Therefore we sat moody and silent, some of us too sleepy even to smoke.
— from The Heart of Denise, and Other Tales by S. (Sidney) Levett Yeats

Nowadays, while it is not uncommon in Wales—which had only the Welsh liturgy—to hear the "Dim Sassenach," which means that some old person is unable or unwilling to speak English, the Cornish equivalent, "Mee a navidra cowza Sawzneck," has been entirely forgotten.
— from Nooks and Corners of Cornwall by C. A. (Catharine Amy) Dawson Scott

And laid her other hand in his—a gesture of utter trust so exquisite that, for a moment, tears blinded him, and all the forest wavered grotesquely before his desperately fixed gaze.
— from In Secret by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers

The latter obliges us to sacrifice every thing if it be necessary; and it is on account of cases of this nature, that it is written of the tribe of Levi: 'Qui dixerunt patri suo et matri suæ, nescio vos, et fratribus suis ignoro vos, nescierunt filios suos.'
— from Protestantism and Catholicity compared in their effects on the civilization of Europe by Jaime Luciano Balmes

Wandering out upon the streets, eager to learn if any new tidings had come of the spy, they soon found themselves walking under the refreshing shade of rows of ornamental trees.
— from Where Duty Called; or, In Honor Bound by George Waldo Browne

Of besides as a preposition, Skeat, in his “Etymological Dictionary,” says:—“The more correct form is beside ; ‘besides’ is a later development, due to the habit of using the suffix -es to form adverbs; the use of besides as a preposition, is, strictly incorrect, but is as old as the 12th century.”
— from A Desk-Book of Errors in English Including Notes on Colloquialisms and Slang to be Avoided in Conversation by Frank H. Vizetelly

What you have said on the subject of believing in the testimony of David, that the "Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works," also the same sentiment communicated by Jesus Christ, that God loves his enemies and that he requires of us the same exercise towards our enemies, though perfectly reasonable, as I view the subject, seems to call up the question, how it happens that thousands of professed Christians, who believe in the miracles of Jesus, his resurrection and the miracles of the apostles, are notwithstanding hostile to this divine and glorious sentiment of the blessed Jesus!
— from A Series of Letters, in Defence of Divine Revelation In Reply to Rev. Abner Kneeland's Serious Inquiry into the Authenticity of the Same. To Which is Added, a Religious Correspondence, Between the Rev. Hosea Ballou, and the Rev. Dr. Joseph Buckminster and Rev. Joseph Walton, Pastors of Congregational Churches in Portsmouth, N. H. by Hosea Ballou