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John Barleycorn
John Barleycorn

Chapter XXXIX · Chapter 39

Chapter 39 of John Barleycorn is here in full — 61 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for John Barleycorn
Context Illustration Reading 1/12 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Of course, no personal tale is complete without bringing the narrative of the person down to the last moment.
But mine is no tale of a reformed drunkard.
I was never a drunkard, and I have not reformed.
It chanced, some time ago, that I made a voyage of one hundred and forty-eight days in a windjammer around the Horn.
I took no private supply of alcohol along, and, though there was no day of those one hundred and forty-eight days that I could not have got a drink from the captain, I did not take a drink.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

John Barleycorn

Chapter XXXIX · Chapter 39

Chapter 39 of John Barleycorn is here in full — 61 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/12 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Of course, no personal tale is complete without bringing the narrative of the person down to the last moment.
Line 2
But mine is no tale of a reformed drunkard.
Line 3
I was never a drunkard, and I have not reformed.
Line 4
It chanced, some time ago, that I made a voyage of one hundred and forty-eight days in a windjammer around the Horn.
Line 5
I took no private supply of alcohol along, and, though there was no day of those one hundred and forty-eight days that I could not have got a drink from the captain, I did not take a drink.

All words in this reading · 59

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.

a

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But mine is no tale of a reformed drunkard.

ago

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It chanced, some time ago, that I made a voyage of one hundred and forty-eight days in a windjammer around the Horn.

alcohol

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I took no private supply of alcohol along, and, though there was no day of those one hundred and forty-eight days that I could not have got a drink from the captain, I did not take a drink.

along

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I took no private supply of alcohol along, and, though there was no day of those one hundred and forty-eight days that I could not have got a drink from the captain, I did not take a drink.

and

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I was never a drunkard, and I have not reformed.

around

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It chanced, some time ago, that I made a voyage of one hundred and forty-eight days in a windjammer around the Horn.

bringing

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course, no personal tale is complete without bringing the narrative of the person down to the last moment.

But

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But mine is no tale of a reformed drunkard.

captain

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I took no private supply of alcohol along, and, though there was no day of those one hundred and forty-eight days that I could not have got a drink from the captain, I did not take a drink.

chanced

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It chanced, some time ago, that I made a voyage of one hundred and forty-eight days in a windjammer around the Horn.

complete

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course, no personal tale is complete without bringing the narrative of the person down to the last moment.

could

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I took no private supply of alcohol along, and, though there was no day of those one hundred and forty-eight days that I could not have got a drink from the captain, I did not take a drink.

course

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course, no personal tale is complete without bringing the narrative of the person down to the last moment.

day

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I took no private supply of alcohol along, and, though there was no day of those one hundred and forty-eight days that I could not have got a drink from the captain, I did not take a drink.

days

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It chanced, some time ago, that I made a voyage of one hundred and forty-eight days in a windjammer around the Horn.

did

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I took no private supply of alcohol along, and, though there was no day of those one hundred and forty-eight days that I could not have got a drink from the captain, I did not take a drink.

down

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course, no personal tale is complete without bringing the narrative of the person down to the last moment.

drink

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I took no private supply of alcohol along, and, though there was no day of those one hundred and forty-eight days that I could not have got a drink from the captain, I did not take a drink.

drunkard

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But mine is no tale of a reformed drunkard.

forty-eight

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It chanced, some time ago, that I made a voyage of one hundred and forty-eight days in a windjammer around the Horn.

from

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I took no private supply of alcohol along, and, though there was no day of those one hundred and forty-eight days that I could not have got a drink from the captain, I did not take a drink.

got

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I took no private supply of alcohol along, and, though there was no day of those one hundred and forty-eight days that I could not have got a drink from the captain, I did not take a drink.

have

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I was never a drunkard, and I have not reformed.

Horn

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It chanced, some time ago, that I made a voyage of one hundred and forty-eight days in a windjammer around the Horn.

hundred

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It chanced, some time ago, that I made a voyage of one hundred and forty-eight days in a windjammer around the Horn.

I

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I was never a drunkard, and I have not reformed.

in

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It chanced, some time ago, that I made a voyage of one hundred and forty-eight days in a windjammer around the Horn.

is

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course, no personal tale is complete without bringing the narrative of the person down to the last moment.

It

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It chanced, some time ago, that I made a voyage of one hundred and forty-eight days in a windjammer around the Horn.

last

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course, no personal tale is complete without bringing the narrative of the person down to the last moment.

made

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It chanced, some time ago, that I made a voyage of one hundred and forty-eight days in a windjammer around the Horn.

mine

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But mine is no tale of a reformed drunkard.

moment

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course, no personal tale is complete without bringing the narrative of the person down to the last moment.

narrative

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course, no personal tale is complete without bringing the narrative of the person down to the last moment.

never

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I was never a drunkard, and I have not reformed.

no

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course, no personal tale is complete without bringing the narrative of the person down to the last moment.

not

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I was never a drunkard, and I have not reformed.

Of

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course, no personal tale is complete without bringing the narrative of the person down to the last moment.

one

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It chanced, some time ago, that I made a voyage of one hundred and forty-eight days in a windjammer around the Horn.

person

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course, no personal tale is complete without bringing the narrative of the person down to the last moment.

personal

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course, no personal tale is complete without bringing the narrative of the person down to the last moment.

private

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I took no private supply of alcohol along, and, though there was no day of those one hundred and forty-eight days that I could not have got a drink from the captain, I did not take a drink.

reformed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But mine is no tale of a reformed drunkard.

some

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It chanced, some time ago, that I made a voyage of one hundred and forty-eight days in a windjammer around the Horn.

supply

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I took no private supply of alcohol along, and, though there was no day of those one hundred and forty-eight days that I could not have got a drink from the captain, I did not take a drink.

take

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I took no private supply of alcohol along, and, though there was no day of those one hundred and forty-eight days that I could not have got a drink from the captain, I did not take a drink.

tale

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course, no personal tale is complete without bringing the narrative of the person down to the last moment.

that

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It chanced, some time ago, that I made a voyage of one hundred and forty-eight days in a windjammer around the Horn.

the

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course, no personal tale is complete without bringing the narrative of the person down to the last moment.

there

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I took no private supply of alcohol along, and, though there was no day of those one hundred and forty-eight days that I could not have got a drink from the captain, I did not take a drink.

those

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I took no private supply of alcohol along, and, though there was no day of those one hundred and forty-eight days that I could not have got a drink from the captain, I did not take a drink.

though

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I took no private supply of alcohol along, and, though there was no day of those one hundred and forty-eight days that I could not have got a drink from the captain, I did not take a drink.

time

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It chanced, some time ago, that I made a voyage of one hundred and forty-eight days in a windjammer around the Horn.

to

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course, no personal tale is complete without bringing the narrative of the person down to the last moment.

took

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I took no private supply of alcohol along, and, though there was no day of those one hundred and forty-eight days that I could not have got a drink from the captain, I did not take a drink.

voyage

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It chanced, some time ago, that I made a voyage of one hundred and forty-eight days in a windjammer around the Horn.

was

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I was never a drunkard, and I have not reformed.

windjammer

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It chanced, some time ago, that I made a voyage of one hundred and forty-eight days in a windjammer around the Horn.

without

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of course, no personal tale is complete without bringing the narrative of the person down to the last moment.

Chapter 39 of John Barleycorn by Jack London holds 61 sentences, grouped into 13 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.

What does chapter 39 of John Barleycorn contain?

Chapter 39 holds 61 sentences of John Barleycorn, unabridged, divided into 13 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 39 of John Barleycorn by Jack London exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 61 sentences, grouped into 13 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.

How do I study chapter 39 of John Barleycorn?

Work through the 13 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 13 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.

Can chapter 39 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 39 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.

Questions about reading John Barleycorn

Common questions about reading John Barleycorn by Jack London on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of John Barleycorn?

Yes. All 3960 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #318 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of John Barleycorn is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #318, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does John Barleycorn take to read?

About 330 minutes of reading across 792 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read John Barleycorn section by section

How to work through John Barleycorn section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 39 chapters of John Barleycorn to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in John Barleycorn

Words and structures a reader meets early in John Barleycorn, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Election
A word that appears in the opening chapter of John Barleycorn; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
California
A word that appears in the opening chapter of John Barleycorn; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Afternoon
A word that appears in the opening chapter of John Barleycorn; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Ridden
A word that appears in the opening chapter of John Barleycorn; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.