Chapter 3 of "My Merry Rockhurst" is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of "My Merry Rockhurst" is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Petherick coughed behind a lean hand. “Oh, a name, sir. A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit. I know not how the absurdity slipped from my tongue.” “Nay, neither do I,” said the little cool Vidame.
Chapter 3 of "My Merry Rockhurst" is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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 message whose content is at variance with reason
From this reading “I know not how the absurdity slipped from my tongue.””
neither warm nor very cold; giving relief from heat
From this reading ““Nay, neither do I,” said the little cool Vidame.”
past form of “cough” — exhale abruptly, as when one has a chest cold or congestion
From this reading “Petherick coughed behind a lean hand.”
devoid of good sense or judgment
From this reading “A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.”
an established custom
From this reading “A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.”
plural of “intimate” — someone to whom private matters are confided
From this reading “A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.”
to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading “Petherick coughed behind a lean hand.”
possessive form of “majesty” — impressiveness in scale or proportion
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 “I know not how the absurdity slipped from my tongue.””
In this reading “A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.”
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 Petherick coughed behind a lean hand.
a message whose content is at variance with reason
From this reading I know not how the absurdity slipped from my tongue.”
the utterance of a sound similar to clearing the throat; intended to get attention, express hesitancy, fill a pause, hide embarrassment, warn a friend, etc.
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Petherick coughed behind a lean hand.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
neither warm nor very cold; giving relief from heat
From this reading “Nay, neither do I,” said the little cool Vidame.
past form of “cough” — exhale abruptly, as when one has a chest cold or congestion
From this reading Petherick coughed behind a lean hand.
take upon oneself; act presumptuously, without permission
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Nay, neither do I,” said the little cool Vidame.
devoid of good sense or judgment
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading I know not how the absurdity slipped from my tongue.”
an established custom
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Petherick coughed behind a lean hand.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I know not how the absurdity slipped from my tongue.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I know not how the absurdity slipped from my tongue.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
plural of “intimate” — someone to whom private matters are confided
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading I know not how the absurdity slipped from my tongue.”
to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading Petherick coughed behind a lean hand.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “Nay, neither do I,” said the little cool Vidame.
possessive form of “majesty” — impressiveness in scale or proportion
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I know not how the absurdity slipped from my tongue.”
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “Oh, a name, sir.
an old word for “no”
From this reading “Nay, neither do I,” said the little cool Vidame.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading “Nay, neither do I,” said the little cool Vidame.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, a name, sir.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Petherick coughed behind a lean hand.
the state of being present; current existence
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Nay, neither do I,” said the little cool Vidame.
term of address for a man
From this reading “Oh, a name, sir.
inflected form of “slip” — move stealthily
From this reading I know not how the absurdity slipped from my tongue.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading I know not how the absurdity slipped from my tongue.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Nay, neither do I,” said the little cool Vidame.
at the time that
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading A name, by which his Majesty’s intimates dare, now and then, to call him—ahem! when not in the presence—a foolish habit.
Chapter 3 of "My Merry Rockhurst" by Agnes Castle holds 445 sentences, grouped into 89 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 3 holds 445 sentences of "My Merry Rockhurst", unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of "My Merry Rockhurst" by Agnes Castle exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 445 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 3 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 "My Merry Rockhurst" by Agnes Castle on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4238 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #57407 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #57407, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 353 minutes of reading across 848 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through "My Merry Rockhurst" section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of "My Merry Rockhurst" 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 "My Merry Rockhurst", each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
