Chapter 27 of Stephen: A Soldier of the Cross is here in full — 137 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of Stephen: A Soldier of the Cross is here in full — 137 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW. "Do thou, Ben Obed, watch the man till such time as I shall send thee word. Then--thou art known unto him? A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’ He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."
Chapter 27 of Stephen: A Soldier of the Cross is here in full — 137 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
somewhat ill or prone to illness
From this reading “A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’”
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading “"Do thou, Ben Obed, watch the man till such time as I shall send thee word.”
a body serving in an administrative capacity
From this reading “He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."”
cause to be slowed down or delayed
From this reading “He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."”
go or come after and bring or take back
From this reading “He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."”
having unexpected good fortune
From this reading “A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’”
of the present time and place
From this reading “A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’”
an old form of “shall”, used with “thou”
From this reading “He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."”
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.
a room where a committee meets (such as the board of directors of a company)
In this reading “He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."”
In this reading “A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’”
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading “He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."”
In this reading “IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW.”
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 A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’
somewhat ill or prone to illness
From this reading A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading Then--thou art known unto him?
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Do thou, Ben Obed, watch the man till such time as I shall send thee word.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading "Do thou, Ben Obed, watch the man till such time as I shall send thee word.
a natural or artificial enclosed space
From this reading He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’
a body serving in an administrative capacity
From this reading He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."
cause to be slowed down or delayed
From this reading He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Do thou, Ben Obed, watch the man till such time as I shall send thee word.
go or come after and bring or take back
From this reading He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."
to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."
having unexpected good fortune
From this reading A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Then--thou art known unto him?
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Do thou, Ben Obed, watch the man till such time as I shall send thee word.
of the present time and place
From this reading A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’
apprehended with certainty
From this reading Then--thou art known unto him?
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "Do thou, Ben Obed, watch the man till such time as I shall send thee word.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Do thou, Ben Obed, watch the man till such time as I shall send thee word.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW.
on one occasion
From this reading He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’
the state of being present; current existence
From this reading A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’
express in words
From this reading A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’
cause to go somewhere
From this reading "Do thou, Ben Obed, watch the man till such time as I shall send thee word.
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "Do thou, Ben Obed, watch the man till such time as I shall send thee word.
an old form of “shall”, used with “thou”
From this reading He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading "Do thou, Ben Obed, watch the man till such time as I shall send thee word.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW.
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading "Do thou, Ben Obed, watch the man till such time as I shall send thee word.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then--thou art known unto him?
in or at that place or location
From this reading A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading "Do thou, Ben Obed, watch the man till such time as I shall send thee word.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’
up to a particular time
From this reading "Do thou, Ben Obed, watch the man till such time as I shall send thee word.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "Do thou, Ben Obed, watch the man till such time as I shall send thee word.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’
an old word for “to”
From this reading Then--thou art known unto him?
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW.
look attentively
From this reading "Do thou, Ben Obed, watch the man till such time as I shall send thee word.
which person or people
From this reading A fortunate chance--say this to him, ’There is one ailing at my house, who desireth thy immediate presence.’
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading He will at once follow thee, and thou shalt fetch him without delay into the Council Chamber."
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading "Do thou, Ben Obed, watch the man till such time as I shall send thee word.
Chapter 27 of Stephen: A Soldier of the Cross by Florence Morse Kingsley holds 137 sentences, grouped into 28 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 27 holds 137 sentences of Stephen: A Soldier of the Cross, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of Stephen: A Soldier of the Cross by Florence Morse Kingsley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 137 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 27 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 Stephen: A Soldier of the Cross by Florence Morse Kingsley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4155 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41655 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41655, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 346 minutes of reading across 831 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Stephen: A Soldier of the Cross section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of Stephen: A Soldier of the Cross 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 Stephen: A Soldier of the Cross, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
