Chapter 4 of A Fool There Was is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of A Fool There Was is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Kathryn looked up, at length, anxiously. Schuyler was never abstracted. She prompted: "You were saying, Jack, dear--" Schuyler drew his hand, palm out, across his forehead. "Why--oh, yes," he floundered, trying to marshal his scattered thoughts. "I was saying--" He appealed to Blake, half-helplessly, half-whimsically.
Chapter 4 of A Fool There Was is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
lost in thought; showing preoccupation
From this reading “Schuyler was never abstracted.”
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading “Kathryn looked up, at length, anxiously.”
past form of “appeal” — take a court case to a higher court for review
From this reading “"I was saying--" He appealed to Blake, half-helplessly, half-whimsically.”
visionary British poet and painter (1757-1827)
From this reading “"I was saying--" He appealed to Blake, half-helplessly, half-whimsically.”
past form of “flounder” — walk with great difficulty
From this reading “"Why--oh, yes," he floundered, trying to marshal his scattered thoughts.”
place in proper rank
From this reading “"Why--oh, yes," he floundered, trying to marshal his scattered thoughts.”
the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers
From this reading “She prompted: "You were saying, Jack, dear--" Schuyler drew his hand, palm out, across his forehead.”
past form of “prompt” — give an incentive for action
From this reading “She prompted: "You were saying, Jack, dear--" Schuyler drew his hand, palm out, across his forehead.”
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.
lost in thought; showing preoccupation
From this reading Schuyler was never abstracted.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading She prompted: "You were saying, Jack, dear--" Schuyler drew his hand, palm out, across his forehead.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading Kathryn looked up, at length, anxiously.
past form of “appeal” — take a court case to a higher court for review
From this reading "I was saying--" He appealed to Blake, half-helplessly, half-whimsically.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Kathryn looked up, at length, anxiously.
visionary British poet and painter (1757-1827)
From this reading "I was saying--" He appealed to Blake, half-helplessly, half-whimsically.
dearly loved
From this reading She prompted: "You were saying, Jack, dear--" Schuyler drew his hand, palm out, across his forehead.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading She prompted: "You were saying, Jack, dear--" Schuyler drew his hand, palm out, across his forehead.
past form of “flounder” — walk with great difficulty
From this reading "Why--oh, yes," he floundered, trying to marshal his scattered thoughts.
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading She prompted: "You were saying, Jack, dear--" Schuyler drew his hand, palm out, across his forehead.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I was saying--" He appealed to Blake, half-helplessly, half-whimsically.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I was saying--" He appealed to Blake, half-helplessly, half-whimsically.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading She prompted: "You were saying, Jack, dear--" Schuyler drew his hand, palm out, across his forehead.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Why--oh, yes," he floundered, trying to marshal his scattered thoughts.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading She prompted: "You were saying, Jack, dear--" Schuyler drew his hand, palm out, across his forehead.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I was saying--" He appealed to Blake, half-helplessly, half-whimsically.
a small worthless amount
From this reading She prompted: "You were saying, Jack, dear--" Schuyler drew his hand, palm out, across his forehead.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kathryn looked up, at length, anxiously.
the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place
From this reading Kathryn looked up, at length, anxiously.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Kathryn looked up, at length, anxiously.
place in proper rank
From this reading "Why--oh, yes," he floundered, trying to marshal his scattered thoughts.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Schuyler was never abstracted.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Why--oh, yes," he floundered, trying to marshal his scattered thoughts.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading She prompted: "You were saying, Jack, dear--" Schuyler drew his hand, palm out, across his forehead.
the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers
From this reading She prompted: "You were saying, Jack, dear--" Schuyler drew his hand, palm out, across his forehead.
past form of “prompt” — give an incentive for action
From this reading She prompted: "You were saying, Jack, dear--" Schuyler drew his hand, palm out, across his forehead.
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading She prompted: "You were saying, Jack, dear--" Schuyler drew his hand, palm out, across his forehead.
occurring or distributed over widely spaced and irregular intervals in time or space
From this reading "Why--oh, yes," he floundered, trying to marshal his scattered thoughts.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Schuyler was never abstracted.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She prompted: "You were saying, Jack, dear--" Schuyler drew his hand, palm out, across his forehead.
plural of “thought” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "Why--oh, yes," he floundered, trying to marshal his scattered thoughts.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Why--oh, yes," he floundered, trying to marshal his scattered thoughts.
hard to endure
From this reading "Why--oh, yes," he floundered, trying to marshal his scattered thoughts.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Kathryn looked up, at length, anxiously.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Schuyler was never abstracted.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading She prompted: "You were saying, Jack, dear--" Schuyler drew his hand, palm out, across his forehead.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why--oh, yes," he floundered, trying to marshal his scattered thoughts.
an affirmative
From this reading "Why--oh, yes," he floundered, trying to marshal his scattered thoughts.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading She prompted: "You were saying, Jack, dear--" Schuyler drew his hand, palm out, across his forehead.
Chapter 4 of A Fool There Was by Porter Emerson Browne holds 425 sentences, grouped into 85 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 4 holds 425 sentences of A Fool There Was, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of A Fool There Was by Porter Emerson Browne exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 4 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 Fool There Was by Porter Emerson Browne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3077 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6305 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6305, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 256 minutes of reading across 616 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Fool There Was section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of A Fool There Was 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 Fool There Was, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
