Chapter 19 of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WILLIAM SMITH'S AMBITION. Merrily worked the William Smith quartz-crushing machine. Day and night the stampers kept thumping and pounding. The first rest given to it was when the first fifty tons of stone had been passed beneath the stampers. Then the iron baby was quiet for awhile.
Chapter 19 of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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 cherished desire
From this reading “WILLIAM SMITH'S AMBITION.”
for a short time
From this reading “Then the iron baby was quiet for awhile.”
any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks
From this reading “Merrily worked the William Smith quartz-crushing machine.”
in a joyous manner
From this reading “Merrily worked the William Smith quartz-crushing machine.”
repeated heavy blows
From this reading “Day and night the stampers kept thumping and pounding.”
possessive form of “smith” — Rhodesian statesman who declared independence of Zimbabwe from Great Britain (born in 1919)
From this reading “WILLIAM SMITH'S AMBITION.”
a heavy dull sound (as made by impact of heavy objects)
From this reading “Day and night the stampers kept thumping and pounding.”
a large number or amount
From this reading “The first rest given to it was when the first fifty tons of stone had been passed beneath the stampers.”
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 “The first rest given to it was when the first fifty tons of stone had been passed beneath the stampers.”
In this reading “Then the iron baby was quiet for awhile.”
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.
a cherished desire
From this reading WILLIAM SMITH'S AMBITION.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Day and night the stampers kept thumping and pounding.
for a short time
From this reading Then the iron baby was quiet for awhile.
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading Then the iron baby was quiet for awhile.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The first rest given to it was when the first fifty tons of stone had been passed beneath the stampers.
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading The first rest given to it was when the first fifty tons of stone had been passed beneath the stampers.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Day and night the stampers kept thumping and pounding.
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and five
From this reading The first rest given to it was when the first fifty tons of stone had been passed beneath the stampers.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading The first rest given to it was when the first fifty tons of stone had been passed beneath the stampers.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Then the iron baby was quiet for awhile.
acknowledged as a supposition
From this reading The first rest given to it was when the first fifty tons of stone had been passed beneath the stampers.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The first rest given to it was when the first fifty tons of stone had been passed beneath the stampers.
a heavy ductile magnetic metallic element; is silver-white in pure form but readily rusts; used in construction and tools and armament; plays a role in the transport of oxygen by the blood
From this reading Then the iron baby was quiet for awhile.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The first rest given to it was when the first fifty tons of stone had been passed beneath the stampers.
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading Day and night the stampers kept thumping and pounding.
any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks
From this reading Merrily worked the William Smith quartz-crushing machine.
in a joyous manner
From this reading Merrily worked the William Smith quartz-crushing machine.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Day and night the stampers kept thumping and pounding.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The first rest given to it was when the first fifty tons of stone had been passed beneath the stampers.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading The first rest given to it was when the first fifty tons of stone had been passed beneath the stampers.
repeated heavy blows
From this reading Day and night the stampers kept thumping and pounding.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Merrily worked the William Smith quartz-crushing machine.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading Then the iron baby was quiet for awhile.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading The first rest given to it was when the first fifty tons of stone had been passed beneath the stampers.
Rhodesian statesman who declared independence of Zimbabwe from Great Britain (born in 1919)
From this reading Merrily worked the William Smith quartz-crushing machine.
possessive form of “smith” — Rhodesian statesman who declared independence of Zimbabwe from Great Britain (born in 1919)
From this reading WILLIAM SMITH'S AMBITION.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Day and night the stampers kept thumping and pounding.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading The first rest given to it was when the first fifty tons of stone had been passed beneath the stampers.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Merrily worked the William Smith quartz-crushing machine.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then the iron baby was quiet for awhile.
a heavy dull sound (as made by impact of heavy objects)
From this reading Day and night the stampers kept thumping and pounding.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The first rest given to it was when the first fifty tons of stone had been passed beneath the stampers.
a large number or amount
From this reading The first rest given to it was when the first fifty tons of stone had been passed beneath the stampers.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The first rest given to it was when the first fifty tons of stone had been passed beneath the stampers.
at the time that
From this reading The first rest given to it was when the first fifty tons of stone had been passed beneath the stampers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WILLIAM SMITH'S AMBITION.
past form of “work” — exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading Merrily worked the William Smith quartz-crushing machine.
Chapter 19 of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon by B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon holds 213 sentences, grouped into 43 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 19 holds 213 sentences of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon by B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 213 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 19 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 At the Sign of the Silver Flagon by B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5583 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53062 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #53062, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 465 minutes of reading across 1117 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through At the Sign of the Silver Flagon section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon 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 At the Sign of the Silver Flagon, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
