-Eust.).
— from The Churches of Paris, from Clovis to Charles X by Sophia Beale

The king’s banker was Jacques Cœur, whose beautiful palace in Bourges shows a pun on his name in every lintel, door or window where a heart is cut in stone or wood to remind one of the owner.
— from Prophetical, Educational and Playing Cards by Van Rensselaer, John King, Mrs.

This calamitous course has actually been run in several countries: in France, it reached nearly its extreme limit during the existence of assignats.
— from On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures by Charles Babbage

Le patriotisme de Palsgrave lui multipliait les fétus dans l'oeil de nos imprimeurs, et lui dissimulait les poutres dans l'oeil des imprimeurs anglais.
— from An Introductorie for to Lerne to Read, To Pronounce, and to Speke French Trewly by Giles Du Wés