One was a moonlight picture, in the background a lowly dwelling, and in front, partly shadowed by a tree, yet besprinkled with flakes of radiance, two youthful figures, male and female.
— from Twice Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne

My nurse was fond of remarking that you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, and the more I see of the efforts of our churches and universities and literary sages to raise the mass above its own level, the more convinced I am that my nurse was right.
— from Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy by Bernard Shaw

Reading between the lines I should imagine that your engagement to this girl is making you rather unhappy, and I see you have lost all the feeling of romance that you had before the war.
— from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott (Francis Scott) Fitzgerald

We were all gratified with the contents of your letter; and let me assure you that if any members of the family have had any feeling of resentment towards you, they feel it no longer.
— from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself by Harriet A. (Harriet Ann) Jacobs

The sacristan practically lived in those depths and the chill sanctuary above them, and-he was so full of rheumatism that you could almost hear it creak as he walked; yet he was a cheerful sage, and satisfied with the fee which my guide gave him and which he made small, as he explained, that the sacristan might not be discontented with future largesse.
— from Roman Holidays, and Others by William Dean Howells

After several unsuccessful attempts, Ethelston touched at length upon a topic which had in some degree the effect of arresting his attention and engaging the more active powers of his mind; for on reminding the youth that the Crows were to visit the camp on the morrow, to interchange presents and conclude the treaty of peace, Wingenund proposed to Reginald that he should summon Baptiste and Pierre, and concert, with their advice, the course that it might be advisable to pursue.
— from The Prairie-Bird by Murray, Charles Augustus, Sir

I have, heretofore, held you up, and now that my sustaining hand is about to be withdrawn, you must fall or rise to your own level.
— from Home Lights and Shadows by T. S. (Timothy Shay) Arthur

“Before I go,” he said nervously, “I want to say this to you: I have no feeling of resentment toward you.
— from Black is White by George Barr McCutcheon

You must remember, too, that in the extremity of their terror, or for other reasons, the Yankees and negroes in Fort Pillow neglected to haul down their flag.
— from History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880. Vol. 2 Negroes as Slaves, as Soldiers, and as Citizens by George Washington Williams

“I am sorry, my young friend, for one reason, that you desire to quit the navy of France, for I feel sure that you would have risen to distinction,” observed the admiral, “although I may congratulate you on another account; and I, therefore, do not hesitate to grant your request.
— from Villegagnon: A Tale of the Huguenot Persecution by William Henry Giles Kingston

He is one of that type of Englishmen, clean-bred, well-born, full of reserve, taciturn, yet, I would swear, honourable.
— from The Double Traitor by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim

I have recited the only instances of its failure which occur to me, but many other, though successful cases, wherein its utility might seem dubious, and also the accounts received from people whose accuracy might be suspected, I shall not for obvious reasons trouble you with.
— from An Account of the Foxglove and some of its Medical Uses With Practical Remarks on Dropsy and Other Diseases by William Withering