Chapter 8 of The Rivals of Acadia An Old Story of the New is here in full — 78 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Rivals of Acadia An Old Story of the New is here in full — 78 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I pray you have the ditty o'er again! Of all the strains that mewing minstrels sing, The lover's one for me. I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall. Let's have it o'er again. J.S. KNOWLES.
Chapter 8 of The Rivals of Acadia An Old Story of the New is here in full — 78 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.
constructed with or in the form of an arch or arches
From this reading “I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.”
plural of “bristle” — a stiff fiber (coarse hair or filament); natural or synthetic
From this reading “I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.”
a short simple song (or the words of a poem intended to be sung)
From this reading “I pray you have the ditty o'er again!”
lose validity
From this reading “I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.”
possessive form of “lover” — a person who loves someone or is loved by someone
From this reading “Of all the strains that mewing minstrels sing, The lover's one for me.”
plural of “minstrel” — a singer of folk songs
From this reading “Of all the strains that mewing minstrels sing, The lover's one for me.”
plural of “strain” — (physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces
From this reading “Of all the strains that mewing minstrels sing, The lover's one for me.”
-ing form of “trickle” — run or flow slowly, as in drops or in an unsteady stream
From this reading “I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.”
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 I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
anew
From this reading I pray you have the ditty o'er again!
(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 Of all the strains that mewing minstrels sing, The lover's one for me.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
constructed with or in the form of an arch or arches
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
plural of “bristle” — a stiff fiber (coarse hair or filament); natural or synthetic
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
plural of “brow” — the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
the protruding part of the lower jaw
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
a short simple song (or the words of a poem intended to be sung)
From this reading I pray you have the ditty o'er again!
lose validity
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
opinion or judgment
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Of all the strains that mewing minstrels sing, The lover's one for me.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I pray you have the ditty o'er again!
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I pray you have the ditty o'er again!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Let's have it o'er again.
a unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second
From this reading J.S. KNOWLES.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading J.S. KNOWLES.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Let's have it o'er again.
possessive form of “lover” — a person who loves someone or is loved by someone
From this reading Of all the strains that mewing minstrels sing, The lover's one for me.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Of all the strains that mewing minstrels sing, The lover's one for me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Of all the strains that mewing minstrels sing, The lover's one for me.
plural of “minstrel” — a singer of folk songs
From this reading Of all the strains that mewing minstrels sing, The lover's one for me.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
throughout a period of time
From this reading I pray you have the ditty o'er again!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Of all the strains that mewing minstrels sing, The lover's one for me.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Of all the strains that mewing minstrels sing, The lover's one for me.
address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading I pray you have the ditty o'er again!
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading J.S. KNOWLES.
deliver by singing
From this reading Of all the strains that mewing minstrels sing, The lover's one for me.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
plural of “strain” — (physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces
From this reading Of all the strains that mewing minstrels sing, The lover's one for me.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Of all the strains that mewing minstrels sing, The lover's one for me.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I pray you have the ditty o'er again!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
-ing form of “trickle” — run or flow slowly, as in drops or in an unsteady stream
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
in the company of; together with
From this reading I could expire To hear a man, with bristles on his chin, Sing soft, with upturn'd eyes, and arched brows, Which talk of trickling tears that never fall.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I pray you have the ditty o'er again!
Chapter 8 of The Rivals of Acadia An Old Story of the New by H. V. (Harriet Vaughan) Cheney holds 78 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 8 holds 78 sentences of The Rivals of Acadia An Old Story of the New, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Rivals of Acadia An Old Story of the New by H. V. (Harriet Vaughan) Cheney exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 78 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 8 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 Rivals of Acadia An Old Story of the New by H. V. (Harriet Vaughan) Cheney on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1778 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17351 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17351, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 148 minutes of reading across 356 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Rivals of Acadia An Old Story of the New section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Rivals of Acadia An Old Story of the New 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 Rivals of Acadia An Old Story of the New, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
