Chapter 10 of Complete Poetical Works is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of Complete Poetical Works is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap. So she asked to know "whar I was hid?" She did! Oh, it's jist like her sass, for she's peart ez a Katydid. But what was I talking of?--Oh!
Chapter 10 of Complete Poetical Works is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters
From this reading “Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.”
large green long-horned grasshopper of North America; males produce shrill sounds by rubbing together special organs on the forewings
From this reading “Oh, it's jist like her sass, for she's peart ez a Katydid.”
a person having kinship with another or others
From this reading “Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.”
attach something somewhere by means of nails
From this reading “Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.”
sufficiently fat so as to have a pleasing fullness of figure
From this reading “Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.”
draw back, as with fear or pain
From this reading “Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.”
an impudent or insolent rejoinder
From this reading “Oh, it's jist like her sass, for she's peart ez a Katydid.”
utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading “Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.”
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 Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading So she asked to know "whar I was hid?"
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But what was I talking of?--Oh!
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
a tight-fitting headdress
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading She did!
opinion or judgment
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Oh, it's jist like her sass, for she's peart ez a Katydid.
United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Oh, it's jist like her sass, for she's peart ez a Katydid.
inflected form of “hide” — prevent from being seen or discovered
From this reading So she asked to know "whar I was hid?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Oh, it's jist like her sass, for she's peart ez a Katydid.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Oh, it's jist like her sass, for she's peart ez a Katydid.
large green long-horned grasshopper of North America; males produce shrill sounds by rubbing together special organs on the forewings
From this reading Oh, it's jist like her sass, for she's peart ez a Katydid.
a person having kinship with another or others
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading So she asked to know "whar I was hid?"
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
attach something somewhere by means of nails
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading But what was I talking of?--Oh!
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, it's jist like her sass, for she's peart ez a Katydid.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Oh, it's jist like her sass, for she's peart ez a Katydid.
sufficiently fat so as to have a pleasing fullness of figure
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
draw back, as with fear or pain
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
an impudent or insolent rejoinder
From this reading Oh, it's jist like her sass, for she's peart ez a Katydid.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading So she asked to know "whar I was hid?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So she asked to know "whar I was hid?"
an exchange of ideas via conversation
From this reading But what was I talking of?--Oh!
the kind and number and arrangement of teeth (collectively) in a person or animal
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading So she asked to know "whar I was hid?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading So she asked to know "whar I was hid?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading So she asked to know "whar I was hid?"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
a Caucasian
From this reading Now she's what I call a gal--ez pretty and plump ez a quail; Teeth ez white ez a hound's, and they'd go through a ten-penny nail; Eyes that kin snap like a cap.
Chapter 10 of Complete Poetical Works by Bret Harte holds 154 sentences, grouped into 31 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 10 holds 154 sentences of Complete Poetical Works, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of Complete Poetical Works by Bret Harte exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 154 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 10 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 Complete Poetical Works by Bret Harte on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3299 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2507 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2507, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 274 minutes of reading across 660 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Complete Poetical Works section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Complete Poetical Works 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 Complete Poetical Works, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
