Chapter 8 of Earl Hubert's Daughter The Polishing of is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Earl Hubert's Daughter The Polishing of is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"What is to be done?" demanded Abraham, blankly. "Could not Pucella be had, or old Cuntessa?" "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it." "Well, thou hast had it." "I?
Chapter 8 of Earl Hubert's Daughter The Polishing of is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
the first of the Old Testament patriarchs and the father of Isaac; according to Genesis, God promised to give Abraham's family (the Hebrews) the land of Canaan (the Promised Land); God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son
From this reading “"What is to be done?" demanded Abraham, blankly.”
in a blank and uncomprehending manner
From this reading “"What is to be done?" demanded Abraham, blankly.”
the flesh of a chicken used for food
From this reading “"Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."”
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “"What is to be done?" demanded Abraham, blankly.”
a rise in the temperature of the body; frequently a symptom of infection
From this reading “"Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."”
made afraid
From this reading “"Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."”
an old form of “have”, used with “thou”
From this reading “"Well, thou hast had it."”
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading “"Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."”
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 "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
the first of the Old Testament patriarchs and the father of Isaac; according to Genesis, God promised to give Abraham's family (the Hebrews) the land of Canaan (the Promised Land); God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son
From this reading "What is to be done?" demanded Abraham, blankly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "What is to be done?" demanded Abraham, blankly.
in a blank and uncomprehending manner
From this reading "What is to be done?" demanded Abraham, blankly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
the flesh of a chicken used for food
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "Could not Pucella be had, or old Cuntessa?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Could not Pucella be had, or old Cuntessa?"
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading "What is to be done?" demanded Abraham, blankly.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading "What is to be done?" demanded Abraham, blankly.
having ones attention or mind or energy engaged
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
a rise in the temperature of the body; frequently a symptom of infection
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
made afraid
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "Could not Pucella be had, or old Cuntessa?"
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
an old form of “have”, used with “thou”
From this reading "Well, thou hast had it."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "What is to be done?" demanded Abraham, blankly.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
not any; not one
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Could not Pucella be had, or old Cuntessa?"
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "Could not Pucella be had, or old Cuntessa?"
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "Could not Pucella be had, or old Cuntessa?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Could not Pucella be had, or old Cuntessa?"
possessing material wealth
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading "Well, thou hast had it."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "What is to be done?" demanded Abraham, blankly.
someone who lends money at excessive rates of interest
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, thou hast had it."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What is to be done?" demanded Abraham, blankly.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "Old Cuntessa is engaged as nurse for Rosia the wife of Bonamy the rich usurer, and Pucella would be no good,--she's as frightened of the fever as a chicken, and she has never had it."
Chapter 8 of Earl Hubert's Daughter The Polishing of by Emily Sarah Holt holds 422 sentences, grouped into 85 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 422 sentences of Earl Hubert's Daughter The Polishing of, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Earl Hubert's Daughter The Polishing of by Emily Sarah Holt exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 422 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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.
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About 420 minutes of reading across 1011 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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