Chapter 13 of His Family is here in full — 275 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of His Family is here in full — 275 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A few hours later Roger awakened. His lower berth was still pitch dark. The train had stopped, and he had been roused by a voice outside his window. Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears. He raised the curtain and looked out.
Chapter 13 of His Family is here in full — 275 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/55 · 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.
any of various aromatic resinous substances used for healing and soothing
From this reading “Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.”
a job in an organization
From this reading “His lower berth was still pitch dark.”
a slow speech pattern with prolonged vowels
From this reading “Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.”
in an unhurried way or at one's convenience
From this reading “Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.”
someone who climbs mountains
From this reading “Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.”
of or in or relating to the nose
From this reading “Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.”
the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration
From this reading “His lower berth was still pitch dark.”
possessive form of “rogers” — United States humorist remembered for his homespun commentary on politics and American society (1879-1935)
From this reading “Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.”
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 A few hours later Roger awakened.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The train had stopped, and he had been roused by a voice outside his window.
aroused or activated
From this reading A few hours later Roger awakened.
any of various aromatic resinous substances used for healing and soothing
From this reading Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The train had stopped, and he had been roused by a voice outside his window.
a job in an organization
From this reading His lower berth was still pitch dark.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The train had stopped, and he had been roused by a voice outside his window.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.
hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading He raised the curtain and looked out.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading His lower berth was still pitch dark.
a slow speech pattern with prolonged vowels
From this reading Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading A few hours later Roger awakened.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The train had stopped, and he had been roused by a voice outside his window.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The train had stopped, and he had been roused by a voice outside his window.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His lower berth was still pitch dark.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading A few hours later Roger awakened.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading A few hours later Roger awakened.
in an unhurried way or at one's convenience
From this reading Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He raised the curtain and looked out.
move something or somebody to a lower position
From this reading His lower berth was still pitch dark.
someone who climbs mountains
From this reading Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.
of or in or relating to the nose
From this reading Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He raised the curtain and looked out.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading The train had stopped, and he had been roused by a voice outside his window.
the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration
From this reading His lower berth was still pitch dark.
located or moved above the surround or above the normal position
From this reading He raised the curtain and looked out.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A few hours later Roger awakened.
possessive form of “rogers” — United States humorist remembered for his homespun commentary on politics and American society (1879-1935)
From this reading Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.
having or caused by an irregular surface
From this reading Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.
past form of “rouse” — become active
From this reading The train had stopped, and he had been roused by a voice outside his window.
not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time
From this reading Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.
not in physical motion
From this reading His lower berth was still pitch dark.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading The train had stopped, and he had been roused by a voice outside his window.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The train had stopped, and he had been roused by a voice outside his window.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Rough and slow and nasal, the leisurely drawl of a mountaineer, it came like balm to Roger's ears.
create by training and teaching
From this reading The train had stopped, and he had been roused by a voice outside his window.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading The train had stopped, and he had been roused by a voice outside his window.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading His lower berth was still pitch dark.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading The train had stopped, and he had been roused by a voice outside his window.
Chapter 13 of His Family by Ernest Poole holds 275 sentences, grouped into 55 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 13 holds 275 sentences of His Family, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of His Family by Ernest Poole exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 275 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 13 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 His Family by Ernest Poole on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7834 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14396 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14396, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1567 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through His Family section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of His Family 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 His Family, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
