Chapter 4 of From the West to the West is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of From the West to the West is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Mr. McAlpin was a good man and a gentleman, Captain Ranger,” interrupted Mrs. Benson. “Yes, mamma; he was always ‘good.’ He never whipped his wife; he gave her everything that money could buy. There is no reason that the law can recognize for me to be dissatisfied. But I don’t belong primarily to myself, and I don’t like it.
Chapter 4 of From the West to the West is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading “But I don’t belong primarily to myself, and I don’t like it.”
obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading “He never whipped his wife; he gave her everything that money could buy.”
in a state of sulky dissatisfaction
From this reading “There is no reason that the law can recognize for me to be dissatisfied.”
informal terms for a mother
From this reading ““Yes, mamma; he was always ‘good.’”
for the most part
From this reading “But I don’t belong primarily to myself, and I don’t like it.”
a member of the Texas state highway patrol; formerly a mounted lawman who maintained order on the frontier
From this reading ““Mr. McAlpin was a good man and a gentleman, Captain Ranger,” interrupted Mrs. Benson.”
accept (someone) to be what is claimed or accept his power and authority
From this reading “There is no reason that the law can recognize for me to be dissatisfied.”
inflected form of “whip” — beat severely with a whip or rod
From this reading “He never whipped his wife; he gave her everything that money could buy.”
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 ““Mr. McAlpin was a good man and a gentleman, Captain Ranger,” interrupted Mrs. Benson.”
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 “Mr. McAlpin was a good man and a gentleman, Captain Ranger,” interrupted Mrs. Benson.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading “Yes, mamma; he was always ‘good.’
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Mr. McAlpin was a good man and a gentleman, Captain Ranger,” interrupted Mrs. Benson.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There is no reason that the law can recognize for me to be dissatisfied.
be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading But I don’t belong primarily to myself, and I don’t like it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Mr. McAlpin was a good man and a gentleman, Captain Ranger,” interrupted Mrs. Benson.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I don’t belong primarily to myself, and I don’t like it.
obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading He never whipped his wife; he gave her everything that money could buy.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading There is no reason that the law can recognize for me to be dissatisfied.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading “Mr. McAlpin was a good man and a gentleman, Captain Ranger,” interrupted Mrs. Benson.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He never whipped his wife; he gave her everything that money could buy.
in a state of sulky dissatisfaction
From this reading There is no reason that the law can recognize for me to be dissatisfied.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But I don’t belong primarily to myself, and I don’t like it.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading He never whipped his wife; he gave her everything that money could buy.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading There is no reason that the law can recognize for me to be dissatisfied.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading He never whipped his wife; he gave her everything that money could buy.
a man of refinement
From this reading “Mr. McAlpin was a good man and a gentleman, Captain Ranger,” interrupted Mrs. Benson.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading “Mr. McAlpin was a good man and a gentleman, Captain Ranger,” interrupted Mrs. Benson.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Yes, mamma; he was always ‘good.’
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He never whipped his wife; he gave her everything that money could buy.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He never whipped his wife; he gave her everything that money could buy.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading But I don’t belong primarily to myself, and I don’t like it.
discontinued temporarily
From this reading “Mr. McAlpin was a good man and a gentleman, Captain Ranger,” interrupted Mrs. Benson.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There is no reason that the law can recognize for me to be dissatisfied.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But I don’t belong primarily to myself, and I don’t like it.
the collection of rules imposed by authority
From this reading There is no reason that the law can recognize for me to be dissatisfied.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading But I don’t belong primarily to myself, and I don’t like it.
informal terms for a mother
From this reading “Yes, mamma; he was always ‘good.’
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “Mr. McAlpin was a good man and a gentleman, Captain Ranger,” interrupted Mrs. Benson.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Mr. McAlpin was a good man and a gentleman, Captain Ranger,” interrupted Mrs. Benson.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading There is no reason that the law can recognize for me to be dissatisfied.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading He never whipped his wife; he gave her everything that money could buy.
a form of address for a man
From this reading “Mr. McAlpin was a good man and a gentleman, Captain Ranger,” interrupted Mrs. Benson.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading “Mr. McAlpin was a good man and a gentleman, Captain Ranger,” interrupted Mrs. Benson.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading But I don’t belong primarily to myself, and I don’t like it.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading He never whipped his wife; he gave her everything that money could buy.
not any; not one
From this reading There is no reason that the law can recognize for me to be dissatisfied.
for the most part
From this reading But I don’t belong primarily to myself, and I don’t like it.
a member of the Texas state highway patrol; formerly a mounted lawman who maintained order on the frontier
From this reading “Mr. McAlpin was a good man and a gentleman, Captain Ranger,” interrupted Mrs. Benson.
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading There is no reason that the law can recognize for me to be dissatisfied.
accept (someone) to be what is claimed or accept his power and authority
From this reading There is no reason that the law can recognize for me to be dissatisfied.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He never whipped his wife; he gave her everything that money could buy.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There is no reason that the law can recognize for me to be dissatisfied.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There is no reason that the law can recognize for me to be dissatisfied.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There is no reason that the law can recognize for me to be dissatisfied.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Mr. McAlpin was a good man and a gentleman, Captain Ranger,” interrupted Mrs. Benson.
inflected form of “whip” — beat severely with a whip or rod
From this reading He never whipped his wife; he gave her everything that money could buy.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading He never whipped his wife; he gave her everything that money could buy.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, mamma; he was always ‘good.’
Chapter 4 of From the West to the West by Abigail Scott Duniway holds 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 4 holds 427 sentences of From the West to the West, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of From the West to the West by Abigail Scott Duniway exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 4 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 From the West to the West by Abigail Scott Duniway on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5493 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75131 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75131, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 457 minutes of reading across 1099 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through From the West to the West section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of From the West to the West 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 From the West to the West, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
