Heaven knows what pains the author has been at, what bitter experiences he has endured and what heartache suffered, to give some chance reader a few hours' relaxation or to while away the tedium of a journey.
— from The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham

She actually relaxed towards the general a little—he had been long disgraced—and though she managed to quarrel with them all the next day, yet she soon came round, and from her general behaviour it was to be concluded that she had had good news of some sort, which she would like, but could not make up her mind, to disclose.
— from The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The symptoms are, as we shall see, compromise results, arising from the integration of two opposed tendencies; they represent not only the suppressed force but also the suppressing factor, which was originally potent in bringing about the negation.
— from A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud

The steaming canal ran away from below them under an indistinct bridge, and vanished into the dim haze of the flat fields towards Burslem.
— from The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

He uttered a shriek, circled round, and fell with his face against one of the iron bars, his one remaining eye wide open.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of 233 Short Stories of Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

SYN: Claim, require, ask for, call for, insist.
— from A Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms or, Synonyms and Words of Opposite Meaning by Samuel Fallows

St. Clare and one or two others made an effort to separate them, and St. Clare received a fatal stab in the side with a bowie-knife, which he was attempting to wrest from one of them.
— from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Cook Islands the northern Cook Islands are seven low-lying, sparsely populated, coral atolls; the southern Cook Islands consist of eight elevated, fertile, volcanic isles where most of the populace lives Coral Sea Islands important nesting area for birds and turtles Costa Rica four volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the capital of San Jose in the center of the country; one of the volcanoes, Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65 Cote d'Ivoire most of the inhabitants live along the sandy coastal region; apart from the capital area, the forested interior is sparsely populated Croatia controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits Cuba largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the Greater Antilles Cyprus the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and Sardinia) Czech Republic landlocked; strategically located astride some of oldest and most significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is a traditional military corridor between the North European Plain and the Danube in central Europe Denmark controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen Djibouti strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly wasteland; Lac Assal (Lake Assal) is the lowest point in Africa Dominica known as "The Nature Island of the Caribbean" due to its spectacular, lush, and varied flora and fauna, which are protected by an extensive natural park system; the most mountainous of the Lesser Antilles, its volcanic peaks are cones of lava craters and include Boiling Lake, the second-largest, thermally active lake in the world
— from The 2003 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

"This petty system of usury," said the magistrate, "may be thought trifling; but it will no longer appear so, when you reflect that if one of these female [Pg 200] sharpers possesses a capital of seventy shillings, or £3 10s., with fourteen steady regular customers, she can realize a fixed income of one hundred guineas a year.
— from The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain, and Other Tales by Hannah More

"The bill proposes to establish by authority of Congress, military jurisdiction over all parts of the United States containing refugees and freedmen.
— from History of the Thirty-Ninth Congress of the United States by William Horatio Barnes

On a four led, for instance, it would be very unwise to play either a six or a five, as in such cases respectively, a five or six played by the first player would give him both fifteen and a sequence.
— from Hoyle's Games Modernized by Professor Hoffmann

The boys walked to the staff conference room and found Hartson Brant and Julius Weiss.
— from The Flaming Mountain: A Rick Brant Science-Adventure Story by Harold L. (Harold Leland) Goodwin

No spell can resist a fumigation of this nature; away fled palace, Hecuba, matrons, temple, &c.
— from Italy; with sketches of Spain and Portugal by William Beckford

The Pagans believed that supplications could relieve and free from their tortures, the common wicked detained in the expiatory abode of their hell; so the Church of Rome believed, and still believes, that, in the Purgatory of the hell of the Christians, the common wicked, namely, those guilty of venial sins, can be relieved in their torments, and be freed from them by supplications; hence the incalculable sums of money paid to the priests, to say masses for the deliverance of those wicked; hence the countless splendid churches, the vast number of monasteries, convents, nunneries, abbeys, and other costly edifices, founded in behalf of those wicked.
— from Pagan Origin of Partialist Doctrines by John Claudius Pitrat

After a fire, some charred remnants are found.
— from Other People's Money by Emile Gaboriau

I shall chiefly recollect (apart from personal reasons) for the sparkling freshness and vigour of the air; for the extent and variety of Golden Gate Park, where I found a bust of Beethoven, but no sign of Bret Harte; for the vast reading-room in the library at Berkeley, a university which is so enchantingly situated, beneath such a sun, and in sight of such a bay, that I marvel that any work can be done there at all; and for the miles and miles of perfect tarmac roads fringed with burning eschscholtzias and gentle purple irises.
— from Roving East and Roving West by E. V. (Edward Verrall) Lucas