Chapter 5 of The Greatest Plague of Life is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Greatest Plague of Life is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HOW MARY TURNED OUT, AND HOW HER GOINGS-ON ON MY “AT-HOME” DAY NEARLY DROVE ME WILD. “Ay, laugh, ye fiends! laugh, laugh, ye fiends! Yes, by Heaven! yes, by Heaven! they’ve driven me mad! I see her dancing in the hall--I see her dancing in the hall-- I see her dancing--she heeds me not! Yes, by Heaven! yes, by Heaven! they’ve driven me mad!
Chapter 5 of The Greatest Plague of Life is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
taking a series of rhythmical steps (and movements) in time to music
From this reading “I see her dancing in the hall--I see her dancing in the hall-- I see her dancing--she heeds me not!”
compelled forcibly by an outside agency
From this reading “Yes, by Heaven! yes, by Heaven! they’ve driven me mad!”
a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together
From this reading “HOW MARY TURNED OUT, AND HOW HER GOINGS-ON ON MY “AT-HOME” DAY NEARLY DROVE ME WILD.”
plural of “fiend” — a cruel wicked and inhuman person
From this reading ““Ay, laugh, ye fiends! laugh, laugh, ye fiends!”
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading “Yes, by Heaven! yes, by Heaven! they’ve driven me mad!”
plural of “heed” — paying particular notice (as to children or helpless people)
From this reading “I see her dancing in the hall--I see her dancing in the hall-- I see her dancing--she heeds me not!”
the sound of laughing
From this reading ““Ay, laugh, ye fiends! laugh, laugh, ye fiends!”
roused to anger
From this reading “Yes, by Heaven! yes, by Heaven! they’ve driven me mad!”
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.
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 HOW MARY TURNED OUT, AND HOW HER GOINGS-ON ON MY “AT-HOME” DAY NEARLY DROVE ME WILD.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HOW MARY TURNED OUT, AND HOW HER GOINGS-ON ON MY “AT-HOME” DAY NEARLY DROVE ME WILD.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Ay, laugh, ye fiends! laugh, laugh, ye fiends!
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Yes, by Heaven! yes, by Heaven! they’ve driven me mad!
taking a series of rhythmical steps (and movements) in time to music
From this reading I see her dancing in the hall--I see her dancing in the hall-- I see her dancing--she heeds me not!
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading HOW MARY TURNED OUT, AND HOW HER GOINGS-ON ON MY “AT-HOME” DAY NEARLY DROVE ME WILD.
compelled forcibly by an outside agency
From this reading Yes, by Heaven! yes, by Heaven! they’ve driven me mad!
a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together
From this reading HOW MARY TURNED OUT, AND HOW HER GOINGS-ON ON MY “AT-HOME” DAY NEARLY DROVE ME WILD.
plural of “fiend” — a cruel wicked and inhuman person
From this reading “Ay, laugh, ye fiends! laugh, laugh, ye fiends!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HOW MARY TURNED OUT, AND HOW HER GOINGS-ON ON MY “AT-HOME” DAY NEARLY DROVE ME WILD.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading I see her dancing in the hall--I see her dancing in the hall-- I see her dancing--she heeds me not!
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading Yes, by Heaven! yes, by Heaven! they’ve driven me mad!
plural of “heed” — paying particular notice (as to children or helpless people)
From this reading I see her dancing in the hall--I see her dancing in the hall-- I see her dancing--she heeds me not!
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading HOW MARY TURNED OUT, AND HOW HER GOINGS-ON ON MY “AT-HOME” DAY NEARLY DROVE ME WILD.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HOW MARY TURNED OUT, AND HOW HER GOINGS-ON ON MY “AT-HOME” DAY NEARLY DROVE ME WILD.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I see her dancing in the hall--I see her dancing in the hall-- I see her dancing--she heeds me not!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I see her dancing in the hall--I see her dancing in the hall-- I see her dancing--she heeds me not!
the sound of laughing
From this reading “Ay, laugh, ye fiends! laugh, laugh, ye fiends!
roused to anger
From this reading Yes, by Heaven! yes, by Heaven! they’ve driven me mad!
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading HOW MARY TURNED OUT, AND HOW HER GOINGS-ON ON MY “AT-HOME” DAY NEARLY DROVE ME WILD.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading HOW MARY TURNED OUT, AND HOW HER GOINGS-ON ON MY “AT-HOME” DAY NEARLY DROVE ME WILD.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading HOW MARY TURNED OUT, AND HOW HER GOINGS-ON ON MY “AT-HOME” DAY NEARLY DROVE ME WILD.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading HOW MARY TURNED OUT, AND HOW HER GOINGS-ON ON MY “AT-HOME” DAY NEARLY DROVE ME WILD.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I see her dancing in the hall--I see her dancing in the hall-- I see her dancing--she heeds me not!
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading HOW MARY TURNED OUT, AND HOW HER GOINGS-ON ON MY “AT-HOME” DAY NEARLY DROVE ME WILD.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading HOW MARY TURNED OUT, AND HOW HER GOINGS-ON ON MY “AT-HOME” DAY NEARLY DROVE ME WILD.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I see her dancing in the hall--I see her dancing in the hall-- I see her dancing--she heeds me not!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I see her dancing in the hall--I see her dancing in the hall-- I see her dancing--she heeds me not!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I see her dancing in the hall--I see her dancing in the hall-- I see her dancing--she heeds me not!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Yes, by Heaven! yes, by Heaven! they’ve driven me mad!
moved around an axis or center
From this reading HOW MARY TURNED OUT, AND HOW HER GOINGS-ON ON MY “AT-HOME” DAY NEARLY DROVE ME WILD.
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading HOW MARY TURNED OUT, AND HOW HER GOINGS-ON ON MY “AT-HOME” DAY NEARLY DROVE ME WILD.
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading “Ay, laugh, ye fiends! laugh, laugh, ye fiends!
an affirmative
From this reading Yes, by Heaven! yes, by Heaven! they’ve driven me mad!
Chapter 5 of The Greatest Plague of Life by Augustus Mayhew holds 77 sentences, grouped into 16 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 5 holds 77 sentences of The Greatest Plague of Life, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Greatest Plague of Life by Augustus Mayhew exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 77 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 5 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 Greatest Plague of Life by Augustus Mayhew on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2503 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60562 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60562, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 208 minutes of reading across 501 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Greatest Plague of Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Greatest Plague of Life 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 Greatest Plague of Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
