So Solomon asked of God what was most excellent, and of the greatest worth in itself, what God would bestow with the greatest joy, and what it was most profitable for man to receive; for he did not desire to have bestowed upon him either gold or silver, or any other riches, as a man and a youth might naturally have done, for these are the things that generally are esteemed by most men, as alone of the greatest worth, and the best gifts of God; but, said he, "Give me, O Lord, a sound mind, and a good understanding, whereby I may speak and judge the people according to truth and righteousness."
— from Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus

ag’in, de logs under de winder; en de nex’ time dey shoot, de twin say, ‘Ouch!’ ag’in, en I done it too, ’ca’se de bullet glance’ on his cheek-bone en skip up here en glance on de side o’ de winder en whiz right acrost my face en tuck de hide off’n my nose—why, if I’d ’a’ be’n jist a inch or a inch en a half furder ’t would ’a’ tuck de whole nose en disfiggered me.
— from The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain

John was huddled in his chair, his feet drawn up, his eyes gazing out above his knees.
— from The Gunroom by Charles Morgan

Lancelot Underwood had entirely got over that sense of being in a false position which had once rendered society distasteful to him.
— from The Long Vacation by Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary) Yonge

Some approach to unconsciousness, however, either general or local, seems essential to the access of the state, and such conditions as ordinarily induce reverie or sleep are suitable for bringing it on; no one, for instance, would expect to experience it while urgently occupied in affairs.
— from Mrs. Piper & the Society for Psychical Research by Michael Sage

AN ENCOUNTER And now Julian Ritherdon was here, in British Honduras, within ten or fifteen miles of the estate known as Desolada--a name which had been given to the place by some original Spanish settlers years before his father and uncle had ever gone out to the colony.
— from A Bitter Heritage: A Modern Story of Love and Adventure by John Bloundelle-Burton

As he spoke, he threw the reins on his horse’s neck, and the animal, finding himself at liberty, at once turned, and, pricking up his ears, galloped off exactly at right angles with the course they had been pursuing.
— from Frank on the Prairie by Harry Castlemon

Now, thim rale black 'uns hardly ever goes off here.
— from Autobiography of a Female Slave by Martha Griffith Browne

We have all, in our own experience, met with amazing coincidences; but how few of us have ever gained or lost, been made happy or unhappy, by a coincidence, as distinct from a chance!
— from Play-Making: A Manual of Craftsmanship by William Archer