Date: 1796

"Theodore perceived well enough that something preyed upon my mind; but as I concealed the cause of my grief even from him, respect would not permit him to pry into my secrets."

— Lewis, Matthew Gregory (1775-1818)

Date: 1796

"Amidst the horror and disgust to which his soul was a prey, pity for his victim still held a place in it."

— Lewis, Matthew Gregory (1775-1818)

Date: 1796

"Her passion continued to prey upon her heart in secret, and she had almost determined to confess her sentiments to her mother, when accident once more threw their object in her way."

— Lewis, Matthew Gregory (1775-1818)

Date: 1798

"She had also suffered a disappointment, which preyed upon her mind."

— Godwin, William (1756-1836)

Date: 1798

"Feeling herself unable to accept this as an explanation, she instantly determined to sail for London by the very first opportunity, that she might thus bring to a termination the suspence that preyed upon her soul."

— Godwin, William (1756-1836)

Date: October 4, 1802

"Hence, viper thoughts, that coil around my mind, / Reality's dark dream! / I turn from you, and listen to the wind, / Which long has raved unnoticed."

— Coleridge, Samuel Taylor (1772-1834)

Date: w. 1805

"And I have scarcely pitied him; have felt / A reverence for a Being thus employ'd; / And thought that in the blind and awful lair / Of such a madness, reason did lie couch'd."

— Wordsworth, William (1770-1850)

Date: April 1806

"Come, peace of mind, delightful guest! / Oh, come, and make thy downy nest / Once more on his sad heart!"

— Bowles, William Lisle (1762-1850)

Date: 1809, 1812

"There fawning flatt'ry wins its way, / There the base passions join the fray, / Like beasts that on each other prey; / While the smile hides each trait'rous heart, / And interest plays a Proteus part."

— Combe, William (1742 -1823)

Date: 1814, 1816, 1896

One may try "Conjecture's trackless region round, / To judge what phantasms Fancy might have found-- / What Game the glances of her Hawks might trace, / Or Greyhounds view in visionary chace"

— Woodhouse, James (bap. 1735, d. 1820)