Chapter 17 of The Fire Trumpet is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Fire Trumpet is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Ah. Well, now, I think there's something in them. And I'll tell you what it is, Payne. If I were a married man like you I'd send my family away to King [King Williamstown. The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
Chapter 17 of The Fire Trumpet is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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 clothing) very short
From this reading “The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.”
the people of Great Britain
From this reading “The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.”
a person who is in charge
From this reading “The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.”
under normal conditions
From this reading “The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.”
be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading “The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.”
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading “The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.”
in or at or to some place
From this reading “The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.”
a town in northwestern Massachusetts
From this reading “If I were a married man like you I'd send my family away to King [King Williamstown.”
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.
be contingent on
In this reading “The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.”
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
In this reading “If I were a married man like you I'd send my family away to King [King Williamstown.”
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 If I were a married man like you I'd send my family away to King [King Williamstown.
(of clothing) very short
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ah.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And I'll tell you what it is, Payne.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading If I were a married man like you I'd send my family away to King [King Williamstown.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
the people of Great Britain
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
a person who is in charge
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
under normal conditions
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
a social unit living together
From this reading If I were a married man like you I'd send my family away to King [King Williamstown.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Well, now, I think there's something in them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If I were a married man like you I'd send my family away to King [King Williamstown.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And I'll tell you what it is, Payne.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If I were a married man like you I'd send my family away to King [King Williamstown.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Well, now, I think there's something in them.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And I'll tell you what it is, Payne.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading And I'll tell you what it is, Payne.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading If I were a married man like you I'd send my family away to King [King Williamstown.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading If I were a married man like you I'd send my family away to King [King Williamstown.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading If I were a married man like you I'd send my family away to King [King Williamstown.
joined in matrimony
From this reading If I were a married man like you I'd send my family away to King [King Williamstown.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading If I were a married man like you I'd send my family away to King [King Williamstown.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Well, now, I think there's something in them.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And I'll tell you what it is, Payne.
cause to go somewhere
From this reading If I were a married man like you I'd send my family away to King [King Williamstown.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading Well, now, I think there's something in them.
in or at or to some place
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
express in words
From this reading And I'll tell you what it is, Payne.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Well, now, I think there's something in them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, now, I think there's something in them.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading Well, now, I think there's something in them.
(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading If I were a married man like you I'd send my family away to King [King Williamstown.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Well, now, I think there's something in them.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading If I were a married man like you I'd send my family away to King [King Williamstown.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading And I'll tell you what it is, Payne.
a town in northwestern Massachusetts
From this reading If I were a married man like you I'd send my family away to King [King Williamstown.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading The chief town of British Kaffraria, commonly thus abbreviated] or somewhere, for depend upon it we shall have hot work here before long.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading And I'll tell you what it is, Payne.
Chapter 17 of The Fire Trumpet by Bertram Mitford holds 406 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 17 holds 406 sentences of The Fire Trumpet, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Fire Trumpet by Bertram Mitford exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 406 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 17 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 Fire Trumpet by Bertram Mitford on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13630 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36592 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36592, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2726 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Fire Trumpet section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of The Fire Trumpet 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 Fire Trumpet, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
