In 1876 the English birth-rate reached its maximum of 36.3 per thousand; while in France the birth-rate now appears almost to have reached its lowest level.
— from The Task of Social Hygiene by Havelock Ellis

The same with the ebb, which runs after the tide has reached its lowest level.
— from Hints to Young Yacht Skippers by Thomas Fleming Day

George Ade, undoubtedly one of the most adept anatomists of the American character and painters of the American scene that the national literature has yet developed, is neglected because his work is grounded firmly upon the national speech—not that he reports it literally, like Lardner and the hacks trailing after Lardner, but that he gets at and exhibits its very essence.
— from The American Language A Preliminary Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States by H. L. (Henry Louis) Mencken

Dr. Bryant had listened to her rambling, incoherent language, like one in a dream, till the name of Mary passed her lips, and then his head sank upon his chest, and he groaned in the anguish of his tortured spirit.
— from Inez: A Tale of the Alamo by Augusta J. (Augusta Jane) Evans

The houses run in long lines parallel with the two shores, looking, when the tide is high, like so many ships at anchor.
— from The Catholic World, Vol. 22, October, 1875, to March, 1876 A Monthly Magazine of General Literature and Science by Various