Chapter 1 of A Daughter of Raasay: A Tale of the '45 is here in full — 25 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A Daughter of Raasay: A Tale of the '45 is here in full — 25 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by! Clear the way!" But Phyllida, my Phyllida! She takes her buckled shoon. When we go out a-courting Beneath the harvest moon.
Chapter 1 of A Daughter of Raasay: A Tale of the '45 is here in full — 25 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/5 · 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.
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading “When we go out a-courting Beneath the harvest moon.”
past form of “buckle” — fasten with a buckle or buckles
From this reading “She takes her buckled shoon.”
the yield from plants in a single growing season
From this reading “When we go out a-courting Beneath the harvest moon.”
possessive form of “james” — a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading “The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!”
plural of “lady” — a polite name for any woman
From this reading “The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!”
the natural satellite of the Earth
From this reading “When we go out a-courting Beneath the harvest moon.”
changing location by moving back and forth
From this reading “The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!”
plural of “take” — the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
From this reading “She takes her buckled shoon.”
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.
the full moon nearest the September equinox
In this reading “When we go out a-courting Beneath the harvest moon.”
move out of or depart from
In this reading “When we go out a-courting Beneath the harvest moon.”
not act or do anything
In this reading “The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!”
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 The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When we go out a-courting Beneath the harvest moon.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading When we go out a-courting Beneath the harvest moon.
past form of “buckle” — fasten with a buckle or buckles
From this reading She takes her buckled shoon.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But Phyllida, my Phyllida!
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!
rid of obstructions
From this reading Clear the way!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!
the yield from plants in a single growing season
From this reading When we go out a-courting Beneath the harvest moon.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She takes her buckled shoon.
possessive form of “james” — a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!
plural of “lady” — a polite name for any woman
From this reading The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!
the natural satellite of the Earth
From this reading When we go out a-courting Beneath the harvest moon.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading But Phyllida, my Phyllida!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading When we go out a-courting Beneath the harvest moon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But Phyllida, my Phyllida!
participate in games or sport
From this reading The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She takes her buckled shoon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She takes her buckled shoon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!
be standing; be upright
From this reading The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!
changing location by moving back and forth
From this reading The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!
plural of “take” — the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
From this reading She takes her buckled shoon.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Clear the way!"
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading When we go out a-courting Beneath the harvest moon.
at the time that
From this reading When we go out a-courting Beneath the harvest moon.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The ladies of St. James's Go swinging to the play; Their footmen run before them With a "Stand by!
Chapter 1 of A Daughter of Raasay: A Tale of the '45 by William MacLeod Raine holds 25 sentences, grouped into 5 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 1 holds 25 sentences of A Daughter of Raasay: A Tale of the '45, unabridged, divided into 5 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A Daughter of Raasay: A Tale of the '45 by William MacLeod Raine exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 25 sentences, grouped into 5 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 5 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 5 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 1 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 Daughter of Raasay: A Tale of the '45 by William MacLeod Raine on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4745 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26692 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26692, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 395 minutes of reading across 949 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Daughter of Raasay: A Tale of the '45 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of A Daughter of Raasay: A Tale of the '45 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 Daughter of Raasay: A Tale of the '45, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
