Ethelberta breathed a sort of exclamation, not right out, but stealthily, like a parsons damn. – Thomas Hardy
Let me enjoy the earth no less
Because the all-enacting Might
That fashioned forth its loveliness
Had other aims than my delight. – Thomas Hardy
Of course poets have morals and manners of their own, and custom is no argument with them. – Thomas Hardy
As a game of mingled skill and chance, Billiards stands at the head of what may be called Indoor Athletics. Requiring far less mental exertion than Chess… it provides amusement for the mind, it also affords exercise for the body. – Captain Crawley (George Frederick Pardon, 1824–1884), The Billiard Book, 1