Chapter 3 of Cursed by a Fortune is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Cursed by a Fortune is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped. "Then now we understand each other?" "And no mistake, guv'nor." "You mustn't let her slip through your fingers, my boy." "Likely, dad!"
Chapter 3 of Cursed by a Fortune is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading “"Likely, dad!"”
with eagerness; in an eager manner
From this reading “"To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.”
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading “"You mustn't let her slip through your fingers, my boy."”
past form of “grasp” — hold firmly
From this reading “"To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.”
the act of retaining something
From this reading “"To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.”
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
From this reading “"Likely, dad!"”
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading “"And no mistake, guv'nor."”
move stealthily
From this reading “"You mustn't let her slip through your fingers, my boy."”
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 “"You mustn't let her slip through your fingers, my boy."”
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 "To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And no mistake, guv'nor."
a youthful male person
From this reading "To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading "Likely, dad!"
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading "Then now we understand each other?"
with eagerness; in an eager manner
From this reading "To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading "To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading "You mustn't let her slip through your fingers, my boy."
past form of “grasp” — hold firmly
From this reading "To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And no mistake, guv'nor."
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading "To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "You mustn't let her slip through your fingers, my boy."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.
the act of retaining something
From this reading "To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading "You mustn't let her slip through your fingers, my boy."
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
From this reading "Likely, dad!"
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading "And no mistake, guv'nor."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You mustn't let her slip through your fingers, my boy."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.
not any; not one
From this reading "And no mistake, guv'nor."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Then now we understand each other?"
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading "Then now we understand each other?"
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.
move stealthily
From this reading "You mustn't let her slip through your fingers, my boy."
a male human offspring
From this reading "To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Then now we understand each other?"
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading "You mustn't let her slip through your fingers, my boy."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading "Then now we understand each other?"
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Then now we understand each other?"
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading "To a man, my boy," said the father, holding out his hand, which the son eagerly grasped.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You mustn't let her slip through your fingers, my boy."
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You mustn't let her slip through your fingers, my boy."
Chapter 3 of Cursed by a Fortune by George Manville Fenn holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 3 holds 410 sentences of Cursed by a Fortune, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Cursed by a Fortune by George Manville Fenn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 3 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 Cursed by a Fortune by George Manville Fenn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7228 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34537 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34537, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1446 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cursed by a Fortune section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of Cursed by a Fortune 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 Cursed by a Fortune, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
