Chapter 10 of The Drums of War is here in full — 48 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of The Drums of War is here in full — 48 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE DEATH OF VOGEL "Joubert, what is father doing?" "He is playing cards down below with the gentlemen." I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward. "Joubert, I wish he were here." "Why?"
Chapter 10 of The Drums of War is here in full — 48 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/9 · 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.
eagerly desirous
From this reading “I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.”
a game played with playing cards
From this reading “"He is playing cards down below with the gentlemen."”
on a floor below
From this reading “I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.”
take in liquids
From this reading “I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.”
-ing form of “expedite” — speed up the progress of; facilitate
From this reading “I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.”
plural of “gentleman” — a man of refinement
From this reading “"He is playing cards down below with the gentlemen."”
plural of “movement” — a change of position that does not entail a change of location
From this reading “I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.”
the act of playing a musical instrument
From this reading “"He is playing cards down below with the gentlemen."”
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 “"He is playing cards down below with the gentlemen."”
In this reading “I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.”
In this reading “I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.”
In this reading “I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
eagerly desirous
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading "He is playing cards down below with the gentlemen."
a game played with playing cards
From this reading "He is playing cards down below with the gentlemen."
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading THE DEATH OF VOGEL "Joubert, what is father doing?"
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading THE DEATH OF VOGEL "Joubert, what is father doing?"
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "He is playing cards down below with the gentlemen."
on a floor below
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
take in liquids
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
-ing form of “expedite” — speed up the progress of; facilitate
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading THE DEATH OF VOGEL "Joubert, what is father doing?"
plural of “gentleman” — a man of refinement
From this reading "He is playing cards down below with the gentlemen."
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "He is playing cards down below with the gentlemen."
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Joubert, I wish he were here."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE DEATH OF VOGEL "Joubert, what is father doing?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE DEATH OF VOGEL "Joubert, what is father doing?"
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
used to form the superlative
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
plural of “movement” — a change of position that does not entail a change of location
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE DEATH OF VOGEL "Joubert, what is father doing?"
the act of playing a musical instrument
From this reading "He is playing cards down below with the gentlemen."
Identical; not different.
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE DEATH OF VOGEL "Joubert, what is father doing?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE DEATH OF VOGEL "Joubert, what is father doing?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I was undressing to go to bed that same night, and Joubert was expediting my movements, anxious, most likely, to go downstairs and drink with the house-steward.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Joubert, I wish he were here."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading THE DEATH OF VOGEL "Joubert, what is father doing?"
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why?"
hope for; have a wish
From this reading "Joubert, I wish he were here."
in the company of; together with
From this reading "He is playing cards down below with the gentlemen."
Chapter 10 of The Drums of War by H. De Vere (Henry De Vere) Stacpoole holds 48 sentences, grouped into 10 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 10 holds 48 sentences of The Drums of War, unabridged, divided into 10 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of The Drums of War by H. De Vere (Henry De Vere) Stacpoole exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 48 sentences, grouped into 10 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 10 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 10 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 10 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 Drums of War by H. De Vere (Henry De Vere) Stacpoole on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4188 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55148 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55148, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 349 minutes of reading across 838 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Drums of War section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Drums of War 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 Drums of War, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
