Chapter 4 of The Bellman Book of Fiction, 1906-1919 is here in full — 435 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Bellman Book of Fiction, 1906-1919 is here in full — 435 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The old man’s jaw tightened. “I didn’t reckon much about hit a-tall,” he said. “Fact is, Jim went withouten my lief and agin my best jedgment.” He paused, but as the lawyer made no reply, went on: “Ye see, Jim ’as plumb crazy to go to war, soon as he heard hit had broke loose over yan.
Chapter 4 of The Bellman Book of Fiction, 1906-1919 is here in full — 435 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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.
affected with madness or insanity
From this reading ““Ye see, Jim ’as plumb crazy to go to war, soon as he heard hit had broke loose over yan.”
talk socially without exchanging too much information
From this reading “The old man’s jaw tightened.”
a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice
From this reading “He paused, but as the lawyer made no reply, went on:”
in a willing manner
From this reading ““Fact is, Jim went withouten my lief and agin my best jedgment.””
not compact or dense in structure or arrangement
From this reading ““Ye see, Jim ’as plumb crazy to go to war, soon as he heard hit had broke loose over yan.”
measure the depth of something
From this reading ““Ye see, Jim ’as plumb crazy to go to war, soon as he heard hit had broke loose over yan.”
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading ““I didn’t reckon much about hit a-tall,” he said.”
past form of “tighten” — make tight or tighter
From this reading “The old man’s jaw tightened.”
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.
continue a certain state, condition, or activity
In this reading “He paused, but as the lawyer made no reply, went on:”
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 “I didn’t reckon much about hit a-tall,” he said.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “I didn’t reckon much about hit a-tall,” he said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Fact is, Jim went withouten my lief and agin my best jedgment.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Fact is, Jim went withouten my lief and agin my best jedgment.”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He paused, but as the lawyer made no reply, went on:
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading “Fact is, Jim went withouten my lief and agin my best jedgment.”
lacking funds
From this reading “Ye see, Jim ’as plumb crazy to go to war, soon as he heard hit had broke loose over yan.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He paused, but as the lawyer made no reply, went on:
affected with madness or insanity
From this reading “Ye see, Jim ’as plumb crazy to go to war, soon as he heard hit had broke loose over yan.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I didn’t reckon much about hit a-tall,” he said.
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading “Fact is, Jim went withouten my lief and agin my best jedgment.”
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “Ye see, Jim ’as plumb crazy to go to war, soon as he heard hit had broke loose over yan.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “Ye see, Jim ’as plumb crazy to go to war, soon as he heard hit had broke loose over yan.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “I didn’t reckon much about hit a-tall,” he said.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading “Ye see, Jim ’as plumb crazy to go to war, soon as he heard hit had broke loose over yan.
cause to move by striking
From this reading “I didn’t reckon much about hit a-tall,” he said.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I didn’t reckon much about hit a-tall,” he said.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Fact is, Jim went withouten my lief and agin my best jedgment.”
talk socially without exchanging too much information
From this reading The old man’s jaw tightened.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Fact is, Jim went withouten my lief and agin my best jedgment.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Fact is, Jim went withouten my lief and agin my best jedgment.”
a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice
From this reading He paused, but as the lawyer made no reply, went on:
in a willing manner
From this reading “Fact is, Jim went withouten my lief and agin my best jedgment.”
not compact or dense in structure or arrangement
From this reading “Ye see, Jim ’as plumb crazy to go to war, soon as he heard hit had broke loose over yan.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading He paused, but as the lawyer made no reply, went on:
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The old man’s jaw tightened.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading “I didn’t reckon much about hit a-tall,” he said.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Fact is, Jim went withouten my lief and agin my best jedgment.”
not any; not one
From this reading He paused, but as the lawyer made no reply, went on:
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The old man’s jaw tightened.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He paused, but as the lawyer made no reply, went on:
above and across; more than
From this reading “Ye see, Jim ’as plumb crazy to go to war, soon as he heard hit had broke loose over yan.
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading He paused, but as the lawyer made no reply, went on:
measure the depth of something
From this reading “Ye see, Jim ’as plumb crazy to go to war, soon as he heard hit had broke loose over yan.
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading “I didn’t reckon much about hit a-tall,” he said.
a statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation
From this reading He paused, but as the lawyer made no reply, went on:
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I didn’t reckon much about hit a-tall,” he said.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “Ye see, Jim ’as plumb crazy to go to war, soon as he heard hit had broke loose over yan.
in the near future
From this reading “Ye see, Jim ’as plumb crazy to go to war, soon as he heard hit had broke loose over yan.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The old man’s jaw tightened.
past form of “tighten” — make tight or tighter
From this reading The old man’s jaw tightened.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Ye see, Jim ’as plumb crazy to go to war, soon as he heard hit had broke loose over yan.
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading “Ye see, Jim ’as plumb crazy to go to war, soon as he heard hit had broke loose over yan.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “Fact is, Jim went withouten my lief and agin my best jedgment.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Fact is, Jim went withouten my lief and agin my best jedgment.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Ye see, Jim ’as plumb crazy to go to war, soon as he heard hit had broke loose over yan.
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading “Ye see, Jim ’as plumb crazy to go to war, soon as he heard hit had broke loose over yan.
Chapter 4 of The Bellman Book of Fiction, 1906-1919 by William C. (William Crowell) [Editor] Edgar holds 435 sentences, grouped into 87 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 4 holds 435 sentences of The Bellman Book of Fiction, 1906-1919, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Bellman Book of Fiction, 1906-1919 by William C. (William Crowell) [Editor] Edgar exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 435 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 The Bellman Book of Fiction, 1906-1919 by William C. (William Crowell) [Editor] Edgar on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4725 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #57322 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #57322, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 393 minutes of reading across 945 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Bellman Book of Fiction, 1906-1919 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Bellman Book of Fiction, 1906-1919 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 Bellman Book of Fiction, 1906-1919, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
