In this pretty salon there were divans, magnificent palms, flowers, especially roses of balmy fragrance, books on the tables, the Revue des Deuxmondes, cigars in government boxes, and, what surprised me, Vichy pastilles in a bonbonniere.
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant

V. close, occlude, plug; block up, stop up, fill up, bung up, cork up, button up, stuff up, shut up, dam up; blockade, obstruct &c. (hinder) 706; bar, bolt, stop, seal, plumb; choke, throttle; ram down, dam, cram; trap, clinch; put to the door, shut the door.
— from Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget

Madame Marneffe, twenty-three years of age, a pure and bashful middle-class wife, a blossom hidden in the Rue du Doyenne, could know nothing of the depravity and demoralizing harlotry which the Baron could no longer think of without disgust, for he had never known the charm of recalcitrant virtue, and the coy Valerie made him enjoy it to the utmost—all along the line, as the saying goes.
— from The Works of Balzac: A linked index to all Project Gutenberg editions by Honoré de Balzac

Disobedience of orders, combinations to refuse duty, dishonest conduct, personal insolence, and habitual negligence and backwardness, are all causes which justify punishment in a greater or less degree.
— from The Seaman's Friend Containing a treatise on practical seamanship, with plates, a dictionary of sea terms, customs and usages of the merchant service by Richard Henry Dana

The car mounted the hill to the cutting through the cliff road near their destination, and as the road dipped downwards Crewe slackened the pace.
— from The Mystery of the Downs by Arthur J. (Arthur John) Rees

I am capable of anything for your sake.—Listen, instead of coming twice a week to the Rue du Dauphin, come three times.”
— from The Works of Balzac: A linked index to all Project Gutenberg editions by Honoré de Balzac

The rusty diligence danced creakingly on its old springs; the horses trotted and their bells jangled.
— from Tartarin of Tarascon by Alphonse Daudet

long, [185] thick; cavity almost lacking, very obtuse and shallow, narrow, russeted, often lipped; calyx open; lobes broad, acute; basin rather deep, obtuse or abrupt, gently furrowed, compressed; skin thin, smooth except for the russet dots, dull; color yellow, with a solid, dark red blush on the exposed cheek; dots numerous, large, brownish-russet, very conspicuous; flesh tinged with yellow, granular at the center, tender and melting, buttery, juicy, sweet, with a faint, vinous flavor, pleasantly aromatic; quality good to very good.
— from The Pears of New York by U. P. Hedrick