Chapter 3 of From Canal Boy to President is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of From Canal Boy to President is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ON THE TOW-PATH. Captain Letcher regarded his young cousin in surprise. "Well, Jimmy, what brings you to Cleveland?" he asked. "I came here to ship on the lake," the boy answered. "I tried first to get a place in a store, as I promised mother, but I found no opening.
Chapter 3 of From Canal Boy to President is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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.
third-person singular of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading “"Well, Jimmy, what brings you to Cleveland?" he asked.”
the largest city in Ohio; located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie; a major Great Lakes port
From this reading “"Well, Jimmy, what brings you to Cleveland?" he asked.”
the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading “Captain Letcher regarded his young cousin in surprise.”
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading “"Well, Jimmy, what brings you to Cleveland?" he asked.”
a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading “"I came here to ship on the lake," the boy answered.”
an open or empty space in or between things
From this reading “"I tried first to get a place in a store, as I promised mother, but I found no opening.”
past form of “regard” — deem to be
From this reading “Captain Letcher regarded his young cousin in surprise.”
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading “"I tried first to get a place in a store, as I promised mother, but I found no opening.”
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 "I tried first to get a place in a store, as I promised mother, but I found no opening.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "I came here to ship on the lake," the boy answered.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "I tried first to get a place in a store, as I promised mother, but I found no opening.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Well, Jimmy, what brings you to Cleveland?" he asked.
a youthful male person
From this reading "I came here to ship on the lake," the boy answered.
third-person singular of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading "Well, Jimmy, what brings you to Cleveland?" he asked.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "I tried first to get a place in a store, as I promised mother, but I found no opening.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "I came here to ship on the lake," the boy answered.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Captain Letcher regarded his young cousin in surprise.
the largest city in Ohio; located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie; a major Great Lakes port
From this reading "Well, Jimmy, what brings you to Cleveland?" he asked.
the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading Captain Letcher regarded his young cousin in surprise.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading "I tried first to get a place in a store, as I promised mother, but I found no opening.
set up or found
From this reading "I tried first to get a place in a store, as I promised mother, but I found no opening.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "I tried first to get a place in a store, as I promised mother, but I found no opening.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Well, Jimmy, what brings you to Cleveland?" he asked.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "I came here to ship on the lake," the boy answered.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Captain Letcher regarded his young cousin in surprise.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I came here to ship on the lake," the boy answered.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Captain Letcher regarded his young cousin in surprise.
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading "Well, Jimmy, what brings you to Cleveland?" he asked.
a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading "I came here to ship on the lake," the boy answered.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Captain Letcher regarded his young cousin in surprise.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading "I tried first to get a place in a store, as I promised mother, but I found no opening.
not any; not one
From this reading "I tried first to get a place in a store, as I promised mother, but I found no opening.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading ON THE TOW-PATH.
an open or empty space in or between things
From this reading "I tried first to get a place in a store, as I promised mother, but I found no opening.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading "I tried first to get a place in a store, as I promised mother, but I found no opening.
past form of “promise” — make a promise or commitment
From this reading "I tried first to get a place in a store, as I promised mother, but I found no opening.
past form of “regard” — deem to be
From this reading Captain Letcher regarded his young cousin in surprise.
transport commercially
From this reading "I came here to ship on the lake," the boy answered.
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading "I tried first to get a place in a store, as I promised mother, but I found no opening.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading Captain Letcher regarded his young cousin in surprise.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ON THE TOW-PATH.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Well, Jimmy, what brings you to Cleveland?" he asked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ON THE TOW-PATH.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading "I tried first to get a place in a store, as I promised mother, but I found no opening.
(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, Jimmy, what brings you to Cleveland?" he asked.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Well, Jimmy, what brings you to Cleveland?" he asked.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Well, Jimmy, what brings you to Cleveland?" he asked.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Captain Letcher regarded his young cousin in surprise.
Chapter 3 of From Canal Boy to President by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 96 sentences, grouped into 20 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 96 sentences of From Canal Boy to President, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of From Canal Boy to President by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 96 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #14964, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 245 minutes of reading across 589 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in From Canal Boy to President, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
