This book is not light reading and one who opens it should understand clearly the reasons for which it was written.
— from English Literature Its History and Its Significance for the Life of the English-Speaking World by William J. (William Joseph) Long

"Whereas," the advertisement runs, "the house of William Berczy, Esq., was broken open sometime during the night of the 14th instant, and the same ransacked from one end to the other; this is to give notice that whoever shall lodge an information, so that the offender or offenders may be brought to justice, shall upon conviction thereof receive Twenty Dollars.
— from Toronto of Old Collections and recollections illustrative of the early settlement and social life of the capital of Ontario by Henry Scadding

In spite of that, so weak was I that I could not summon up courage to reject her offer—still less to tell her so frankly, which would have made her esteem me.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

Instead of supposing that there is some unknown cause, the "real" table, behind the different sensations of those who are said to be looking at the table, we may take the whole set of these sensations (together possibly with certain other particulars) as actually BEING the table.
— from The Analysis of Mind by Bertrand Russell

In a preface which he wrote to Volume I of the Land Report, as chairman of Lloyd George’s Land Inquiry Committee (it seems a long time ago now that Lloyd George was a keen land reformer), my father sketched out the idea of setting up commissions to report parish by parish in each county, in the same way that commissions have reported on the parochial charities.
— from Essays in Liberalism Being the Lectures and Papers Which Were Delivered at the Liberal Summer School at Oxford, 1922 by Various

He reëntered the house and crooked a finger at the butler, who had not summoned up courage to retire to his own sanctum, though a midday meal was awaiting him.
— from The Strange Case of Mortimer Fenley by Louis Tracy

With sincere desire that I may be a humble instrument in His hands in winning souls unto Christ, this report is respectfully submitted.
— from The Journal of Prison Discipline and Philanthropy (New Series, No. 46, January 1907) by Pennsylvania Prison Society

There seems, however, to have been no truth in the report that the widowed duchess was again with child, and on the 6th of December she finally summoned up courage to return to Milan.
— from Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Milan, 1475-1497 by Julia Cartwright

But there was no time to speculate upon causes; the reptiles were still advancing in menace, and steps needed taking to repel them.
— from The Vee-Boers: A Tale of Adventure in Southern Africa by Mayne Reid

"'Pears like ther show ought ter be startin' up," complained Towers restively.
— from When 'Bear Cat' Went Dry by Charles Neville Buck