I half suspected the old people were trying to enhance the spiritual terrors of their house by their droning insistence.
— from The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

The firelight flickered from point to point, gleaming on the white and green coats of Gog and Magog, on the sleek, brown head of the beautiful setter basking on the rug, on the picture frames on the walls, on the vaseful of daffodils from the window garden, on Anne herself, sitting by her little table, with her sewing beside her and her hands clasped over her knee while she traced out pictures in the fire—Castles in Spain whose airy turrets pierced moonlit cloud and sunset bar-ships sailing from the Haven of Good Hopes straight to Four Winds Harbor with precious burthen.
— from Anne's House of Dreams by L. M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery

I was, rather from distraction than from exigency, throwing some thoughts on paper.
— from Sybil, Or, The Two Nations by Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield

We knew the Filipinos well, and our attitude was simply that of “Pharaoh and the Sergeant,” in Kipling’s ballad of the conquest of Egypt.
— from The American Occupation of the Philippines 1898-1912 by James H. (James Henderson) Blount

The actor apes a man—at least in shape; The opera performer apes an ape.
— from The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce

The first duty of the sovereign, that of protecting the society from the violence and invasion of other independent societies, can be performed only by means of a military force.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

“I could not have caught them if I had been forty years younger, and, believe me, I used to be some runner,” said the old prospector with open admiration at the speed the two fugitives had displayed.
— from The River Motor Boat Boys on the Yukon: The Lost Mine of Rainbow Bend by Harry Gordon

And is this resolution a precursor to a complete consolidation of the Union, and to the establishment of a simple republic?—Or will it suffice to break down every federative feature which secures to one portion of the Union, to the small States, their rights?
— from Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856, Vol. 3 (of 16) by United States. Congress

As may be seen, this operation presented peculiar difficulties, although Mr. Langlois was enabled to overcome these with much skill.
— from Scientific American Supplement, No. 561, October 2, 1886 by Various

[Pg 302] while all men and women in love write love-stories; but you know every possible condition that can come to a human soul, and so you seem the only person who ever has written or could write the complete 'Human Comedy' in which every type of man, woman or child who ever lived shall have his part."
— from Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 13 Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Lovers by Elbert Hubbard

ith several thousands of pounds of an income, as a narrow escape.
— from A Gray Eye or So. In Three Volumes—Volume II by Frank Frankfort Moore

As nearly twenty years have elapsed since the original publication of this Work, a revised edition might, but for the present absorbing interest of Indian affairs, be considered unnecessary.
— from Confessions of a Thug by Meadows Taylor

“He may be a scout, or courier, but hardly a spy,” the officer persisted.
— from The Boy Scouts at the Battle of Saratoga: The Story of General Burgoyne's Defeat by Carter, Herbert, active 1909-1917

On aime bien à deviner les autres, mais l'on 15 aime pas à être deviné —We like well to see through other people, but we do not like to be seen through ourselves.
— from Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources Including Phrases, Mottoes, Maxims, Proverbs, Definitions, Aphorisms, and Sayings of Wise Men, in Their Bearing on Life, Literature, Speculation, Science, Art, Religion, and Morals, Especially in the Modern Aspects of Them by Wood, James, Rev.

“Oh no,” said the other patiently, but with a note of weariness in her voice.
— from March Hares by Harold Frederic