Various causes could be assigned; but as they are conjectural, and their relative probability cannot be weighed, it would be useless to give them.
— from The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection Or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, 6th Edition by Charles Darwin

“The figures are made of buffalo hide, and the arms alone are movable; they are moved by slips of wood attached to them, which are very clumsily contrived, and as their shadows are seen with the puppets the effect is very much destroyed.
— from Malay Magic Being an introduction to the folklore and popular religion of the Malay Peninsula by Walter William Skeat

The crash, the cry, the sight of the fragments of valuable china covering the carpet, the alarm of the company—what all this meant to the poor prince it would be difficult to convey to the mind of the reader, or for him to imagine.
— from The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

FORTINBRAS, Prince of Norway. VOLTEMAND, Courtier. CORNELIUS, Courtier. ROSENCRANTZ, Courtier. GUILDENSTERN, Courtier. MARCELLUS, Officer. BARNARDO, Officer. FRANCISCO, a Soldier OSRIC, Courtier. REYNALDO, Servant to Polonius.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

Vexat censura columbas.
— from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton

‘It’s a very clean cut,’ said the Rat, examining it again attentively.
— from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

As it is extremely common for species of the same genus to inhabit very hot and very cold countries, and as I believe that all the species of the same genus have descended from a single parent, if this view be correct, acclimatisation must be readily effected during long-continued descent.
— from On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection Or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life by Charles Darwin

The frequent labours I underwent every day, made, in a few weeks, a very considerable change in my health: the more my master got by me, the more insatiable he grew.
— from Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World by Jonathan Swift

—Very considerable changes have taken place in the external characters of the embryo.
— from The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1 (of 4) Separate Memoirs by Francis M. (Francis Maitland) Balfour

1 Second Voyage 21 Third Voyage 34 Fourth Voyage 52 Letter of Amerigo Vespucci to Lorenzo Pietro F. di Medici 42 Evidence of Alonso de Hojeda respecting his Voyage of 1499 30 Account of the Voyage of Hojeda, 1499-1500, by Navarrete 31 Letter of the Admiral Christopher Columbus to his Son 57 Letter of Vianelo to the Seigneury of Venice 58 Letter of Naturalization in favour of Vespucci 61 Appointment of Amerigo Vespucci as Chief Pilot 63 Chapters from Las Casas, which discuss the Statements of Vespucci: Chapter CXL 68 " CLXIV 76 " CLXV 85 " CLXVI 86
— from The Letters of Amerigo Vespucci, and Other Documents Illustrative of His Career by Amerigo Vespucci

Joine flames with Hercules, and when thou set'st Thy radiant forehead in the firmament, 150 Make the vast chrystall crack with thy receipt; Spread to a world of fire, and the aged skie Cheere with new sparks of old humanity.
— from Bussy D'Ambois and The Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois by George Chapman

Shortly after passing the spot where our friends had struck the road, the path—for it was little more—curved away toward the left, and led along the top of an extensive plateau of rich pasture land, upon which, about midday, they sighted the first herd of cattle that the Englishmen had seen since their escape from the Mayubuna; and during the afternoon they saw other herds in the charge of peons, showing that the party were gradually approaching civilised territory; and about half an hour before sunset they marched into a small village, composed chiefly of adobe huts, where a halt was called for the night, and where our friends were confined in a ramshackle barn of a place in company with the sergeant and ten men.
— from Two Gallant Sons of Devon: A Tale of the Days of Queen Bess by Harry Collingwood

As tobacco crops rapidly exhaust the soil, the colonists occupied more and more land, settling generally near a stream, so that vessels could come and load at their private docks.
— from The Story of the Thirteen Colonies by H. A. (Hélène Adeline) Guerber

But be that as it may, they were very clever compositions.
— from An Old Coachman's Chatter, with Some Practical Remarks on Driving by Edward Corbett

The various ceremonies connected with the baptism were protracted through several days, and were followed by a number of festivities and public rejoicings.
— from The Boys' Book of Famous Rulers by Lydia Hoyt Farmer

It may be my unstrung larynx May speak once again with words : For the present, excuse me—along of My poor Lost (Vocal) Chords!!!" COFFINS, SIR!
— from The Confessions of a Caricaturist, Vol. 2 by Harry Furniss

General Scott received his orders on April 10, 1838, and first established his headquarters at a small village called Calhoun, on the Hiawassee River, in East Tennessee.
— from General Scott by Marcus Joseph Wright

There is a very clever cut, a Lady splendidly dressed, with his mark and the date 1551; it is printed on what is called a “broadside,” and underneath is a copy of verses by Hans Sachs, the celebrated shoemaker and meistersänger of Nuremberg, VI.84 entitled “ Eer und Lob einer schön wolgezierten Frawen ”—The Honour and Praise of a beautiful well-dressed woman.
— from A Treatise on Wood Engraving, Historical and Practical by Henry G. (Henry George) Bohn