Chapter 1 of The Babes in the Basket is here in full — 504 sentences across 101 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Babes in the Basket is here in full — 504 sentences across 101 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Daph and her Charge. “TIMID LUCY,” “HEART AND HAND,” ETC. NEW YORK: ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH, 683 BROADWAY. 1859. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
Chapter 1 of The Babes in the Basket is here in full — 504 sentences across 101 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/100 · 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 street in Manhattan that passes through Times Square; famous for its theaters
From this reading “NEW YORK: ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH, 683 BROADWAY.”
possessive form of “clerk” — an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
the legislature of the United States government
From this reading “Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.”
a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
From this reading “Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.”
incomplete skeleton of female found in eastern Ethiopia in 1974
From this reading ““TIMID LUCY,” “HEART AND HAND,” ETC.”
in or characteristic of a region of the United States south of (approximately) the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading “Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.”
showing fear and lack of confidence
From this reading ““TIMID LUCY,” “HEART AND HAND,” ETC.”
characterized by unity; being or joined into a single entity
From this reading “Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.”
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 “Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 1859.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NEW YORK: ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH, 683 BROADWAY.
(followed by “to”) in agreement with or accordant with
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Daph and her Charge.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NEW YORK: ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH, 683 BROADWAY.
a street in Manhattan that passes through Times Square; famous for its theaters
From this reading NEW YORK: ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH, 683 BROADWAY.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
to make a rush at or sudden attack upon, as in battle
From this reading Daph and her Charge.
possessive form of “clerk” — an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
the legislature of the United States government
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets
From this reading NEW YORK: ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH, 683 BROADWAY.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Daph and her Charge.
a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “TIMID LUCY,” “HEART AND HAND,” ETC.
a degree on the Fahrenheit scale of temperature
From this reading NEW YORK: ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH, 683 BROADWAY.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading “TIMID LUCY,” “HEART AND HAND,” ETC.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading “TIMID LUCY,” “HEART AND HAND,” ETC.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Daph and her Charge.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
incomplete skeleton of female found in eastern Ethiopia in 1974
From this reading “TIMID LUCY,” “HEART AND HAND,” ETC.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading NEW YORK: ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH, 683 BROADWAY.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NEW YORK: ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH, 683 BROADWAY.
in or characteristic of a region of the United States south of (approximately) the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
plural of “state” — the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
showing fear and lack of confidence
From this reading “TIMID LUCY,” “HEART AND HAND,” ETC.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
characterized by unity; being or joined into a single entity
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading NEW YORK: ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH, 683 BROADWAY.
Chapter 1 of The Babes in the Basket by Sarah S. (Sarah Schoonmaker) Baker holds 504 sentences, grouped into 101 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 1 holds 504 sentences of The Babes in the Basket, unabridged, divided into 101 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Babes in the Basket by Sarah S. (Sarah Schoonmaker) Baker exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 504 sentences, grouped into 101 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 101 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 101 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 1 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 The Babes in the Basket by Sarah S. (Sarah Schoonmaker) Baker on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 995 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56819 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56819, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 82 minutes of reading across 199 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Babes in the Basket section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Babes in the Basket 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 The Babes in the Basket, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
