Chapter 9 of The Drummer Boy is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Drummer Boy is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Jack groaned, and said no more. Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden. The road was near, and Jack was soon laid upon a stretcher. "Frank!" he gasped, rolling his eyes again, "don't leave me! For God's sake, stay by me, Frank!"
Chapter 9 of The Drummer Boy is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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 “assistant” — a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
From this reading “Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.”
a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading “Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.”
temporary loss of strength and energy resulting from hard physical or mental work
From this reading “Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.”
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading “"Frank!" he gasped, rolling his eyes again, "don't leave me!”
possessive form of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading “For God's sake, stay by me, Frank!"”
past form of “groan” — indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure
From this reading “Jack groaned, and said no more.”
uttered with a trill
From this reading “"Frank!" he gasped, rolling his eyes again, "don't leave me!”
a wooden framework on which canvas is stretched and fixed for oil painting
From this reading “The road was near, and Jack was soon laid upon a stretcher.”
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 The road was near, and Jack was soon laid upon a stretcher.
anew
From this reading "Frank!" he gasped, rolling his eyes again, "don't leave me!
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Jack groaned, and said no more.
plural of “assistant” — a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
the act of delivering or distributing something (as goods or mail)
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
an onerous or difficult concern
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading For God's sake, stay by me, Frank!"
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Frank!" he gasped, rolling his eyes again, "don't leave me!
drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
opinion or judgment
From this reading "Frank!" he gasped, rolling his eyes again, "don't leave me!
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
temporary loss of strength and energy resulting from hard physical or mental work
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For God's sake, stay by me, Frank!"
characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading "Frank!" he gasped, rolling his eyes again, "don't leave me!
possessive form of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading For God's sake, stay by me, Frank!"
past form of “groan” — indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure
From this reading Jack groaned, and said no more.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Frank!" he gasped, rolling his eyes again, "don't leave me!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
a small worthless amount
From this reading Jack groaned, and said no more.
set down according to a plan
From this reading The road was near, and Jack was soon laid upon a stretcher.
go away from a place
From this reading "Frank!" he gasped, rolling his eyes again, "don't leave me!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Frank!" he gasped, rolling his eyes again, "don't leave me!
come together
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Jack groaned, and said no more.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading The road was near, and Jack was soon laid upon a stretcher.
not any; not one
From this reading Jack groaned, and said no more.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
(of pain or sorrow) made easier to bear
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading The road was near, and Jack was soon laid upon a stretcher.
uttered with a trill
From this reading "Frank!" he gasped, rolling his eyes again, "don't leave me!
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Jack groaned, and said no more.
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading For God's sake, stay by me, Frank!"
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
in the near future
From this reading The road was near, and Jack was soon laid upon a stretcher.
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading For God's sake, stay by me, Frank!"
a wooden framework on which canvas is stretched and fixed for oil painting
From this reading The road was near, and Jack was soon laid upon a stretcher.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The road was near, and Jack was soon laid upon a stretcher.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
which person or people
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Assistants now came to meet them, and Frank, who was almost exhausted with the fatigue of bringing his comrade so far, was relieved of the burden.
Chapter 9 of The Drummer Boy by J. T. (John Townsend) Trowbridge holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 9 holds 410 sentences of The Drummer Boy, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Drummer Boy by J. T. (John Townsend) Trowbridge exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 9 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 Drummer Boy by J. T. (John Townsend) Trowbridge on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4288 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19999 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #19999, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 357 minutes of reading across 858 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Drummer Boy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Drummer Boy 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 Drummer Boy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
