Chapter 4 of Mr. Punch's Dramatic Sequels is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Mr. Punch's Dramatic Sequels is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
GEORGE. The Colonel said so. And he was rather a judge. ESTHER. [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
Chapter 4 of Mr. Punch's Dramatic Sequels is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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 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 “The Colonel said so.”
conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual
From this reading “[_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.”
(Old Testament) a beautiful Jewess chosen by the king of Persia to be his queen; she stopped a plot to massacre all the Jews in Persia (an event celebrated by Jews as the feast of Purim)
From this reading “ESTHER.”
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading “GEORGE.”
to make better
From this reading “[_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.”
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading “And he was rather a judge.”
an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence
From this reading “[_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.”
(usually followed by “to”) not having the necessary means or skill or know-how
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 “[_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.”
In this reading “[_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.”
In this reading “[_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.”
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 And he was rather a judge.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And he was rather a judge.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
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 The Colonel said so.
conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual
From this reading [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
(Old Testament) a beautiful Jewess chosen by the king of Persia to be his queen; she stopped a plot to massacre all the Jews in Persia (an event celebrated by Jews as the feast of Purim)
From this reading ESTHER.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading GEORGE.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And he was rather a judge.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
to make better
From this reading [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading And he was rather a judge.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence
From this reading [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
on the contrary
From this reading And he was rather a judge.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading The Colonel said so.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The Colonel said so.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Colonel said so.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
(usually followed by “to”) not having the necessary means or skill or know-how
From this reading [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
precisely as stated
From this reading [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And he was rather a judge.
at the time that
From this reading [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading [_Unable to improve upon her old phrase._] Father is a very eccentric man, but a very good man, when you know him.
Chapter 4 of Mr. Punch's Dramatic Sequels by St. John Hankin holds 430 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 4 holds 430 sentences of Mr. Punch's Dramatic Sequels, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Mr. Punch's Dramatic Sequels by St. John Hankin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 430 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 4 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 Mr. Punch's Dramatic Sequels by St. John Hankin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2575 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47792 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47792, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 214 minutes of reading across 515 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mr. Punch's Dramatic Sequels section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Mr. Punch's Dramatic Sequels 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 Mr. Punch's Dramatic Sequels, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
