This extraordinary woman, who for ten years made a hobby of trying the effects of various slow poisons on her nearest relations, thereby causing the death of her father and brothers, might appear to have been merely an isolated criminal of the abnormal type but for the sequel to her exploits in the epidemic of poisoning which followed and during twenty years kept Paris in a state of terror.
— from Secret Societies And Subversive Movements by Nesta Helen Webster

This was a complete victory for Bonaparte (Bingham calls it the Directory's "abject apology"), and, as Scott points out, he now "obtained an ascendency which he took admirable care not 209 to relinquish; and it became the sole task of the Directory, so far as Italy was concerned, to study phrases for intimating their approbation of the young general's measures."
— from Napoleon's Letters to Josephine, 1796-1812 For the First Time Collected and Translated, with Notes Social, Historical, and Chronological, from Contemporary Sources by Emperor of the French Napoleon I

While this was happening on the Hudson, the English commander-in-chief of the troops acting in America had curiously enough made use of the sea power of his nation to transport the bulk of his army—fourteen thousand men—from New York to the head of Chesapeake Bay, so as to take Philadelphia in the rear.
— from The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by A. T. (Alfred Thayer) Mahan

,’ said Mr Swiveller, putting on his nightcap in exactly the same style as he wore his hat, ‘remind me of the matrimonial fireside.
— from The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens

‘Marchioness,’ said Mr Swiveller, plucking off his nightcap and flinging it to the other end of the room; ‘if you’ll do me the favour to retire for a few minutes and see what sort of a night it is, I’ll get up.’
— from The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens

Mad movements both, restrainable by no known rule; strongest passions of human nature driving them on: love, hatred; vengeful sorrow, braggart Nationality also vengeful,—and pale Panic over all!
— from The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle

But there was something more to be done, apparently, before she put on her neckerchief and long sleeves, which she was to wear in the day-time, for now she unlocked the drawer that held her private treasures.
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot

Olga Ivanovna always called her husband by his surname, as she did all the men of her acquaintance; she disliked his Christian name, Osip, because it reminded her of the Osip in Gogol and the silly pun on his name.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of 233 Short Stories of Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

Gogol, who had meant to do a service to Russia and not to heap ridicule upon her, took the criticisms of the Slavophiles to heart; and he palliated his critics by promising to bring about in the succeeding parts of his novel the redemption of Chichikov and the other “knaves and blockheads.”
— from Dead Souls by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol

What was the serious purpose of his novels?
— from English Literature Its History and Its Significance for the Life of the English-Speaking World by William J. (William Joseph) Long

Thereafter, to add to his stock of knowledge and widen his experience, he began to travel, and visited Germany, Flanders, and the several provinces of his native country.
— from The Ceramic Art A Compendium of The History and Manufacture of Pottery and Porcelain by Jennie J. Young

The stubborn part of his nature was stirred and he spoke coldly of something else, while she replied in like fashion.
— from Before the Dawn: A Story of the Fall of Richmond by Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander) Altsheler

The newspapers had leading articles on the subject pointing out how negligent the police must be, when such terrible events could happen in the heart of the most civilised capital in the world.
— from The Red-headed Man by Fergus Hume

The federal troops burned two hundred and fifty bales of cotton on his plantation, besides three thousand bushels of corn, much of which was sacked ready for distribution among the suffering people of his native county, Butler.
— from Makers and Romance of Alabama History by B. F. (Benjamin Franklin) Riley

So proud of her new dress was Rosy, that she needs must wear it to her work.
— from The Arrow of Fire A Mystery Story for Boys by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell

He presented a fine sheep, and reported that Seyed Majid was dead—he had been ailing and fell from some part of his new house at Darsalam, and in three days afterwards expired.
— from The Last Journals of David Livingstone, in Central Africa, from 1865 to His Death, Volume II (of 2), 1869-1873 Continued By A Narrative Of His Last Moments And Sufferings, Obtained From His Faithful Servants Chuma And Susi by David Livingstone

It was a moot point to consider whether the temptations that would be brought to bear upon him in his course would exceed the staying power of his nature.
— from Two on a Tower by Thomas Hardy