Chapter 8 of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"And consequently, while we slept--" "Excuse me, I have not slept." "You have been keeping watch?" "Not for the buccaneers, my Lord. They left before daybreak. But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.
Chapter 8 of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
plural of “buccaneer” — someone who robs at sea or plunders the land from the sea without having a commission from any sovereign nation
From this reading “"Not for the buccaneers, my Lord.”
(sentence connectors) because of the reason given
From this reading “"And consequently, while we slept--" "Excuse me, I have not slept."”
the first light of day
From this reading “They left before daybreak.”
plural of “dog” — a member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds
From this reading “But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.”
accept an excuse for
From this reading “"And consequently, while we slept--" "Excuse me, I have not slept."”
the pursuit and killing or capture of wild animals regarded as a sport
From this reading “But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.”
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading “"And consequently, while we slept--" "Excuse me, I have not slept."”
suffering from lack of food
From this reading “But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.”
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 "And consequently, while we slept--" "Excuse me, I have not slept."
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "You have been keeping watch?"
earlier than; in front of
From this reading They left before daybreak.
plural of “buccaneer” — someone who robs at sea or plunders the land from the sea without having a commission from any sovereign nation
From this reading "Not for the buccaneers, my Lord.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.
(sentence connectors) because of the reason given
From this reading "And consequently, while we slept--" "Excuse me, I have not slept."
the first light of day
From this reading They left before daybreak.
plural of “dog” — a member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds
From this reading But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.
divisible by two
From this reading But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.
accept an excuse for
From this reading "And consequently, while we slept--" "Excuse me, I have not slept."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Not for the buccaneers, my Lord.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "And consequently, while we slept--" "Excuse me, I have not slept."
the pursuit and killing or capture of wild animals regarded as a sport
From this reading But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "And consequently, while we slept--" "Excuse me, I have not slept."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.
conformity or harmony
From this reading "You have been keeping watch?"
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 They left before daybreak.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading "Not for the buccaneers, my Lord.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "And consequently, while we slept--" "Excuse me, I have not slept."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Not for the buccaneers, my Lord.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "And consequently, while we slept--" "Excuse me, I have not slept."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading "And consequently, while we slept--" "Excuse me, I have not slept."
suffering from lack of food
From this reading But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Not for the buccaneers, my Lord.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They left before daybreak.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But the dogs of the city are starving, even as we: and like us they have taken to hunting in company.
look attentively
From this reading "You have been keeping watch?"
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "And consequently, while we slept--" "Excuse me, I have not slept."
during the time that
From this reading "And consequently, while we slept--" "Excuse me, I have not slept."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You have been keeping watch?"
Chapter 8 of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales by Arthur Quiller-Couch holds 419 sentences, grouped into 84 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 419 sentences of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales by Arthur Quiller-Couch exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 419 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales by Arthur Quiller-Couch on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4193 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12923 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12923, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 349 minutes of reading across 839 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales 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 Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
