Chapter 8 of Only an Irish Boy is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Only an Irish Boy is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep. "Did you hear it?" ejaculated Miss Priscilla, clutching her sister by the arm. "Just so," muttered Sophia, in bewilderment. "It's the gun." "Burglars!" exclaimed Sophia, in alarm.
Chapter 8 of Only an Irish Boy is here in full — 135 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading “"Burglars!" exclaimed Sophia, in alarm.”
aroused to action
From this reading “WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.”
confusion resulting from failure to understand
From this reading “"Just so," muttered Sophia, in bewilderment.”
plural of “burglar” — a thief who enters a building with intent to steal
From this reading “"Burglars!" exclaimed Sophia, in alarm.”
-ing form of “clutch” — take hold of; grab
From this reading “"Did you hear it?" ejaculated Miss Priscilla, clutching her sister by the arm.”
a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading “WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.”
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading “"Just so," muttered Sophia, in bewilderment.”
to give an account or representation of in words
From this reading “WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.”
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.
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading "Burglars!" exclaimed Sophia, in alarm.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading "Did you hear it?" ejaculated Miss Priscilla, clutching her sister by the arm.
aroused to action
From this reading WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.
confusion resulting from failure to understand
From this reading "Just so," muttered Sophia, in bewilderment.
the two together, not just one
From this reading WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.
plural of “burglar” — a thief who enters a building with intent to steal
From this reading "Burglars!" exclaimed Sophia, in alarm.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "Did you hear it?" ejaculated Miss Priscilla, clutching her sister by the arm.
-ing form of “clutch” — take hold of; grab
From this reading "Did you hear it?" ejaculated Miss Priscilla, clutching her sister by the arm.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Did you hear it?" ejaculated Miss Priscilla, clutching her sister by the arm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Did you hear it?" ejaculated Miss Priscilla, clutching her sister by the arm.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading "Burglars!" exclaimed Sophia, in alarm.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.
a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading "Did you hear it?" ejaculated Miss Priscilla, clutching her sister by the arm.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "Did you hear it?" ejaculated Miss Priscilla, clutching her sister by the arm.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Just so," muttered Sophia, in bewilderment.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Did you hear it?" ejaculated Miss Priscilla, clutching her sister by the arm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's the gun."
and nothing more
From this reading "Just so," muttered Sophia, in bewilderment.
plural of “lady” — a polite name for any woman
From this reading WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading "Did you hear it?" ejaculated Miss Priscilla, clutching her sister by the arm.
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading "Just so," muttered Sophia, in bewilderment.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Did you hear it?" ejaculated Miss Priscilla, clutching her sister by the arm.
to give an account or representation of in words
From this reading WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.
a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading "Did you hear it?" ejaculated Miss Priscilla, clutching her sister by the arm.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "Just so," muttered Sophia, in bewilderment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Just so," muttered Sophia, in bewilderment.
required or under orders
From this reading WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading WHAT FOLLOWED The report of the gun, as may be supposed, had aroused both the ladies from their sleep.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Did you hear it?" ejaculated Miss Priscilla, clutching her sister by the arm.
Chapter 8 of Only an Irish Boy by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 135 sentences, grouped into 27 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 8 holds 135 sentences of Only an Irish Boy, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Only an Irish Boy by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 135 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 8 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 Irish Boy by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4116 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11111 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11111, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 343 minutes of reading across 824 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Only an Irish Boy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of Only an Irish Boy 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 Irish Boy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
