Chapter 9 of The Old Church Clock is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Old Church Clock is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice. In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.
Chapter 9 of The Old Church Clock is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
third-person singular of “abide” — dwell
From this reading ““You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.”
plural of “doubt” — the state of being unsure of something
From this reading ““You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.”
plural of “gift” — something acquired without compensation
From this reading ““You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.”
the people or companies engaged in a particular kind of commercial enterprise
From this reading “In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.”
-ing form of “neighbour” — live or be located as a neighbor
From this reading ““You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.”
the trait of avoiding excesses
From this reading “In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.”
plural of “trial” — the act of testing something
From this reading “In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.”
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading ““You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.”
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 “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
third-person singular of “abide” — dwell
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
unvarying in nature
From this reading In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.
plural of “doubt” — the state of being unsure of something
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
plural of “gift” — something acquired without compensation
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
the people or companies engaged in a particular kind of commercial enterprise
From this reading In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.
the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals
From this reading In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.
the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
-ing form of “neighbour” — live or be located as a neighbor
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
an announcement containing information about an event
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.
a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
any factual evidence that helps to establish the truth of something
From this reading In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.
no longer active in your work or profession
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality
From this reading In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.
inflected form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.
term of address for a man
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
the trait of avoiding excesses
From this reading In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
plural of “trial” — the act of testing something
From this reading In this one man is shown a temperance proof Against all trials; industry severe And constant as the motion of the day.
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
belonging to which person
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You, Sir, know that in a neighbouring vale A Priest abides before whose life such doubts Fall to the ground; whose gifts of nature lie Retired from notice.
Chapter 9 of The Old Church Clock by Richard Parkinson holds 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 9 holds 79 sentences of The Old Church Clock, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Old Church Clock by Richard Parkinson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 9 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 Old Church Clock by Richard Parkinson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1469 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61587 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61587, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 122 minutes of reading across 294 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Old Church Clock section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of The Old Church Clock 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 Old Church Clock, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
