Chapter 16 of Fishpingle: A Romance of the Countryside is here in full — 316 sentences across 64 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Fishpingle: A Romance of the Countryside is here in full — 316 sentences across 64 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Sir Geoffrey stood still for a moment after his son had left the room. Then he sat down in the big armchair, staring vacantly at the hearth. His premonition had come true—the boy had stuck a knife into him. Almost in a whisper he murmured hoarsely, “Lionel!” Fishpingle turned.
Chapter 16 of Fishpingle: A Romance of the Countryside is here in full — 316 sentences across 64 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/63 · 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.
chair with a support on each side for arms
From this reading “Then he sat down in the big armchair, staring vacantly at the hearth.”
an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built
From this reading “Then he sat down in the big armchair, staring vacantly at the hearth.”
edge tool used as a cutting instrument; has a pointed blade with a sharp edge and a handle
From this reading “His premonition had come true—the boy had stuck a knife into him.”
past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly
From this reading “Almost in a whisper he murmured hoarsely, “Lionel!””
a feeling of evil to come
From this reading “His premonition had come true—the boy had stuck a knife into him.”
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading “Then he sat down in the big armchair, staring vacantly at the hearth.”
caught or fixed
From this reading “His premonition had come true—the boy had stuck a knife into him.”
speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading “Almost in a whisper he murmured hoarsely, “Lionel!””
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 “Then he sat down in the big armchair, staring vacantly at the hearth.”
In this reading “Sir Geoffrey stood still for a moment after his son had left the room.”
temporarily
In this reading “Sir Geoffrey stood still for a moment after his son had left the room.”
In this reading “Almost in a whisper he murmured hoarsely, “Lionel!””
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 Sir Geoffrey stood still for a moment after his son had left the room.
later than; following
From this reading Sir Geoffrey stood still for a moment after his son had left the room.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Almost in a whisper he murmured hoarsely, “Lionel!”
chair with a support on each side for arms
From this reading Then he sat down in the big armchair, staring vacantly at the hearth.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Then he sat down in the big armchair, staring vacantly at the hearth.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Then he sat down in the big armchair, staring vacantly at the hearth.
a youthful male person
From this reading His premonition had come true—the boy had stuck a knife into him.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading His premonition had come true—the boy had stuck a knife into him.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Then he sat down in the big armchair, staring vacantly at the hearth.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fishpingle turned.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Sir Geoffrey stood still for a moment after his son had left the room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sir Geoffrey stood still for a moment after his son had left the room.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Sir Geoffrey stood still for a moment after his son had left the room.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then he sat down in the big armchair, staring vacantly at the hearth.
an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built
From this reading Then he sat down in the big armchair, staring vacantly at the hearth.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading His premonition had come true—the boy had stuck a knife into him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Sir Geoffrey stood still for a moment after his son had left the room.
in a hoarse or husky voice
From this reading Almost in a whisper he murmured hoarsely, “Lionel!”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Then he sat down in the big armchair, staring vacantly at the hearth.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading His premonition had come true—the boy had stuck a knife into him.
edge tool used as a cutting instrument; has a pointed blade with a sharp edge and a handle
From this reading His premonition had come true—the boy had stuck a knife into him.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Sir Geoffrey stood still for a moment after his son had left the room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Almost in a whisper he murmured hoarsely, “Lionel!”
a particular point in time
From this reading Sir Geoffrey stood still for a moment after his son had left the room.
past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly
From this reading Almost in a whisper he murmured hoarsely, “Lionel!”
a feeling of evil to come
From this reading His premonition had come true—the boy had stuck a knife into him.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Sir Geoffrey stood still for a moment after his son had left the room.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Then he sat down in the big armchair, staring vacantly at the hearth.
term of address for a man
From this reading Sir Geoffrey stood still for a moment after his son had left the room.
a male human offspring
From this reading Sir Geoffrey stood still for a moment after his son had left the room.
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading Then he sat down in the big armchair, staring vacantly at the hearth.
not in physical motion
From this reading Sir Geoffrey stood still for a moment after his son had left the room.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Sir Geoffrey stood still for a moment after his son had left the room.
caught or fixed
From this reading His premonition had come true—the boy had stuck a knife into him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Sir Geoffrey stood still for a moment after his son had left the room.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he sat down in the big armchair, staring vacantly at the hearth.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading His premonition had come true—the boy had stuck a knife into him.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Fishpingle turned.
in a vacant manner
From this reading Then he sat down in the big armchair, staring vacantly at the hearth.
speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading Almost in a whisper he murmured hoarsely, “Lionel!”
Chapter 16 of Fishpingle: A Romance of the Countryside by Horace Annesley Vachell holds 316 sentences, grouped into 64 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 16 holds 316 sentences of Fishpingle: A Romance of the Countryside, unabridged, divided into 64 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Fishpingle: A Romance of the Countryside by Horace Annesley Vachell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 316 sentences, grouped into 64 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 64 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 64 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 16 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 Fishpingle: A Romance of the Countryside by Horace Annesley Vachell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7025 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50255 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50255, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 585 minutes of reading across 1405 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Fishpingle: A Romance of the Countryside section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Fishpingle: A Romance of the Countryside 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 Fishpingle: A Romance of the Countryside, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
