Chapter 3 of Down at Caxton's is here in full — 486 sentences across 98 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Down at Caxton's is here in full — 486 sentences across 98 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry. I have no anecdotes to relate of Miss Guiney’s early years. I am not sure that there were any. Anecdotes are usually manufactured in later life, if the subject happens to become famous. Her education was carefully planned, and intelligently carried out.
Chapter 3 of Down at Caxton's is here in full — 486 sentences across 98 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/97 · 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.
plural of “anecdote” — short account of an incident (especially a biographical one)
From this reading “I have no anecdotes to relate of Miss Guiney’s early years.”
plural of “count” — the total number counted
From this reading “Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry.”
third-person singular of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading “Anecdotes are usually manufactured in later life, if the subject happens to become famous.”
in an intelligent manner
From this reading “Her education was carefully planned, and intelligently carried out.”
produced in a large-scale industrial operation
From this reading “Anecdotes are usually manufactured in later life, if the subject happens to become famous.”
designed or carried out according to a plan
From this reading “Her education was carefully planned, and intelligently carried out.”
make a logical or causal connection
From this reading “I have no anecdotes to relate of Miss Guiney’s early years.”
an old word meaning “from where”
From this reading “Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry.”
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 “Her education was carefully planned, and intelligently carried out.”
In this reading “Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry.”
In this reading “Anecdotes are usually manufactured in later life, if the subject happens to become famous.”
put in effect
In this reading “Her education was carefully planned, and intelligently carried out.”
In this reading “I have no anecdotes to relate of Miss Guiney’s early years.”
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.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am not sure that there were any.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry.
plural of “anecdote” — short account of an incident (especially a biographical one)
From this reading I have no anecdotes to relate of Miss Guiney’s early years.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading I am not sure that there were any.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Anecdotes are usually manufactured in later life, if the subject happens to become famous.
enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading Anecdotes are usually manufactured in later life, if the subject happens to become famous.
The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.
From this reading Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry.
taking care or paying attention
From this reading Her education was carefully planned, and intelligently carried out.
inflected form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading Her education was carefully planned, and intelligently carried out.
plural of “count” — the total number counted
From this reading Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading I have no anecdotes to relate of Miss Guiney’s early years.
the activities of educating or instructing; activities that impart knowledge or skill
From this reading Her education was carefully planned, and intelligently carried out.
divisible by two
From this reading Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry.
widely known and esteemed
From this reading Anecdotes are usually manufactured in later life, if the subject happens to become famous.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have no anecdotes to relate of Miss Guiney’s early years.
third-person singular of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading Anecdotes are usually manufactured in later life, if the subject happens to become famous.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I have no anecdotes to relate of Miss Guiney’s early years.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her education was carefully planned, and intelligently carried out.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I have no anecdotes to relate of Miss Guiney’s early years.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Anecdotes are usually manufactured in later life, if the subject happens to become famous.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry.
in an intelligent manner
From this reading Her education was carefully planned, and intelligently carried out.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading Anecdotes are usually manufactured in later life, if the subject happens to become famous.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Anecdotes are usually manufactured in later life, if the subject happens to become famous.
produced in a large-scale industrial operation
From this reading Anecdotes are usually manufactured in later life, if the subject happens to become famous.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading I have no anecdotes to relate of Miss Guiney’s early years.
not any; not one
From this reading I have no anecdotes to relate of Miss Guiney’s early years.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I am not sure that there were any.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I have no anecdotes to relate of Miss Guiney’s early years.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Her education was carefully planned, and intelligently carried out.
designed or carried out according to a plan
From this reading Her education was carefully planned, and intelligently carried out.
a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry)
From this reading Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry.
literature in metrical form
From this reading Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry.
make a logical or causal connection
From this reading I have no anecdotes to relate of Miss Guiney’s early years.
express in words
From this reading Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry.
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
From this reading Anecdotes are usually manufactured in later life, if the subject happens to become famous.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading I am not sure that there were any.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I am not sure that there were any.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Anecdotes are usually manufactured in later life, if the subject happens to become famous.
in or at that place or location
From this reading I am not sure that there were any.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I have no anecdotes to relate of Miss Guiney’s early years.
under normal conditions
From this reading Anecdotes are usually manufactured in later life, if the subject happens to become famous.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Her education was carefully planned, and intelligently carried out.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I am not sure that there were any.
an old word meaning “from where”
From this reading Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry.
a late time of life
From this reading I have no anecdotes to relate of Miss Guiney’s early years.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Good blood, you will say, from whence our poet came, and blood counts even in poetry.
Chapter 3 of Down at Caxton's by William A. McDermott holds 486 sentences, grouped into 98 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 486 sentences of Down at Caxton's, unabridged, divided into 98 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Down at Caxton's by William A. McDermott exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 486 sentences, grouped into 98 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 98 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 98 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 Down at Caxton's by William A. McDermott on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1483 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51886 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51886, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 123 minutes of reading across 297 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Down at Caxton's section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of Down at Caxton's 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 Down at Caxton's, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
