Chapter 21 of Dalziels' Illustrated Goldsmith is here in full — 366 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Dalziels' Illustrated Goldsmith is here in full — 366 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MRS. HARD. Was there ever such a cross-grained brute, that won't hear me! Can you bear witness that you're no better than a fool? Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?
Chapter 21 of Dalziels' Illustrated Goldsmith is here in full — 366 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/73 · 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.
have
From this reading “Can you bear witness that you're no better than a fool?”
annoy continually or chronically
From this reading “Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?”
a cruelly rapacious person
From this reading “Was there ever such a cross-grained brute, that won't hear me!”
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading “Can you bear witness that you're no better than a fool?”
plural of “fool” — a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading “Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?”
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading “HARD.”
plural of “thief” — a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
From this reading “Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?”
someone who sees an event and reports what happened
From this reading “Can you bear witness that you're no better than a fool?”
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.
provide evidence for
In this reading “Can you bear witness that you're no better than a fool?”
In this reading “Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?”
In this reading “Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?”
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 Was there ever such a cross-grained brute, that won't hear me!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?
have
From this reading Can you bear witness that you're no better than a fool?
annoy continually or chronically
From this reading Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading Can you bear witness that you're no better than a fool?
a cruelly rapacious person
From this reading Was there ever such a cross-grained brute, that won't hear me!
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Can you bear witness that you're no better than a fool?
difficult to deal with
From this reading Was there ever such a cross-grained brute, that won't hear me!
at any time
From this reading Was there ever such a cross-grained brute, that won't hear me!
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading Can you bear witness that you're no better than a fool?
plural of “fool” — a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading HARD.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading Was there ever such a cross-grained brute, that won't hear me!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Was there ever such a cross-grained brute, that won't hear me!
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading MRS.
not any; not one
From this reading Can you bear witness that you're no better than a fool?
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Was there ever such a cross-grained brute, that won't hear me!
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Can you bear witness that you're no better than a fool?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Was there ever such a cross-grained brute, that won't hear me!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?
in or at that place or location
From this reading Was there ever such a cross-grained brute, that won't hear me!
plural of “thief” — a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
From this reading Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Was there ever such a cross-grained brute, that won't hear me!
in the company of; together with
From this reading Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?
someone who sees an event and reports what happened
From this reading Can you bear witness that you're no better than a fool?
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading Was ever poor woman so beset with fools on one hand, and thieves on the other?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Was there ever such a cross-grained brute, that won't hear me!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Can you bear witness that you're no better than a fool?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Can you bear witness that you're no better than a fool?
Chapter 21 of Dalziels' Illustrated Goldsmith by Oliver Goldsmith holds 366 sentences, grouped into 74 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 21 holds 366 sentences of Dalziels' Illustrated Goldsmith, unabridged, divided into 74 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Dalziels' Illustrated Goldsmith by Oliver Goldsmith exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 366 sentences, grouped into 74 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 74 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 74 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 21 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 Dalziels' Illustrated Goldsmith by Oliver Goldsmith on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8191 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49325 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49325, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1639 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dalziels' Illustrated Goldsmith section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of Dalziels' Illustrated Goldsmith 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 Dalziels' Illustrated Goldsmith, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
