Chapter 10 of Middy and Ensign is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of Middy and Ensign is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior. "Well, Long," he said, "so we are commanders-in-chief just now. At least, I am. You'll have to be my colonel, major, and adjutant, all in one." "I shall do my best to help you, Captain Smithers," said Tom Long stiffly.
Chapter 10 of Middy and Ensign is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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 officer who acts as military assistant to a more senior officer
From this reading “You'll have to be my colonel, major, and adjutant, all in one."”
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading “You'll have to be my colonel, major, and adjutant, all in one."”
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading “Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.”
term of address for a disrespectful and annoying male
From this reading “Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.”
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading “You'll have to be my colonel, major, and adjutant, all in one."”
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading “Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.”
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading “Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.”
in a stiff manner
From this reading “"I shall do my best to help you, Captain Smithers," said Tom Long stiffly.”
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 Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.
an officer who acts as military assistant to a more senior officer
From this reading You'll have to be my colonel, major, and adjutant, all in one."
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading You'll have to be my colonel, major, and adjutant, all in one."
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading At least, I am.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Well, Long," he said, "so we are commanders-in-chief just now.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading You'll have to be my colonel, major, and adjutant, all in one."
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading "I shall do my best to help you, Captain Smithers," said Tom Long stiffly.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading You'll have to be my colonel, major, and adjutant, all in one."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, Long," he said, "so we are commanders-in-chief just now.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "I shall do my best to help you, Captain Smithers," said Tom Long stiffly.
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading You'll have to be my colonel, major, and adjutant, all in one."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Well, Long," he said, "so we are commanders-in-chief just now.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading "I shall do my best to help you, Captain Smithers," said Tom Long stiffly.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading At least, I am.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.
term of address for a disrespectful and annoying male
From this reading Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.
and nothing more
From this reading "Well, Long," he said, "so we are commanders-in-chief just now.
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading At least, I am.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading "Well, Long," he said, "so we are commanders-in-chief just now.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading You'll have to be my colonel, major, and adjutant, all in one."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading You'll have to be my colonel, major, and adjutant, all in one."
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Well, Long," he said, "so we are commanders-in-chief just now.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading You'll have to be my colonel, major, and adjutant, all in one."
on the contrary
From this reading Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Well, Long," he said, "so we are commanders-in-chief just now.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "I shall do my best to help you, Captain Smithers," said Tom Long stiffly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "Well, Long," he said, "so we are commanders-in-chief just now.
in a stiff manner
From this reading "I shall do my best to help you, Captain Smithers," said Tom Long stiffly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You'll have to be my colonel, major, and adjutant, all in one."
male cat
From this reading "I shall do my best to help you, Captain Smithers," said Tom Long stiffly.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Captain Smithers came up, looking rather careworn and sad, and nodded in a friendly way at his junior.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Well, Long," he said, "so we are commanders-in-chief just now.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, Long," he said, "so we are commanders-in-chief just now.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I shall do my best to help you, Captain Smithers," said Tom Long stiffly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You'll have to be my colonel, major, and adjutant, all in one."
Chapter 10 of Middy and Ensign by George Manville Fenn holds 426 sentences, grouped into 86 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 10 holds 426 sentences of Middy and Ensign, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of Middy and Ensign by George Manville Fenn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 426 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 10 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 Middy and Ensign by George Manville Fenn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6588 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21355 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21355, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 549 minutes of reading across 1318 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Middy and Ensign section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Middy and Ensign 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 Middy and Ensign, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
