Chapter 21 of The Northern Iron is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Northern Iron is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
In the summer of 1800 the Act of Union was passed. The Irish Constitution ceased to exist. The country lay torpid and apathetic under the blow. Blood had been let in Antrim and Down, in Wexford and Wicklow. The society of United Irishmen was broken.
Chapter 21 of The Northern Iron is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
showing little or no emotion or animation
From this reading “The country lay torpid and apathetic under the blow.”
past form of “cease” — put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading “The Irish Constitution ceased to exist.”
law determining the fundamental political principles of a government
From this reading “The Irish Constitution ceased to exist.”
have an existence, be extant
From this reading “The Irish Constitution ceased to exist.”
people of Ireland or of Irish extraction
From this reading “The Irish Constitution ceased to exist.”
slow and apathetic
From this reading “The country lay torpid and apathetic under the blow.”
an organization of employees formed to bargain with the employer
From this reading “In the summer of 1800 the Act of Union was passed.”
characterized by unity; being or joined into a single entity
From this reading “The society of United Irishmen was broken.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the summer of 1800 the Act of Union was passed.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading In the summer of 1800 the Act of Union was passed.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The country lay torpid and apathetic under the blow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Blood had been let in Antrim and Down, in Wexford and Wicklow.
showing little or no emotion or animation
From this reading The country lay torpid and apathetic under the blow.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Blood had been let in Antrim and Down, in Wexford and Wicklow.
The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.
From this reading Blood had been let in Antrim and Down, in Wexford and Wicklow.
exhale hard
From this reading The country lay torpid and apathetic under the blow.
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading The society of United Irishmen was broken.
past form of “cease” — put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading The Irish Constitution ceased to exist.
law determining the fundamental political principles of a government
From this reading The Irish Constitution ceased to exist.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading The country lay torpid and apathetic under the blow.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Blood had been let in Antrim and Down, in Wexford and Wicklow.
have an existence, be extant
From this reading The Irish Constitution ceased to exist.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Blood had been let in Antrim and Down, in Wexford and Wicklow.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the summer of 1800 the Act of Union was passed.
people of Ireland or of Irish extraction
From this reading The Irish Constitution ceased to exist.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The society of United Irishmen was broken.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The country lay torpid and apathetic under the blow.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Blood had been let in Antrim and Down, in Wexford and Wicklow.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading In the summer of 1800 the Act of Union was passed.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading In the summer of 1800 the Act of Union was passed.
an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization
From this reading The society of United Irishmen was broken.
the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading In the summer of 1800 the Act of Union was passed.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In the summer of 1800 the Act of Union was passed.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The Irish Constitution ceased to exist.
slow and apathetic
From this reading The country lay torpid and apathetic under the blow.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading The country lay torpid and apathetic under the blow.
an organization of employees formed to bargain with the employer
From this reading In the summer of 1800 the Act of Union was passed.
characterized by unity; being or joined into a single entity
From this reading The society of United Irishmen was broken.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading In the summer of 1800 the Act of Union was passed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Blood had been let in Antrim and Down, in Wexford and Wicklow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Blood had been let in Antrim and Down, in Wexford and Wicklow.
Chapter 21 of The Northern Iron by George A. Birmingham holds 145 sentences, grouped into 29 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 21 holds 145 sentences of The Northern Iron, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Northern Iron by George A. Birmingham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 145 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 21 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 Northern Iron by George A. Birmingham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6050 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24140 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24140, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 504 minutes of reading across 1210 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Northern Iron section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Northern Iron 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 Northern Iron, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
