Chapter 31 of The Strollers is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of The Strollers is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FROM GARRET TO GARDEN "Celestina, what do you think this is?" Waving something that crackled in mid air. "A piece of paper," said Celestina from her place on the hearth. "Paper!" scoffed Straws. "It's that which Horace calls a handmaid, if you know how to use it; a mistress, if you do not--money!
Chapter 31 of The Strollers is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
past form of “crackle” — make a crackling sound
From this reading “Waving something that crackled in mid air.”
floor consisting of open space at the top of a house just below roof; often used for storage
From this reading “FROM GARRET TO GARDEN "Celestina, what do you think this is?"”
an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built
From this reading “"A piece of paper," said Celestina from her place on the hearth.”
Roman lyric poet said to have influenced English poetry (65-8 BC)
From this reading “"It's that which Horace calls a handmaid, if you know how to use it; a mistress, if you do not--money!”
used in combination to denote the middle
From this reading “Waving something that crackled in mid air.”
past form of “scoff” — laugh at with contempt and derision
From this reading “"Paper!" scoffed Straws.”
plural of “straw” — plant fiber used e.g. for making baskets and hats or as fodder
From this reading “"Paper!" scoffed Straws.”
the act of signaling by a movement of the hand
From this reading “Waving something that crackled in mid air.”
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 this reading “Waving something that crackled in mid air.”
In this reading “"A piece of paper," said Celestina from her place on the hearth.”
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 "A piece of paper," said Celestina from her place on the hearth.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading Waving something that crackled in mid air.
plural of “call” — a telephone connection
From this reading "It's that which Horace calls a handmaid, if you know how to use it; a mistress, if you do not--money!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading FROM GARRET TO GARDEN "Celestina, what do you think this is?"
past form of “crackle” — make a crackling sound
From this reading Waving something that crackled in mid air.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading FROM GARRET TO GARDEN "Celestina, what do you think this is?"
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading FROM GARRET TO GARDEN "Celestina, what do you think this is?"
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading FROM GARRET TO GARDEN "Celestina, what do you think this is?"
floor consisting of open space at the top of a house just below roof; often used for storage
From this reading FROM GARRET TO GARDEN "Celestina, what do you think this is?"
in a subordinate position
From this reading "It's that which Horace calls a handmaid, if you know how to use it; a mistress, if you do not--money!
an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built
From this reading "A piece of paper," said Celestina from her place on the hearth.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "A piece of paper," said Celestina from her place on the hearth.
Roman lyric poet said to have influenced English poetry (65-8 BC)
From this reading "It's that which Horace calls a handmaid, if you know how to use it; a mistress, if you do not--money!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's that which Horace calls a handmaid, if you know how to use it; a mistress, if you do not--money!
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "It's that which Horace calls a handmaid, if you know how to use it; a mistress, if you do not--money!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Waving something that crackled in mid air.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading FROM GARRET TO GARDEN "Celestina, what do you think this is?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It's that which Horace calls a handmaid, if you know how to use it; a mistress, if you do not--money!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's that which Horace calls a handmaid, if you know how to use it; a mistress, if you do not--money!
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "It's that which Horace calls a handmaid, if you know how to use it; a mistress, if you do not--money!
used in combination to denote the middle
From this reading Waving something that crackled in mid air.
an adulterous woman; a woman who has an ongoing extramarital sexual relationship with a man
From this reading "It's that which Horace calls a handmaid, if you know how to use it; a mistress, if you do not--money!
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading "It's that which Horace calls a handmaid, if you know how to use it; a mistress, if you do not--money!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "It's that which Horace calls a handmaid, if you know how to use it; a mistress, if you do not--money!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "A piece of paper," said Celestina from her place on the hearth.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "A piece of paper," said Celestina from her place on the hearth.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading "A piece of paper," said Celestina from her place on the hearth.
a separate part of a whole
From this reading "A piece of paper," said Celestina from her place on the hearth.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading "A piece of paper," said Celestina from her place on the hearth.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "A piece of paper," said Celestina from her place on the hearth.
past form of “scoff” — laugh at with contempt and derision
From this reading "Paper!" scoffed Straws.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading Waving something that crackled in mid air.
plural of “straw” — plant fiber used e.g. for making baskets and hats or as fodder
From this reading "Paper!" scoffed Straws.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Waving something that crackled in mid air.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "A piece of paper," said Celestina from her place on the hearth.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading FROM GARRET TO GARDEN "Celestina, what do you think this is?"
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading FROM GARRET TO GARDEN "Celestina, what do you think this is?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading FROM GARRET TO GARDEN "Celestina, what do you think this is?"
the act of using
From this reading "It's that which Horace calls a handmaid, if you know how to use it; a mistress, if you do not--money!
the act of signaling by a movement of the hand
From this reading Waving something that crackled in mid air.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading FROM GARRET TO GARDEN "Celestina, what do you think this is?"
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading "It's that which Horace calls a handmaid, if you know how to use it; a mistress, if you do not--money!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading FROM GARRET TO GARDEN "Celestina, what do you think this is?"
Chapter 31 of The Strollers by Frederic Stewart Isham holds 139 sentences, grouped into 28 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 31 holds 139 sentences of The Strollers, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of The Strollers by Frederic Stewart Isham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 139 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 31 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 Strollers by Frederic Stewart Isham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6747 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #29726 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #29726, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 562 minutes of reading across 1350 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Strollers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of The Strollers 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 Strollers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
