Chapter 4 of Ten Nights in a Bar Room is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Ten Nights in a Bar Room is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"You had at least a clear conscience," his wife answered. "Do hush, will you?" Slade was now angry. "One would think, by the way you talk sometimes, that I had broken every command of the Decalogue." "You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."
Chapter 4 of Ten Nights in a Bar Room is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “"You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."”
plural of “commandment” — something that is commanded
From this reading “"You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."”
motivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person's thoughts and actions
From this reading “"You had at least a clear conscience," his wife answered.”
plural of “fortune” — an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading “"You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."”
a form of whist in which players avoid winning tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades
From this reading “"You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."”
become quiet or still; fall silent
From this reading “"Do hush, will you?"”
an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
From this reading “"You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."”
plural of “soul” — the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading “"You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."”
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 "You had at least a clear conscience," his wife answered.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."
feeling or showing anger
From this reading Slade was now angry.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "You had at least a clear conscience," his wife answered.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "You had at least a clear conscience," his wife answered.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading "You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."
terminate
From this reading "You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading "One would think, by the way you talk sometimes, that I had broken every command of the Decalogue."
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "One would think, by the way you talk sometimes, that I had broken every command of the Decalogue."
rid of obstructions
From this reading "You had at least a clear conscience," his wife answered.
an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading "One would think, by the way you talk sometimes, that I had broken every command of the Decalogue."
plural of “commandment” — something that is commanded
From this reading "You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."
motivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person's thoughts and actions
From this reading "You had at least a clear conscience," his wife answered.
the biblical commandments of Moses
From this reading "One would think, by the way you talk sometimes, that I had broken every command of the Decalogue."
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Do hush, will you?"
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading "One would think, by the way you talk sometimes, that I had broken every command of the Decalogue."
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading "You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."
plural of “fortune” — an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading "You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "You had at least a clear conscience," his wife answered.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."
a form of whist in which players avoid winning tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades
From this reading "You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "You had at least a clear conscience," his wife answered.
become quiet or still; fall silent
From this reading "Do hush, will you?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "One would think, by the way you talk sometimes, that I had broken every command of the Decalogue."
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading "You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading "You had at least a clear conscience," his wife answered.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Slade was now angry.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "One would think, by the way you talk sometimes, that I had broken every command of the Decalogue."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "One would think, by the way you talk sometimes, that I had broken every command of the Decalogue."
an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
From this reading "You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Slade was now angry.
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading "One would think, by the way you talk sometimes, that I had broken every command of the Decalogue."
plural of “soul” — the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading "You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading "One would think, by the way you talk sometimes, that I had broken every command of the Decalogue."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "One would think, by the way you talk sometimes, that I had broken every command of the Decalogue."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "One would think, by the way you talk sometimes, that I had broken every command of the Decalogue."
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "One would think, by the way you talk sometimes, that I had broken every command of the Decalogue."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Slade was now angry.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading "One would think, by the way you talk sometimes, that I had broken every command of the Decalogue."
(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 "You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading "You had at least a clear conscience," his wife answered.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "Do hush, will you?"
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "One would think, by the way you talk sometimes, that I had broken every command of the Decalogue."
a late time of life
From this reading "You will break hearts as well as commandments, if you keep on for a few years as you have begun--and ruin souls as well as fortunes."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You had at least a clear conscience," his wife answered.
Chapter 4 of Ten Nights in a Bar Room by T. S. (Timothy Shay) Arthur holds 424 sentences, grouped into 85 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 4 holds 424 sentences of Ten Nights in a Bar Room, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Ten Nights in a Bar Room by T. S. (Timothy Shay) Arthur exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 4 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 Ten Nights in a Bar Room by T. S. (Timothy Shay) Arthur on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3842 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4744 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4744, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 320 minutes of reading across 769 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ten Nights in a Bar Room section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Ten Nights in a Bar Room 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 Ten Nights in a Bar Room, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
