Chapter 8 of Leaves from a middy's log is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Leaves from a middy's log is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“PREPARE FOR CAVALRY!” The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines. In this sudden emergency they were calm, cool, and self-reliant. Their discipline and the celerity of their movements were beyond praise. It was a severe test, and they came out of it with flying colours.
Chapter 8 of Leaves from a middy's log is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/13 · 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.
army unit smaller than a division
From this reading “The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines.”
troops trained to fight on horseback
From this reading ““PREPARE FOR CAVALRY!””
a rate that is rapid
From this reading “Their discipline and the celerity of their movements were beyond praise.”
a distinguishing emblem
From this reading “It was a severe test, and they came out of it with flying colours.”
a branch of knowledge
From this reading “Their discipline and the celerity of their movements were beyond praise.”
a sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action
From this reading “In this sudden emergency they were calm, cool, and self-reliant.”
an amphibious division of the United States Navy
From this reading “The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines.”
plural of “seaman” — a man who serves as a sailor
From this reading “The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines.”
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.
In this reading “It was a severe test, and they came out of it with flying colours.”
complete success
In this reading “It was a severe test, and they came out of it with flying colours.”
prepare mentally or emotionally for something unpleasant
In this reading ““PREPARE FOR CAVALRY!””
appear or become visible; make a showing
In this reading “It was a severe test, and they came out of it with flying colours.”
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 It was a severe test, and they came out of it with flying colours.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines.
on the far side of; further than
From this reading Their discipline and the celerity of their movements were beyond praise.
army unit smaller than a division
From this reading The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines.
make calm or still
From this reading In this sudden emergency they were calm, cool, and self-reliant.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading It was a severe test, and they came out of it with flying colours.
troops trained to fight on horseback
From this reading “PREPARE FOR CAVALRY!”
a rate that is rapid
From this reading Their discipline and the celerity of their movements were beyond praise.
a distinguishing emblem
From this reading It was a severe test, and they came out of it with flying colours.
neither warm nor very cold; giving relief from heat
From this reading In this sudden emergency they were calm, cool, and self-reliant.
a branch of knowledge
From this reading Their discipline and the celerity of their movements were beyond praise.
a sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action
From this reading In this sudden emergency they were calm, cool, and self-reliant.
moving swiftly
From this reading It was a severe test, and they came out of it with flying colours.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “PREPARE FOR CAVALRY!”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In this sudden emergency they were calm, cool, and self-reliant.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a severe test, and they came out of it with flying colours.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines.
an amphibious division of the United States Navy
From this reading The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines.
plural of “movement” — a change of position that does not entail a change of location
From this reading Their discipline and the celerity of their movements were beyond praise.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines.
plural of “officer” — any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading It was a severe test, and they came out of it with flying colours.
an expression of approval and commendation
From this reading Their discipline and the celerity of their movements were beyond praise.
make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc
From this reading “PREPARE FOR CAVALRY!”
feeling self-respect or pleasure in something by which you measure your self-worth; or being a reason for pride
From this reading The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines.
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines.
plural of “seaman” — a man who serves as a sailor
From this reading The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines.
(of persons) free from external control and constraint in e.g. action and judgment
From this reading In this sudden emergency they were calm, cool, and self-reliant.
intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality
From this reading It was a severe test, and they came out of it with flying colours.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading In this sudden emergency they were calm, cool, and self-reliant.
trying something to find out about it
From this reading It was a severe test, and they came out of it with flying colours.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading In this sudden emergency they were calm, cool, and self-reliant.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading In this sudden emergency they were calm, cool, and self-reliant.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The _Rattler’s_ officers had reason to be proud of their little brigade of seamen and marines.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a severe test, and they came out of it with flying colours.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading In this sudden emergency they were calm, cool, and self-reliant.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It was a severe test, and they came out of it with flying colours.
Chapter 8 of Leaves from a middy's log by Arthur Lee Knight holds 65 sentences, grouped into 13 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 8 holds 65 sentences of Leaves from a middy's log, unabridged, divided into 13 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Leaves from a middy's log by Arthur Lee Knight exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 65 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.
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.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 8 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 Leaves from a middy's log by Arthur Lee Knight on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2666 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #71750 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #71750, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 222 minutes of reading across 534 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Leaves from a middy's log section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of Leaves from a middy's log 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 Leaves from a middy's log, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
