Chapter 31 of The Fall of a Nation is here in full — 218 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of The Fall of a Nation is here in full — 218 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The orderly who searched the house found two shotguns. The Colonel who had quartered his staff for the night pointed to the two old men. “Arrest them--you understand.” Andrew Vassar knew what the brief clause with which the order ended meant. He crossed himself and breathed a prayer for the safety of his loved ones.
Chapter 31 of The Fall of a Nation is here in full — 218 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
(New Testament) disciple of Jesus; brother of Peter; patron saint of Scotland
From this reading “Andrew Vassar knew what the brief clause with which the order ended meant.”
take into custody
From this reading ““Arrest them--you understand.””
uttered without voice
From this reading “He crossed himself and breathed a prayer for the safety of his loved ones.”
(grammar) an expression including a subject and predicate functioning as a part of a complex sentence
From this reading “Andrew Vassar knew what the brief clause with which the order ended meant.”
a soldier who serves as an attendant to a superior officer
From this reading “The orderly who searched the house found two shotguns.”
past form of “search” — try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of
From this reading “The orderly who searched the house found two shotguns.”
plural of “shotgun” — firearm that is a double-barreled smoothbore shoulder weapon for firing shot at short ranges
From this reading “The orderly who searched the house found two shotguns.”
personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task
From this reading “The Colonel who had quartered his staff for the night pointed to the two old men.”
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 “The Colonel who had quartered his staff for the night pointed to the two old men.”
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 crossed himself and breathed a prayer for the safety of his loved ones.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He crossed himself and breathed a prayer for the safety of his loved ones.
(New Testament) disciple of Jesus; brother of Peter; patron saint of Scotland
From this reading Andrew Vassar knew what the brief clause with which the order ended meant.
take into custody
From this reading “Arrest them--you understand.”
uttered without voice
From this reading He crossed himself and breathed a prayer for the safety of his loved ones.
of short duration or distance
From this reading Andrew Vassar knew what the brief clause with which the order ended meant.
(grammar) an expression including a subject and predicate functioning as a part of a complex sentence
From this reading Andrew Vassar knew what the brief clause with which the order ended meant.
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading The Colonel who had quartered his staff for the night pointed to the two old men.
placed crosswise
From this reading He crossed himself and breathed a prayer for the safety of his loved ones.
having come or been brought to a conclusion
From this reading Andrew Vassar knew what the brief clause with which the order ended meant.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The Colonel who had quartered his staff for the night pointed to the two old men.
set up or found
From this reading The orderly who searched the house found two shotguns.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The Colonel who had quartered his staff for the night pointed to the two old men.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He crossed himself and breathed a prayer for the safety of his loved ones.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He crossed himself and breathed a prayer for the safety of his loved ones.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The Colonel who had quartered his staff for the night pointed to the two old men.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading The orderly who searched the house found two shotguns.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Andrew Vassar knew what the brief clause with which the order ended meant.
held dear
From this reading He crossed himself and breathed a prayer for the safety of his loved ones.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading Andrew Vassar knew what the brief clause with which the order ended meant.
the force of workers available
From this reading The Colonel who had quartered his staff for the night pointed to the two old men.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading The Colonel who had quartered his staff for the night pointed to the two old men.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He crossed himself and breathed a prayer for the safety of his loved ones.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The Colonel who had quartered his staff for the night pointed to the two old men.
plural of “one” — the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
From this reading He crossed himself and breathed a prayer for the safety of his loved ones.
(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading Andrew Vassar knew what the brief clause with which the order ended meant.
a soldier who serves as an attendant to a superior officer
From this reading The orderly who searched the house found two shotguns.
having a point
From this reading The Colonel who had quartered his staff for the night pointed to the two old men.
the act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving)
From this reading He crossed himself and breathed a prayer for the safety of his loved ones.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Colonel who had quartered his staff for the night pointed to the two old men.
the state of being certain that adverse effects will not be caused by some agent under defined conditions
From this reading He crossed himself and breathed a prayer for the safety of his loved ones.
past form of “search” — try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of
From this reading The orderly who searched the house found two shotguns.
plural of “shotgun” — firearm that is a double-barreled smoothbore shoulder weapon for firing shot at short ranges
From this reading The orderly who searched the house found two shotguns.
personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task
From this reading The Colonel who had quartered his staff for the night pointed to the two old men.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The orderly who searched the house found two shotguns.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading “Arrest them--you understand.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The Colonel who had quartered his staff for the night pointed to the two old men.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading The orderly who searched the house found two shotguns.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading “Arrest them--you understand.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Andrew Vassar knew what the brief clause with which the order ended meant.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Andrew Vassar knew what the brief clause with which the order ended meant.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Andrew Vassar knew what the brief clause with which the order ended meant.
which person or people
From this reading The orderly who searched the house found two shotguns.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Andrew Vassar knew what the brief clause with which the order ended meant.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Arrest them--you understand.”
Chapter 31 of The Fall of a Nation by Thomas, Jr. Dixon holds 218 sentences, grouped into 44 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 31 holds 218 sentences of The Fall of a Nation, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of The Fall of a Nation by Thomas, Jr. Dixon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 218 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 31 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 Fall of a Nation by Thomas, Jr. Dixon on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4991 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48089 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48089, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 415 minutes of reading across 999 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Fall of a Nation section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Fall of a Nation 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 Fall of a Nation, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
