Chapter 3 of The Queen Versus Billy, and Other Stories is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Queen Versus Billy, and Other Stories is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“At length it was decided that we might continue the combat. De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative. My colonel was almost in tears. Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field. But I was adamant.
Chapter 3 of The Queen Versus Billy, and Other Stories is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, reason
From this reading “But I was adamant.”
serving or used in place of another
From this reading “De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.”
defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning
From this reading “Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.”
an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading “De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.”
an engagement fought between two military forces
From this reading ““At length it was decided that we might continue the combat.”
several time
From this reading “Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.”
go into retirement; stop performing one's work or withdraw from one's position
From this reading “Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.”
in a grave and sedate manner
From this reading “De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.”
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 a lengthy or prolix manner
In this reading ““At length it was decided that we might continue the combat.”
In this reading “Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.”
observe with special attention
In this reading “De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.”
In this reading “Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.”
In this reading “Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.”
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 Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.
impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, reason
From this reading But I was adamant.
(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 De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.
past form of “allow” — make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
From this reading De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading My colonel was almost in tears.
serving or used in place of another
From this reading De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.
defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning
From this reading Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “At length it was decided that we might continue the combat.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.
an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.
exhale hard
From this reading Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I was adamant.
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading My colonel was almost in tears.
an engagement fought between two military forces
From this reading “At length it was decided that we might continue the combat.
continue a certain state, condition, or activity
From this reading “At length it was decided that we might continue the combat.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.
recognizable; marked
From this reading “At length it was decided that we might continue the combat.
a feeling of favorable regard
From this reading Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.
a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed
From this reading Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading But I was adamant.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading My colonel was almost in tears.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “At length it was decided that we might continue the combat.
the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place
From this reading “At length it was decided that we might continue the combat.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading “At length it was decided that we might continue the combat.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My colonel was almost in tears.
not any; not one
From this reading De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.
an announcement containing information about an event
From this reading De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.
past form of “protest” — utter words of protest
From this reading De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.
several time
From this reading Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.
go into retirement; stop performing one's work or withdraw from one's position
From this reading Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.
in a grave and sedate manner
From this reading De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.
carry out
From this reading De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading My colonel was almost in tears.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “At length it was decided that we might continue the combat.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “At length it was decided that we might continue the combat.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Repeatedly, as a favour to himself, he besought me to apologise for that second blow and retire from the field.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading De Gonse solemnly protested, bidding us all take notice that he had been allowed no alternative.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “At length it was decided that we might continue the combat.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “At length it was decided that we might continue the combat.
Chapter 3 of The Queen Versus Billy, and Other Stories by Lloyd Osbourne holds 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 3 holds 432 sentences of The Queen Versus Billy, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Queen Versus Billy, and Other Stories by Lloyd Osbourne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 3 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 Queen Versus Billy, and Other Stories by Lloyd Osbourne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3536 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62875 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62875, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 294 minutes of reading across 708 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Queen Versus Billy, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Queen Versus Billy, and Other Stories 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 Queen Versus Billy, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
