When men have been thus fighting against overwhelming odds for some sixteen months for government of their people by their people for their people—however inarticulate the emotions of the rank and file on going into battle—it is idle to claim that they do not know what they want, whether the great majority of the rank and file can read and write or not.
— from The American Occupation of the Philippines 1898-1912 by James H. (James Henderson) Blount

She could not have spoken to anyone when she was out, for she had been in the company of the bridegroom.
— from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

If only for the sake of old friendship, stop and tell me your fifth question.”
— from The Innocence of Father Brown by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton

I have more than once alluded to a large body of facts showing that, when animals and plants are removed from their natural conditions, they are extremely liable to have their reproductive systems seriously affected.
— from The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection Or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, 6th Edition by Charles Darwin

The evening of the third day afterward, Wheaton, who had wept scalding tears, and Brown, whose cheeks had recovered their color, and myself, that for an hour thought my heart would never rebound again from the fearful shock—that evening, I say, we three were seated around a table in another tavern, drinking other beer, and laughing but a little less cheerfully, and as though we had never known the widow or her daughter—neither of whom, I venture to affirm, came into our minds once the whole night, or but to be dismiss'd again, carelessly, like the remembrance of faces seen in a crowd.
— from Complete Prose Works Specimen Days and Collect, November Boughs and Goodbye My Fancy by Walt Whitman

It was the sound of footsteps, some one was walking in the dark, and coming in his direction.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

110 Had it indeed been possible to realize this dream of fancy, such princes as Trajan and the Antonines would surely have embraced with ardor the glorious opportunity of conferring so signal an obligation on mankind.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Table of Contents with links in the HTML file to the two Project Gutenberg editions (12 volumes) by Edward Gibbon

THE WORKS OF FREDERICK SCHILLER
— from The Thirty Years War — Volume 01 by Friedrich Schiller

One and all—of those that had been aroused in time to get clear of the oncoming fiery sickle—the fugitives were making for the cool safety of the lake.
— from Further Adventures of Lad by Albert Payson Terhune

The rumours of the offers of the scarlet hat to Laud, and the residence of these Papal envoys in London, excited the jealousy of the people and added immensely to Charles's unpopularity; for no one felt sure of his real faith.
— from Cassell's History of England, Vol. 2 (of 8) From the Wars of the Roses to the Great Rebellion by Anonymous

Odd little cadences, torn out of fleeting space, whined shrilly in their ears.
— from The Stampeder by Samuel Alexander White

The Rev. Mr. John Wyatt, Master of Felsted School, in Essex.
— from The Spanish Armada, 1588 The Tapestry Hangings of the House of Lords Representing the Several Engagements Between the English and Spanish Fleets. by John Pine

And nursing squaws, their babies at their backs Whining because the milk they got was thinned In dugs of famine, strove as with a wind.
— from The Song of Hugh Glass by John G. Neihardt

“Of course; that’s just what we should have thought of first,” said Charles, beginning where Henry left off.
— from A Blundering Boy: A Humorous Story by Bruce Weston Munro

Just as A. O. and G. dominated the world of finance, so he dominated A. O. and G. Harrison laughed.
— from The Law of Hemlock Mountain by Hugh Lundsford

It was her own fault, she said to herself, and so it was to some extent.
— from The Wizard's Son, Vol. 1 (of 3) by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant