Chapter 4 of The oak staircase is here in full — 934 sentences across 187 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The oak staircase is here in full — 934 sentences across 187 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MAIDS OF TAUNTON (CONTINUED). The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater. File after file of soldiers passed under our eyes, and yet there were more behind. '"Thousands and thousands of them!" Camilla Fanshawe said, with a look of awe.
Chapter 4 of The oak staircase is here in full — 934 sentences across 187 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/186 · 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.
an overwhelming feeling of wonder or admiration
From this reading “Camilla Fanshawe said, with a look of awe.”
a British peer of the highest rank
From this reading “The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.”
record in a public office or in a court of law
From this reading “File after file of soldiers passed under our eyes, and yet there were more behind.”
plural of “maid” — a female domestic
From this reading “THE MAIDS OF TAUNTON (CONTINUED).”
march in a procession
From this reading “The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.”
plural of “soldier” — an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading “File after file of soldiers passed under our eyes, and yet there were more behind.”
plural of “thousand” — the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading “'"Thousands and thousands of them!"”
soldiers collectively
From this reading “The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.”
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 “The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.”
In this reading “File after file of soldiers passed under our eyes, and yet there were more behind.”
march out (as from a defile) into open ground
In this reading “The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.”
In this reading “File after file of soldiers passed under our eyes, and yet there were more behind.”
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 Camilla Fanshawe said, with a look of awe.
later than; following
From this reading File after file of soldiers passed under our eyes, and yet there were more behind.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading File after file of soldiers passed under our eyes, and yet there were more behind.
an overwhelming feeling of wonder or admiration
From this reading Camilla Fanshawe said, with a look of awe.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading File after file of soldiers passed under our eyes, and yet there were more behind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Camilla Fanshawe said, with a look of awe.
without stop or interruption
From this reading THE MAIDS OF TAUNTON (CONTINUED).
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.
a British peer of the highest rank
From this reading The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.
opinion or judgment
From this reading File after file of soldiers passed under our eyes, and yet there were more behind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Camilla Fanshawe said, with a look of awe.
record in a public office or in a court of law
From this reading File after file of soldiers passed under our eyes, and yet there were more behind.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Camilla Fanshawe said, with a look of awe.
plural of “maid” — a female domestic
From this reading THE MAIDS OF TAUNTON (CONTINUED).
march in a procession
From this reading The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading File after file of soldiers passed under our eyes, and yet there were more behind.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE MAIDS OF TAUNTON (CONTINUED).
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading File after file of soldiers passed under our eyes, and yet there were more behind.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading File after file of soldiers passed under our eyes, and yet there were more behind.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Camilla Fanshawe said, with a look of awe.
plural of “soldier” — an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading File after file of soldiers passed under our eyes, and yet there were more behind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE MAIDS OF TAUNTON (CONTINUED).
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MAIDS OF TAUNTON (CONTINUED).
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading '"Thousands and thousands of them!"
in or at that place or location
From this reading File after file of soldiers passed under our eyes, and yet there were more behind.
plural of “thousand” — the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading '"Thousands and thousands of them!"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.
soldiers collectively
From this reading The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading File after file of soldiers passed under our eyes, and yet there were more behind.
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading The next day we watched the Duke of Monmouth's troops march out of Taunton on their way to Bridgewater.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading File after file of soldiers passed under our eyes, and yet there were more behind.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Camilla Fanshawe said, with a look of awe.
but in spite of that
From this reading File after file of soldiers passed under our eyes, and yet there were more behind.
Chapter 4 of The oak staircase by M. (Mary), active Lee holds 934 sentences, grouped into 187 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 934 sentences of The oak staircase, unabridged, divided into 187 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The oak staircase by M. (Mary), active Lee exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 934 sentences, grouped into 187 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 187 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 187 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The oak staircase, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
