Chapter 6 of The Pagan Madonna is here in full — 238 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of The Pagan Madonna is here in full — 238 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Now, then, the further adventures of Ling Foo of Woosung Road. He was an honest Chinaman. He would beat you down if he were buying, or he would overcharge you if he were selling. There was nothing dishonest in this; it was legitimate business. He was only shrewd, not crooked.
Chapter 6 of The Pagan Madonna is here in full — 238 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/47 · 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.
the act of buying
From this reading “He would beat you down if he were buying, or he would overcharge you if he were selling.”
having or marked by bends or angles; not straight or aligned
From this reading “He was only shrewd, not crooked.”
deceptive or fraudulent; disposed to cheat or defraud or deceive
From this reading “There was nothing dishonest in this; it was legitimate business.”
of marriages and offspring; recognized as lawful
From this reading “There was nothing dishonest in this; it was legitimate business.”
water chestnut whose spiny fruit has two rather than 4 prongs
From this reading “Now, then, the further adventures of Ling Foo of Woosung Road.”
rip off; ask an unreasonable price
From this reading “He would beat you down if he were buying, or he would overcharge you if he were selling.”
the exchange of goods for an agreed sum of money
From this reading “He would beat you down if he were buying, or he would overcharge you if he were selling.”
marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
From this reading “He was only shrewd, not crooked.”
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.
plural of “adventure” — a wild and exciting undertaking (not necessarily lawful)
From this reading Now, then, the further adventures of Ling Foo of Woosung Road.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading He was an honest Chinaman.
come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
From this reading He would beat you down if he were buying, or he would overcharge you if he were selling.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading There was nothing dishonest in this; it was legitimate business.
the act of buying
From this reading He would beat you down if he were buying, or he would overcharge you if he were selling.
(ethnic slur) offensive term for a person of Chinese descent
From this reading He was an honest Chinaman.
having or marked by bends or angles; not straight or aligned
From this reading He was only shrewd, not crooked.
deceptive or fraudulent; disposed to cheat or defraud or deceive
From this reading There was nothing dishonest in this; it was legitimate business.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading He would beat you down if he were buying, or he would overcharge you if he were selling.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now, then, the further adventures of Ling Foo of Woosung Road.
to or at a greater extent or degree or a more advanced stage (“further” is used more often than “farther” in this abstract sense)
From this reading Now, then, the further adventures of Ling Foo of Woosung Road.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was an honest Chinaman.
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
From this reading He was an honest Chinaman.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading He would beat you down if he were buying, or he would overcharge you if he were selling.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There was nothing dishonest in this; it was legitimate business.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading There was nothing dishonest in this; it was legitimate business.
of marriages and offspring; recognized as lawful
From this reading There was nothing dishonest in this; it was legitimate business.
water chestnut whose spiny fruit has two rather than 4 prongs
From this reading Now, then, the further adventures of Ling Foo of Woosung Road.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He was only shrewd, not crooked.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading There was nothing dishonest in this; it was legitimate business.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now, then, the further adventures of Ling Foo of Woosung Road.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Now, then, the further adventures of Ling Foo of Woosung Road.
and nothing more
From this reading He was only shrewd, not crooked.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading He would beat you down if he were buying, or he would overcharge you if he were selling.
rip off; ask an unreasonable price
From this reading He would beat you down if he were buying, or he would overcharge you if he were selling.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading Now, then, the further adventures of Ling Foo of Woosung Road.
the exchange of goods for an agreed sum of money
From this reading He would beat you down if he were buying, or he would overcharge you if he were selling.
marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
From this reading He was only shrewd, not crooked.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Now, then, the further adventures of Ling Foo of Woosung Road.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Now, then, the further adventures of Ling Foo of Woosung Road.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was nothing dishonest in this; it was legitimate business.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading There was nothing dishonest in this; it was legitimate business.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was an honest Chinaman.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading He would beat you down if he were buying, or he would overcharge you if he were selling.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now, then, the further adventures of Ling Foo of Woosung Road.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading He would beat you down if he were buying, or he would overcharge you if he were selling.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading He would beat you down if he were buying, or he would overcharge you if he were selling.
Chapter 6 of The Pagan Madonna by Harold MacGrath holds 238 sentences, grouped into 48 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 6 holds 238 sentences of The Pagan Madonna, unabridged, divided into 48 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The Pagan Madonna by Harold MacGrath exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 238 sentences, grouped into 48 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 48 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 48 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 6 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 Pagan Madonna by Harold MacGrath on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5543 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27339 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27339, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 461 minutes of reading across 1109 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Pagan Madonna section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Pagan Madonna 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 Pagan Madonna, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
