Chapter 4 of The Pillars of the House is here in full — 358 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Pillars of the House is here in full — 358 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
TWILIGHT AND DAWN. 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.' _Longfellow._ 'Don't, Ful!' 'That's nothing to you, Clem.' 'I say, this won't do.
Chapter 4 of The Pillars of the House is here in full — 358 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/71 · 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.
plural of “angel” — spiritual being attendant upon God
From this reading “'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'”
used especially of front teeth having (artificial) crowns
From this reading “'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'”
the first light of day
From this reading “TWILIGHT AND DAWN.”
plural of “house” — a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading “'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'”
United States poet remembered for his long narrative poems (1807-1882)
plural of “plume” — anything that resembles a feather in shape or lightness
From this reading “'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'”
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading “'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'”
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading “TWILIGHT AND DAWN.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading TWILIGHT AND DAWN.
plural of “angel” — spiritual being attendant upon God
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
lacking funds
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
used especially of front teeth having (artificial) crowns
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'That's nothing to you, Clem.'
the first light of day
From this reading TWILIGHT AND DAWN.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading 'I say, this won't do.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Longfellow._ 'Don't, Ful!'
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
a family of languages of the Fulani of West Africa and used as a lingua franca in the sub-Saharan regions from Senegal to Chad; the best known of the West African languages
From this reading _Longfellow._ 'Don't, Ful!'
plural of “house” — a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'I say, this won't do.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
United States poet remembered for his long narrative poems (1807-1882)
From this reading _Longfellow._ 'Don't, Ful!'
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
not one thing; not anything
From this reading 'That's nothing to you, Clem.'
throughout a period of time
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
plural of “plume” — anything that resembles a feather in shape or lightness
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
express in words
From this reading 'I say, this won't do.
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
lacking brightness or color; dull
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'That's nothing to you, Clem.'
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading 'I say, this won't do.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading 'That's nothing to you, Clem.'
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading TWILIGHT AND DAWN.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
in the company of; together with
From this reading 'Two Angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er the village as the morning broke; The dawn was on their faces; and beneath The sombre houses capped with plumes of smoke.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'I say, this won't do.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading 'That's nothing to you, Clem.'
Chapter 4 of The Pillars of the House by Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary) Yonge holds 358 sentences, grouped into 72 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 358 sentences of The Pillars of the House, unabridged, divided into 72 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Pillars of the House by Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary) Yonge exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 358 sentences, grouped into 72 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 72 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 72 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 Pillars of the House by Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary) Yonge on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10300 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6331 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6331, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2060 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Pillars of the House section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The Pillars of the House 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 Pillars of the House, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
