Chapter 6 of Songs of the West is here in full — 383 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of Songs of the West is here in full — 383 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I ask'd if she would wed with me, All on that sunny day, Sir! The answer that she gave to me Was surely not a nay, Sir! Among the new-mown hay. Then to the church we sped with speed And Hymen join'd our hands, Sir! No more the ewes and lambs she'll feed Since she did make her answer, Among the new-mown hay.
Chapter 6 of Songs of the West is here in full — 383 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/76 · 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.
plural of “ewe” — a member of a people living in southern Benin and Togo and southeastern Ghana
From this reading “No more the ewes and lambs she'll feed Since she did make her answer, Among the new-mown hay.”
provide as food
From this reading “No more the ewes and lambs she'll feed Since she did make her answer, Among the new-mown hay.”
grass mowed and cured for use as fodder
From this reading “Among the new-mown hay.”
(Greek mythology) the god of marriage
From this reading “Then to the church we sped with speed And Hymen join'd our hands, Sir!”
plural of “lamb” — young sheep
From this reading “No more the ewes and lambs she'll feed Since she did make her answer, Among the new-mown hay.”
inflected form of “speed” — move hurridly
From this reading “Then to the church we sped with speed And Hymen join'd our hands, Sir!”
bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer
From this reading “I ask'd if she would wed with me, All on that sunny day, Sir!”
take in marriage
From this reading “I ask'd if she would wed with me, All on that sunny day, Sir!”
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 “I ask'd if she would wed with me, All on that sunny day, Sir!”
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 The answer that she gave to me Was surely not a nay, Sir!
(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 I ask'd if she would wed with me, All on that sunny day, Sir!
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading Among the new-mown hay.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Then to the church we sped with speed And Hymen join'd our hands, Sir!
react verbally
From this reading The answer that she gave to me Was surely not a nay, Sir!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I ask'd if she would wed with me, All on that sunny day, Sir!
one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
From this reading Then to the church we sped with speed And Hymen join'd our hands, Sir!
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading I ask'd if she would wed with me, All on that sunny day, Sir!
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading No more the ewes and lambs she'll feed Since she did make her answer, Among the new-mown hay.
plural of “ewe” — a member of a people living in southern Benin and Togo and southeastern Ghana
From this reading No more the ewes and lambs she'll feed Since she did make her answer, Among the new-mown hay.
provide as food
From this reading No more the ewes and lambs she'll feed Since she did make her answer, Among the new-mown hay.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading The answer that she gave to me Was surely not a nay, Sir!
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Then to the church we sped with speed And Hymen join'd our hands, Sir!
grass mowed and cured for use as fodder
From this reading Among the new-mown hay.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading No more the ewes and lambs she'll feed Since she did make her answer, Among the new-mown hay.
(Greek mythology) the god of marriage
From this reading Then to the church we sped with speed And Hymen join'd our hands, Sir!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I ask'd if she would wed with me, All on that sunny day, Sir!
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading I ask'd if she would wed with me, All on that sunny day, Sir!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then to the church we sped with speed And Hymen join'd our hands, Sir!
plural of “lamb” — young sheep
From this reading No more the ewes and lambs she'll feed Since she did make her answer, Among the new-mown hay.
engage in
From this reading No more the ewes and lambs she'll feed Since she did make her answer, Among the new-mown hay.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I ask'd if she would wed with me, All on that sunny day, Sir!
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading No more the ewes and lambs she'll feed Since she did make her answer, Among the new-mown hay.
an old word for “no”
From this reading The answer that she gave to me Was surely not a nay, Sir!
newly mown
From this reading Among the new-mown hay.
not any; not one
From this reading No more the ewes and lambs she'll feed Since she did make her answer, Among the new-mown hay.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The answer that she gave to me Was surely not a nay, Sir!
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading I ask'd if she would wed with me, All on that sunny day, Sir!
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Then to the church we sped with speed And Hymen join'd our hands, Sir!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I ask'd if she would wed with me, All on that sunny day, Sir!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading No more the ewes and lambs she'll feed Since she did make her answer, Among the new-mown hay.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading No more the ewes and lambs she'll feed Since she did make her answer, Among the new-mown hay.
term of address for a man
From this reading I ask'd if she would wed with me, All on that sunny day, Sir!
inflected form of “speed” — move hurridly
From this reading Then to the church we sped with speed And Hymen join'd our hands, Sir!
move hurridly
From this reading Then to the church we sped with speed And Hymen join'd our hands, Sir!
bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer
From this reading I ask'd if she would wed with me, All on that sunny day, Sir!
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading The answer that she gave to me Was surely not a nay, Sir!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I ask'd if she would wed with me, All on that sunny day, Sir!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The answer that she gave to me Was surely not a nay, Sir!
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then to the church we sped with speed And Hymen join'd our hands, Sir!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The answer that she gave to me Was surely not a nay, Sir!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The answer that she gave to me Was surely not a nay, Sir!
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Then to the church we sped with speed And Hymen join'd our hands, Sir!
take in marriage
From this reading I ask'd if she would wed with me, All on that sunny day, Sir!
in the company of; together with
From this reading I ask'd if she would wed with me, All on that sunny day, Sir!
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I ask'd if she would wed with me, All on that sunny day, Sir!
Chapter 6 of Songs of the West by S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould holds 383 sentences, grouped into 77 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 6 holds 383 sentences of Songs of the West, unabridged, divided into 77 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of Songs of the West by S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 383 sentences, grouped into 77 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 77 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 77 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 6 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 West by S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3914 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56625 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56625, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 326 minutes of reading across 783 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Songs of the West section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Songs of the West 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 West, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
