Chapter 4 of Ballads is here in full — 149 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Ballads is here in full — 149 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
{62b} Note 3, page 62. “_Tikis_.” The tiki is an ugly image hewn out of wood or stone. {67} Note 4, page 67. “_The one-stringed harp_.”
Chapter 4 of Ballads is here in full — 149 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading {62b} Note 3, page 62.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading {67} Note 4, page 67.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading {62b} Note 3, page 62.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading {67} Note 4, page 67.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The tiki is an ugly image hewn out of wood or stone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading {62b} Note 3, page 62.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “_The one-stringed harp_.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The tiki is an ugly image hewn out of wood or stone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The tiki is an ugly image hewn out of wood or stone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The tiki is an ugly image hewn out of wood or stone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading {62b} Note 3, page 62.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The tiki is an ugly image hewn out of wood or stone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “_The one-stringed harp_.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The tiki is an ugly image hewn out of wood or stone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The tiki is an ugly image hewn out of wood or stone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading {62b} Note 3, page 62.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The tiki is an ugly image hewn out of wood or stone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The tiki is an ugly image hewn out of wood or stone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The tiki is an ugly image hewn out of wood or stone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “_Tikis_.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The tiki is an ugly image hewn out of wood or stone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The tiki is an ugly image hewn out of wood or stone.
Chapter 4 of Ballads by Robert Louis Stevenson holds 149 sentences, grouped into 30 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 4 holds 149 sentences of Ballads, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Ballads by Robert Louis Stevenson exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 149 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 4 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 Ballads by Robert Louis Stevenson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 604 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #413 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #413, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 50 minutes of reading across 121 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ballads section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Ballads 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 Ballads, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
