Chapter 9 of The Dust Flower is here in full — 237 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Dust Flower is here in full — 237 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
By the time Letty was drying her eyes, her heart somewhat eased, Steptoe had come back. He came back with a smile. Something had evidently pleased him. "So that's all over. Madam won't be bothered with other people's cat-nasty old servants after to-dye."
Chapter 9 of The Dust Flower is here in full — 237 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/47 · 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.
caused to show discomposure
From this reading “Madam won't be bothered with other people's cat-nasty old servants after to-dye."”
-ing form of “dry” — remove the moisture from and make dry
From this reading “By the time Letty was drying her eyes, her heart somewhat eased, Steptoe had come back.”
(of pain or sorrow) made easier to bear
From this reading “By the time Letty was drying her eyes, her heart somewhat eased, Steptoe had come back.”
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading “Something had evidently pleased him.”
a woman of refinement
From this reading “Madam won't be bothered with other people's cat-nasty old servants after to-dye."”
possessive form of “people” — (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading “Madam won't be bothered with other people's cat-nasty old servants after to-dye."”
experiencing or manifesting pleasure
From this reading “Something had evidently pleased him.”
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading “Madam won't be bothered with other people's cat-nasty old servants after to-dye."”
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 He came back with a smile.
later than; following
From this reading Madam won't be bothered with other people's cat-nasty old servants after to-dye."
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "So that's all over.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading By the time Letty was drying her eyes, her heart somewhat eased, Steptoe had come back.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Madam won't be bothered with other people's cat-nasty old servants after to-dye."
caused to show discomposure
From this reading Madam won't be bothered with other people's cat-nasty old servants after to-dye."
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By the time Letty was drying her eyes, her heart somewhat eased, Steptoe had come back.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading He came back with a smile.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Madam won't be bothered with other people's cat-nasty old servants after to-dye."
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading By the time Letty was drying her eyes, her heart somewhat eased, Steptoe had come back.
-ing form of “dry” — remove the moisture from and make dry
From this reading By the time Letty was drying her eyes, her heart somewhat eased, Steptoe had come back.
(of pain or sorrow) made easier to bear
From this reading By the time Letty was drying her eyes, her heart somewhat eased, Steptoe had come back.
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading Something had evidently pleased him.
opinion or judgment
From this reading By the time Letty was drying her eyes, her heart somewhat eased, Steptoe had come back.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading By the time Letty was drying her eyes, her heart somewhat eased, Steptoe had come back.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He came back with a smile.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading By the time Letty was drying her eyes, her heart somewhat eased, Steptoe had come back.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading By the time Letty was drying her eyes, her heart somewhat eased, Steptoe had come back.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Something had evidently pleased him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By the time Letty was drying her eyes, her heart somewhat eased, Steptoe had come back.
a woman of refinement
From this reading Madam won't be bothered with other people's cat-nasty old servants after to-dye."
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Madam won't be bothered with other people's cat-nasty old servants after to-dye."
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Madam won't be bothered with other people's cat-nasty old servants after to-dye."
above and across; more than
From this reading "So that's all over.
possessive form of “people” — (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading Madam won't be bothered with other people's cat-nasty old servants after to-dye."
experiencing or manifesting pleasure
From this reading Something had evidently pleased him.
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading Madam won't be bothered with other people's cat-nasty old servants after to-dye."
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading He came back with a smile.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "So that's all over.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading Something had evidently pleased him.
to a small degree or extent
From this reading By the time Letty was drying her eyes, her heart somewhat eased, Steptoe had come back.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By the time Letty was drying her eyes, her heart somewhat eased, Steptoe had come back.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "So that's all over.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading By the time Letty was drying her eyes, her heart somewhat eased, Steptoe had come back.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading By the time Letty was drying her eyes, her heart somewhat eased, Steptoe had come back.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Madam won't be bothered with other people's cat-nasty old servants after to-dye."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading By the time Letty was drying her eyes, her heart somewhat eased, Steptoe had come back.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He came back with a smile.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Madam won't be bothered with other people's cat-nasty old servants after to-dye."
Chapter 9 of The Dust Flower by Basil King holds 237 sentences, grouped into 48 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 237 sentences of The Dust Flower, unabridged, divided into 48 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Dust Flower by Basil King exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 237 sentences, grouped into 48 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 48 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 48 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 Dust Flower by Basil King on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6311 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #28590 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #28590, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 525 minutes of reading across 1263 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Dust Flower section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Dust Flower 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 Dust Flower, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
