Chapter 23 of From Canal Boy to President is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of From Canal Boy to President is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE BATTLE OF MIDDLE CREEK. Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be followed up. His ambition is not satisfied. He means to force a fight with Marshall, despite the odds. He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted by their long and toilsome march.
Chapter 23 of From Canal Boy to President is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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.
a cherished desire
From this reading “His ambition is not satisfied.”
possessive form of “craven” — an abject coward
From this reading “He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted by their long and toilsome march.”
a natural stream of water smaller than a river (and often a tributary of a river)
From this reading “THE BATTLE OF MIDDLE CREEK.”
although something is true; in spite of
From this reading “He means to force a fight with Marshall, despite the odds.”
20th President of the United States; assassinated by a frustrated office-seeker (1831-1881)
From this reading “Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be followed up.”
United States actor (1914-1998)
From this reading “He means to force a fight with Marshall, despite the odds.”
the likelihood of a thing occurring rather than not occurring
From this reading “He means to force a fight with Marshall, despite the odds.”
given added strength or support
From this reading “He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted by their long and toilsome march.”
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 Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be followed up.
the quality of having a superior or more favorable position
From this reading Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be followed up.
a cherished desire
From this reading His ambition is not satisfied.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted by their long and toilsome march.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted by their long and toilsome march.
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading THE BATTLE OF MIDDLE CREEK.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be followed up.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted by their long and toilsome march.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be followed up.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted by their long and toilsome march.
a pass between mountain peaks
From this reading Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be followed up.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted by their long and toilsome march.
possessive form of “craven” — an abject coward
From this reading He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted by their long and toilsome march.
a natural stream of water smaller than a river (and often a tributary of a river)
From this reading THE BATTLE OF MIDDLE CREEK.
although something is true; in spite of
From this reading He means to force a fight with Marshall, despite the odds.
drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted
From this reading He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted by their long and toilsome march.
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading He means to force a fight with Marshall, despite the odds.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be followed up.
a powerful effect or influence
From this reading He means to force a fight with Marshall, despite the odds.
past form of “gain” — obtain
From this reading Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be followed up.
20th President of the United States; assassinated by a frustrated office-seeker (1831-1881)
From this reading Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be followed up.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be followed up.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be followed up.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be followed up.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His ambition is not satisfied.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading His ambition is not satisfied.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be followed up.
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be followed up.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted by their long and toilsome march.
march in a procession
From this reading He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted by their long and toilsome march.
United States actor (1914-1998)
From this reading He means to force a fight with Marshall, despite the odds.
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading He means to force a fight with Marshall, despite the odds.
the force of workers available
From this reading He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted by their long and toilsome march.
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
From this reading THE BATTLE OF MIDDLE CREEK.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be followed up.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading His ambition is not satisfied.
the likelihood of a thing occurring rather than not occurring
From this reading He means to force a fight with Marshall, despite the odds.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE BATTLE OF MIDDLE CREEK.
given added strength or support
From this reading He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted by their long and toilsome march.
filled with satisfaction
From this reading His ambition is not satisfied.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be followed up.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BATTLE OF MIDDLE CREEK.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted by their long and toilsome march.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He means to force a fight with Marshall, despite the odds.
characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort
From this reading He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted by their long and toilsome march.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be followed up.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He means to force a fight with Marshall, despite the odds.
Chapter 23 of From Canal Boy to President by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 100 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 23 holds 100 sentences of From Canal Boy to President, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of From Canal Boy to President by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 100 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 23 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.
