Chapter 12 of The Drums of War is here in full — 46 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Drums of War is here in full — 46 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WE RETURN HOME We left the forest, my father leaning on the arm of his second. One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage. "A strange end to our visit. Major von der Goltz," said my father. The Major bowed.
Chapter 12 of The Drums of War is here in full — 46 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.
of a stringed instrument; sounded by stroking with a bow
From this reading “The Major bowed.”
a railcar where passengers ride
From this reading “One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.”
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading “WE RETURN HOME We left the forest, my father leaning on the arm of his second.”
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading “WE RETURN HOME We left the forest, my father leaning on the arm of his second.”
provided with artificial light
From this reading “One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.”
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading “Major von der Goltz," said my father.”
past form of “precede” — be earlier in time; go back further
From this reading “One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.”
a light usually carried in the hand; consists of some flammable substance
From this reading “One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.”
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 “WE RETURN HOME We left the forest, my father leaning on the arm of his second.”
In this reading “One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.”
get involved in or with
In this reading “One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.”
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 One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading WE RETURN HOME We left the forest, my father leaning on the arm of his second.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.
of a stringed instrument; sounded by stroking with a bow
From this reading The Major bowed.
a railcar where passengers ride
From this reading One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Major von der Goltz," said my father.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading "A strange end to our visit.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading WE RETURN HOME We left the forest, my father leaning on the arm of his second.
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading WE RETURN HOME We left the forest, my father leaning on the arm of his second.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Major von der Goltz," said my father.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading WE RETURN HOME We left the forest, my father leaning on the arm of his second.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading WE RETURN HOME We left the forest, my father leaning on the arm of his second.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading WE RETURN HOME We left the forest, my father leaning on the arm of his second.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading WE RETURN HOME We left the forest, my father leaning on the arm of his second.
provided with artificial light
From this reading One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading Major von der Goltz," said my father.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading WE RETURN HOME We left the forest, my father leaning on the arm of his second.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading WE RETURN HOME We left the forest, my father leaning on the arm of his second.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading WE RETURN HOME We left the forest, my father leaning on the arm of his second.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading "A strange end to our visit.
past form of “precede” — be earlier in time; go back further
From this reading One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.
go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading WE RETURN HOME We left the forest, my father leaning on the arm of his second.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Major von der Goltz," said my father.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading WE RETURN HOME We left the forest, my father leaning on the arm of his second.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading "A strange end to our visit.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading WE RETURN HOME We left the forest, my father leaning on the arm of his second.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "A strange end to our visit.
a light usually carried in the hand; consists of some flammable substance
From this reading One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.
go to see a place, as for entertainment
From this reading "A strange end to our visit.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Major von der Goltz," said my father.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading WE RETURN HOME We left the forest, my father leaning on the arm of his second.
in the company of; together with
From this reading One man with a torch preceded us, and lit us as we got into the carriage.
Chapter 12 of The Drums of War by H. De Vere (Henry De Vere) Stacpoole holds 46 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 12 holds 46 sentences of The Drums of War, unabridged, divided into 10 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 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 46 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 12 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.
