When we believe that we desire a certain state of affairs, that often tends to cause a real desire for it.
— from The Analysis of Mind by Bertrand Russell

At least, I thought, when he has finished the document and the cigar he will go to his room, but before he had reached the end of either, there came a remarkable development, which turned our thoughts into quite another channel.
— from The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

It is interesting, moreover, to notice that the authors of the last two works referred to above, the Catholic and Royalist Des Mousseaux and the Anarchist Bakunin, between whom it is impossible to imagine any connexion, both in the same year denounced the growing power of the Jews whom Bakunin described as "the most formidable sect" in Europe, and again asserted that a leakage of information had taken place in the secret societies.
— from Secret Societies And Subversive Movements by Nesta Helen Webster

The tears came and rolled down her cheeks, but she did not know it.
— from Middlemarch by George Eliot

That my Lord is very joyful that other countries do pay him the civility and respect due to him; and that he do much rejoice to see that the King do resolve to receive none of their assistance (or some such words), from them, he having strength enough in the love and loyalty of his own subjects to support him.
— from The Diary of Samuel Pepys — Complete by Samuel Pepys

Furthermore sausage, for such is this in fact, must be thoroughly cooked before it can be used for the filling of the carcass, as not sufficient heat would penetrate the interior during the roasting to cook any raw dressing.
— from Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome by Apicius

Il ne faudrait pas que le message pour rendre un site accessible soit trop compliqué au risque de dissuader les bonnes volontés.
— from Entretiens / Interviews / Entrevistas by Marie Lebert

61 But the throne of Constantinople was shaken by a revolution: the Imperial family of Ducas was confined to the palace or the cloister; and Robert deplored, and resented, the disgrace of his daughter and the expulsion of his ally.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Table of Contents with links in the HTML file to the two Project Gutenberg editions (12 volumes) by Edward Gibbon

And then in the reign of the said Conqueror and of William Rufus, Godfrey de Magnavile was portgrave (or sheriff), as may appear by their charters, and Richard de Par was provost.
— from The Survey of London by John Stow

Mrs. Dexter was fully restored to consciousness, and remembered distinctly, the blasting intimations of her husband.
— from The Hand but Not the Heart; Or, The Life-Trials of Jessie Loring by T. S. (Timothy Shay) Arthur

The cathedral at Rio de Janeiro was packed, and Iris was quite inconspicuous among the many richly-attired ladies who graced the ceremony by their presence.
— from The Stowaway Girl by Louis Tracy

And the worst to her was the fact that she had come to love the child and really desired her.
— from A Modern Cinderella by Amanda M. Douglas

He began to cry and reaching down picked up a small stick, which he held tightly gripped in his fingers.
— from Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small Town Life by Sherwood Anderson

Its tall, finely-proportioned tower and spire, which indeed is the chief attribute of grace and symmetry, is of the fourteenth century, and, though plain and primitive in its outlines, is far more pleasing than the crocketed and rococo details which in a later day were composed into something which was thought to be a spire.
— from The Cathedrals of Southern France by M. F. (Milburg Francisco) Mansfield

Clouds swept ceaselessly over the country, and at one o’clock the temperature was 22.1°, quite low enough to chill a rider down to the bones and marrow.
— from Trans-Himalaya: Discoveries and Adventurers in Tibet. Vol. 2 (of 2) by Sven Anders Hedin

It was an expression of suppressed watchfulness; that her firmly-compressed lips and wandering eyes were at variance might have been due to the peculiar circumstances of her life; but in the cunning and revengeful determination in her face there was no sign of indecision.
— from Joshua Marvel by B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon

For Aytoun's poetic vein, except in the lighter kinds, was of no very great strength; and an ardent patriotism, a genuine and gallant devotion to the Tory cause, and a keen appreciation of the chivalrous and romantic, did not always suffice to supply the want of actual inspiration.
— from A History of Nineteenth Century Literature (1780-1895) by George Saintsbury

But every arrangement had already been made for the approaching ceremony —a broad wooden estrade was erected in the centre of the courtyard, and richly decorated with garlands of flowers, blossoming branches, flags, and streamers.
— from Barbara Blomberg — Volume 08 by Georg Ebers