Chapter 4 of John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony is here in full — 180 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 John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“What star shines yonder in the east? The loadstar of my life.” —MARLOWE, in _The Jew of Malta_. “The 8th we weighed anchor at Plymouth, and departed thence for Virginia.” With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.
Chapter 4 of John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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 person belonging to the worldwide group claiming descent from Jacob (or converted to it) and connected by cultural or religious ties
From this reading “—MARLOWE, in _The Jew of Malta_.”
a republic on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1964
English poet and playwright who introduced blank verse as a form of dramatic expression; was stabbed to death in a tavern brawl (1564-1593)
From this reading “—MARLOWE, in _The Jew of Malta_.”
worth remembering
From this reading “With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.”
a town in Massachusetts founded by Pilgrims in 1620
From this reading ““The 8th we weighed anchor at Plymouth, and departed thence for Virginia.””
plural of “shine” — the quality of being bright and sending out rays of light
From this reading ““What star shines yonder in the east?”
brief and to the point; effectively cut short
From this reading “With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.”
past form of “weigh” — have a certain weight
From this reading ““The 8th we weighed anchor at Plymouth, and departed thence for Virginia.””
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.
heave up an anchor in preparation for sailing
In this reading ““The 8th we weighed anchor at Plymouth, and departed thence for Virginia.””
In this reading ““What star shines yonder in the east?”
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 “The 8th we weighed anchor at Plymouth, and departed thence for Virginia.”
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.
a mechanical device that prevents a vessel from moving
From this reading “The 8th we weighed anchor at Plymouth, and departed thence for Virginia.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “The 8th we weighed anchor at Plymouth, and departed thence for Virginia.”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “The 8th we weighed anchor at Plymouth, and departed thence for Virginia.”
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.
(usually plural) everything that is included in a collection and that is held or included in something
From this reading With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.
well in the past; former
From this reading “The 8th we weighed anchor at Plymouth, and departed thence for Virginia.”
the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
From this reading “What star shines yonder in the east?
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “The 8th we weighed anchor at Plymouth, and departed thence for Virginia.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “What star shines yonder in the east?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.
a person belonging to the worldwide group claiming descent from Jacob (or converted to it) and connected by cultural or religious ties
From this reading —MARLOWE, in _The Jew of Malta_.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading The loadstar of my life.”
guiding star; a star that is used as a reference point in navigation or astronomy
From this reading The loadstar of my life.”
a republic on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1964
From this reading —MARLOWE, in _The Jew of Malta_.
English poet and playwright who introduced blank verse as a form of dramatic expression; was stabbed to death in a tavern brawl (1564-1593)
From this reading —MARLOWE, in _The Jew of Malta_.
worth remembering
From this reading With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading The loadstar of my life.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The loadstar of my life.”
attractively old-fashioned (but not necessarily authentic)
From this reading With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.
a town in Massachusetts founded by Pilgrims in 1620
From this reading “The 8th we weighed anchor at Plymouth, and departed thence for Virginia.”
anything (such as a document or a phonograph record or a photograph) providing permanent evidence of or information about past events
From this reading With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.
plural of “shine” — the quality of being bright and sending out rays of light
From this reading “What star shines yonder in the east?
(astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading “What star shines yonder in the east?
a message that is stated or declared; a communication (oral or written) setting forth particulars or facts etc
From this reading With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.
brief and to the point; effectively cut short
From this reading With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “What star shines yonder in the east?
from that place or that time
From this reading “The 8th we weighed anchor at Plymouth, and departed thence for Virginia.”
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.
a person who changes location
From this reading With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.
a state in the eastern United States; one of the original 13 colonies; one of the Confederate States in the American Civil War
From this reading “The 8th we weighed anchor at Plymouth, and departed thence for Virginia.”
an act of traveling by water
From this reading With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “The 8th we weighed anchor at Plymouth, and departed thence for Virginia.”
past form of “weigh” — have a certain weight
From this reading “The 8th we weighed anchor at Plymouth, and departed thence for Virginia.”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What star shines yonder in the east?
in the company of; together with
From this reading With this terse statement of fact an old-time traveller is content to record the beginning of a memorable voyage.
distant but within sight (“yon” is dialectal)
From this reading “What star shines yonder in the east?
Chapter 4 of John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony by William Farquhar Payson holds 180 sentences, grouped into 36 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 4 holds 180 sentences of John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony by William Farquhar Payson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 180 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.
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Yes. All 5620 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58403 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58403, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 468 minutes of reading across 1124 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony 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 John Vytal: A Tale of the Lost Colony, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
