Chapter 4 of Old Fires and Profitable Ghosts is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Old Fires and Profitable Ghosts is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"'It's as plain as daylight,' said I. 'The pipe between the two is choked.' And I clambered on to the parapet. "'I wouldn't, miss. The pantry tap is only cold water, and no use to me.
Chapter 4 of Old Fires and Profitable Ghosts is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
stopped up; clogged up
From this reading “'The pipe between the two is choked.'”
past form of “clamber” — climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
From this reading “And I clambered on to the parapet.”
the time after sunrise and before sunset while it is light outside
From this reading “"'It's as plain as daylight,' said I.”
a small storeroom for storing foods or wines
From this reading “The pantry tap is only cold water, and no use to me.”
a low wall along the edge of a roof or balcony
From this reading “And I clambered on to the parapet.”
a tube with a small bowl at one end; used for smoking tobacco
From this reading “'The pipe between the two is choked.'”
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading “"'It's as plain as daylight,' said I.”
cut a female screw thread with a tap
From this reading “The pantry tap is only cold water, and no use to me.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And I clambered on to the parapet.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "'It's as plain as daylight,' said I.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading 'The pipe between the two is choked.'
stopped up; clogged up
From this reading 'The pipe between the two is choked.'
past form of “clamber” — climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
From this reading And I clambered on to the parapet.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading The pantry tap is only cold water, and no use to me.
the time after sunrise and before sunset while it is light outside
From this reading "'It's as plain as daylight,' said I.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "'It's as plain as daylight,' said I.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'The pipe between the two is choked.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "'It's as plain as daylight,' said I.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The pantry tap is only cold water, and no use to me.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading "'I wouldn't, miss.
not any; not one
From this reading The pantry tap is only cold water, and no use to me.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading And I clambered on to the parapet.
and nothing more
From this reading The pantry tap is only cold water, and no use to me.
a small storeroom for storing foods or wines
From this reading The pantry tap is only cold water, and no use to me.
a low wall along the edge of a roof or balcony
From this reading And I clambered on to the parapet.
a tube with a small bowl at one end; used for smoking tobacco
From this reading 'The pipe between the two is choked.'
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading "'It's as plain as daylight,' said I.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "'It's as plain as daylight,' said I.
cut a female screw thread with a tap
From this reading The pantry tap is only cold water, and no use to me.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 'The pipe between the two is choked.'
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And I clambered on to the parapet.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading 'The pipe between the two is choked.'
the act of using
From this reading The pantry tap is only cold water, and no use to me.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading The pantry tap is only cold water, and no use to me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "'I wouldn't, miss.
Chapter 4 of Old Fires and Profitable Ghosts by Arthur Quiller-Couch holds 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 418 sentences of Old Fires and Profitable Ghosts, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Old Fires and Profitable Ghosts by Arthur Quiller-Couch exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Old Fires and Profitable Ghosts by Arthur Quiller-Couch on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4916 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13799 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13799, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 409 minutes of reading across 984 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Old Fires and Profitable Ghosts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Old Fires and Profitable Ghosts 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 Old Fires and Profitable Ghosts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
