Chapter 4 of Only an Ensign — Volume 1 is here in full — 80 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Only an Ensign — Volume 1 is here in full — 80 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
POWDERED WITH TEARS. A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household. "What is the matter?" asked Richard. "Oh, sir--oh, Mr. Richard--my lord is taken very ill." "Ill--my uncle?"
Chapter 4 of Only an Ensign — Volume 1 is here in full — 80 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/16 · 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.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading “A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.”
a man employed as a servant in a large establishment (as a palace) to run errands and do chores
From this reading “A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.”
a social unit living together
From this reading “A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.”
assembled for use; especially by being attached to a support
From this reading “A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.”
consisting of fine particles
From this reading “POWDERED WITH TEARS.”
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading “A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.”
in a respectful manner
From this reading “A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.”
move hurridly
From this reading “A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.”
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.
come to a halt after driving somewhere
In this reading “A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.”
temporarily
In this reading “A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.”
In this reading “POWDERED WITH TEARS.”
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 A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "What is the matter?" asked Richard.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
a man employed as a servant in a large establishment (as a palace) to run errands and do chores
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
a social unit living together
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading "Oh, sir--oh, Mr. Richard--my lord is taken very ill."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "What is the matter?" asked Richard.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading "Oh, sir--oh, Mr. Richard--my lord is taken very ill."
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading "What is the matter?" asked Richard.
a particular point in time
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
assembled for use; especially by being attached to a support
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Oh, sir--oh, Mr. Richard--my lord is taken very ill."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Oh, sir--oh, Mr. Richard--my lord is taken very ill."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, sir--oh, Mr. Richard--my lord is taken very ill."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
consisting of fine particles
From this reading POWDERED WITH TEARS.
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
in a respectful manner
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What is the matter?" asked Richard.
term of address for a man
From this reading "Oh, sir--oh, Mr. Richard--my lord is taken very ill."
move hurridly
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading "Oh, sir--oh, Mr. Richard--my lord is taken very ill."
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading POWDERED WITH TEARS.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
having come into contact
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading "Ill--my uncle?"
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
precisely as stated
From this reading "Oh, sir--oh, Mr. Richard--my lord is taken very ill."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What is the matter?" asked Richard.
which person or people
From this reading A mounted footman, who approached him at full speed, pulled up for a moment and respectfully touched his hat, for he was one of the Lamorna household.
in the company of; together with
From this reading POWDERED WITH TEARS.
Chapter 4 of Only an Ensign — Volume 1 by James Grant holds 80 sentences, grouped into 16 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 80 sentences of Only an Ensign — Volume 1, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Only an Ensign — Volume 1 by James Grant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 80 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 Only an Ensign — Volume 1 by James Grant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1873 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #64252 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #64252, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 156 minutes of reading across 375 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Only an Ensign — Volume 1 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of Only an Ensign — Volume 1 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 Only an Ensign — Volume 1, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
