But instead of opening that door the painter crawled under the bed and from underneath it asked K., "Just a moment more, would you not like to see a picture I could sell to you?"
— from The Trial by Franz Kafka

Daisy was a good blood-mare of my uncle’s, and to such a proposition I could not for my soul say no; so we rode in safety to Kilwangan, and I felt myself as proud as any prince when she promised to dance a country-dance with me.
— from Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray

glanced at the sheet, and saw a pleasing illustration composed of a lunatic, a corpse, a villain, and a viper.
— from Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott

Mr. Sloan, a popular Irish comedian from the provinces, has lent a helping hand, by coming out in a new drama.
— from Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, August 7, 1841 by Various

In utter seriousness and with immense solemnity whole races have given themselves up to exploiting these shabby mysteries; and while a new survey of the facts, in the light of natural science and psychology, is certainly not superfluous, it can be expected to lead to nothing but a more detailed and conscientious description of natural processes.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana

Had the incident been well known of old and always, it might by this time have grown to be lightly regarded as the rather tall wild oat, but well-nigh the single one, of a young man with whom the steady and mature (if somewhat headstrong) burgher of to-day had scarcely a point in common.
— from The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy

Such a phrase is called the emphatic form of the present or past tense.
— from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by George Lyman Kittredge

[Pg 170] CHAPTER THIRTEEN LANGUAGE AND THE TRAINING OF THOUGHT § 1. Language as the Tool of Thinking Ambiguous position of language Speech has such a peculiarly intimate connection with thought as to require special discussion.
— from How We Think by John Dewey

Aunt Sally has, however, had her day, and once again the inevitable “three shies a penny!” is chief among our outdoor amusements.
— from The Slang Dictionary: Etymological, Historical and Andecdotal by John Camden Hotten

I cannot, however, see any presumption in comparing my own works amongst themselves, when I neither make any reference to those of others, nor seek to bow public taste to my individual opinion.
— from Philip Augustus; or, The Brothers in Arms by G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James

On one occasion, having been let off lightly on condition of his entering into a formal written engagement not to repeat the offence, he showed the inveteracy of his habit by inserting after his signature words to the following effect:— “If Mr. Peacock [the solicitor to the Post Office] is any relation to the Mr. Peacock who, about twenty years ago, lived at [such a place], I can, on receiving the usual fee of twenty-one shillings, tell him something to his advantage.”
— from The Life of Sir Rowland Hill and the History of Penny Postage, Vol. 2 (of 2) by Hill, Rowland, Sir

If, however, the tent is only to be used in summer, and particularly in canoe travel where a light, easily erected model is desired, the Frazer tent is both ideal for comfort and is an exceedingly light weight model for portaging.
— from Packing and Portaging by Dillon Wallace

But, above all, (and this made manifest the hold that the Moorish boy had got upon his affections,) he was troubled with thoughts of Jacinto; and often, as the angel of sleep began to flutter over his eyelids, she was driven away, by some sudden and painfully intense conception of the great peril which must surround the friendless lad, now that the events of the evening proved him to be in the midst, and doubtless in the power, of an enraged multitude, to whom every stranger was an enemy.
— from Calavar; or, The Knight of The Conquest, A Romance of Mexico by Robert Montgomery Bird

The crowns and suckers, when they are detached at irregular seasons, as in winter, or very early in spring, are planted in any spare corner of the bark bed, till a number is collected, when they are planted in pots, according to their sizes, and plunged in common hot-beds, or pits.
— from The different modes of cultivating the pine-apple From its first introduction into Europe to the late improvements of T.A. Knight, esq. by J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon

Under the patronage of such a portrait it could only be called “Rough and Ready.”
— from The Headless Horseman: A Strange Tale of Texas by Mayne Reid

His gravity and corpulence had something almost priestly in character.
— from Mare Nostrum (Our Sea): A Novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez

Among the many subjects considered, are the first settlements and primitive incidents connected with New-York, Albany, Schenectady, Rochester, Brooklyn, etc.; notices of the early Dutch times; manners and customs; dress, furniture, and equipage; local changes; ancient memorials, and curious facts.
— from The Knickerbocker, Vol. 22, No. 4, October 1843 by Various

Mr Morgan, by right of his position, sat at the end of the table, and looked very severely at the first witness as he came in—which Elsworthy did, carrying his hat before him like a kind of shield, and polishing it carefully round and round.
— from The Perpetual Curate by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant

Just as the stump of a tree sawn across shows its age by its successive rings of growth, so a poem, if carefully { 79} examined, shows the rings of growth in the author's style of thought and expression.
— from An Introduction to Shakespeare by H. N. (Henry Noble) MacCracken