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Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4)
Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4)

Chapter III

Chapter 3 of Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4) is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4)
Context Illustration Reading 1/84 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."
With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:
"And if you keep them carefully, Then God will you reward;
But if you otherwise should deal, God will your deeds regard."
With lips as cold as any stone, They kissed their children small:
0:00 / 0:00
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4)

Chapter III

Chapter 3 of Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4) is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."
/ənd ˈʌŋkəl ɔːl ɪn wʌn ɡɑːd noʊz wʌt wɪl bɪˈkʌm ʌv ðem wen aɪ æm ded ənd ɡɔːn/
Line 2
With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:
Line 3
"And if you keep them carefully, Then God will you reward;
/ənd ɪf juː kiːp ðem ˈkerfəli ðen ɡɑːd wɪl juː rɪˈwɔːrd/
Line 4
But if you otherwise should deal, God will your deeds regard."
/bʌt ɪf juː ˈʌðərwaɪz ʃʊd diːl ɡɑːd wɪl jɔːr diːdz rɪˈɡɑːrd/
Line 5
With lips as cold as any stone, They kissed their children small:
/wɪð lɪps æz koʊld æz ˈeni stoʊn ðeɪ kɪst ðer ˈtʃɪldrən smɔːl/

Learner Dictionary

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.

babes noun US /beɪbz/

plural of “babe” — a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk

From this reading “With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:”

deeds noun US /diːdz/

performance of moral or religious acts

From this reading “But if you otherwise should deal, God will your deeds regard."”

kissed verb US /kɪst/

past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.

From this reading “With lips as cold as any stone, They kissed their children small:”

misery noun US /ˈmɪzəri/

a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune

From this reading “With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:”

otherwise adverb US /ˈʌðərwaɪz/

in other respects or ways

From this reading “But if you otherwise should deal, God will your deeds regard."”

regard noun US /rɪˈɡɑːrd/

(usually preceded by “in”) a detail or point

From this reading “But if you otherwise should deal, God will your deeds regard."”

reward noun US /rɪˈwɔːrd/

a recompense for worthy acts or retribution for wrongdoing

From this reading “"And if you keep them carefully, Then God will you reward;”

wealth noun US /welθ/

the state of being rich and affluent; having a plentiful supply of material goods and money

From this reading “With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:”

All words in this reading · 61

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.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."

amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

From this reading And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."

AndconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."

anyadjectiveUS /ˈeni/

one or some or every or all without specification

From this reading With lips as cold as any stone, They kissed their children small:

areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/

the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading With lips as cold as any stone, They kissed their children small:

babesnounUS /beɪbz/

plural of “babe” — a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

becomeverbUS /bɪˈkʌm/

enter or assume a certain state or condition

From this reading And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."

bespake

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

bringverbUS /brɪŋ/

take something or somebody with oneself somewhere

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

brothernounUS /ˈbrʌðər/

a male with the same parents as someone else

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading But if you otherwise should deal, God will your deeds regard."

carefullyadverbUS /ˈkerfəli/

taking care or paying attention

From this reading "And if you keep them carefully, Then God will you reward;

childrennounUS /ˈtʃɪldrən/

plural of “child” — a young person of either sex

From this reading With lips as cold as any stone, They kissed their children small:

coldadjectiveUS /koʊld/

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 With lips as cold as any stone, They kissed their children small:

deadadjectiveUS /ded/

no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life

From this reading And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."

dealverbUS /diːl/

act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression

From this reading But if you otherwise should deal, God will your deeds regard."

dearadjectiveUS /dɪr/

dearly loved

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

deedsnounUS /diːdz/

performance of moral or religious acts

From this reading But if you otherwise should deal, God will your deeds regard."

GodnounUS /ɡɑːd/

the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions

From this reading And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."

goneadjectiveUS /ɡɔːn/

destroyed or killed

From this reading And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."

ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading "And if you keep them carefully, Then God will you reward;

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."

keepverbUS /kiːp/

cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”

From this reading "And if you keep them carefully, Then God will you reward;

kindadjectiveUS /kaɪnd/

having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

kissedverbUS /kɪst/

past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.

From this reading With lips as cold as any stone, They kissed their children small:

knowsnounUS /noʊz/

plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people

From this reading And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."

lipsnounUS /lɪps/

plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking

From this reading With lips as cold as any stone, They kissed their children small:

mannounUS /mæn/

an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

miserynounUS /ˈmɪzəri/

a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

mothernounUS /ˈmʌðər/

a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

OnounUS /oʊ/

a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

otherwiseadverbUS /ˈʌðərwaɪz/

in other respects or ways

From this reading But if you otherwise should deal, God will your deeds regard."

ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

quoth

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

regardnounUS /rɪˈɡɑːrd/

(usually preceded by “in”) a detail or point

From this reading But if you otherwise should deal, God will your deeds regard."

rewardnounUS /rɪˈwɔːrd/

a recompense for worthy acts or retribution for wrongdoing

From this reading "And if you keep them carefully, Then God will you reward;

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

shouldmodal verbUS /ʃʊd/

used to say what is right, expected, or advisable

From this reading But if you otherwise should deal, God will your deeds regard."

smalladjectiveUS /smɔːl/

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading With lips as cold as any stone, They kissed their children small:

stonenounUS /stoʊn/

a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter

From this reading With lips as cold as any stone, They kissed their children small:

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."

ThenadverbUS /ðen/

subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)

From this reading "And if you keep them carefully, Then God will you reward;

TheypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading With lips as cold as any stone, They kissed their children small:

ToparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

unclenounUS /ˈʌŋkəl/

the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt

From this reading And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."

wealthnounUS /welθ/

the state of being rich and affluent; having a plentiful supply of material goods and money

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."

WhenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."

willmodal verbUS /wɪl/

used to talk about the future, or about willingness

From this reading And uncle all in one; God knows what will become of them, When I am dead and gone."

WithprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

YoupronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading With that bespake their mother dear, O brother kind," quoth she, "You are the man must bring our babes To wealth or misery:

yourdeterminerUS /jɔːr/

belonging to the person or people being spoken to

From this reading But if you otherwise should deal, God will your deeds regard."

Chapter 3 of Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4) by R. Brimley (Reginald Brimley) [Editor] Johnson holds 420 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.

What does chapter 3 of Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4) contain?

Chapter 3 holds 420 sentences of Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4), unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 3 of Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4) by R. Brimley (Reginald Brimley) [Editor] Johnson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 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.

How do I study chapter 3 of Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4)?

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.

Can chapter 3 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4)

Common questions about reading Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4) by R. Brimley (Reginald Brimley) [Editor] Johnson on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4)?

Yes. All 2609 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45241 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4) is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #45241, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4) take to read?

About 217 minutes of reading across 522 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4) section by section

How to work through Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4) section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 6 chapters of Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4) to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4)

Words and structures a reader meets early in Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4), each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Ballad
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4); the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Admittedly
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4); the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Significance
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4); the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Meaning
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Popular British Ballads, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 1 (of 4); the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.