Chapter 8 of The Higher Court is here in full — 87 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Higher Court is here in full — 87 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"She has been gone an hour," said Sister Simplice. Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival. Outside the closed door of his mother's room he waited. "Tell me all!" he implored. "I must know the worst--before I see her.
Chapter 8 of The Higher Court is here in full — 87 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/17 · 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.
accomplishment of an objective
From this reading “Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.”
in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock
From this reading “Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.”
hold firmly
From this reading “Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.”
past form of “implore” — call upon in supplication; entreat
From this reading “"Tell me all!" he implored.”
very unhappy; full of misery
From this reading “Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.”
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 “Outside the closed door of his mother's room he waited.”
a woman religious
From this reading “Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.”
the topmost one of two
From this reading “Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.”
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 “Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.”
In this reading “Outside the closed door of his mother's room he waited.”
In this reading “Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.”
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.
(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 "Tell me all!" he implored.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "She has been gone an hour," said Sister Simplice.
accomplishment of an objective
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "She has been gone an hour," said Sister Simplice.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading "I must know the worst--before I see her.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading Outside the closed door of his mother's room he waited.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Outside the closed door of his mother's room he waited.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
a powerful effect or influence
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
destroyed or killed
From this reading "She has been gone an hour," said Sister Simplice.
hold firmly
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "She has been gone an hour," said Sister Simplice.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "I must know the worst--before I see her.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading "She has been gone an hour," said Sister Simplice.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I must know the worst--before I see her.
past form of “implore” — call upon in supplication; entreat
From this reading "Tell me all!" he implored.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "I must know the worst--before I see her.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Tell me all!" he implored.
very unhappy; full of misery
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
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 Outside the closed door of his mother's room he waited.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "I must know the worst--before I see her.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
a woman religious
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading Outside the closed door of his mother's room he waited.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Outside the closed door of his mother's room he waited.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "She has been gone an hour," said Sister Simplice.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "I must know the worst--before I see her.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "She has been gone an hour," said Sister Simplice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "She has been gone an hour," said Sister Simplice.
a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading "She has been gone an hour," said Sister Simplice.
express in words
From this reading "Tell me all!" he implored.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
the topmost one of two
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading Outside the closed door of his mother's room he waited.
the least favorable outcome
From this reading "I must know the worst--before I see her.
but in spite of that
From this reading Father Barry followed the nun, half dazed, to the upper hall, for as yet he could not grasp the force of his own miserable, late arrival.
Chapter 8 of The Higher Court by Mary Stewart Daggett holds 87 sentences, grouped into 18 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 8 holds 87 sentences of The Higher Court, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Higher Court by Mary Stewart Daggett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 87 sentences, grouped into 18 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 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 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 8 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 Higher Court by Mary Stewart Daggett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3977 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36509 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36509, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 331 minutes of reading across 796 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Higher Court section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of The Higher Court 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 Higher Court, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
