Oak stepped up behind, where, leaning down upon the roof and putting his eye close to a hole, he could see into the interior clearly.
— from Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

There, it seems, he first met with the poems of Homer, which were preserved by the descendants of Kreophylus, and observing that they were no less useful for politics and education than for relaxation and pleasure, he eagerly copied and compiled them, with the intention of bringing them home with him.
— from Plutarch's Lives, Volume 1 (of 4) by Plutarch

A little dose of judgment or reason, as Pierre Huber expresses it, often comes into play, even with animals low in the scale of nature.
— 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 girl marched to that article, removed it with some clatter, and put it back in the shop window; she then returned, and, putting her elegant elbows on the table, regarded the young man not unfavourably but with considerable exasperation.
— from The Innocence of Father Brown by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton

Few are the hearts whose happy lot it is at once to recognize in each other's voices the partner intended for them by Providence, and to fly into a reciprocal and perfectly harmonious embrace.
— from Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Illustrated) by Edwin Abbott Abbott

It is necessary to distinguish accurately the history, of art and literature from those historical labours which make use of works of art, but for extraneous purposes (such as biography, civil, religious, and political history, etc.), and also from historical erudition, whose object is preparation for the Aesthetic synthesis of reproduction.
— from Aesthetic as Science of Expression and General Linguistic by Benedetto Croce

“What was the most remarkable about Powell,” he enunciated dogmatically with his head in a cloud of smoke, “is that he should have had just that name.
— from Chance: A Tale in Two Parts by Joseph Conrad

Rapping and poking, his efforts were rewarded at last.
— from The Time Traders by Andre Norton

After the Japanese occupation of Kiaochow, Japan shall acquire all the rights and privileges hitherto enjoyed by the Germans in regard to railways, mines and all other interests, and after peace and order is restored in Tsingtao, the place shall be handed back to China to be opened as an International Treaty port.
— from The Fight for the Republic in China by B. L. (Bertram Lenox) Putnam Weale

He mentioned a then recent number of Harper’s Weekly , in which were illustrations of the slaughter of buffalo, and also read a partly historical extract in regard to the same.
— from The Extermination of the American Bison by William T. (William Temple) Hornaday

Complicated tassel-making requires a professional hand; even a simple tassel requires making properly.
— from Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving by Grace Christie

His increased rank and power had effected no noticeable change of any kind in him, and by his genial and cordial ways he made me think that my presence with the German army had contributed to his pleasure.
— from Personal Memoirs of P. H. Sheridan, Volume 2, Part 6 by Philip Henry Sheridan

She lay down by the roadside, and pressed her ear to the earth to listen for the sound of hoof-beats, but only the forest murmurs came to her, the moan of the wind in the valleys, the leafy murmur of the trees, the creaking of broken and swaying branches, the faint calling of birds, all confused and mingled in a vague wave of sound.
— from The Pioneers by Katharine Susannah Prichard