Chapter 15 of The First of the English: A Novel is here in full — 188 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The First of the English: A Novel is here in full — 188 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE BATTLE ON SKATES. Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem. We’re only twenty miles away from—the woman I love—hurry.” “If the ice holds,” mutters Guy, “we’ll get to the next world before Haarlem. We can only stay here and die on our vessels.
Chapter 15 of The First of the English: A Novel is here in full — 188 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
with excitement; in an excited manner
From this reading “Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.”
plural of “hold” — the act of grasping
From this reading ““If the ice holds,” mutters Guy, “we’ll get to the next world before Haarlem.”
a listing printed in all issues of a newspaper or magazine (usually on the editorial page) that gives the name of the publication and the names of the editorial staff, etc.
From this reading “Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.”
plural of “mutter” — a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
From this reading ““If the ice holds,” mutters Guy, “we’ll get to the next world before Haarlem.”
United States jazz musician who influenced the style of Louis Armstrong (1885-1938)
From this reading “Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.”
plural of “skate” — sports equipment that is worn on the feet to enable the wearer to glide along and to be propelled by the alternate actions of the legs
From this reading “THE BATTLE ON SKATES.”
a tall tower that forms the superstructure of a building (usually a church or temple) and that tapers to a point at the top
From this reading “Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.”
plural of “whisper” — speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading “Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.”
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’re only twenty miles away from—the woman I love—hurry.””
In this reading “We can only stay here and die on our vessels.”
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
In this reading “Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.”
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 Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading We’re only twenty miles away from—the woman I love—hurry.”
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading THE BATTLE ON SKATES.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading “If the ice holds,” mutters Guy, “we’ll get to the next world before Haarlem.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.
one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
From this reading Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading We can only stay here and die on our vessels.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.
with excitement; in an excited manner
From this reading Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “If the ice holds,” mutters Guy, “we’ll get to the next world before Haarlem.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.
an informal term for a youth or man
From this reading “If the ice holds,” mutters Guy, “we’ll get to the next world before Haarlem.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading We can only stay here and die on our vessels.
plural of “hold” — the act of grasping
From this reading “If the ice holds,” mutters Guy, “we’ll get to the next world before Haarlem.
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading We’re only twenty miles away from—the woman I love—hurry.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.
water frozen in the solid state
From this reading “If the ice holds,” mutters Guy, “we’ll get to the next world before Haarlem.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “If the ice holds,” mutters Guy, “we’ll get to the next world before Haarlem.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading We’re only twenty miles away from—the woman I love—hurry.”
a listing printed in all issues of a newspaper or magazine (usually on the editorial page) that gives the name of the publication and the names of the editorial staff, etc.
From this reading Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.
plural of “mile” — a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading We’re only twenty miles away from—the woman I love—hurry.”
plural of “mutter” — a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
From this reading “If the ice holds,” mutters Guy, “we’ll get to the next world before Haarlem.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading “If the ice holds,” mutters Guy, “we’ll get to the next world before Haarlem.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.
United States jazz musician who influenced the style of Louis Armstrong (1885-1938)
From this reading Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading THE BATTLE ON SKATES.
and nothing more
From this reading We’re only twenty miles away from—the woman I love—hurry.”
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading We can only stay here and die on our vessels.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.
plural of “skate” — sports equipment that is worn on the feet to enable the wearer to glide along and to be propelled by the alternate actions of the legs
From this reading THE BATTLE ON SKATES.
a tall tower that forms the superstructure of a building (usually a church or temple) and that tapers to a point at the top
From this reading Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading We can only stay here and die on our vessels.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BATTLE ON SKATES.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “If the ice holds,” mutters Guy, “we’ll get to the next world before Haarlem.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading We’re only twenty miles away from—the woman I love—hurry.”
plural of “vessel” — a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading We can only stay here and die on our vessels.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We can only stay here and die on our vessels.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “If the ice holds,” mutters Guy, “we’ll get to the next world before Haarlem.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We’re only twenty miles away from—the woman I love—hurry.”
plural of “whisper” — speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading We’re only twenty miles away from—the woman I love—hurry.”
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading “If the ice holds,” mutters Guy, “we’ll get to the next world before Haarlem.
Chapter 15 of The First of the English: A Novel by Archibald Clavering Gunter holds 188 sentences, grouped into 38 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 15 holds 188 sentences of The First of the English: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The First of the English: A Novel by Archibald Clavering Gunter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 188 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 15 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.
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