Chapter 4 of Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH THEM? "Oh, Caudle! How can you ask? Poor things! weren't they all in their thick merinos and beaver bonnets? What do you say?
Chapter 4 of Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “How can you ask?”
the soft brown fur of the beaver
From this reading “Poor things! weren't they all in their thick merinos and beaver bonnets?”
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading “"WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH THEM?”
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading “Poor things! weren't they all in their thick merinos and beaver bonnets?”
express in words
From this reading “What do you say?”
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading “Poor things! weren't they all in their thick merinos and beaver bonnets?”
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading “Poor things! weren't they all in their thick merinos and beaver bonnets?”
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.
(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 Poor things! weren't they all in their thick merinos and beaver bonnets?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Poor things! weren't they all in their thick merinos and beaver bonnets?
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading How can you ask?
the soft brown fur of the beaver
From this reading Poor things! weren't they all in their thick merinos and beaver bonnets?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Poor things! weren't they all in their thick merinos and beaver bonnets?
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading How can you ask?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh, Caudle!
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading What do you say?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How can you ask?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Poor things! weren't they all in their thick merinos and beaver bonnets?
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading "WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH THEM?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Poor things! weren't they all in their thick merinos and beaver bonnets?
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, Caudle!
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Poor things! weren't they all in their thick merinos and beaver bonnets?
express in words
From this reading What do you say?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH THEM?
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Poor things! weren't they all in their thick merinos and beaver bonnets?
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH THEM?
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Poor things! weren't they all in their thick merinos and beaver bonnets?
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading Poor things! weren't they all in their thick merinos and beaver bonnets?
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Poor things! weren't they all in their thick merinos and beaver bonnets?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH THEM?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Poor things! weren't they all in their thick merinos and beaver bonnets?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH THEM?
in the company of; together with
From this reading "WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH THEM?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading How can you ask?
Chapter 4 of Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures by Douglas William Jerrold holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 404 sentences of Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures by Douglas William Jerrold exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures by Douglas William Jerrold on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3679 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6054 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6054, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 306 minutes of reading across 736 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures 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 Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
