Chapter 11 of A Lost Leader: A Tale of Restoration Days is here in full — 176 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of A Lost Leader: A Tale of Restoration Days is here in full — 176 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ESCAPE. "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine." SCOTT, _Old Play._ "Fie! Fie! Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
Chapter 11 of A Lost Leader: A Tale of Restoration Days is here in full — 176 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
a small room (or recess) or cabinet used for storage space
From this reading “Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.”
informal terms for a (young) woman
From this reading “"Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."”
hold firmly
From this reading “"Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."”
the act of pressing; the exertion of pressure
From this reading “Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.”
award-winning United States film actor (1928-1999)
From this reading “SCOTT, _Old Play._ "Fie!”
Plural of shelf; the vast wooden or stone structures holding archives.
From this reading “Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.”
plural of “tale” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.”
shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
From this reading “Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.”
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 “Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.”
In this reading “Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
be present at (meetings, church services, university), etc.
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."
a small room (or recess) or cabinet used for storage space
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
overfilled or compacted or concentrated
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
informal terms for a (young) woman
From this reading "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."
the act of escaping physically
From this reading ESCAPE.
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SCOTT, _Old Play._ "Fie!
a lock of hair growing (or falling) over the forehead
From this reading "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."
an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."
hold firmly
From this reading "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading SCOTT, _Old Play._ "Fie!
above and across; more than
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
participate in games or sport
From this reading SCOTT, _Old Play._ "Fie!
the act of pressing; the exertion of pressure
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."
award-winning United States film actor (1928-1999)
From this reading SCOTT, _Old Play._ "Fie!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."
Plural of shelf; the vast wooden or stone structures holding archives.
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
plural of “tale” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
From this reading Have I nothing more pressing to attend to than to weep over these old tales?" cried Audrey, as she looked round the crowded shelves of the closet.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why, now I have Dame Fortune by the forelock, And if she 'scapes my grasp, the fault is mine."
Chapter 11 of A Lost Leader: A Tale of Restoration Days by Dorothea Townshend holds 176 sentences, grouped into 36 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 11 holds 176 sentences of A Lost Leader: A Tale of Restoration Days, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of A Lost Leader: A Tale of Restoration Days by Dorothea Townshend exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 176 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 11 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 Lost Leader: A Tale of Restoration Days by Dorothea Townshend on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2489 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58755 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58755, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 207 minutes of reading across 498 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Lost Leader: A Tale of Restoration Days section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of A Lost Leader: A Tale of Restoration Days 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 Lost Leader: A Tale of Restoration Days, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
