Chapter 21 of A Bachelor Husband is here in full — 312 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of A Bachelor Husband is here in full — 312 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I fought with my friend last night. And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words." THERE was a moment's silence, then Feathers went forward. The riotous blood in his veins had quieted and he felt a little cold and breathless. "Hullo!" he said.
Chapter 21 of A Bachelor Husband is here in full — 312 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/62 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
to grip, cut off, or tear with or as if with the teeth or jaws
From this reading “And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."”
not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty
From this reading “The riotous blood in his veins had quieted and he felt a little cold and breathless.”
plural of “feather” — the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds
From this reading “THERE was a moment's silence, then Feathers went forward.”
possessive form of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading “THERE was a moment's silence, then Feathers went forward.”
past form of “quiet” — become quiet or quieter
From this reading “The riotous blood in his veins had quieted and he felt a little cold and breathless.”
produced or growing in extreme abundance
From this reading “The riotous blood in his veins had quieted and he felt a little cold and breathless.”
plural of “sword” — a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
From this reading “And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."”
plural of “vein” — a blood vessel that carries blood from the capillaries toward the heart
From this reading “The riotous blood in his veins had quieted and he felt a little cold and breathless.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “"I fought with my friend last night.”
move ahead; travel onward in time or space
In this reading “THERE was a moment's silence, then Feathers went forward.”
In this reading “THERE was a moment's silence, then Feathers went forward.”
In this reading “And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."”
In this reading “"I fought with my friend last night.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading THERE was a moment's silence, then Feathers went forward.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."
to grip, cut off, or tear with or as if with the teeth or jaws
From this reading And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."
The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.
From this reading The riotous blood in his veins had quieted and he felt a little cold and breathless.
not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty
From this reading The riotous blood in his veins had quieted and he felt a little cold and breathless.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading The riotous blood in his veins had quieted and he felt a little cold and breathless.
plural of “feather” — the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds
From this reading THERE was a moment's silence, then Feathers went forward.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading The riotous blood in his veins had quieted and he felt a little cold and breathless.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading THERE was a moment's silence, then Feathers went forward.
inflected form of “fight” — be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading "I fought with my friend last night.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading "I fought with my friend last night.
be shiny, as if wet
From this reading And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The riotous blood in his veins had quieted and he felt a little cold and breathless.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The riotous blood in his veins had quieted and he felt a little cold and breathless.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The riotous blood in his veins had quieted and he felt a little cold and breathless.
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
From this reading And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."
an expression of greeting
From this reading "Hullo!" he said.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I fought with my friend last night.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The riotous blood in his veins had quieted and he felt a little cold and breathless.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."
immediately past
From this reading "I fought with my friend last night.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The riotous blood in his veins had quieted and he felt a little cold and breathless.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."
possessive form of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading THERE was a moment's silence, then Feathers went forward.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "I fought with my friend last night.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading "I fought with my friend last night.
not any; not one
From this reading And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."
past form of “quiet” — become quiet or quieter
From this reading The riotous blood in his veins had quieted and he felt a little cold and breathless.
produced or growing in extreme abundance
From this reading The riotous blood in his veins had quieted and he felt a little cold and breathless.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Hullo!" he said.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading THERE was a moment's silence, then Feathers went forward.
inflected form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."
an alloy of iron with small amounts of carbon; widely used in construction; mechanical properties can be varied over a wide range
From this reading And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."
plural of “sword” — a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
From this reading And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The riotous blood in his veins had quieted and he felt a little cold and breathless.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading THERE was a moment's silence, then Feathers went forward.
in or at that place or location
From this reading THERE was a moment's silence, then Feathers went forward.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."
plural of “vein” — a blood vessel that carries blood from the capillaries toward the heart
From this reading The riotous blood in his veins had quieted and he felt a little cold and breathless.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading THERE was a moment's silence, then Feathers went forward.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "I fought with my friend last night.
the words that are spoken
From this reading And it was not with honest swords; No steel sprang out to gleam and bite We fought with poor, mean words."
Chapter 21 of A Bachelor Husband by Ruby M. (Ruby Mildred) Ayres holds 312 sentences, grouped into 63 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 21 holds 312 sentences of A Bachelor Husband, unabridged, divided into 63 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of A Bachelor Husband by Ruby M. (Ruby Mildred) Ayres exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 312 sentences, grouped into 63 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 63 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 63 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 21 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading A Bachelor Husband by Ruby M. (Ruby Mildred) Ayres on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8186 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42085 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42085, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1638 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Bachelor Husband section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of A Bachelor Husband to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in A Bachelor Husband, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
