Chapter 8 of A London Life, and Other Tales 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 VIII
Chapter 8 of A London Life, and Other Tales is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
'Well, we are getting on--we are getting on,' I said, cheerfully, looking at the friendly, twinkling sea. 'Are we going very fast?' 'Not fast, but steadily. _Ohne Hast, ohne Rast_--do you know German?' 'Well, I've studied it--some.'
Chapter 8 of A London Life, and Other Tales 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.
in a cheerful manner
From this reading “'Well, we are getting on--we are getting on,' I said, cheerfully, looking at the friendly, twinkling sea.”
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading “'Are we going very fast?'”
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading “'Well, we are getting on--we are getting on,' I said, cheerfully, looking at the friendly, twinkling sea.”
a person of German nationality
From this reading “_Ohne Hast, ohne Rast_--do you know German?'”
an old form of “have”, used with “thou”
From this reading “_Ohne Hast, ohne Rast_--do you know German?'”
at a steady rate or pace
From this reading “'Not fast, but steadily.”
produced or marked by conscious design or premeditation
From this reading “'Well, I've studied it--some.'”
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading “'Well, we are getting on--we are getting on,' I said, cheerfully, looking at the friendly, twinkling sea.”
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.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading 'Well, we are getting on--we are getting on,' I said, cheerfully, looking at the friendly, twinkling sea.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading 'Well, we are getting on--we are getting on,' I said, cheerfully, looking at the friendly, twinkling sea.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading 'Not fast, but steadily.
in a cheerful manner
From this reading 'Well, we are getting on--we are getting on,' I said, cheerfully, looking at the friendly, twinkling sea.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading _Ohne Hast, ohne Rast_--do you know German?'
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading 'Are we going very fast?'
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading 'Well, we are getting on--we are getting on,' I said, cheerfully, looking at the friendly, twinkling sea.
a person of German nationality
From this reading _Ohne Hast, ohne Rast_--do you know German?'
the act of acquiring something
From this reading 'Well, we are getting on--we are getting on,' I said, cheerfully, looking at the friendly, twinkling sea.
the act of departing
From this reading 'Are we going very fast?'
an old form of “have”, used with “thou”
From this reading _Ohne Hast, ohne Rast_--do you know German?'
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'Well, we are getting on--we are getting on,' I said, cheerfully, looking at the friendly, twinkling sea.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Well, I've studied it--some.'
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading 'Well, I've studied it--some.'
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading _Ohne Hast, ohne Rast_--do you know German?'
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading 'Well, we are getting on--we are getting on,' I said, cheerfully, looking at the friendly, twinkling sea.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading 'Not fast, but steadily.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Ohne Hast, ohne Rast_--do you know German?'
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading 'Well, we are getting on--we are getting on,' I said, cheerfully, looking at the friendly, twinkling sea.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Ohne Hast, ohne Rast_--do you know German?'
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading 'Well, we are getting on--we are getting on,' I said, cheerfully, looking at the friendly, twinkling sea.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading 'Well, we are getting on--we are getting on,' I said, cheerfully, looking at the friendly, twinkling sea.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading 'Well, I've studied it--some.'
at a steady rate or pace
From this reading 'Not fast, but steadily.
produced or marked by conscious design or premeditation
From this reading 'Well, I've studied it--some.'
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 'Well, we are getting on--we are getting on,' I said, cheerfully, looking at the friendly, twinkling sea.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading 'Well, we are getting on--we are getting on,' I said, cheerfully, looking at the friendly, twinkling sea.
precisely as stated
From this reading 'Are we going very fast?'
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading 'Well, we are getting on--we are getting on,' I said, cheerfully, looking at the friendly, twinkling sea.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading 'Well, we are getting on--we are getting on,' I said, cheerfully, looking at the friendly, twinkling sea.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading _Ohne Hast, ohne Rast_--do you know German?'
Chapter 8 of A London Life, and Other Tales by Henry James holds 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 8 holds 425 sentences of A London Life, and Other Tales, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of A London Life, and Other Tales by Henry James exactly as it stands in the 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 8 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 London Life, and Other Tales by Henry James on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5410 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25500 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #25500, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 450 minutes of reading across 1082 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A London Life, and Other Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of A London Life, and Other Tales 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 London Life, and Other Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
