Chapter 4 of The Lion and the Unicorn is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Lion and the Unicorn is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“It’s all right,” he said; “the author insists.” Wimpole waved his stick again as though it were the magic wand of the good fairy. “You shall have it,” he said. “I recall your performance in ‘The New Boy’ with pleasure. I take the play, and Miss Cavendish shall be cast for Nancy.
Chapter 4 of The Lion and the Unicorn is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
British chemist and physicist who established that water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen and who calculated the density of the earth (1731-1810)
From this reading “I take the play, and Miss Cavendish shall be cast for Nancy.”
a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
From this reading “Wimpole waved his stick again as though it were the magic wand of the good fairy.”
third-person singular of “insist” — be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
From this reading ““It’s all right,” he said; “the author insists.””
a city in northeastern France in Lorraine
From this reading “I take the play, and Miss Cavendish shall be cast for Nancy.”
a dramatic or musical entertainment
From this reading ““I recall your performance in ‘The New Boy’ with pleasure.”
recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading ““I recall your performance in ‘The New Boy’ with pleasure.”
a rod used by a magician or water diviner
From this reading “Wimpole waved his stick again as though it were the magic wand of the good fairy.”
past form of “wave” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading “Wimpole waved his stick again as though it were the magic wand of the good fairy.”
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.
anew
From this reading Wimpole waved his stick again as though it were the magic wand of the good fairy.
(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 “It’s all right,” he said; “the author insists.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I take the play, and Miss Cavendish shall be cast for Nancy.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Wimpole waved his stick again as though it were the magic wand of the good fairy.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “It’s all right,” he said; “the author insists.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I take the play, and Miss Cavendish shall be cast for Nancy.
a youthful male person
From this reading “I recall your performance in ‘The New Boy’ with pleasure.
put or send forth
From this reading I take the play, and Miss Cavendish shall be cast for Nancy.
British chemist and physicist who established that water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen and who calculated the density of the earth (1731-1810)
From this reading I take the play, and Miss Cavendish shall be cast for Nancy.
a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
From this reading Wimpole waved his stick again as though it were the magic wand of the good fairy.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I take the play, and Miss Cavendish shall be cast for Nancy.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Wimpole waved his stick again as though it were the magic wand of the good fairy.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “You shall have it,” he said.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “It’s all right,” he said; “the author insists.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Wimpole waved his stick again as though it were the magic wand of the good fairy.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I recall your performance in ‘The New Boy’ with pleasure.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “I recall your performance in ‘The New Boy’ with pleasure.
third-person singular of “insist” — be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
From this reading “It’s all right,” he said; “the author insists.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Wimpole waved his stick again as though it were the magic wand of the good fairy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It’s all right,” he said; “the author insists.”
any art that invokes supernatural powers
From this reading Wimpole waved his stick again as though it were the magic wand of the good fairy.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading I take the play, and Miss Cavendish shall be cast for Nancy.
a city in northeastern France in Lorraine
From this reading I take the play, and Miss Cavendish shall be cast for Nancy.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading “I recall your performance in ‘The New Boy’ with pleasure.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Wimpole waved his stick again as though it were the magic wand of the good fairy.
a dramatic or musical entertainment
From this reading “I recall your performance in ‘The New Boy’ with pleasure.
participate in games or sport
From this reading I take the play, and Miss Cavendish shall be cast for Nancy.
a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience
From this reading “I recall your performance in ‘The New Boy’ with pleasure.
recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading “I recall your performance in ‘The New Boy’ with pleasure.
precisely, exactly
From this reading “It’s all right,” he said; “the author insists.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “It’s all right,” he said; “the author insists.”
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “You shall have it,” he said.
put, fix, force, or implant
From this reading Wimpole waved his stick again as though it were the magic wand of the good fairy.
carry out
From this reading I take the play, and Miss Cavendish shall be cast for Nancy.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “It’s all right,” he said; “the author insists.”
in spite of the fact that
From this reading Wimpole waved his stick again as though it were the magic wand of the good fairy.
a rod used by a magician or water diviner
From this reading Wimpole waved his stick again as though it were the magic wand of the good fairy.
past form of “wave” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading Wimpole waved his stick again as though it were the magic wand of the good fairy.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Wimpole waved his stick again as though it were the magic wand of the good fairy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Wimpole waved his stick again as though it were the magic wand of the good fairy.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “I recall your performance in ‘The New Boy’ with pleasure.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You shall have it,” he said.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “I recall your performance in ‘The New Boy’ with pleasure.
Chapter 4 of The Lion and the Unicorn by Richard Harding Davis holds 185 sentences, grouped into 37 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 4 holds 185 sentences of The Lion and the Unicorn, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Lion and the Unicorn by Richard Harding Davis exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 4 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 Lion and the Unicorn by Richard Harding Davis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2040 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1620 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1620, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 170 minutes of reading across 408 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Lion and the Unicorn section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Lion and the Unicorn 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 Lion and the Unicorn, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
