Chapter 20 of The Tin Soldier is here in full — 383 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Tin Soldier is here in full — 383 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE VISION OF BRAVE WOMEN And now the Tin Soldier was to go to the wars! Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met. He was one of them at last! He was on his way to meet Jean. The day before they had gone to church together.
Chapter 20 of The Tin Soldier is here in full — 383 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/76 · 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.
the central area or commercial center of a town or city
From this reading “Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met.”
-ing form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met.”
a coarse durable twill-weave cotton fabric
From this reading “He was on his way to meet Jean.”
directly and without evasion; not roundabout
From this reading “Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met.”
changing location by moving back and forth
From this reading “Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met.”
a silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion; used in many alloys and to coat other metals to prevent corrosion; obtained chiefly from cassiterite where it occurs as tin oxide
From this reading “THE VISION OF BRAVE WOMEN And now the Tin Soldier was to go to the wars!”
a vivid mental image
From this reading “THE VISION OF BRAVE WOMEN And now the Tin Soldier was to go to the wars!”
plural of “war” — the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading “THE VISION OF BRAVE WOMEN And now the Tin Soldier was to go to the wars!”
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 THE VISION OF BRAVE WOMEN And now the Tin Soldier was to go to the wars!
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He was one of them at last!
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The day before they had gone to church together.
possessing or displaying courage; able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching
From this reading THE VISION OF BRAVE WOMEN And now the Tin Soldier was to go to the wars!
one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
From this reading The day before they had gone to church together.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The day before they had gone to church together.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met.
the central area or commercial center of a town or city
From this reading Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met.
set up or found
From this reading Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met.
-ing form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading THE VISION OF BRAVE WOMEN And now the Tin Soldier was to go to the wars!
destroyed or killed
From this reading The day before they had gone to church together.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The day before they had gone to church together.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He was on his way to meet Jean.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met.
a coarse durable twill-weave cotton fabric
From this reading He was on his way to meet Jean.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met.
immediately past
From this reading He was one of them at last!
come together
From this reading He was on his way to meet Jean.
the force of workers available
From this reading Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading THE VISION OF BRAVE WOMEN And now the Tin Soldier was to go to the wars!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE VISION OF BRAVE WOMEN And now the Tin Soldier was to go to the wars!
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He was on his way to meet Jean.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading He was one of them at last!
an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading THE VISION OF BRAVE WOMEN And now the Tin Soldier was to go to the wars!
directly and without evasion; not roundabout
From this reading Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met.
changing location by moving back and forth
From this reading Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE VISION OF BRAVE WOMEN And now the Tin Soldier was to go to the wars!
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading He was one of them at last!
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The day before they had gone to church together.
a silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion; used in many alloys and to coat other metals to prevent corrosion; obtained chiefly from cassiterite where it occurs as tin oxide
From this reading THE VISION OF BRAVE WOMEN And now the Tin Soldier was to go to the wars!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE VISION OF BRAVE WOMEN And now the Tin Soldier was to go to the wars!
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading The day before they had gone to church together.
a vivid mental image
From this reading THE VISION OF BRAVE WOMEN And now the Tin Soldier was to go to the wars!
plural of “war” — the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading THE VISION OF BRAVE WOMEN And now the Tin Soldier was to go to the wars!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE VISION OF BRAVE WOMEN And now the Tin Soldier was to go to the wars!
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading He was on his way to meet Jean.
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes of the khaki-clad men whom he met.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading THE VISION OF BRAVE WOMEN And now the Tin Soldier was to go to the wars!
Chapter 20 of The Tin Soldier by Temple Bailey holds 383 sentences, grouped into 77 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 20 holds 383 sentences of The Tin Soldier, unabridged, divided into 77 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Tin Soldier by Temple Bailey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 383 sentences, grouped into 77 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 77 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 77 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 20 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 Tin Soldier by Temple Bailey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7499 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18056 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18056, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1500 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Tin Soldier section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of The Tin Soldier 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 Tin Soldier, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
