Chapter 4 of The Dangerfield Talisman is here in full — 250 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Dangerfield Talisman is here in full — 250 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table. “Good morning, Douglas,” Cynthia greeted him. “You don’t seem quite your usual bright self to-day. A trifle heavy-eyed and even duller-looking than usual. Did the thunder keep you awake?”
Chapter 4 of The Dangerfield Talisman is here in full — 250 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/50 · 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.
not in a state of sleep; completely conscious
From this reading “Did the thunder keep you awake?””
(Greek mythology) the virgin goddess of the hunt and the Moon; daughter of Leto and twin sister of Apollo; identified with Roman Diana
From this reading “Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.”
United States politician who proposed that individual territories be allowed to decide whether they would have slavery; he engaged in a famous series of debates with Abraham Lincoln (1813-1861)
From this reading “Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.”
past form of “greet” — express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading ““Good morning, Douglas,” Cynthia greeted him.”
the Babylonian goddess of the watery deep and daughter of Ea
From this reading “Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.”
your consciousness of your own identity
From this reading ““You don’t seem quite your usual bright self to-day.”
move fast, noisily, and heavily
From this reading “Did the thunder keep you awake?””
a cold pudding made of layers of sponge cake spread with fruit or jelly; may be decorated with nuts, cream, or chocolate
From this reading “A trifle heavy-eyed and even duller-looking than usual.”
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 “Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.”
In this reading ““You don’t seem quite your usual bright self to-day.”
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 A trifle heavy-eyed and even duller-looking than usual.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.
not in a state of sleep; completely conscious
From this reading Did the thunder keep you awake?”
eat an early morning meal
From this reading Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading “You don’t seem quite your usual bright self to-day.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.
(Greek mythology) the virgin goddess of the hunt and the Moon; daughter of Leto and twin sister of Apollo; identified with Roman Diana
From this reading Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Did the thunder keep you awake?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You don’t seem quite your usual bright self to-day.
United States politician who proposed that individual territories be allowed to decide whether they would have slavery; he engaged in a famous series of debates with Abraham Lincoln (1813-1861)
From this reading Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A trifle heavy-eyed and even duller-looking than usual.
divisible by two
From this reading A trifle heavy-eyed and even duller-looking than usual.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.
set up or found
From this reading Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading “Good morning, Douglas,” Cynthia greeted him.
past form of “greet” — express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading “Good morning, Douglas,” Cynthia greeted him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A trifle heavy-eyed and even duller-looking than usual.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Good morning, Douglas,” Cynthia greeted him.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading Did the thunder keep you awake?”
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.
the Babylonian goddess of the watery deep and daughter of Ea
From this reading Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading “You don’t seem quite your usual bright self to-day.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “You don’t seem quite your usual bright self to-day.
your consciousness of your own identity
From this reading “You don’t seem quite your usual bright self to-day.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading A trifle heavy-eyed and even duller-looking than usual.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Did the thunder keep you awake?”
move fast, noisily, and heavily
From this reading Did the thunder keep you awake?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Douglas Fairmile, coming down to breakfast next morning, found Nina and Cynthia already at table.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You don’t seem quite your usual bright self to-day.
a cold pudding made of layers of sponge cake spread with fruit or jelly; may be decorated with nuts, cream, or chocolate
From this reading A trifle heavy-eyed and even duller-looking than usual.
occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
From this reading “You don’t seem quite your usual bright self to-day.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You don’t seem quite your usual bright self to-day.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You don’t seem quite your usual bright self to-day.
Chapter 4 of The Dangerfield Talisman by J. J. Connington holds 250 sentences, grouped into 50 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 250 sentences of The Dangerfield Talisman, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Dangerfield Talisman by J. J. Connington exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 250 sentences, grouped into 50 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 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 50 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 Dangerfield Talisman by J. J. Connington on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5835 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #73753 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #73753, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 486 minutes of reading across 1167 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Dangerfield Talisman section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The Dangerfield Talisman 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 Dangerfield Talisman, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
