Chapter 20 of The Masterfolk is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Masterfolk is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms. It was the eve of her marriage. Noll and she were to go to Paris straight from the ceremony. Betty had the tickets for the journey in her pocket. Horace had secured them lodgings.
Chapter 20 of The Masterfolk is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
offering little or no hope
From this reading “_Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.”
in a brisk manner
From this reading “_Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.”
United States comedian and film actor (1896-1996)
From this reading “_Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.”
a formal event performed on a special occasion
From this reading “Noll and she were to go to Paris straight from the ceremony.”
Roman lyric poet said to have influenced English poetry (65-8 BC)
From this reading “Horace had secured them lodgings.”
temporary living quarters
From this reading “Horace had secured them lodgings.”
plural of “ticket” — a commercial document showing that the holder is entitled to something (as to ride on public transportation or to enter a public entertainment)
From this reading “Betty had the tickets for the journey in her pocket.”
a gradual decrease in magnitude or extent
From this reading “_Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.”
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.
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 _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Noll and she were to go to Paris straight from the ceremony.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
offering little or no hope
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
in a brisk manner
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
United States comedian and film actor (1896-1996)
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
a formal event performed on a special occasion
From this reading Noll and she were to go to Paris straight from the ceremony.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
(Old Testament) Adam's wife in Judeo-Christian mythology: the first woman and mother of the human race; God created Eve from Adam's rib and placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
From this reading It was the eve of her marriage.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Betty had the tickets for the journey in her pocket.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Noll and she were to go to Paris straight from the ceremony.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Noll and she were to go to Paris straight from the ceremony.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Betty had the tickets for the journey in her pocket.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
Roman lyric poet said to have influenced English poetry (65-8 BC)
From this reading Horace had secured them lodgings.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the eve of her marriage.
undertake a journey or trip
From this reading Betty had the tickets for the journey in her pocket.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
temporary living quarters
From this reading Horace had secured them lodgings.
march in a procession
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading It was the eve of her marriage.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Noll and she were to go to Paris straight from the ceremony.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
the capital and largest city of France; and international center of culture and commerce
From this reading Noll and she were to go to Paris straight from the ceremony.
a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading Betty had the tickets for the journey in her pocket.
a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry)
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
apartment consisting of a series of connected rooms used as a living unit (as in a hotel)
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
past form of “secure” — get by special effort
From this reading Horace had secured them lodgings.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Noll and she were to go to Paris straight from the ceremony.
successive (without a break)
From this reading Noll and she were to go to Paris straight from the ceremony.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Horace had secured them lodgings.
plural of “ticket” — a commercial document showing that the holder is entitled to something (as to ride on public transportation or to enter a public entertainment)
From this reading Betty had the tickets for the journey in her pocket.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
literature in metrical form
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
a gradual decrease in magnitude or extent
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the eve of her marriage.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Noll and she were to go to Paris straight from the ceremony.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Wherein a Poet burns his Verse to keep his Feet Warm_ In the waning of a bleak March day, Betty walked briskly home to her rooms.
Chapter 20 of The Masterfolk by Haldane Macfall holds 197 sentences, grouped into 40 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 20 holds 197 sentences of The Masterfolk, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Masterfolk by Haldane Macfall exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 197 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 20 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 Masterfolk by Haldane Macfall on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9376 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61754 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61754, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1876 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Masterfolk section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Masterfolk 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 Masterfolk, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
