Chapter 4 of The Mountain of Fears is here in full — 485 sentences across 97 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Mountain of Fears is here in full — 485 sentences across 97 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“‘Doctor!’ he protested, ‘one cannot be indelicate! Certainly not! Could she not have inferred it from my behavior?’ “‘I am afraid,’ said I, ‘that her inferences were less flattering. Mine were—permit me to apologize.’
Chapter 4 of The Mountain of Fears is here in full — 485 sentences across 97 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.
acknowledge faults or shortcomings or failing
From this reading “Mine were—permit me to apologize.’”
manner of acting or controlling yourself
From this reading “Could she not have inferred it from my behavior?’”
showing or representing to advantage
From this reading ““‘I am afraid,’ said I, ‘that her inferences were less flattering.”
in violation of good taste even verging on the indecent
From this reading ““‘Doctor!’ he protested, ‘one cannot be indelicate!”
plural of “inference” — the reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion or making a logical judgment on the basis of circumstantial evidence and prior conclusions rather than on the basis of direct observation
From this reading ““‘I am afraid,’ said I, ‘that her inferences were less flattering.”
inflected form of “infer” — reason by deduction; establish by deduction
From this reading “Could she not have inferred it from my behavior?’”
a legal document giving official permission to do something
From this reading “Mine were—permit me to apologize.’”
past form of “protest” — utter words of protest
From this reading ““‘Doctor!’ he protested, ‘one cannot be indelicate!”
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.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading “‘I am afraid,’ said I, ‘that her inferences were less flattering.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “‘I am afraid,’ said I, ‘that her inferences were less flattering.
acknowledge faults or shortcomings or failing
From this reading Mine were—permit me to apologize.’
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “‘Doctor!’ he protested, ‘one cannot be indelicate!
manner of acting or controlling yourself
From this reading Could she not have inferred it from my behavior?’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “‘Doctor!’ he protested, ‘one cannot be indelicate!
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading Certainly not!
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Could she not have inferred it from my behavior?’
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading “‘Doctor!’ he protested, ‘one cannot be indelicate!
showing or representing to advantage
From this reading “‘I am afraid,’ said I, ‘that her inferences were less flattering.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Could she not have inferred it from my behavior?’
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Could she not have inferred it from my behavior?’
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “‘Doctor!’ he protested, ‘one cannot be indelicate!
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “‘I am afraid,’ said I, ‘that her inferences were less flattering.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “‘I am afraid,’ said I, ‘that her inferences were less flattering.
in violation of good taste even verging on the indecent
From this reading “‘Doctor!’ he protested, ‘one cannot be indelicate!
plural of “inference” — the reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion or making a logical judgment on the basis of circumstantial evidence and prior conclusions rather than on the basis of direct observation
From this reading “‘I am afraid,’ said I, ‘that her inferences were less flattering.
inflected form of “infer” — reason by deduction; establish by deduction
From this reading Could she not have inferred it from my behavior?’
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Could she not have inferred it from my behavior?’
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading “‘I am afraid,’ said I, ‘that her inferences were less flattering.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Mine were—permit me to apologize.’
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Mine were—permit me to apologize.’
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Could she not have inferred it from my behavior?’
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Certainly not!
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “‘Doctor!’ he protested, ‘one cannot be indelicate!
a legal document giving official permission to do something
From this reading Mine were—permit me to apologize.’
past form of “protest” — utter words of protest
From this reading “‘Doctor!’ he protested, ‘one cannot be indelicate!
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “‘I am afraid,’ said I, ‘that her inferences were less flattering.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Could she not have inferred it from my behavior?’
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “‘I am afraid,’ said I, ‘that her inferences were less flattering.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mine were—permit me to apologize.’
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “‘I am afraid,’ said I, ‘that her inferences were less flattering.
Chapter 4 of The Mountain of Fears by Henry C. (Henry Cottrell) Rowland holds 485 sentences, grouped into 97 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 485 sentences of The Mountain of Fears, unabridged, divided into 97 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Mountain of Fears by Henry C. (Henry Cottrell) Rowland exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 485 sentences, grouped into 97 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 97 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 97 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 Mountain of Fears by Henry C. (Henry Cottrell) Rowland on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2369 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56425 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56425, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 197 minutes of reading across 474 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mountain of Fears section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Mountain of Fears 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 Mountain of Fears, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
