Chapter 18 of Hearts of Oak is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Hearts of Oak is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE BATTLE OF ST. VINCENT. "The thunder of the battle-deck, The lightning flash of war." In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_. I also mentioned that the _Blanche_ was companion ship to the _Minerve_.
Chapter 18 of Hearts of Oak is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading “"The thunder of the battle-deck, The lightning flash of war."”
inflected form of “fight” — be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading “In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.”
abrupt electric discharge from cloud to cloud or from cloud to earth accompanied by the emission of light
From this reading “"The thunder of the battle-deck, The lightning flash of war."”
English admiral who defeated the French fleets of Napoleon but was mortally wounded at Trafalgar (1758-1805)
From this reading “In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.”
the award given to the champion
From this reading “In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.”
the legendary patron saint of children; an imaginary being who is thought to bring presents to children at Christmas
declared as fact; explicitly stated
From this reading “In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.”
move fast, noisily, and heavily
From this reading “"The thunder of the battle-deck, The lightning flash of war."”
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.
on a ship, train, plane or other vehicle
In this reading “In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.”
In this reading “In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.”
In this reading “In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.”
In this reading “"The thunder of the battle-deck, The lightning flash of war."”
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.
in addition
From this reading I also mentioned that the _Blanche_ was companion ship to the _Minerve_.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading THE BATTLE OF ST.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "The thunder of the battle-deck, The lightning flash of war."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I also mentioned that the _Blanche_ was companion ship to the _Minerve_.
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading I also mentioned that the _Blanche_ was companion ship to the _Minerve_.
gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading "The thunder of the battle-deck, The lightning flash of war."
moving swiftly
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
inflected form of “fight” — be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
immediately past
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
abrupt electric discharge from cloud to cloud or from cloud to earth accompanied by the emission of light
From this reading "The thunder of the battle-deck, The lightning flash of war."
past form of “mention” — make reference to
From this reading I also mentioned that the _Blanche_ was companion ship to the _Minerve_.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
English admiral who defeated the French fleets of Napoleon but was mortally wounded at Trafalgar (1758-1805)
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE BATTLE OF ST.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
the award given to the champion
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
the legendary patron saint of children; an imaginary being who is thought to bring presents to children at Christmas
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
transport commercially
From this reading I also mentioned that the _Blanche_ was companion ship to the _Minerve_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE BATTLE OF ST.
declared as fact; explicitly stated
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BATTLE OF ST.
move fast, noisily, and heavily
From this reading "The thunder of the battle-deck, The lightning flash of war."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I also mentioned that the _Blanche_ was companion ship to the _Minerve_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading VINCENT.
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading "The thunder of the battle-deck, The lightning flash of war."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I also mentioned that the _Blanche_ was companion ship to the _Minerve_.
in the company of; together with
From this reading In my last chapter I stated that Nelson, with his broad pennant flying on board the _Minerve_, met with and fought the _Santa Sabina_.
Chapter 18 of Hearts of Oak by Gordon Stables holds 142 sentences, grouped into 29 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 18 holds 142 sentences of Hearts of Oak, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Hearts of Oak by Gordon Stables exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 142 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 18 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 Hearts of Oak by Gordon Stables on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4470 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75979 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75979, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 372 minutes of reading across 894 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Hearts of Oak section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of Hearts of Oak 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 Hearts of Oak, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
