He has received us with uncommon cordiality, and put himself out not a little—" "I can believe that ," said Diana brusquely.
— from Lady Good-for-Nothing: A Man's Portrait of a Woman by Arthur Quiller-Couch

No branch of letters is richer at the present time than that in which the writer, laying aside all thought of direct creativeness, confines himself to the criticism of the works of the past or present, analyzing and studying the influences that have been brought to hear upon the poet, historian, or novelist, anatomizing literature and resolving it into its elements, pointing out the action exercised upon thought and expression by the age, and seeking the effects of these upon society and politics as well as upon the general tastes and moral being of a generation.
— from The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 09, No. 54, April, 1862 A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics by Various

In this spot the widow placed herself one night, and listening attentively to my conversation with Celia, she overheard us distinctly speaking of herself; and though we had frequently before amused ourselves at her expence, yet, as the devil would have it, {369} we had never before spoken so ill of her.
— from The Life and Adventures of Guzman D'Alfarache, or the Spanish Rogue, vol. 3/3 by Mateo Alemán

There should have been music, but every bird was mute, and the hyla piped his one note at long-drawn intervals.
— from Outings at Odd Times by Charles C. (Charles Conrad) Abbott

[4] It is somewhat doubtful whether the very first discovery of the art of making glass, took place here or not, as learned men have noticed a considerable number of allusions in various writings of a very high antiquity, which they have thought might possibly refer to this substance.
— from Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. XXVII, August 1852, Vol. V by Various

He placed his own nose and lips on the baby's cheek and drew a long breath.
— from Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin by Mary Hazelton Blanchard Wade