Chapter 4 of The Messenger is here in full — 486 sentences across 98 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Messenger is here in full — 486 sentences across 98 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The thing happened with a remarkable regularity. An expedition would be proposed by Julian, vetoed by Greta. Julian would stir Nan's enthusiasm. Greta would dampen it. Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
Chapter 4 of The Messenger is here in full — 486 sentences across 98 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/97 · 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.
suppress or constrain so as to lessen in intensity
From this reading “Greta would dampen it.”
Roman Emperor and nephew of Constantine; he restored paganism as the official religion of the Roman Empire and destroyed Christian temples but his decision was reversed after his death (331?-363)
From this reading “An expedition would be proposed by Julian, vetoed by Greta.”
your grandmother
From this reading “Julian would stir Nan's enthusiasm.”
possessive form of “nan” — your grandmother
From this reading “Julian would stir Nan's enthusiasm.”
Scottish mathematician who invented logarithms; introduced the use of the decimal point in writing numbers (1550-1617)
From this reading “Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.”
a property of polygons: the property of having equal sides and equal angles
From this reading “The thing happened with a remarkable regularity.”
move an implement through
From this reading “Julian would stir Nan's enthusiasm.”
past form of “veto” — vote against; refuse to endorse; refuse to assent
From this reading “An expedition would be proposed by Julian, vetoed by Greta.”
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.
In this reading “Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.”
In this reading “Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.”
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 The thing happened with a remarkable regularity.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An expedition would be proposed by Julian, vetoed by Greta.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading An expedition would be proposed by Julian, vetoed by Greta.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading An expedition would be proposed by Julian, vetoed by Greta.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
suppress or constrain so as to lessen in intensity
From this reading Greta would dampen it.
characterized by great determination
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
a feeling of excitement
From this reading Julian would stir Nan's enthusiasm.
to the same degree (often followed by “as”)
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
a military campaign designed to achieve a specific objective in a foreign country
From this reading An expedition would be proposed by Julian, vetoed by Greta.
the organ of sight
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An expedition would be proposed by Julian, vetoed by Greta.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading The thing happened with a remarkable regularity.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Greta would dampen it.
Roman Emperor and nephew of Constantine; he restored paganism as the official religion of the Roman Empire and destroyed Christian temples but his decision was reversed after his death (331?-363)
From this reading An expedition would be proposed by Julian, vetoed by Greta.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
your grandmother
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
possessive form of “nan” — your grandmother
From this reading Julian would stir Nan's enthusiasm.
Scottish mathematician who invented logarithms; introduced the use of the decimal point in writing numbers (1550-1617)
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
past form of “propose” — make a proposal, declare a plan for something
From this reading An expedition would be proposed by Julian, vetoed by Greta.
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
a property of polygons: the property of having equal sides and equal angles
From this reading The thing happened with a remarkable regularity.
unusual or striking
From this reading The thing happened with a remarkable regularity.
in the near future
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
move an implement through
From this reading Julian would stir Nan's enthusiasm.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The thing happened with a remarkable regularity.
a special situation
From this reading The thing happened with a remarkable regularity.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
past form of “veto” — vote against; refuse to endorse; refuse to assent
From this reading An expedition would be proposed by Julian, vetoed by Greta.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The thing happened with a remarkable regularity.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading An expedition would be proposed by Julian, vetoed by Greta.
but in spite of that
From this reading Yet Napier soon realized that, if Nan were determined to come, Miss Greta was equally determined to come, and have an eye on her.
Chapter 4 of The Messenger by Elizabeth Robins holds 486 sentences, grouped into 98 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 4 holds 486 sentences of The Messenger, unabridged, divided into 98 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Messenger by Elizabeth Robins exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 486 sentences, grouped into 98 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 98 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 98 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 Messenger by Elizabeth Robins on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8778 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35671 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35671, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1756 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Messenger section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of The Messenger 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 Messenger, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
