Amusing Prose Chap-Books

Chapter XXIX

Chapter 29 of Amusing Prose Chap-Books is here in full — 54 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Robert Hays [Editor] Cunningham • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for Amusing Prose Chap-Books

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

_Her Usage to the Bailiff of Westminster, who came into her Mistress's and arrested her Friend._ A bailiff, having for the purpose took forty shillings, arrested a gentleman in Meg's mistress's house, and desired the company to keep peace.

She, coming in, asked what was the matter.

"O," said he, "I'm arrested."

"Arrested! and in our house?

Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."

Narrator

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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter XXIX Reading 1/10

Amusing Prose Chap-Books

Chapter XXIX

Chapter 29 of Amusing Prose Chap-Books is here in full — 54 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/10 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

Line 2

She, coming in, asked what was the matter.

/ʃiː ˈkʌmɪŋ ɪn æskt wʌt wɑːz ðə ˈmætər/

Line 3

"O," said he, "I'm arrested."

Line 4

"Arrested! and in our house?

/ərˈestɪd ənd ɪn ˈaʊər haʊs/

Line 5

Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."

/waɪ ðɪs ənˈkaɪnd ækt tuː ərˈest wʌn ɪn ˈaʊər haʊs bʌt ˌhaʊˈevər teɪk æn ˈeɪndʒəl ənd let hɪm ɡoʊ/

Learner Dictionary

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.

angel noun US /ˈeɪndʒəl/

spiritual being attendant upon God

From this reading “Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."”

arrest verb US /ərˈest/

take into custody

From this reading “Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."”

arrested verb US /ərˈestɪd/

past form of “arrest” — take into custody

From this reading “_Her Usage to the Bailiff of Westminster, who came into her Mistress's and arrested her Friend._ A bailiff, having for the purpose took forty shillings, arrested a gentleman in Meg's mistress's house, and desired the company to keep peace.”

bailiff noun US /ˈbeɪləf/

an officer of the court who is employed to execute writs and processes and make arrests etc.

shillings noun US /ˈʃɪlɪŋz/

plural of “shilling” — the basic unit of money in Uganda; equal to 100 cents

unkind adjective US /ənˈkaɪnd/

lacking kindness

From this reading “Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."”

Usage noun US /ˈjuːsədʒ/

the act of using

Westminster noun US /ˌwestˈmɪnstər/

a borough of Greater London on the Thames; contains Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

forty shillings adjective + noun counted as “forty shilling”

In this reading “_Her Usage to the Bailiff of Westminster, who came into her Mistress's and arrested her Friend._ A bailiff, having for the purpose took forty shillings, arrested a gentleman in Meg's mistress's house, and desired the company to keep peace.”

for the purpose preposition + article + noun counted as “for … purpose”

came into verb + particle counted as “come into”

obtain, especially accidentally

All words in this reading · 54

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.

AdeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading _Her Usage to the Bailiff of Westminster, who came into her Mistress's and arrested her Friend._ A bailiff, having for the purpose took forty shillings, arrested a gentleman in Meg's mistress's house, and desired the company to keep peace.

actverbUS /ækt/

perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)

From this reading Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

angelnounUS /ˈeɪndʒəl/

spiritual being attendant upon God

From this reading Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."

arrestverbUS /ərˈest/

take into custody

From this reading Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."

arrestedverbUS /ərˈestɪd/

past form of “arrest” — take into custody

askedverbUS /æskt/

past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody

From this reading She, coming in, asked what was the matter.

BailiffnounUS /ˈbeɪləf/

an officer of the court who is employed to execute writs and processes and make arrests etc.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."

cameverbUS /keɪm/

inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

comingnounUS /ˈkʌmɪŋ/

the act of drawing spatially closer to something

From this reading She, coming in, asked what was the matter.

companynounUS /ˈkʌmpəniː/

an institution created to conduct business

desiredadjectiveUS /dɪˈzaɪərd/

wanted intensely

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

fortyadjectiveUS /ˈfɔːrti/

being ten more than thirty

FriendnounUS /frend/

a person you know well and regard with affection and trust

gentlemannounUS /ˈdʒentəlmən/

a man of refinement

goverbUS /ɡoʊ/

change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically

From this reading Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."

havingauxiliary verbUS /ˈhævɪŋ/

the -ing form of “have”

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading "O," said he, "I'm arrested."

HerdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."

housenounUS /haʊs/

a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families

howeveradverbUS /ˌhaʊˈevər/

used to add a contrasting statement

From this reading Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."

I'm

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "O," said he, "I'm arrested."

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

keepverbUS /kiːp/

cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”

letauxiliary verbUS /let/

used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker

From this reading Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."

matternounUS /ˈmætər/

a vaguely specified concern

From this reading She, coming in, asked what was the matter.

Meg's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

Mistress's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

OnounUS /oʊ/

a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust

From this reading "O," said he, "I'm arrested."

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."

ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading "Arrested! and in our house?

peacenounUS /piːs/

the state prevailing during the absence of war

purposenounUS /ˈpɜːrpəs/

an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading "O," said he, "I'm arrested."

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading She, coming in, asked what was the matter.

shillingsnounUS /ˈʃɪlɪŋz/

plural of “shilling” — the basic unit of money in Uganda; equal to 100 cents

takeverbUS /teɪk/

carry out

From this reading Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

tookverbUS /tʊk/

inflected form of “take” — carry out

unkindadjectiveUS /ənˈkaɪnd/

lacking kindness

From this reading Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."

UsagenounUS /ˈjuːsədʒ/

the act of using

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading She, coming in, asked what was the matter.

WestminsternounUS /ˌwestˈmɪnstər/

a borough of Greater London on the Thames; contains Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading She, coming in, asked what was the matter.

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

WhynounUS /waɪ/

the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”

From this reading Why this unkind act to arrest one in our house; but, however, take an angel and let him go."

Chapter 29 of Amusing Prose Chap-Books by Robert Hays [Editor] Cunningham holds 54 sentences, grouped into 11 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.

What does chapter 29 of Amusing Prose Chap-Books contain?

Chapter 29 holds 54 sentences of Amusing Prose Chap-Books, unabridged, divided into 11 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 29 of Amusing Prose Chap-Books by Robert Hays [Editor] Cunningham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 54 sentences, grouped into 11 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.

How do I study chapter 29 of Amusing Prose Chap-Books?

Work through the 11 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 11 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.

Can chapter 29 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 29 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.

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Is this the complete text of Amusing Prose Chap-Books?

Yes. All 3829 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36517 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

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Project Gutenberg eBook #36517, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Amusing Prose Chap-Books take to read?

About 319 minutes of reading across 766 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in Amusing Prose Chap-Books

Words and structures a reader meets early in Amusing Prose Chap-Books, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Editorial: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Amusing Prose Chap-Books; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
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Chapter XXIX

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