Chapter 8 of The Sword Maker is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Sword Maker is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"You would imprison me--me, a Countess of Sayn?" Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well. "Yes, Madam. A predecessor of mine once hanged one of your ancestors." "It is not true," cried the girl, in blazing wrath.
Chapter 8 of The Sword Maker is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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 “bequeath” — leave or give by will after one's death
From this reading “Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.”
plural of “crusader” — a disputant who advocates reform
From this reading “Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.”
drawn off in the form of vapor
From this reading “Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.”
lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
From this reading “"You would imprison me--me, a Countess of Sayn?"”
one who precedes you in time (as in holding a position or office)
From this reading “A predecessor of mine once hanged one of your ancestors."”
United States parapsychologist (1895-1980)
From this reading “Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.”
Persons who steal from a person or place, especially using violence or threats.
From this reading “Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.”
showing scarcely suppressed anger
From this reading “Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.”
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 "You would imprison me--me, a Countess of Sayn?"
anew
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
plural of “ancestor” — someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)
From this reading A predecessor of mine once hanged one of your ancestors."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
past form of “bequeath” — leave or give by will after one's death
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
shining intensely
From this reading "It is not true," cried the girl, in blazing wrath.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
female equivalent of a count or earl
From this reading "You would imprison me--me, a Countess of Sayn?"
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "It is not true," cried the girl, in blazing wrath.
plural of “crusader” — a disputant who advocates reform
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
drawn off in the form of vapor
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
start firing a weapon
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
a young female
From this reading "It is not true," cried the girl, in blazing wrath.
past form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading A predecessor of mine once hanged one of your ancestors."
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
From this reading "You would imprison me--me, a Countess of Sayn?"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "It is not true," cried the girl, in blazing wrath.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It is not true," cried the girl, in blazing wrath.
apprehended with certainty
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
a woman of refinement
From this reading "Yes, Madam.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "You would imprison me--me, a Countess of Sayn?"
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading A predecessor of mine once hanged one of your ancestors."
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "It is not true," cried the girl, in blazing wrath.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "You would imprison me--me, a Countess of Sayn?"
on one occasion
From this reading A predecessor of mine once hanged one of your ancestors."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading A predecessor of mine once hanged one of your ancestors."
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
one who precedes you in time (as in holding a position or office)
From this reading A predecessor of mine once hanged one of your ancestors."
United States parapsychologist (1895-1980)
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
Persons who steal from a person or place, especially using violence or threats.
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You would imprison me--me, a Countess of Sayn?"
showing scarcely suppressed anger
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading "It is not true," cried the girl, in blazing wrath.
a fact that has been verified
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by Rhine robbers as well.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "You would imprison me--me, a Countess of Sayn?"
intense anger (usually on an epic scale)
From this reading "It is not true," cried the girl, in blazing wrath.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, Madam.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You would imprison me--me, a Countess of Sayn?"
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading A predecessor of mine once hanged one of your ancestors."
Chapter 8 of The Sword Maker by Robert Barr holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 401 sentences of The Sword Maker, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Sword Maker by Robert Barr exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Sword Maker by Robert Barr on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5993 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14656 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14656, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 499 minutes of reading across 1199 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Sword Maker section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The Sword Maker 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 Sword Maker, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
