“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down.
— from My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass

She kept turning her head as the car ran on, because she was uncertain of the street.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence

All next day, he was occupied in disposing of his fishing-boat and tackle; in packing up, and sending to London by waggon, such of his little domestic possessions as he thought would be useful to him; and in parting with the rest, or bestowing them on Mrs. Gummidge.
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Yet I cannot quit the torturing, passionate endeavour, though again and again I reach out blindly for an object to hold to.
— from The World I Live In by Helen Keller

"I am variously affected," replied Omar, "by the difference of your success; but I charge you by no means to raise the siege of the castle.
— 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

I might, indeed, have waited till the morning before going on board, but would not run the risk of being too late.
— from Villette by Charlotte Brontë

All you need in these matters is a little give and take, a bit of reasonableness on both sides.
— from Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse

The coast of the Tracheia is narrow, and either has no level ground or it rarely occurs; besides this, the Taurus overhangs it, which is badly inhabited as far even as the northern side, about Isaura and the Homonadeis as far as Pisidia.
— from The Geography of Strabo, Volume 3 (of 3) Literally Translated, with Notes by Strabo

Farmer Gilbert's head was thrust from the opening, and his fierce eyes watched the slight figure ascend to the landing above and turn in the direction of the rooms occupied by the Commander-in-Chief.
— from From Kingdom to Colony by Mary Devereux

In this state—the rigidity occasionally being less, but the unconsciousness continuing unchanged—it will remain; the eyes are turned upward or into the skull, the gums and tongue are pallid, the legs and belly cold: the appearances are those of approaching death, which, unless relief is afforded, may in a short time take place.
— from The Dog by W. N. (William Nelson) Hutchinson

The love of a retired or busy life will grow upon a man insensibly, as he is conversant in the one or the other, till he is utterly unqualified for relishing that to which he has been for some time disused.
— from The Young Gentleman and Lady's Monitor, and English Teacher's Assistant Being a collection of select pieces from our best modern writers, calculated to eradicate vulgar prejudices and rusticity of manners, improve the understanding, rectify the will, purify the passions, direct the minds of youth to the pursuit of proper objects, and to facilitate their reading, writing, and speaking the English language with elegance and propriety by John Hamilton Moore

Bernice Kenyon (Mrs. Walter Gilkyson) (A); 15Sep61; R281842. October, by Bernice Kenyon.
— from U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1962 January - June by Library of Congress. Copyright Office

The golden child is growing old, Further than Rome or Babylon From you have passed those foolish years.
— from Goblins and Pagodas by John Gould Fletcher

Inspector Bristol was much impressed, for into one of the rooms occupied by the Fibre Company shone that curious disc of light which first had drawn his attention to Bank Chambers.
— from The Quest of the Sacred Slipper by Sax Rohmer

A dead body floating down the river and washing ashore is likely to remain on the banks until it again drifts away or the authorities get it buried, for no unofficial person would voluntarily run the risk of being seen interring it.
— from The Middle Kingdom, Volume 1 (of 2) A Survey of the Geography, Government, Literature, Social Life, Arts, and History of the Chinese Empire and its Inhabitants by S. Wells (Samuel Wells) Williams

In demanding Shalmaneser’s help, Marduk-nadîn-shumu had virtually thrown on him the responsibility of bringing these turbulent subjects to order, and the Assyrian monarch accepted the duties of his new position without demur.
— from History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 7 (of 12) by G. (Gaston) Maspero

By fixing pins so that they pressed against the radicles of beans suspended vertically in damp air, we saw this kind of curvature; but rubbing the part with a twig or needle for a few minutes produced no effect.
— from The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Francis, Sir

She led him into a street where every house was like its neighbor, even to the "Rooms" sign in the windows, and up the steps of one she could have recognized only by counting from the corner.
— from Seven Keys to Baldpate by Earl Derr Biggers