Chapter 8 of Colonel Starbottle's Client is here in full — 570 sentences across 114 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Colonel Starbottle's Client is here in full — 570 sentences across 114 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The girl stood looking at the ingenious forger with an odd, breathless smile. It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression. “And you've got a wife--and THAT'S her?” she resumed. “Yes.” “Where did you first meet her?
Chapter 8 of Colonel Starbottle's Client is here in full — 570 sentences across 114 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/114 · 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.
not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty
From this reading “The girl stood looking at the ingenious forger with an odd, breathless smile.”
establish after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study
From this reading “It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression.”
exercising influence or control
From this reading “It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression.”
someone who operates a forge
From this reading “The girl stood looking at the ingenious forger with an odd, breathless smile.”
having received what was desired
From this reading “It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression.”
Clever, original, and remarkably inventive in design and execution.
From this reading “The girl stood looking at the ingenious forger with an odd, breathless smile.”
not divisible by two
From this reading “The girl stood looking at the ingenious forger with an odd, breathless smile.”
past form of “resume” — take up or begin anew
From this reading ““And you've got a wife--and THAT'S her?” she resumed.”
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 “And you've got a wife--and THAT'S her?” she resumed.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The girl stood looking at the ingenious forger with an odd, breathless smile.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “And you've got a wife--and THAT'S her?” she resumed.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The girl stood looking at the ingenious forger with an odd, breathless smile.
not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty
From this reading The girl stood looking at the ingenious forger with an odd, breathless smile.
a state in which you want to learn more about something
From this reading It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression.
establish after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study
From this reading It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “Where did you first meet her?
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression.
exercising influence or control
From this reading It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression.
the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading “Where did you first meet her?
someone who operates a forge
From this reading The girl stood looking at the ingenious forger with an odd, breathless smile.
a young female
From this reading The girl stood looking at the ingenious forger with an odd, breathless smile.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “And you've got a wife--and THAT'S her?” she resumed.
having received what was desired
From this reading It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “And you've got a wife--and THAT'S her?” she resumed.
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression.
Clever, original, and remarkably inventive in design and execution.
From this reading The girl stood looking at the ingenious forger with an odd, breathless smile.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading The girl stood looking at the ingenious forger with an odd, breathless smile.
come together
From this reading “Where did you first meet her?
used to form the superlative
From this reading It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression.
not divisible by two
From this reading The girl stood looking at the ingenious forger with an odd, breathless smile.
past form of “resume” — take up or begin anew
From this reading “And you've got a wife--and THAT'S her?” she resumed.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “And you've got a wife--and THAT'S her?” she resumed.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading The girl stood looking at the ingenious forger with an odd, breathless smile.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading The girl stood looking at the ingenious forger with an odd, breathless smile.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “And you've got a wife--and THAT'S her?” she resumed.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The girl stood looking at the ingenious forger with an odd, breathless smile.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity were not its most dominant expression.
in or at the place that
From this reading “Where did you first meet her?
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading “And you've got a wife--and THAT'S her?” she resumed.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The girl stood looking at the ingenious forger with an odd, breathless smile.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Where did you first meet her?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “And you've got a wife--and THAT'S her?” she resumed.
Chapter 8 of Colonel Starbottle's Client by Bret Harte holds 570 sentences, grouped into 114 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 8 holds 570 sentences of Colonel Starbottle's Client, unabridged, divided into 114 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Colonel Starbottle's Client by Bret Harte exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 570 sentences, grouped into 114 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 114 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 114 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 Colonel Starbottle's Client by Bret Harte on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2670 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2784 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2784, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 222 minutes of reading across 534 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Colonel Starbottle's Client section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of Colonel Starbottle's Client 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 Colonel Starbottle's Client, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
