Chapter 8 of Sir John Constantine Memoirs of His is here in full — 304 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Sir John Constantine Memoirs of His is here in full — 304 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I ENLIST AN ARMY. "If I be not ashamed of my soldiers, I am a soused gurnet." _Sir John Falstaff_. My father turned to me as they descended the stair. "This is all very well, lad," said he, "but we have yet to find our army.
Chapter 8 of Sir John Constantine Memoirs of His is here in full — 304 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/60 · 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.
a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
From this reading “I ENLIST AN ARMY.”
feeling shame or guilt or embarrassment or remorse
From this reading “"If I be not ashamed of my soldiers, I am a soused gurnet."”
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading “My father turned to me as they descended the stair.”
join the military
From this reading “I ENLIST AN ARMY.”
a dissolute character in Shakespeare's plays
a boy or man
From this reading “"This is all very well, lad," said he, "but we have yet to find our army.”
plural of “soldier” — an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading “"If I be not ashamed of my soldiers, I am a soused gurnet."”
support consisting of a place to rest the foot while ascending or descending a stairway
From this reading “My father turned to me as they descended the stair.”
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 "If I be not ashamed of my soldiers, I am a soused gurnet."
(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 "This is all very well, lad," said he, "but we have yet to find our army.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "If I be not ashamed of my soldiers, I am a soused gurnet."
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading I ENLIST AN ARMY.
a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
From this reading I ENLIST AN ARMY.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading My father turned to me as they descended the stair.
feeling shame or guilt or embarrassment or remorse
From this reading "If I be not ashamed of my soldiers, I am a soused gurnet."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "If I be not ashamed of my soldiers, I am a soused gurnet."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "This is all very well, lad," said he, "but we have yet to find our army.
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading My father turned to me as they descended the stair.
join the military
From this reading I ENLIST AN ARMY.
a dissolute character in Shakespeare's plays
From this reading _Sir John Falstaff_.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading My father turned to me as they descended the stair.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading "This is all very well, lad," said he, "but we have yet to find our army.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If I be not ashamed of my soldiers, I am a soused gurnet."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "This is all very well, lad," said he, "but we have yet to find our army.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "This is all very well, lad," said he, "but we have yet to find our army.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I ENLIST AN ARMY.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "If I be not ashamed of my soldiers, I am a soused gurnet."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "This is all very well, lad," said he, "but we have yet to find our army.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading _Sir John Falstaff_.
a boy or man
From this reading "This is all very well, lad," said he, "but we have yet to find our army.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading My father turned to me as they descended the stair.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "If I be not ashamed of my soldiers, I am a soused gurnet."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "If I be not ashamed of my soldiers, I am a soused gurnet."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "If I be not ashamed of my soldiers, I am a soused gurnet."
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading "This is all very well, lad," said he, "but we have yet to find our army.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "This is all very well, lad," said he, "but we have yet to find our army.
term of address for a man
From this reading _Sir John Falstaff_.
plural of “soldier” — an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading "If I be not ashamed of my soldiers, I am a soused gurnet."
very drunk
From this reading "If I be not ashamed of my soldiers, I am a soused gurnet."
support consisting of a place to rest the foot while ascending or descending a stairway
From this reading My father turned to me as they descended the stair.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading My father turned to me as they descended the stair.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading My father turned to me as they descended the stair.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "This is all very well, lad," said he, "but we have yet to find our army.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading My father turned to me as they descended the stair.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading My father turned to me as they descended the stair.
precisely as stated
From this reading "This is all very well, lad," said he, "but we have yet to find our army.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "This is all very well, lad," said he, "but we have yet to find our army.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "This is all very well, lad," said he, "but we have yet to find our army.
but in spite of that
From this reading "This is all very well, lad," said he, "but we have yet to find our army.
Chapter 8 of Sir John Constantine Memoirs of His by Arthur Quiller-Couch holds 304 sentences, grouped into 61 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 304 sentences of Sir John Constantine Memoirs of His, unabridged, divided into 61 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Sir John Constantine Memoirs of His by Arthur Quiller-Couch exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 304 sentences, grouped into 61 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 61 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 61 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 Sir John Constantine Memoirs of His by Arthur Quiller-Couch on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7107 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #15565 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #15565, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 592 minutes of reading across 1422 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sir John Constantine Memoirs of His section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of Sir John Constantine Memoirs of His 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 Sir John Constantine Memoirs of His, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
