Chapter 4 of The Chimney-Corner is here in full — 469 sentences across 94 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Chimney-Corner is here in full — 469 sentences across 94 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Well," said Marianne, "I begin to waver about my party. I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested. But, dear me! there's the baby. We'll finish the talk some other time." VIII.
Chapter 4 of The Chimney-Corner is here in full — 469 sentences across 94 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/93 · 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.
conforming to your own liking or feelings or nature
From this reading “I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.”
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading “But, dear me! there's the baby.”
plural of “debt” — the state of owing something (especially money)
From this reading “I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.”
come or bring to a finish or an end
From this reading “We'll finish the talk some other time."”
yielding a fair profit
From this reading “I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.”
past form of “prompt” — give an incentive for action
From this reading “I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.”
relating to human society and its members
From this reading “I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.”
pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading “"Well," said Marianne, "I begin to waver about my party.”
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.
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "Well," said Marianne, "I begin to waver about my party.
later than; following
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
conforming to your own liking or feelings or nature
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading But, dear me! there's the baby.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading "Well," said Marianne, "I begin to waver about my party.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
dearly loved
From this reading But, dear me! there's the baby.
plural of “debt” — the state of owing something (especially money)
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
come or bring to a finish or an end
From this reading We'll finish the talk some other time."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Well," said Marianne, "I begin to waver about my party.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well," said Marianne, "I begin to waver about my party.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But, dear me! there's the baby.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Well," said Marianne, "I begin to waver about my party.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading We'll finish the talk some other time."
an organization to gain political power
From this reading "Well," said Marianne, "I begin to waver about my party.
yielding a fair profit
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
by chance
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
past form of “prompt” — give an incentive for action
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Well," said Marianne, "I begin to waver about my party.
relating to human society and its members
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
past form of “suggest” — make a proposal, declare a plan for something
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading We'll finish the talk some other time."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But, dear me! there's the baby.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading We'll finish the talk some other time."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Well," said Marianne, "I begin to waver about my party.
make an effort or attempt
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
the cardinal number that is the sum of seven and one
From this reading VIII.
pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading "Well," said Marianne, "I begin to waver about my party.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading I don't know, after all, but the desire of paying off social debts prompted the idea; perhaps we might try some of the agreeable things suggested.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We'll finish the talk some other time."
(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 "Well," said Marianne, "I begin to waver about my party.
Chapter 4 of The Chimney-Corner by Harriet Beecher Stowe holds 469 sentences, grouped into 94 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 469 sentences of The Chimney-Corner, unabridged, divided into 94 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Chimney-Corner by Harriet Beecher Stowe exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 469 sentences, grouped into 94 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 94 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 94 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 Chimney-Corner by Harriet Beecher Stowe on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2362 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45415 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45415, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 196 minutes of reading across 473 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Chimney-Corner section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Chimney-Corner 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 Chimney-Corner, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
