“I think I've got a bright new shilling somewhere in my pocket, and if I have, the boy shall have it.”
— from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Buxhöwden is commander in chief by seniority, but General Bennigsen does not quite see it; more particularly as it is he and his corps who are within sight of the enemy and he wishes to profit by the opportunity to fight a battle ‘on his own hand’ as the Germans say.
— from War and Peace by Tolstoy, Leo, graf

The same, in like manner, came to pass in the works of sculpture, for all those that were made in Italy by the masters of that age, as has been said in the Preface to the Lives, were very rude, as can be seen in many places, and in particular in S. Bartolommeo at Pistoia, a church of the Canons Regular, where, in a pulpit very rudely made by Guido da Como, there is the beginning of the life of Jesus Christ, with these words carved thereon by the craftsman himself in the year 1199: SCULPTOR LAUDATUR, QUOD DOCTUS IN ARTE PROBATUR, GUIDO DE COMO ME CUNCTIS CARMINE PROMO.
— from Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects, Vol. 01 (of 10) Cimabue to Agnolo Gaddi by Giorgio Vasari

I will spare nothing for that purpose that stands in my power, although it be but little help that can be expected from me.
— from Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson

The point they ignore is that when civilization existed only in isolated spots on the earth's surface it might pass away in one spot only to spring to life in another, but now that civilization is world-wide the dream of a return to nature and the joys of savagery conjured up by Rousseau and Weishaupt can never be realized.
— from Secret Societies And Subversive Movements by Nesta Helen Webster

I have now that first sermon in my possession, and I cannot help saying that, considering my tender years, I think it a very good one.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

I am thy drudge in the world's eyes, yet in God's sight peradventure thy better, my soul is more precious, and I dearer unto him.
— from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton

But my heart and head to-night is full of the Victualling business, being overjoyed and proud at my success in my proposal about it, it being read before the King, Duke, and the Caball with complete applause and satisfaction.
— from The Diary of Samuel Pepys — Complete by Samuel Pepys

The great tie of language, and, of course, of a common origin, was severed in many places; and it was one of its consequences, that the Delaware and the Mingo (as the people of the Six Nations were called) were found fighting in the same ranks, while the latter sought the scalp of the Huron, though believed to be the root of his own stock.
— from The Last of the Mohicans; A narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper

I hope you will cause a holy mass to be said in Maria Plain and in Loretto.
— from The Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Volume 01 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

'—'But do not the King's justice and kindness set you at ease?'—'That is very true in reasoning,' said he; 'but the sentiment is more prompt, and inspires me with fear before I have time to say to myself all that is calculated to allay it.'"
— from Memoirs of the Courts of Louis XV and XVI. — Volume 1 Being secret memoirs of Madame Du Hausset, lady's maid to Madame de Pompadour, and of the Princess Lamballe by Mme. Du Hausset

I had something like nine shillings in my pocket, and I felt that business was out of the question as long as any of this remained.
— from The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp by W. H. (William Henry) Davies

[1144] Even Köstlin has to admit this confusion, though he does so with reserve: “In Luther,” he says, “we see in many passages an intermingling of the pure Word and pure doctrine.”
— from Luther, vol. 6 of 6 by Hartmann Grisar

He distressed me by standing in my presence as if he was my inferior.
— from Poor Miss Finch by Wilkie Collins

Fortunately, I have a special-delivery stamp in my pocket, and I can post the packet in the mail-chute.
— from The Gates of Chance by Van Tassel Sutphen

The answer to this application is still in my possession, and is penned in an apologetic tone: it states that the manuscript had been handed in, paid for, and inserted as an advertisement, without sufficient inquiry, or any knowledge as to whom it referred.
— from The Purcell Papers — Volume 2 by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

'Pedro for a moment appeared to be in a brown study; at last, gazing hard at his friend, he said: ''Would two hundred tempt you to speak?' ''If such a proposition were to come from a stranger, I might, perchance, accept it; but seeing it comes from you—never.' ''Why?' ''Because, when you offer me two hundred dollars for any thing, it must be worth far more than you offer.' ''Well, now, admit, just as a supposition, that I am interested in this mat {629} ter, what harm will it do you, if we both turn an honest penny?' ''That is just the point; but I don't want you to turn ten pennies to my one.' ''Your scruples, my dear Pepito, display a cautious temperament, and evince deep acquaintance with human nature; you see through my little veil of mystery, and I own your sagacity; now I will be honest with you—with a man like you, lying is mere folly.
— from The Continental Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 6, June, 1862 Devoted To Literature and National Policy by Various

I made a record of everything that was said in my presence; and I repeated it here because it is true.
— from Trial of the Major War Criminals Before the International Military Tribunal, Nuremburg, 14 November 1945-1 October 1946, Volume 3 by Various

The bulk of the treasure is, however, still in my possession, and I placed aside one casket of ancient jewels intact as a gift to Judith on our ma
— from The Closed Book: Concerning the Secret of the Borgias by William Le Queux