Chapter 4 of Good Stories for Great Birthdays is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Good Stories for Great Birthdays is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
To muzzle him, he tried, at first with promises of reward. But William Pitt was incorruptible. He would not sell his honour. Then influence was brought to bear, and the young Cornet of Horse was dismissed from the army. But this very act, by which his enemies planned to muzzle William Pitt, brought him before the public eye.
Chapter 4 of Good Stories for Great Birthdays is here in full — 424 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.
a brass musical instrument with a brilliant tone; has a narrow tube and a flared bell and is played by means of valves
From this reading “Then influence was brought to bear, and the young Cornet of Horse was dismissed from the army.”
having lost your job
From this reading “Then influence was brought to bear, and the young Cornet of Horse was dismissed from the army.”
plural of “enemy” — an opposing military force
From this reading “But this very act, by which his enemies planned to muzzle William Pitt, brought him before the public eye.”
the open circular discharging end of a gun
From this reading “To muzzle him, he tried, at first with promises of reward.”
a British playwright who created the fictional character Sweeney Todd (1799-1855)
From this reading “But William Pitt was incorruptible.”
designed or carried out according to a plan
From this reading “But this very act, by which his enemies planned to muzzle William Pitt, brought him before the public eye.”
plural of “promise” — a verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future
From this reading “To muzzle him, he tried, at first with promises of reward.”
a recompense for worthy acts or retribution for wrongdoing
From this reading “To muzzle him, he tried, at first with promises of reward.”
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.
a focus of public attention
In this reading “But this very act, by which his enemies planned to muzzle William Pitt, brought him before the public eye.”
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.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading But this very act, by which his enemies planned to muzzle William Pitt, brought him before the public eye.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Then influence was brought to bear, and the young Cornet of Horse was dismissed from the army.
a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
From this reading Then influence was brought to bear, and the young Cornet of Horse was dismissed from the army.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading To muzzle him, he tried, at first with promises of reward.
have
From this reading Then influence was brought to bear, and the young Cornet of Horse was dismissed from the army.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading But this very act, by which his enemies planned to muzzle William Pitt, brought him before the public eye.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Then influence was brought to bear, and the young Cornet of Horse was dismissed from the army.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But William Pitt was incorruptible.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading But this very act, by which his enemies planned to muzzle William Pitt, brought him before the public eye.
a brass musical instrument with a brilliant tone; has a narrow tube and a flared bell and is played by means of valves
From this reading Then influence was brought to bear, and the young Cornet of Horse was dismissed from the army.
having lost your job
From this reading Then influence was brought to bear, and the young Cornet of Horse was dismissed from the army.
plural of “enemy” — an opposing military force
From this reading But this very act, by which his enemies planned to muzzle William Pitt, brought him before the public eye.
the organ of sight
From this reading But this very act, by which his enemies planned to muzzle William Pitt, brought him before the public eye.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading To muzzle him, he tried, at first with promises of reward.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Then influence was brought to bear, and the young Cornet of Horse was dismissed from the army.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading To muzzle him, he tried, at first with promises of reward.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading To muzzle him, he tried, at first with promises of reward.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He would not sell his honour.
the state of being honored
From this reading He would not sell his honour.
solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading Then influence was brought to bear, and the young Cornet of Horse was dismissed from the army.
incapable of being morally corrupted
From this reading But William Pitt was incorruptible.
a power to affect persons or events especially power based on prestige etc
From this reading Then influence was brought to bear, and the young Cornet of Horse was dismissed from the army.
the open circular discharging end of a gun
From this reading To muzzle him, he tried, at first with promises of reward.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He would not sell his honour.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading To muzzle him, he tried, at first with promises of reward.
a British playwright who created the fictional character Sweeney Todd (1799-1855)
From this reading But William Pitt was incorruptible.
designed or carried out according to a plan
From this reading But this very act, by which his enemies planned to muzzle William Pitt, brought him before the public eye.
plural of “promise” — a verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future
From this reading To muzzle him, he tried, at first with promises of reward.
people in general considered as a whole
From this reading But this very act, by which his enemies planned to muzzle William Pitt, brought him before the public eye.
a recompense for worthy acts or retribution for wrongdoing
From this reading To muzzle him, he tried, at first with promises of reward.
exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent
From this reading He would not sell his honour.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Then influence was brought to bear, and the young Cornet of Horse was dismissed from the army.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then influence was brought to bear, and the young Cornet of Horse was dismissed from the army.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading But this very act, by which his enemies planned to muzzle William Pitt, brought him before the public eye.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To muzzle him, he tried, at first with promises of reward.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading To muzzle him, he tried, at first with promises of reward.
precisely as stated
From this reading But this very act, by which his enemies planned to muzzle William Pitt, brought him before the public eye.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But William Pitt was incorruptible.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading But this very act, by which his enemies planned to muzzle William Pitt, brought him before the public eye.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But William Pitt was incorruptible.
in the company of; together with
From this reading To muzzle him, he tried, at first with promises of reward.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading He would not sell his honour.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Then influence was brought to bear, and the young Cornet of Horse was dismissed from the army.
Chapter 4 of Good Stories for Great Birthdays by Frances Jenkins Olcott holds 424 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 4 holds 424 sentences of Good Stories for Great Birthdays, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Good Stories for Great Birthdays by Frances Jenkins Olcott exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 424 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 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 Good Stories for Great Birthdays by Frances Jenkins Olcott on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4828 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55592 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55592, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 402 minutes of reading across 966 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Good Stories for Great Birthdays section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Good Stories for Great Birthdays 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 Good Stories for Great Birthdays, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
