Chapter 7 of The House of Martha is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The House of Martha is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
XXXIII. THE DISTANT TOPSAIL. I found Walkirk still fishing near the place where I had left him. "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you. Have you had good luck?"
Chapter 7 of The House of Martha is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
the state of being absent
From this reading “"I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.”
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading “"I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.”
separated in space or coming from or going to a distance
From this reading “THE DISTANT TOPSAIL.”
the act of someone who fishes as a diversion
From this reading “I found Walkirk still fishing near the place where I had left him.”
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading “Have you had good luck?"”
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading “I found Walkirk still fishing near the place where I had left him.”
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading “"I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.”
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading “"I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.”
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.
the state of being absent
From this reading "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.
separated in space or coming from or going to a distance
From this reading THE DISTANT TOPSAIL.
the act of someone who fishes as a diversion
From this reading I found Walkirk still fishing near the place where I had left him.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.
set up or found
From this reading I found Walkirk still fishing near the place where I had left him.
the act of departing
From this reading "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Have you had good luck?"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I found Walkirk still fishing near the place where I had left him.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Have you had good luck?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I found Walkirk still fishing near the place where I had left him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I found Walkirk still fishing near the place where I had left him.
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 I found Walkirk still fishing near the place where I had left him.
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 "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading Have you had good luck?"
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading I found Walkirk still fishing near the place where I had left him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading I found Walkirk still fishing near the place where I had left him.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.
not in physical motion
From this reading I found Walkirk still fishing near the place where I had left him.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE DISTANT TOPSAIL.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.
a sail (or either of a pair of sails) immediately above the lowermost sail of a mast and supported by a topmast
From this reading THE DISTANT TOPSAIL.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I found Walkirk still fishing near the place where I had left him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.
in or at the place that
From this reading I found Walkirk still fishing near the place where I had left him.
being three more than thirty
From this reading XXXIII.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I was beginning to be surprised at your long absence," he said, "and was thinking of going to look for you.
Chapter 7 of The House of Martha by Frank R. Stockton holds 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 7 holds 424 sentences of The House of Martha, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The House of Martha by Frank R. Stockton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 7 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 House of Martha by Frank R. Stockton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4658 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18822 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18822, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 388 minutes of reading across 932 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The House of Martha section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The House of Martha 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 House of Martha, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
