Chapter 7 of A Book of Ghosts is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of A Book of Ghosts is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He seated himself on a bench and thought. He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking. What should he do? He was becoming involved in serious embarrassments. Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?
Chapter 7 of A Book of Ghosts is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
the dissemination of copies of periodicals (as newspapers or magazines)
From this reading “Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?”
willingly obedient out of a sense of duty and respect
From this reading “He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking.”
plural of “embarrassment” — the shame you feel when your inadequacy or guilt is made public
From this reading “He was becoming involved in serious embarrassments.”
cause to arise
From this reading “Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?”
connected by participation or association or use
From this reading “He was becoming involved in serious embarrassments.”
a firm in the publishing business
From this reading “Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?”
any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
From this reading “He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking.”
pull back or move away or backward
From this reading “Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?”
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 “He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking.”
In this reading “He seated himself on a bench and thought.”
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 He seated himself on a bench and thought.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He seated himself on a bench and thought.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?
according with custom or propriety
From this reading He was becoming involved in serious embarrassments.
a long seat for more than one person
From this reading He seated himself on a bench and thought.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?
the dissemination of copies of periodicals (as newspapers or magazines)
From this reading Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking.
willingly obedient out of a sense of duty and respect
From this reading He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking.
plural of “embarrassment” — the shame you feel when your inadequacy or guilt is made public
From this reading He was becoming involved in serious embarrassments.
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and five
From this reading Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He seated himself on a bench and thought.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He seated himself on a bench and thought.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He was becoming involved in serious embarrassments.
cause to arise
From this reading Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?
connected by participation or association or use
From this reading He was becoming involved in serious embarrassments.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?
informal terms for a mother
From this reading He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He seated himself on a bench and thought.
capable of happening or existing
From this reading Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?
plural of “pound” — 16 ounces avoirdupois
From this reading Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?
past form of “promise” — make a promise or commitment
From this reading He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking.
a firm in the publishing business
From this reading Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?
get something; come into possession of
From this reading Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?
past form of “regard” — deem to be
From this reading He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking.
(of persons) having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks
From this reading He seated himself on a bench and thought.
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
From this reading He was becoming involved in serious embarrassments.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading What should he do?
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking.
a male human offspring
From this reading He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading He seated himself on a bench and thought.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking.
any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
From this reading He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He did not smoke; he had promised his "mamma" not to do so, and he was a dutiful son, and regarded his undertaking.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What should he do?
pull back or move away or backward
From this reading Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Would it be possible to induce the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation and to receive back the fifty pounds?
Chapter 7 of A Book of Ghosts by S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 7 holds 401 sentences of A Book of Ghosts, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of A Book of Ghosts by S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 7 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 Book of Ghosts by S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7626 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36638 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36638, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1526 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Book of Ghosts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of A Book of Ghosts 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 Book of Ghosts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
