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The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910)
The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910)

Chapter IX · Chapter 9

Chapter 9 of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) is here in full — 1121 sentences across 225 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910)
Context Illustration Reading 1/224 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"SLEEPING IN."
Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.
Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.
Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.
When on earth was safety for young maidens Far from mother's love and father's care?
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LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910)

Chapter IX · Chapter 9

Chapter 9 of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) is here in full — 1121 sentences across 225 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/224 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"SLEEPING IN."
/ˈsliːpɪŋ ɪn/
Line 2
Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.
/men hæv mɑːrtʃt ɪn ˈɑːrmiz fliːts hæv bɔːrn ðem left ðer hoʊmz nuː ˈkʌntriz tuː səbˈduː jʌŋ men ˈsiːkɪŋ ˈfɔːrtʃən waɪd hæv ˈwɑːndərd wiː hæv ˈsʌmθɪŋ nuː/
Line 3
Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.
/ˈɑːrmiz ʌv jʌŋ ˈmeɪdənz krɔːs ˈaʊər ˈoʊʃənz liːv ðer ˈmʌðərz lʌv ðer ˈfɑːðərz ker ˈmeɪdənz jʌŋ ənd ˈhelpləs ˈwaɪdli ˈwɑːndər ˈbɜːrdənz nuː tuː ber/
Line 4
Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.
/streɪndʒ ðə lænd ənd ˈlæŋɡwədʒ lɔːz ənd ˈkʌstəmz ˈɪɡnərənt ənd ɔːl əˈloʊn ðeɪ kʌm ˈmeɪdənz jʌŋ ənd ˈhelpləs ˈsɜːrvɪŋ ˈstreɪndʒərz ðʌs wiː kiːp ðə hoʊm/
Line 5
When on earth was safety for young maidens Far from mother's love and father's care?
/wen ɑːn ɜːrθ wɑːz ˈseɪfti fɔːr jʌŋ ˈmeɪdənz fɑːr frʌm ˈmʌðərz lʌv ənd ˈfɑːðərz ker/

Learner Dictionary

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.

armies noun US /ˈɑːrmiz/

plural of “army” — a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state

From this reading “Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.”

Burdens noun US /ˈbɜːrdənz/

plural of “burden” — an onerous or difficult concern

From this reading “Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.”

fleets noun US /fliːts/

plural of “fleet” — group of aircraft operating together under the same ownership

From this reading “Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.”

maidens noun US /ˈmeɪdənz/

plural of “maiden” — an unmarried girl (especially a virgin)

From this reading “Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.”

oceans noun US /ˈoʊʃənz/

plural of “ocean” — a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere

From this reading “Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.”

serving noun US /ˈsɜːrvɪŋ/

an individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal

From this reading “Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.”

subdue verb US /səbˈduː/

put down by force or intimidation

From this reading “Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.”

widely adverb US /ˈwaɪdli/

to a great degree

From this reading “Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.”

All words in this reading · 63

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.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.

aloneadjectiveUS /əˈloʊn/

Having no one else present.

From this reading Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.

armiesnounUS /ˈɑːrmiz/

plural of “army” — a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

bearverbUS /ber/

have

From this reading Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.

borneverbUS /bɔːrn/

inflected form of “bear” — have

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

BurdensnounUS /ˈbɜːrdənz/

plural of “burden” — an onerous or difficult concern

From this reading Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.

carenounUS /ker/

the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something

From this reading Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.

comeverbUS /kʌm/

move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

From this reading Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.

countriesnounUS /ˈkʌntriz/

plural of “country” — a politically organized body of people under a single government

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

crossverbUS /krɔːs/

travel across or pass over

From this reading Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.

customsnounUS /ˈkʌstəmz/

money collected under a tariff

From this reading Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.

earthnounUS /ɜːrθ/

the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on

From this reading When on earth was safety for young maidens Far from mother's love and father's care?

FaradverbUS /fɑːr/

to a considerable degree; very much

From this reading When on earth was safety for young maidens Far from mother's love and father's care?

father'snounUS /ˈfɑːðərz/

possessive form of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)

From this reading Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.

fleetsnounUS /fliːts/

plural of “fleet” — group of aircraft operating together under the same ownership

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading When on earth was safety for young maidens Far from mother's love and father's care?

fortunenounUS /ˈfɔːrtʃən/

an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading When on earth was safety for young maidens Far from mother's love and father's care?

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

helplessadjectiveUS /ˈhelpləs/

lacking in or deprived of strength or power

From this reading Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.

HomenounUS /hoʊm/

where you live at a particular time

From this reading Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.

homesnounUS /hoʊmz/

plural of “home” — where you live at a particular time

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

IgnorantadjectiveUS /ˈɪɡnərənt/

uneducated in general; lacking knowledge or sophistication

From this reading Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.

INprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading "SLEEPING IN."

keepverbUS /kiːp/

cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”

From this reading Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.

landnounUS /lænd/

the land on which real estate is located

From this reading Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.

languagenounUS /ˈlæŋɡwədʒ/

a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols

From this reading Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.

lawsnounUS /lɔːz/

the first of three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures comprising the first five books of the Hebrew Bible considered as a unit

From this reading Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.

LeaveverbUS /liːv/

go away from a place

From this reading Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.

LeftnounUS /left/

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 Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

lovenounUS /lʌv/

a strong positive emotion of regard and affection

From this reading Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.

maidensnounUS /ˈmeɪdənz/

plural of “maiden” — an unmarried girl (especially a virgin)

From this reading Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.

marchedverbUS /mɑːrtʃt/

past form of “march” — march in a procession

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

MennounUS /men/

the force of workers available

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

mother'snounUS /ˈmʌðərz/

possessive form of “mother” — a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)

From this reading Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.

newadjectiveUS /nuː/

not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

oceansnounUS /ˈoʊʃənz/

plural of “ocean” — a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere

From this reading Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading When on earth was safety for young maidens Far from mother's love and father's care?

ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.

safetynounUS /ˈseɪfti/

the state of being certain that adverse effects will not be caused by some agent under defined conditions

From this reading When on earth was safety for young maidens Far from mother's love and father's care?

seekingnounUS /ˈsiːkɪŋ/

the act of searching for something

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

servingnounUS /ˈsɜːrvɪŋ/

an individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal

From this reading Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.

SLEEPINGnounUS /ˈsliːpɪŋ/

the state of being asleep

From this reading "SLEEPING IN."

somethingpronounUS /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

a thing, without saying which

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

StrangeadjectiveUS /streɪndʒ/

being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird

From this reading Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.

strangersnounUS /ˈstreɪndʒərz/

plural of “stranger” — anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found

From this reading Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.

subdueverbUS /səbˈduː/

put down by force or intimidation

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.

ThusadverbUS /ðʌs/

(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result

From this reading Strange the land and language, laws and customs; Ignorant and all alone they come; Maidens young and helpless, serving strangers, Thus we keep the Home.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

wanderverbUS /ˈwɑːndər/

move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment

From this reading Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.

wanderedverbUS /ˈwɑːndərd/

past form of “wander” — move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading When on earth was safety for young maidens Far from mother's love and father's care?

WepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

WhenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading When on earth was safety for young maidens Far from mother's love and father's care?

wideadjectiveUS /waɪd/

having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

widelyadverbUS /ˈwaɪdli/

to a great degree

From this reading Armies of young maidens cross our oceans; Leave their mother's love, their father's care; Maidens, young and helpless, widely wander, Burdens new to bear.

YoungadjectiveUS /jʌŋ/

(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth

From this reading Men have marched in armies, fleets have borne them, Left their homes new countries to subdue; Young men seeking fortune wide have wandered-- We have something new.

Chapter 9 of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) by Charlotte Perkins [Editor] Gilman holds 1121 sentences, grouped into 225 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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.

What does chapter 9 of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) contain?

Chapter 9 holds 1121 sentences of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910), unabridged, divided into 225 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 9 of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) by Charlotte Perkins [Editor] Gilman exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1121 sentences, grouped into 225 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.

How do I study chapter 9 of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910)?

Work through the 225 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 225 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.

Can chapter 9 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910)

Common questions about reading The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) by Charlotte Perkins [Editor] Gilman on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910)?

Yes. All 15474 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3017 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #3017, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) take to read?

About 600 minutes of reading across 3095 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) section by section

How to work through The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910)

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910), each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Partner
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910); the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Patron
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910); the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Helpless
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910); the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Hapless
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910); the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.