Chapter 4 of Heart of the West is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Heart of the West is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“‘All right,’ says I. ‘The other kind will do as well.’ “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again. “‘Lem,’ says he, ‘if you was a true friend you wouldn’t hug Mrs. Jessup quite so hard. I felt the bench shake all over just then.
Chapter 4 of Heart of the West is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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 long seat for more than one person
From this reading “I felt the bench shake all over just then.”
hold (someone) tightly in your arms, usually with fondness
From this reading ““‘Lem,’ says he, ‘if you was a true friend you wouldn’t hug Mrs. Jessup quite so hard.”
discontinued temporarily
From this reading ““‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.”
a spacecraft that carries astronauts from the command module to the surface of the moon and back
From this reading ““‘Lem,’ says he, ‘if you was a true friend you wouldn’t hug Mrs. Jessup quite so hard.”
past form of “name” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading ““‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.”
a soft wool fabric with a colorful swirled pattern of curved shapes
From this reading ““‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.”
move or cause to move back and forth
From this reading “I felt the bench shake all over just then.”
the season of growth
From this reading ““‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
anew
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading “‘All right,’ says I.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading ‘The other kind will do as well.’
a long seat for more than one person
From this reading I felt the bench shake all over just then.
(ethnic slur) offensive term for a person of Chinese descent
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading ‘The other kind will do as well.’
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading I felt the bench shake all over just then.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading “‘Lem,’ says he, ‘if you was a true friend you wouldn’t hug Mrs. Jessup quite so hard.
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading “‘Lem,’ says he, ‘if you was a true friend you wouldn’t hug Mrs. Jessup quite so hard.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “‘Lem,’ says he, ‘if you was a true friend you wouldn’t hug Mrs. Jessup quite so hard.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
hold (someone) tightly in your arms, usually with fondness
From this reading “‘Lem,’ says he, ‘if you was a true friend you wouldn’t hug Mrs. Jessup quite so hard.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “‘All right,’ says I.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “‘Lem,’ says he, ‘if you was a true friend you wouldn’t hug Mrs. Jessup quite so hard.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
discontinued temporarily
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “‘Lem,’ says he, ‘if you was a true friend you wouldn’t hug Mrs. Jessup quite so hard.
and nothing more
From this reading I felt the bench shake all over just then.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading ‘The other kind will do as well.’
a spacecraft that carries astronauts from the command module to the surface of the moon and back
From this reading “‘Lem,’ says he, ‘if you was a true friend you wouldn’t hug Mrs. Jessup quite so hard.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading “‘Lem,’ says he, ‘if you was a true friend you wouldn’t hug Mrs. Jessup quite so hard.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
past form of “name” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading ‘The other kind will do as well.’
above and across; more than
From this reading I felt the bench shake all over just then.
a soft wool fabric with a colorful swirled pattern of curved shapes
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading “‘Lem,’ says he, ‘if you was a true friend you wouldn’t hug Mrs. Jessup quite so hard.
precisely, exactly
From this reading “‘All right,’ says I.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading “‘All right,’ says I.
move or cause to move back and forth
From this reading I felt the bench shake all over just then.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “‘Lem,’ says he, ‘if you was a true friend you wouldn’t hug Mrs. Jessup quite so hard.
the season of growth
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ‘The other kind will do as well.’
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading I felt the bench shake all over just then.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading “‘Lem,’ says he, ‘if you was a true friend you wouldn’t hug Mrs. Jessup quite so hard.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “‘This Chinaman,’ goes on Paisley, ‘was the one that shot a man named Mullins in the spring of ’97, and that was—’ “Paisley interrupted himself again.
(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 ‘The other kind will do as well.’
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading ‘The other kind will do as well.’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “‘Lem,’ says he, ‘if you was a true friend you wouldn’t hug Mrs. Jessup quite so hard.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “‘Lem,’ says he, ‘if you was a true friend you wouldn’t hug Mrs. Jessup quite so hard.
Chapter 4 of Heart of the West by O. Henry holds 178 sentences, grouped into 36 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 178 sentences of Heart of the West, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Heart of the West by O. Henry exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 178 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 Heart of the West by O. Henry on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5041 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1725 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1725, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 420 minutes of reading across 1009 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Heart of the West section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of Heart of 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 Heart of the West, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
