Chapter 23 of Main-Travelled Roads is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of Main-Travelled Roads is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone. "I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn. It won't hurt the barn a bit, and if you want 'o you can paint it out a year from date. Come, what d'ye say?" "I guess I hadn't better."
Chapter 23 of Main-Travelled Roads is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
an outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals
From this reading “"I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.”
marked by strong resentment or cynicism
From this reading “"I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.”
plural of “bottle” — a glass or plastic vessel used for storing drinks or other liquids; typically cylindrical without handles and with a narrow neck that can be plugged or capped
From this reading “"I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.”
the specified day of the month
From this reading “It won't hurt the barn a bit, and if you want 'o you can paint it out a year from date.”
willing to give and share unstintingly
From this reading “"Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.”
make a painting
From this reading “"I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.”
Risen from sleep; conscious.
From this reading “"Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.”
in a hearty manner
From this reading “"Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.”
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 "Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.
an outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals
From this reading "I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading "I guess I hadn't better."
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading It won't hurt the barn a bit, and if you want 'o you can paint it out a year from date.
marked by strong resentment or cynicism
From this reading "I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.
plural of “bottle” — a glass or plastic vessel used for storing drinks or other liquids; typically cylindrical without handles and with a narrow neck that can be plugged or capped
From this reading "I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading It won't hurt the barn a bit, and if you want 'o you can paint it out a year from date.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come, what d'ye say?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Come, what d'ye say?"
the specified day of the month
From this reading It won't hurt the barn a bit, and if you want 'o you can paint it out a year from date.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It won't hurt the barn a bit, and if you want 'o you can paint it out a year from date.
willing to give and share unstintingly
From this reading "Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading "I guess I hadn't better."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I guess I hadn't better."
be the source of pain
From this reading It won't hurt the barn a bit, and if you want 'o you can paint it out a year from date.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I guess I hadn't better."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It won't hurt the barn a bit, and if you want 'o you can paint it out a year from date.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading "I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.
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 It won't hurt the barn a bit, and if you want 'o you can paint it out a year from date.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading It won't hurt the barn a bit, and if you want 'o you can paint it out a year from date.
make a painting
From this reading "I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.
express in words
From this reading "Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.
a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading "I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading "Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.
anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
From this reading "Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.
express in words
From this reading "Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading "I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading "Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.
Risen from sleep; conscious.
From this reading "Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading It won't hurt the barn a bit, and if you want 'o you can paint it out a year from date.
in a hearty manner
From this reading "Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It won't hurt the barn a bit, and if you want 'o you can paint it out a year from date.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading It won't hurt the barn a bit, and if you want 'o you can paint it out a year from date.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Say I'll tell yeh what I'll do," said the stranger, waking up and speaking in a warmly generous tone.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'll give you ten bottles of the bitter if you'll let me paint a sign on that barn.
Chapter 23 of Main-Travelled Roads by Hamlin Garland holds 217 sentences, grouped into 44 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.
Chapter 23 holds 217 sentences of Main-Travelled Roads, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of Main-Travelled Roads by Hamlin Garland exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 217 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 23 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 Main-Travelled Roads by Hamlin Garland on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6662 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2809 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2809, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 555 minutes of reading across 1333 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Main-Travelled Roads section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Main-Travelled Roads 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 Main-Travelled Roads, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
