Chapter 14 of Rank and Talent is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of Rank and Talent is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse." MAY. The season was far advanced when Mr. Martindale came to town with his family. Lady Woodstock and her daughters made their appearance at the same time. Mr. Henderson's chapel was fuller than ever.
Chapter 14 of Rank and Talent is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
farther along in physical or mental development
From this reading “The season was far advanced when Mr. Martindale came to town with his family.”
a place of worship that has its own altar
From this reading “Mr. Henderson's chapel was fuller than ever.”
plural of “daughter” — a female human offspring
From this reading “Lady Woodstock and her daughters made their appearance at the same time.”
past form of “detain” — deprive of freedom; take into confinement
From this reading “"Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."”
United States jurist and chief justice of the United States Supreme Court (1833-1910)
From this reading “Mr. Henderson's chapel was fuller than ever.”
for this reason
From this reading “"Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."”
something you have to do
From this reading “"Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."”
unskillfulness resulting from a lack of training
From this reading “"Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."”
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 “Lady Woodstock and her daughters made their appearance at the same time.”
In this reading “The season was far advanced when Mr. Martindale came to town with his family.”
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.
farther along in physical or mental development
From this reading The season was far advanced when Mr. Martindale came to town with his family.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Lady Woodstock and her daughters made their appearance at the same time.
outward or visible aspect of a person or thing
From this reading Lady Woodstock and her daughters made their appearance at the same time.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Lady Woodstock and her daughters made their appearance at the same time.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The season was far advanced when Mr. Martindale came to town with his family.
a place of worship that has its own altar
From this reading Mr. Henderson's chapel was fuller than ever.
plural of “daughter” — a female human offspring
From this reading Lady Woodstock and her daughters made their appearance at the same time.
past form of “detain” — deprive of freedom; take into confinement
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
at any time
From this reading Mr. Henderson's chapel was fuller than ever.
accept an excuse for
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
a social unit living together
From this reading The season was far advanced when Mr. Martindale came to town with his family.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading The season was far advanced when Mr. Martindale came to town with his family.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
United States jurist and chief justice of the United States Supreme Court (1833-1910)
From this reading Mr. Henderson's chapel was fuller than ever.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
for this reason
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr. Henderson's chapel was fuller than ever.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Lady Woodstock and her daughters made their appearance at the same time.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The season was far advanced when Mr. Martindale came to town with his family.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
a polite name for any woman
From this reading Lady Woodstock and her daughters made their appearance at the same time.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Lady Woodstock and her daughters made their appearance at the same time.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The season was far advanced when Mr. Martindale came to town with his family.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading MAY.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
a form of address for a man
From this reading The season was far advanced when Mr. Martindale came to town with his family.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
something you have to do
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
accept an excuse for
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
Identical; not different.
From this reading Lady Woodstock and her daughters made their appearance at the same time.
a period of the year marked by special events or activities in some field
From this reading The season was far advanced when Mr. Martindale came to town with his family.
unskillfulness resulting from a lack of training
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Mr. Henderson's chapel was fuller than ever.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Lady Woodstock and her daughters made their appearance at the same time.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Lady Woodstock and her daughters made their appearance at the same time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The season was far advanced when Mr. Martindale came to town with his family.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading The season was far advanced when Mr. Martindale came to town with his family.
go to see a place, as for entertainment
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The season was far advanced when Mr. Martindale came to town with his family.
at the time that
From this reading The season was far advanced when Mr. Martindale came to town with his family.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The season was far advanced when Mr. Martindale came to town with his family.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lady Woodstock and her daughters made their appearance at the same time.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Pardon the slowness of my visit, friend, For such occasions have detained me hence As, if thou knew'st, I know thou would'st excuse."
Chapter 14 of Rank and Talent by William Pitt Scargill holds 131 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 14 holds 131 sentences of Rank and Talent, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of Rank and Talent by William Pitt Scargill exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 131 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 14 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 Rank and Talent by William Pitt Scargill on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2007 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44996 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44996, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 167 minutes of reading across 402 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Rank and Talent section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Rank and Talent 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 Rank and Talent, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
