Dum formae curandae intenta capillum in sole pectit, a marito per lusum leviter percussa furtirm superveniente virga, risu suborto, mi Landrice dixit, frontem vir fortis petet, &c. Marito conspecto attonita, cum Landrico mox in ejus mortem conspirat, et statim inter venandum efficit.
— from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton

Lenormand, the head gardener at Versailles, raised six pounds of coffee a year which was for the exclusive use of the king.
— from All About Coffee by William H. (William Harrison) Ukers

I suppose all at the table were too much fatigued themselves to notice our jaded appearance—of course, it would not have borne a very rigid scrutiny.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition Table Of Contents And Index Of The Five Volumes by Edgar Allan Poe

In making this substitution I had drawn upon the wisdom of a very remote source—the wisdom of my boyhood—for the true statesman does not despise any wisdom, howsoever lowly may be its origin: in my boyhood I had always saved my pennies and contributed buttons to the foreign missionary cause.
— from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain

the mountains through which the river passes nearly to the sepulchre rock, are high broken, rocky, partially covered with fir white cedar, and in many places exhibit very romantic seenes.
— from The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by William Clark

"Ah ... which tooth ... where?" Vanda remembered she had a tooth with a hole.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of 233 Short Stories of Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

At last she began to catechise me on the subject of secrecy, to which I gave her such satisfactory answers, that, at last, having locked the door of her room, she took me into her closet, and then locking that door likewise, she said she should convince me of the vast reliance she had on my integrity, by communicating a secret in which her honour, and consequently her life, was concerned.
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding

In the Council of Ministers the question was agitated whether vignettes representing slack-rope performances, which adorned Franconi’s advertising posters, and which attracted throngs of street urchins, should be tolerated.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

Formerly Venus reigned supreme, then Mars, now Pallas: Mars was, Pallas now is, Venus shall always be.
— from The History of Prostitution: Its Extent, Causes, and Effects throughout the World by William W. Sanger

“They’ve vital reasons, she wired, for it’s not coming out for a month.
— from Embarrassments by Henry James

The other voice she vaguely recognised, so, after a time she challenged it.
— from A Prince of Dreamers by Flora Annie Webster Steel

"--Vide Riley's Shipwreck and Captivity in the Great Desert , p. 550.
— from An Account of Timbuctoo and Housa Territories in the Interior of Africa by Shabeeny, Abd Salam, active 1820

Turning aside before a slight rise, it had veered round sharply eastward, and then curving back westward, when it met another obstacle three hundred yards later, it had finally poured itself over the dyke back into the Brad.
— from Jinny the Carrier by Israel Zangwill

The uncultivated mountains send shouts of joy to the stars, the very rocks sing in verse, the very shrubs cry out, A god, a god!
— from The Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 1 Poetry - Volume 1 by Alexander Pope

"And though I pray that God will send us help so that no life may be sacrificed I know"—Iris' eyes shone, and her voice rang suddenly like a clarion call—"I know
— from Afterwards by Kathlyn Rhodes

In a very real sense it remains forever true that we must die to live, we must die to the narrow self in order to be raised to the wider and richer self.
— from Spiritual Reformers in the 16th & 17th Centuries by Rufus M. (Rufus Matthew) Jones

I belong to a young lady of this city, who is a charming beauty, and very rich; she does not let me want for any thing.
— from The Arabian Nights Entertainments - Volume 01 by Anonymous