Chapter 8 of Dick Cheveley is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Dick Cheveley is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other. It was on its side. With trembling eagerness I put in my hand. Alas! Only a few whole biscuits and a few broken ones remained.
Chapter 8 of Dick Cheveley is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
used to show sadness, pity, or regret
From this reading “Alas!”
plural of “biscuit” — small round bread leavened with baking-powder or soda
From this reading “Only a few whole biscuits and a few broken ones remained.”
the quantity a cask will hold
From this reading “At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.”
a positive feeling of wanting to push ahead with something
From this reading “With trembling eagerness I put in my hand.”
plural of “one” — the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
From this reading “Only a few whole biscuits and a few broken ones remained.”
caused to fall to the ground
From this reading “At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.”
having come into contact
From this reading “At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.”
a shaky motion
From this reading “With trembling eagerness I put in my hand.”
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 Only a few whole biscuits and a few broken ones remained.
used to show sadness, pity, or regret
From this reading Alas!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Only a few whole biscuits and a few broken ones remained.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.
plural of “biscuit” — small round bread leavened with baking-powder or soda
From this reading Only a few whole biscuits and a few broken ones remained.
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading Only a few whole biscuits and a few broken ones remained.
the quantity a cask will hold
From this reading At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.
a positive feeling of wanting to push ahead with something
From this reading With trembling eagerness I put in my hand.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Only a few whole biscuits and a few broken ones remained.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading With trembling eagerness I put in my hand.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading With trembling eagerness I put in my hand.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was on its side.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading It was on its side.
the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place
From this reading At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading With trembling eagerness I put in my hand.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading It was on its side.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.
plural of “one” — the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Only a few whole biscuits and a few broken ones remained.
and nothing more
From this reading Only a few whole biscuits and a few broken ones remained.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading With trembling eagerness I put in my hand.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading Only a few whole biscuits and a few broken ones remained.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading It was on its side.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.
caused to fall to the ground
From this reading At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.
having come into contact
From this reading At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.
a shaky motion
From this reading With trembling eagerness I put in my hand.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was on its side.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading At length I touched the cask, which had been thrown from one end of the hold to the other.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading Only a few whole biscuits and a few broken ones remained.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With trembling eagerness I put in my hand.
Chapter 8 of Dick Cheveley by William Henry Giles Kingston holds 431 sentences, grouped into 87 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 8 holds 431 sentences of Dick Cheveley, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Dick Cheveley by William Henry Giles Kingston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 431 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Dick Cheveley by William Henry Giles Kingston on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5151 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21455 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21455, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 429 minutes of reading across 1031 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dick Cheveley section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Dick Cheveley 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 Dick Cheveley, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
