Chapter 18 of The Chaplain of the Fleet is here in full — 259 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of The Chaplain of the Fleet is here in full — 259 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HOW NANCY RECKONED UP THE COMPANY. Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder. I held her out at arm's length. "You here, Nancy?" Then we kissed again.
Chapter 18 of The Chaplain of the Fleet is here in full — 259 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/51 · 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.
possessive form of “arm” — a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading “I held her out at arm's length.”
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading “Then we kissed again.”
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading “Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.”
a city in northeastern France in Lorraine
From this reading “HOW NANCY RECKONED UP THE COMPANY.”
-ing form of “prattle” — speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly
From this reading “Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.”
a rapid series of short loud sounds (as might be heard with a stethoscope in some types of respiratory disorders)
From this reading “Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.”
past form of “reckon” — expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading “HOW NANCY RECKONED UP THE COMPANY.”
comparative of “tall” — great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading “Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.”
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 “I held her out at arm's length.”
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 Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.
anew
From this reading Then we kissed again.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.
possessive form of “arm” — a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading I held her out at arm's length.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I held her out at arm's length.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading HOW NANCY RECKONED UP THE COMPANY.
(of animals) fully developed
From this reading Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.
only a very short time before
From this reading Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading I held her out at arm's length.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I held her out at arm's length.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "You here, Nancy?"
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HOW NANCY RECKONED UP THE COMPANY.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I held her out at arm's length.
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading Then we kissed again.
the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place
From this reading I held her out at arm's length.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.
a city in northeastern France in Lorraine
From this reading HOW NANCY RECKONED UP THE COMPANY.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading I held her out at arm's length.
-ing form of “prattle” — speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly
From this reading Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.
a rapid series of short loud sounds (as might be heard with a stethoscope in some types of respiratory disorders)
From this reading Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.
past form of “reckon” — expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading HOW NANCY RECKONED UP THE COMPANY.
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.
comparative of “tall” — great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Nancy Levett herself, pretty and merry, prattling, rattling Nancy, not grown a bit, and hardly taller than my shoulder.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading HOW NANCY RECKONED UP THE COMPANY.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then we kissed again.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading HOW NANCY RECKONED UP THE COMPANY.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Then we kissed again.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You here, Nancy?"
Chapter 18 of The Chaplain of the Fleet by Walter Besant holds 259 sentences, grouped into 52 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 18 holds 259 sentences of The Chaplain of the Fleet, unabridged, divided into 52 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The Chaplain of the Fleet by Walter Besant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 259 sentences, grouped into 52 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 52 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 52 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 18 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 Chaplain of the Fleet by Walter Besant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7971 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45734 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45734, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1595 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Chaplain of the Fleet section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of The Chaplain of the Fleet 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 Chaplain of the Fleet, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
