Chapter 5 of Lyre and Lancet: A Story in Scenes is here in full — 184 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Lyre and Lancet: A Story in Scenes is here in full — 184 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CROSS PURPOSES _In a First-class Compartment._ _Lady Maisie_ (_to herself_). Poets don't seem to have much self-possession. He seems perfectly overcome by hearing my name like that. If only he doesn't lose his head completely and say something about my wretched letter! _Spurrell_ (_to himself_).
Chapter 5 of Lyre and Lancet: A Story in Scenes is here in full — 184 sentences across 37 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 space into which an area is subdivided
From this reading “CROSS PURPOSES _In a First-class Compartment._ _Lady Maisie_ (_to herself_).”
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading “If only he doesn't lose his head completely and say something about my wretched letter!”
very good; of the highest quality
From this reading “CROSS PURPOSES _In a First-class Compartment._ _Lady Maisie_ (_to herself_).”
(law) a proceeding (usually by a court) where evidence is taken for the purpose of determining an issue of fact and reaching a decision based on that evidence
From this reading “He seems perfectly overcome by hearing my name like that.”
win a victory over
From this reading “He seems perfectly overcome by hearing my name like that.”
plural of “poet” — a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry)
From this reading “Poets don't seem to have much self-possession.”
plural of “purpose” — an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading “CROSS PURPOSES _In a First-class Compartment._ _Lady Maisie_ (_to herself_).”
of very poor quality or condition
From this reading “If only he doesn't lose his head completely and say something about my wretched letter!”
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 “CROSS PURPOSES _In a First-class Compartment._ _Lady Maisie_ (_to herself_).”
In this reading “He seems perfectly overcome by hearing my name like that.”
In this reading “CROSS PURPOSES _In a First-class Compartment._ _Lady Maisie_ (_to herself_).”
In this reading “He seems perfectly overcome by hearing my name like that.”
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 CROSS PURPOSES _In a First-class Compartment._ _Lady Maisie_ (_to herself_).
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading If only he doesn't lose his head completely and say something about my wretched letter!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading If only he doesn't lose his head completely and say something about my wretched letter!
showing who or what does the action
From this reading He seems perfectly overcome by hearing my name like that.
a space into which an area is subdivided
From this reading CROSS PURPOSES _In a First-class Compartment._ _Lady Maisie_ (_to herself_).
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading If only he doesn't lose his head completely and say something about my wretched letter!
travel across or pass over
From this reading CROSS PURPOSES _In a First-class Compartment._ _Lady Maisie_ (_to herself_).
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If only he doesn't lose his head completely and say something about my wretched letter!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Poets don't seem to have much self-possession.
very good; of the highest quality
From this reading CROSS PURPOSES _In a First-class Compartment._ _Lady Maisie_ (_to herself_).
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Poets don't seem to have much self-possession.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He seems perfectly overcome by hearing my name like that.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading If only he doesn't lose his head completely and say something about my wretched letter!
(law) a proceeding (usually by a court) where evidence is taken for the purpose of determining an issue of fact and reaching a decision based on that evidence
From this reading He seems perfectly overcome by hearing my name like that.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading CROSS PURPOSES _In a First-class Compartment._ _Lady Maisie_ (_to herself_).
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading _Spurrell_ (_to himself_).
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading If only he doesn't lose his head completely and say something about my wretched letter!
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If only he doesn't lose his head completely and say something about my wretched letter!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading CROSS PURPOSES _In a First-class Compartment._ _Lady Maisie_ (_to herself_).
a polite name for any woman
From this reading CROSS PURPOSES _In a First-class Compartment._ _Lady Maisie_ (_to herself_).
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading If only he doesn't lose his head completely and say something about my wretched letter!
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading He seems perfectly overcome by hearing my name like that.
fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading If only he doesn't lose his head completely and say something about my wretched letter!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CROSS PURPOSES _In a First-class Compartment._ _Lady Maisie_ (_to herself_).
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Poets don't seem to have much self-possession.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading He seems perfectly overcome by hearing my name like that.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading He seems perfectly overcome by hearing my name like that.
and nothing more
From this reading If only he doesn't lose his head completely and say something about my wretched letter!
win a victory over
From this reading He seems perfectly overcome by hearing my name like that.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading He seems perfectly overcome by hearing my name like that.
plural of “poet” — a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry)
From this reading Poets don't seem to have much self-possession.
plural of “purpose” — an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading CROSS PURPOSES _In a First-class Compartment._ _Lady Maisie_ (_to herself_).
express in words
From this reading If only he doesn't lose his head completely and say something about my wretched letter!
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Poets don't seem to have much self-possession.
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading He seems perfectly overcome by hearing my name like that.
the trait of resolutely controlling your own behavior
From this reading Poets don't seem to have much self-possession.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading If only he doesn't lose his head completely and say something about my wretched letter!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Spurrell_ (_to himself_).
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He seems perfectly overcome by hearing my name like that.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading CROSS PURPOSES _In a First-class Compartment._ _Lady Maisie_ (_to herself_).
of very poor quality or condition
From this reading If only he doesn't lose his head completely and say something about my wretched letter!
Chapter 5 of Lyre and Lancet: A Story in Scenes by F. Anstey holds 184 sentences, grouped into 37 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 5 holds 184 sentences of Lyre and Lancet: A Story in Scenes, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Lyre and Lancet: A Story in Scenes by F. Anstey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 184 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 5 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 Lyre and Lancet: A Story in Scenes by F. Anstey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4011 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41589 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41589, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 334 minutes of reading across 803 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Lyre and Lancet: A Story in Scenes section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Lyre and Lancet: A Story in Scenes 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 Lyre and Lancet: A Story in Scenes, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
