Chapter 8 of An Irish Cousin is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of An Irish Cousin is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SCHOOLING. “Rode he on Barbary? Tell me, gentle friend, How went he under him?” “This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright? Well, now, wasn’t that too bad?
Chapter 8 of An Irish Cousin is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading “Well, now, wasn’t that too bad?”
a region of northern Africa on the Mediterranean coast between Egypt and Gibraltar; was used as a base for pirates from the 16th to 19th centuries
From this reading ““Rode he on Barbary?”
an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
From this reading ““This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright?”
soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
From this reading “Tell me, gentle friend, How went he under him?””
a girl or young woman who is unmarried
From this reading ““This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright?”
superlative of “pretty” — pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading ““This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright?”
inflected form of “ride” — sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading ““Rode he on Barbary?”
the act of teaching at school
From this reading “SCHOOLING.”
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.
deserving regret
In this reading “Well, now, wasn’t that too bad?”
In this reading ““This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright?”
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 “This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright?
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading Well, now, wasn’t that too bad?
a region of northern Africa on the Mediterranean coast between Egypt and Gibraltar; was used as a base for pirates from the 16th to 19th centuries
From this reading “Rode he on Barbary?
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading Tell me, gentle friend, How went he under him?”
an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
From this reading “This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright?
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading “This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright?
soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
From this reading Tell me, gentle friend, How went he under him?”
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading “This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Rode he on Barbary?
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Tell me, gentle friend, How went he under him?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tell me, gentle friend, How went he under him?”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright?
a girl or young woman who is unmarried
From this reading “This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Tell me, gentle friend, How went he under him?”
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Well, now, wasn’t that too bad?
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Rode he on Barbary?
superlative of “pretty” — pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading “This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright?
inflected form of “ride” — sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading “Rode he on Barbary?
the act of teaching at school
From this reading SCHOOLING.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright?
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright?
express in words
From this reading Tell me, gentle friend, How went he under him?”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Well, now, wasn’t that too bad?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright?
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright?
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Well, now, wasn’t that too bad?
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading Tell me, gentle friend, How went he under him?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, now, wasn’t that too bad?
(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, now, wasn’t that too bad?
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Tell me, gentle friend, How went he under him?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “This is the prettiest low-born lass----” “And so she gave you a great fright?
Chapter 8 of An Irish Cousin by E. Oe. (Edith Oenone) Somerville holds 116 sentences, grouped into 24 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 116 sentences of An Irish Cousin, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of An Irish Cousin by E. Oe. (Edith Oenone) Somerville exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 116 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 An Irish Cousin by E. Oe. (Edith Oenone) Somerville on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2031 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58633 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58633, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 169 minutes of reading across 407 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through An Irish Cousin section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of An Irish Cousin 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 An Irish Cousin, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
