Chapter 34 of The Higher Court is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIV
Chapter 34 of The Higher Court is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Time dragged for Isabel. Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco. Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay. Isabel sat for hours listening and waiting. Still no word from Philip.
Chapter 34 of The Higher Court is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
From this reading “Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.”
the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information
From this reading “Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.”
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading “Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.”
inflected form of “drag” — pull, as against a resistance
From this reading “Time dragged for Isabel.”
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading “Isabel sat for hours listening and waiting.”
Englishman and husband of Elizabeth II (born 1921)
From this reading “Still no word from Philip.”
having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully
From this reading “Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.”
destroyed in an accident
From this reading “Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.”
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.
make a break in
In this reading “Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.”
In this reading “Isabel sat for hours listening and waiting.”
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.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Isabel sat for hours listening and waiting.
an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
From this reading Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.
the act of burning something
From this reading Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.
the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information
From this reading Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.
without deviation
From this reading Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco.
inflected form of “drag” — pull, as against a resistance
From this reading Time dragged for Isabel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Time dragged for Isabel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco.
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading Isabel sat for hours listening and waiting.
marked by or promising bad fortune
From this reading Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Time dragged for Isabel.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco.
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading Isabel sat for hours listening and waiting.
not any; not one
From this reading Still no word from Philip.
the region of the United States lying to the north of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco.
Englishman and husband of Elizabeth II (born 1921)
From this reading Still no word from Philip.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Isabel sat for hours listening and waiting.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco.
not in physical motion
From this reading Still no word from Philip.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Time dragged for Isabel.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco.
having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully
From this reading Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.
characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
From this reading Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading Isabel sat for hours listening and waiting.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Like every one else with friends in the North, she tried in vain to hear directly from San Francisco.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading Still no word from Philip.
destroyed in an accident
From this reading Communication had been completely cut off for the ill-fated city; wrecked, now burning above the useless bay.
Chapter 34 of The Higher Court by Mary Stewart Daggett holds 119 sentences, grouped into 24 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 34 holds 119 sentences of The Higher Court, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 34 of The Higher Court by Mary Stewart Daggett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 119 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 34 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.
