Chapter 1 of Miss Billy — Married is here in full — 309 sentences across 62 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Miss Billy — Married is here in full — 309 sentences across 62 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,” chanted the white-robed clergyman. “'I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,'” echoed the tall young bridegroom, his eyes gravely tender. “To my wedded wife.” “'To my wedded wife.'” The bridegroom's voice shook a little. “To have and to hold from this day forward.”
Chapter 1 of Miss Billy — Married is here in full — 309 sentences across 62 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/61 · 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 short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading ““I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,” chanted the white-robed clergyman.”
a man who has recently been married
From this reading ““'I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,'” echoed the tall young bridegroom, his eyes gravely tender.”
possessive form of “bridegroom” — a man who has recently been married
From this reading ““'To my wedded wife.'” The bridegroom's voice shook a little.”
sung or uttered rhythmically in a monotone
From this reading ““I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,” chanted the white-robed clergyman.”
a member of the clergy and a spiritual leader of the Christian Church
From this reading ““I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,” chanted the white-robed clergyman.”
past form of “echo” — to say again or imitate
From this reading ““'I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,'” echoed the tall young bridegroom, his eyes gravely tender.”
in a grave and sober manner
From this reading ““'I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,'” echoed the tall young bridegroom, his eyes gravely tender.”
having been taken in marriage
From this reading ““To my wedded wife.””
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 “'To my wedded wife.'” The bridegroom's voice shook a little.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “To have and to hold from this day forward.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,” chanted the white-robed clergyman.
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading “I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,” chanted the white-robed clergyman.
a man who has recently been married
From this reading “'I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,'” echoed the tall young bridegroom, his eyes gravely tender.
possessive form of “bridegroom” — a man who has recently been married
From this reading “'To my wedded wife.'” The bridegroom's voice shook a little.
sung or uttered rhythmically in a monotone
From this reading “I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,” chanted the white-robed clergyman.
a member of the clergy and a spiritual leader of the Christian Church
From this reading “I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,” chanted the white-robed clergyman.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading “To have and to hold from this day forward.”
past form of “echo” — to say again or imitate
From this reading “'I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,'” echoed the tall young bridegroom, his eyes gravely tender.
opinion or judgment
From this reading “'I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,'” echoed the tall young bridegroom, his eyes gravely tender.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading “To have and to hold from this day forward.”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “To have and to hold from this day forward.”
in a grave and sober manner
From this reading “'I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,'” echoed the tall young bridegroom, his eyes gravely tender.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “To have and to hold from this day forward.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “'I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,'” echoed the tall young bridegroom, his eyes gravely tender.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading “To have and to hold from this day forward.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,” chanted the white-robed clergyman.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “'To my wedded wife.'” The bridegroom's voice shook a little.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “To my wedded wife.”
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading “'To my wedded wife.'” The bridegroom's voice shook a little.
carry out
From this reading “I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,” chanted the white-robed clergyman.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading “'I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,'” echoed the tall young bridegroom, his eyes gravely tender.
given to sympathy or gentleness or sentimentality
From this reading “'I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,'” echoed the tall young bridegroom, his eyes gravely tender.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,” chanted the white-robed clergyman.
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading “I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,” chanted the white-robed clergyman.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “To have and to hold from this day forward.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “To my wedded wife.”
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading “'To my wedded wife.'” The bridegroom's voice shook a little.
having been taken in marriage
From this reading “To my wedded wife.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,” chanted the white-robed clergyman.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading “To my wedded wife.”
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading “'I, Bertram, take thee, Billy,'” echoed the tall young bridegroom, his eyes gravely tender.
Chapter 1 of Miss Billy — Married by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter holds 309 sentences, grouped into 62 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 1 holds 309 sentences of Miss Billy — Married, unabridged, divided into 62 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Miss Billy — Married by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 309 sentences, grouped into 62 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 62 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 62 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 1 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 Miss Billy — Married by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5514 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #361 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #361, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 459 minutes of reading across 1103 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Miss Billy — Married section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Miss Billy — Married 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 Miss Billy — Married, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
