Chapter 9 of The Higher Court is here in full — 107 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Higher Court is here in full — 107 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Sister Simplice told her beads in vain. Strange new rebellion threatened her accepted life. Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith. Tears scalded her cheeks; she could not keep them back. Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.
Chapter 9 of The Higher Court is here in full — 107 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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.
endowed with authority
From this reading “Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.”
several beads threaded together on a string
From this reading “Sister Simplice told her beads in vain.”
of or relating to or supporting Catholicism
From this reading “Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.”
past form of “doubt” — consider unlikely or have doubts about
From this reading “Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.”
of or belonging to or characteristic of this earth as distinguished from heaven
From this reading “Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.”
refusal to accept some authority or code or convention
From this reading “Strange new rebellion threatened her accepted life.”
past form of “scald” — subject to harsh criticism
From this reading “Tears scalded her cheeks; she could not keep them back.”
shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
From this reading “Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.”
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 “Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.”
In this reading “Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.”
move quickly to another scene or focus when filming
In this reading “Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.”
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 Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.
generally approved or compelling recognition
From this reading Strange new rebellion threatened her accepted life.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.
endowed with authority
From this reading Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Tears scalded her cheeks; she could not keep them back.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.
several beads threaded together on a string
From this reading Sister Simplice told her beads in vain.
on the far side of; further than
From this reading Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.
of or relating to or supporting Catholicism
From this reading Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.
plural of “cheek” — either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading Tears scalded her cheeks; she could not keep them back.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Tears scalded her cheeks; she could not keep them back.
past form of “count” — determine the number or amount of
From this reading Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.
past form of “doubt” — consider unlikely or have doubts about
From this reading Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.
of or belonging to or characteristic of this earth as distinguished from heaven
From this reading Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
From this reading Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.
an established custom
From this reading Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Sister Simplice told her beads in vain.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Sister Simplice told her beads in vain.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading Tears scalded her cheeks; she could not keep them back.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Strange new rebellion threatened her accepted life.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.
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 Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading Strange new rebellion threatened her accepted life.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Tears scalded her cheeks; she could not keep them back.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.
above and across; more than
From this reading Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.
a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders
From this reading Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.
refusal to accept some authority or code or convention
From this reading Strange new rebellion threatened her accepted life.
precisely, exactly
From this reading Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.
relating to or characteristic of people of Rome
From this reading Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.
past form of “scald” — subject to harsh criticism
From this reading Tears scalded her cheeks; she could not keep them back.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sister Simplice told her beads in vain.
estrangement from god
From this reading Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.
a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading Sister Simplice told her beads in vain.
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Strange new rebellion threatened her accepted life.
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading Tears scalded her cheeks; she could not keep them back.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Tears scalded her cheeks; she could not keep them back.
(of flora or fauna) likely in the near future to become endangered
From this reading Strange new rebellion threatened her accepted life.
neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front
From this reading Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading Sister Simplice told her beads in vain.
characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
From this reading Sister Simplice told her beads in vain.
be dressed in
From this reading Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.
shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
From this reading Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.
but in spite of that
From this reading Yet to weep over an earthly tie long cut away must be counted a sin against her soul.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Like the young priest in the room beyond, she doubted her right to wear the authorized habit of Roman Catholic faith.
Chapter 9 of The Higher Court by Mary Stewart Daggett holds 107 sentences, grouped into 22 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 9 holds 107 sentences of The Higher Court, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Higher Court by Mary Stewart Daggett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 107 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 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.
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.
