Chapter 10 of Stepping Westward is here in full — 385 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter X
Chapter 10 of Stepping Westward is here in full — 385 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Late i’ th’ arternoon he coom and stood by my cheer. “‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst. Captain towd me jine him soon as ever I could.’ My heart wur like lead, but I kept my face turned away from him. ‘Well,’ says I, ‘sin’ thou wants to go, thou can go for aught I care.’
Chapter 10 of Stepping Westward is here in full — 385 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/77 · 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 quantity of no importance
From this reading “‘Well,’ says I, ‘sin’ thou wants to go, thou can go for aught I care.’”
give encouragement to
From this reading ““Late i’ th’ arternoon he coom and stood by my cheer.”
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading “My heart wur like lead, but I kept my face turned away from him.”
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading ““Late i’ th’ arternoon he coom and stood by my cheer.”
take somebody somewhere
From this reading “My heart wur like lead, but I kept my face turned away from him.”
estrangement from god
From this reading ““‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.”
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading “‘Well,’ says I, ‘sin’ thou wants to go, thou can go for aught I care.’”
informal terms for a (young) woman
From this reading ““‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.”
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.
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading ““‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.”
In this reading “‘Well,’ says I, ‘sin’ thou wants to go, thou can go for aught I care.’”
In this reading ““Late i’ th’ arternoon he coom and stood by my cheer.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Late i’ th’ arternoon he coom and stood by my cheer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Late i’ th’ arternoon he coom and stood by my cheer.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.
a quantity of no importance
From this reading ‘Well,’ says I, ‘sin’ thou wants to go, thou can go for aught I care.’
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading My heart wur like lead, but I kept my face turned away from him.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading My heart wur like lead, but I kept my face turned away from him.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading “Late i’ th’ arternoon he coom and stood by my cheer.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading ‘Well,’ says I, ‘sin’ thou wants to go, thou can go for aught I care.’
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Captain towd me jine him soon as ever I could.’
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading ‘Well,’ says I, ‘sin’ thou wants to go, thou can go for aught I care.’
give encouragement to
From this reading “Late i’ th’ arternoon he coom and stood by my cheer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Late i’ th’ arternoon he coom and stood by my cheer.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Captain towd me jine him soon as ever I could.’
at any time
From this reading Captain towd me jine him soon as ever I could.’
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading My heart wur like lead, but I kept my face turned away from him.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading ‘Well,’ says I, ‘sin’ thou wants to go, thou can go for aught I care.’
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading My heart wur like lead, but I kept my face turned away from him.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading ‘Well,’ says I, ‘sin’ thou wants to go, thou can go for aught I care.’
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Late i’ th’ arternoon he coom and stood by my cheer.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading My heart wur like lead, but I kept my face turned away from him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Captain towd me jine him soon as ever I could.’
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Late i’ th’ arternoon he coom and stood by my cheer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Captain towd me jine him soon as ever I could.’
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading My heart wur like lead, but I kept my face turned away from him.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading “Late i’ th’ arternoon he coom and stood by my cheer.
take somebody somewhere
From this reading My heart wur like lead, but I kept my face turned away from him.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading My heart wur like lead, but I kept my face turned away from him.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading “‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading “‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Late i’ th’ arternoon he coom and stood by my cheer.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading “‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading “‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.
estrangement from god
From this reading “‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.
in the near future
From this reading Captain towd me jine him soon as ever I could.’
express in speech
From this reading “‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading “Late i’ th’ arternoon he coom and stood by my cheer.
the fifth day of the week; the fourth working day
From this reading “Late i’ th’ arternoon he coom and stood by my cheer.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading “‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Captain towd me jine him soon as ever I could.’
moved around an axis or center
From this reading My heart wur like lead, but I kept my face turned away from him.
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading ‘Well,’ says I, ‘sin’ thou wants to go, thou can go for aught I care.’
(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 “‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.
informal terms for a (young) woman
From this reading “‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “‘My wench,’ says he, ‘sin’ thou wunnot speak to me nor look at me, I may as well be off at wonst.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My heart wur like lead, but I kept my face turned away from him.
Chapter 10 of Stepping Westward by M. E. Francis holds 385 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 10 holds 385 sentences of Stepping Westward, unabridged, divided into 77 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of Stepping Westward by M. E. Francis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 385 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 10 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in Stepping Westward, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
