Chapter 16 of The Circus Boys in Dixie Land is here in full — 190 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Circus Boys in Dixie Land is here in full — 190 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE BATTLE OF THE ELEPHANTS "What!" "Yes, hurry!" and Phil sank back, weak from lack of food and the severe strain he had put upon himself. Mr. Sparling grasped the meaning of the lad's words in a flash. Snatching a whistle from his pocket he blew two short, shrill blasts. A mounted man came riding up at a gallop.
Chapter 16 of The Circus Boys in Dixie Land is here in full — 190 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
plural of “blast” — a very long fly ball
From this reading “Snatching a whistle from his pocket he blew two short, shrill blasts.”
plural of “elephant” — five-toed pachyderm
From this reading “THE BATTLE OF THE ELEPHANTS "What!"”
ride at a galloping pace
From this reading “A mounted man came riding up at a gallop.”
past form of “grasp” — hold firmly
From this reading “Mr. Sparling grasped the meaning of the lad's words in a flash.”
having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
From this reading “Snatching a whistle from his pocket he blew two short, shrill blasts.”
-ing form of “snatch” — to grasp hastily or eagerly
From this reading “Snatching a whistle from his pocket he blew two short, shrill blasts.”
common smelt of Europe
From this reading “Mr. Sparling grasped the meaning of the lad's words in a flash.”
make whistling sounds
From this reading “Snatching a whistle from his pocket he blew two short, shrill blasts.”
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 Mr. Sparling grasped the meaning of the lad's words in a flash.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Yes, hurry!" and Phil sank back, weak from lack of food and the severe strain he had put upon himself.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading A mounted man came riding up at a gallop.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading "Yes, hurry!" and Phil sank back, weak from lack of food and the severe strain he had put upon himself.
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading THE BATTLE OF THE ELEPHANTS "What!"
plural of “blast” — a very long fly ball
From this reading Snatching a whistle from his pocket he blew two short, shrill blasts.
inflected form of “blow” — exhale hard
From this reading Snatching a whistle from his pocket he blew two short, shrill blasts.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading A mounted man came riding up at a gallop.
plural of “elephant” — five-toed pachyderm
From this reading THE BATTLE OF THE ELEPHANTS "What!"
gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading Mr. Sparling grasped the meaning of the lad's words in a flash.
any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue
From this reading "Yes, hurry!" and Phil sank back, weak from lack of food and the severe strain he had put upon himself.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "Yes, hurry!" and Phil sank back, weak from lack of food and the severe strain he had put upon himself.
ride at a galloping pace
From this reading A mounted man came riding up at a gallop.
past form of “grasp” — hold firmly
From this reading Mr. Sparling grasped the meaning of the lad's words in a flash.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "Yes, hurry!" and Phil sank back, weak from lack of food and the severe strain he had put upon himself.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Yes, hurry!" and Phil sank back, weak from lack of food and the severe strain he had put upon himself.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading "Yes, hurry!" and Phil sank back, weak from lack of food and the severe strain he had put upon himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Snatching a whistle from his pocket he blew two short, shrill blasts.
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading "Yes, hurry!" and Phil sank back, weak from lack of food and the severe strain he had put upon himself.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Mr. Sparling grasped the meaning of the lad's words in a flash.
the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable
From this reading "Yes, hurry!" and Phil sank back, weak from lack of food and the severe strain he had put upon himself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr. Sparling grasped the meaning of the lad's words in a flash.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading A mounted man came riding up at a gallop.
the message that is intended or expressed or signified
From this reading Mr. Sparling grasped the meaning of the lad's words in a flash.
assembled for use; especially by being attached to a support
From this reading A mounted man came riding up at a gallop.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Sparling grasped the meaning of the lad's words in a flash.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE BATTLE OF THE ELEPHANTS "What!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Yes, hurry!" and Phil sank back, weak from lack of food and the severe strain he had put upon himself.
a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading Snatching a whistle from his pocket he blew two short, shrill blasts.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading "Yes, hurry!" and Phil sank back, weak from lack of food and the severe strain he had put upon himself.
the sport of sitting on the back of a horse while controlling its movements
From this reading A mounted man came riding up at a gallop.
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading "Yes, hurry!" and Phil sank back, weak from lack of food and the severe strain he had put upon himself.
intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality
From this reading "Yes, hurry!" and Phil sank back, weak from lack of food and the severe strain he had put upon himself.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading Snatching a whistle from his pocket he blew two short, shrill blasts.
having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
From this reading Snatching a whistle from his pocket he blew two short, shrill blasts.
-ing form of “snatch” — to grasp hastily or eagerly
From this reading Snatching a whistle from his pocket he blew two short, shrill blasts.
common smelt of Europe
From this reading Mr. Sparling grasped the meaning of the lad's words in a flash.
(physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces
From this reading "Yes, hurry!" and Phil sank back, weak from lack of food and the severe strain he had put upon himself.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BATTLE OF THE ELEPHANTS "What!"
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Snatching a whistle from his pocket he blew two short, shrill blasts.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading A mounted man came riding up at a gallop.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading "Yes, hurry!" and Phil sank back, weak from lack of food and the severe strain he had put upon himself.
wanting in physical strength
From this reading "Yes, hurry!" and Phil sank back, weak from lack of food and the severe strain he had put upon himself.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading THE BATTLE OF THE ELEPHANTS "What!"
make whistling sounds
From this reading Snatching a whistle from his pocket he blew two short, shrill blasts.
the words that are spoken
From this reading Mr. Sparling grasped the meaning of the lad's words in a flash.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, hurry!" and Phil sank back, weak from lack of food and the severe strain he had put upon himself.
Chapter 16 of The Circus Boys in Dixie Land by Edgar B. P. Darlington holds 190 sentences, grouped into 38 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 16 holds 190 sentences of The Circus Boys in Dixie Land, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Circus Boys in Dixie Land by Edgar B. P. Darlington exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 190 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 16 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 Circus Boys in Dixie Land by Edgar B. P. Darlington on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3735 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2476 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2476, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 311 minutes of reading across 747 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Circus Boys in Dixie Land section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Circus Boys in Dixie Land 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 Circus Boys in Dixie Land, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
