But flesh and blood could not resist for ever, and so—this is her story: ‘I at last consented, for the sake
— from British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions by Wirt Sikes

Jane could have no reserves from Elizabeth, where confidence would give pleasure; and instantly embracing her, acknowledged, with the liveliest emotion, that she was the happiest creature in the world.
— from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Crow and the Pitcher A Crow, half-dead with thirst, came upon a Pitcher which had once been full of water; but when the Crow put its beak into the mouth of the Pitcher he found that only very little water was left in it, and that he could not reach far enough down to get at it.
— from Aesop's Fables by Aesop

I am not romantic fool enough to further the fortune, or avert the fate, of one who is likely to be a successful obstacle between me and my wishes.
— from Ivanhoe: A Romance by Walter Scott

He hath more reason to glory in it than to be ashamed of it.”—“Indeed, sir,” says Jones, “I have no reason for either; but if it preserved Miss Western, I shall always think it the happiest accident of my life.”—“And
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding

[34] It is not to be expected that this treatise shall contain rules for the guidance of staff officers in all the details of their multifarious duties; for, in the first place, every different nation has staff officers with different names and rounds of duties,—so that I should be obliged to write new rules for each army; in the second place, these details are fully entered into in special books pertaining to these subjects.
— from The Art of War by Jomini, Antoine Henri, baron de

This might seem to be to his disadvantage with Count Olenski's wife; but Archer was too intelligent to think that a young woman like Ellen Olenska would necessarily recoil from everything that reminded her of her past.
— from The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

When, therefore, you see anyone eminent in honors or power, or in high esteem on any other account, take heed not to be bewildered by appearances and to pronounce him happy; for if the essence of good consists in things within our own power, there will be no room for envy or emulation.
— from The Enchiridion by Epictetus

Great God, I'm not ready for either!"—his words, like old Joy's, cutting squarely across the hymn as it continued: "'Death like a nor-rah streabm di-vi-dns
— from Gideon's Band: A Tale of the Mississippi by George Washington Cable

Venice ), when no atom of authority was in the tale to [123] justify it; to another has given a name which exists not in the tale, Nic Bottom, and which she thought would be funny, though in this I suspect his hand, for I guess her reading does not reach far enough to know Bottom's christian name; and one of Hamlet and grave-digging, a scene which is not hinted at in the story, and you might as well have put King Canute the Great reproving his courtiers.
— from Mary Lamb by Anne (Anne Burrows) Gilchrist

Full of tact, Nehemiah refrained from entreating Artaxerxes to give him leave to start upon his journey, until a favourable opportunity should occur.
— from History of the Jews, Vol. 1 (of 6) by Heinrich Graetz

For several miles, to the southwest, the noble river, flowing eight hundred feet below us, on its silent course to Arctic ocean, could be distinctly traced as it meandered through its mighty valley.
— from The Unexploited West A Compilation of all of the authentic information available at the present time as to the Natural Resources of the Unexploited Regions of Northern Canada by Ernest J. Chambers

Thus, man should not refrain from exertion.
— from Letters from a Sûfî Teacher by Sharaf al-Din Ahmad ibn Yahya Maniri

He spent the next day in hoping that Blaney would come, though he had no reason for expecting him so soon, and by night he was in worse condition than ever.
— from The Short Line War by Samuel Merwin

I'm going to get a new rug for the parlor, a fur-trimmed winter suit, a standing lamp with a Chinese shade, a pair of skates—oh, dear, I'm at the bottom of the page and there's no room for "End," but I must squeeze in that I got that reward—Mrs. Janney said I'd earned every penny of it—and a wrist watch with a circle of diamonds round it from Dick Ferguson, and—oh, pshaw!
— from Miss Maitland, Private Secretary by Geraldine Bonner

"For my part, sire, I can not refrain from expressing my high admiration of the lofty spirit and purpose on your part, which leads you to propose to us an enterprise so worthy of your illustrious station and exalted personal renown.
— from Xerxes Makers of History by Jacob Abbott

His only consolation would be in the reflection that he was not responsible for either characters or events.
— from The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today by Charles Dudley Warner

[104] The success of one mighty plan only induced him to form another; and while he was conscious that he was the general object of jealousy and suspicion {79} to Europe, Napoleon could not refrain from encroachments, which necessarily increased and perpetuated such hostile sentiments towards him.
— from Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, Volume III. by Walter Scott