Chapter 3 of Songs of the Mexican Seas is here in full — 281 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Songs of the Mexican Seas is here in full — 281 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
How soft this moonlight of the South! How sweet my South in soft moonlight! I want to kiss her warm sweet mouth As she lies sleeping here to-night. How still! I do not hear a mouse.
Chapter 3 of Songs of the Mexican Seas is here in full — 281 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/56 · 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.
the act of caressing with the lips (or an instance thereof)
From this reading “I want to kiss her warm sweet mouth As she lies sleeping here to-night.”
plural of “lie” — a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth
From this reading “I want to kiss her warm sweet mouth As she lies sleeping here to-night.”
the light of the Moon
From this reading “How soft this moonlight of the South!”
any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails
From this reading “I do not hear a mouse.”
the state of being asleep
From this reading “I want to kiss her warm sweet mouth As she lies sleeping here to-night.”
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading “How soft this moonlight of the South!”
the region of the United States lying to the south of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading “How soft this moonlight of the South!”
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading “I want to kiss her warm sweet mouth As she lies sleeping here to-night.”
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.
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 I do not hear a mouse.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I want to kiss her warm sweet mouth As she lies sleeping here to-night.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading I do not hear a mouse.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading I do not hear a mouse.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I want to kiss her warm sweet mouth As she lies sleeping here to-night.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading I want to kiss her warm sweet mouth As she lies sleeping here to-night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How soft this moonlight of the South!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I want to kiss her warm sweet mouth As she lies sleeping here to-night.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading How sweet my South in soft moonlight!
the act of caressing with the lips (or an instance thereof)
From this reading I want to kiss her warm sweet mouth As she lies sleeping here to-night.
plural of “lie” — a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth
From this reading I want to kiss her warm sweet mouth As she lies sleeping here to-night.
the light of the Moon
From this reading How soft this moonlight of the South!
any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails
From this reading I do not hear a mouse.
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading I want to kiss her warm sweet mouth As she lies sleeping here to-night.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading How sweet my South in soft moonlight!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I do not hear a mouse.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading How soft this moonlight of the South!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I want to kiss her warm sweet mouth As she lies sleeping here to-night.
the state of being asleep
From this reading I want to kiss her warm sweet mouth As she lies sleeping here to-night.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading How soft this moonlight of the South!
the region of the United States lying to the south of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading How soft this moonlight of the South!
not in physical motion
From this reading How still!
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading How sweet my South in soft moonlight!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading How soft this moonlight of the South!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading How soft this moonlight of the South!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I want to kiss her warm sweet mouth As she lies sleeping here to-night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I want to kiss her warm sweet mouth As she lies sleeping here to-night.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading I want to kiss her warm sweet mouth As she lies sleeping here to-night.
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading I want to kiss her warm sweet mouth As she lies sleeping here to-night.
Chapter 3 of Songs of the Mexican Seas by Joaquin Miller holds 281 sentences, grouped into 57 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 3 holds 281 sentences of Songs of the Mexican Seas, unabridged, divided into 57 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Songs of the Mexican Seas by Joaquin Miller exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 281 sentences, grouped into 57 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 57 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 57 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 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.
Common questions about reading Songs of the Mexican Seas by Joaquin Miller on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 886 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38766 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38766, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 73 minutes of reading across 178 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Songs of the Mexican Seas section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of Songs of the Mexican Seas 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 Songs of the Mexican Seas, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
