Chapter 3 of It Might Have Been is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of It Might Have Been is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home. CHAPTER THREE. HOW IT FIRST BEGAN. "O Conspiracy! Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?
Chapter 3 of It Might Have Been is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading “Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?”
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading “CHAPTER THREE.”
a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act
From this reading “"O Conspiracy!”
involving or causing danger or risk; liable to hurt or harm
From this reading “Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?”
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading “So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.”
plural of “evil” — morally objectionable behavior
From this reading “Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?”
fraught with danger
From this reading “So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.”
lacking or indicating lack of confidence or assurance
From this reading “So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading HOW IT FIRST BEGAN.
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading CHAPTER THREE.
a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act
From this reading "O Conspiracy!
involving or causing danger or risk; liable to hurt or harm
From this reading Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.
plural of “evil” — morally objectionable behavior
From this reading Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading HOW IT FIRST BEGAN.
grant freedom to; free from confinement
From this reading Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?
yet to be or coming
From this reading So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HOW IT FIRST BEGAN.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading HOW IT FIRST BEGAN.
used to form the superlative
From this reading Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading "O Conspiracy!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.
fraught with danger
From this reading So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.
an emotion of great sadness associated with loss or bereavement
From this reading So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading CHAPTER THREE.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?
lacking or indicating lack of confidence or assurance
From this reading So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading So, under the shadow of that dread sorrow, and that perilous uncertain future, they entered their new home.
at the time that
From this reading Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free?
Chapter 3 of It Might Have Been by Emily Sarah Holt holds 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 3 holds 409 sentences of It Might Have Been, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of It Might Have Been by Emily Sarah Holt exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 3 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 It Might Have Been by Emily Sarah Holt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6111 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25834 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #25834, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 509 minutes of reading across 1223 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through It Might Have Been section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of It Might Have Been 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 It Might Have Been, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
