Chapter 8 of The Under Dog is here in full — 438 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Under Dog is here in full — 438 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"He got upon his feet, and looked earnestly into the dead face. Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently. He did not touch the face. When he had tiptoed out of the room, he laid his hand on my shoulder. The tears were streaming down his face: 'It was jes' like ye, Sammy, to send fo' me.
Chapter 8 of The Under Dog is here in full — 438 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading “Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently.”
in a serious manner
From this reading “"He got upon his feet, and looked earnestly into the dead face.”
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading “Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently.”
past form of “pick” — select carefully from a group
From this reading “Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently.”
with reverence; in a reverent manner
From this reading “Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently.”
any broad thin expanse or surface
From this reading “Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently.”
exuding a bodily fluid in profuse amounts
From this reading “The tears were streaming down his face: 'It was jes' like ye, Sammy, to send fo' me.”
past form of “tiptoe” — walk on one's toes
From this reading “When he had tiptoed out of the room, he laid his hand on my shoulder.”
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 "He got upon his feet, and looked earnestly into the dead face.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading "He got upon his feet, and looked earnestly into the dead face.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading He did not touch the face.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently.
in a serious manner
From this reading "He got upon his feet, and looked earnestly into the dead face.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading "He got upon his feet, and looked earnestly into the dead face.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading "He got upon his feet, and looked earnestly into the dead face.
an officer holding the rank of major or lieutenant colonel or colonel
From this reading The tears were streaming down his face: 'It was jes' like ye, Sammy, to send fo' me.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "He got upon his feet, and looked earnestly into the dead face.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading When he had tiptoed out of the room, he laid his hand on my shoulder.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading When he had tiptoed out of the room, he laid his hand on my shoulder.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "He got upon his feet, and looked earnestly into the dead face.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "He got upon his feet, and looked earnestly into the dead face.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading "He got upon his feet, and looked earnestly into the dead face.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The tears were streaming down his face: 'It was jes' like ye, Sammy, to send fo' me.
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently.
set down according to a plan
From this reading When he had tiptoed out of the room, he laid his hand on my shoulder.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The tears were streaming down his face: 'It was jes' like ye, Sammy, to send fo' me.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "He got upon his feet, and looked earnestly into the dead face.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The tears were streaming down his face: 'It was jes' like ye, Sammy, to send fo' me.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading When he had tiptoed out of the room, he laid his hand on my shoulder.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He did not touch the face.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading When he had tiptoed out of the room, he laid his hand on my shoulder.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading When he had tiptoed out of the room, he laid his hand on my shoulder.
past form of “pick” — select carefully from a group
From this reading Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently.
with reverence; in a reverent manner
From this reading Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading When he had tiptoed out of the room, he laid his hand on my shoulder.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The tears were streaming down his face: 'It was jes' like ye, Sammy, to send fo' me.
cause to go somewhere
From this reading The tears were streaming down his face: 'It was jes' like ye, Sammy, to send fo' me.
any broad thin expanse or surface
From this reading Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently.
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading When he had tiptoed out of the room, he laid his hand on my shoulder.
exuding a bodily fluid in profuse amounts
From this reading The tears were streaming down his face: 'It was jes' like ye, Sammy, to send fo' me.
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading The tears were streaming down his face: 'It was jes' like ye, Sammy, to send fo' me.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "He got upon his feet, and looked earnestly into the dead face.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently.
past form of “tiptoe” — walk on one's toes
From this reading When he had tiptoed out of the room, he laid his hand on my shoulder.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The tears were streaming down his face: 'It was jes' like ye, Sammy, to send fo' me.
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading He did not touch the face.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading "He got upon his feet, and looked earnestly into the dead face.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The tears were streaming down his face: 'It was jes' like ye, Sammy, to send fo' me.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The tears were streaming down his face: 'It was jes' like ye, Sammy, to send fo' me.
at the time that
From this reading When he had tiptoed out of the room, he laid his hand on my shoulder.
a Caucasian
From this reading Then he bent down and picked up one corner of the white sheet, and kissed it reverently.
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading The tears were streaming down his face: 'It was jes' like ye, Sammy, to send fo' me.
Chapter 8 of The Under Dog by Francis Hopkinson Smith holds 438 sentences, grouped into 88 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 438 sentences of The Under Dog, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Under Dog by Francis Hopkinson Smith exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 438 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 Under Dog by Francis Hopkinson Smith on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3898 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9463 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9463, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 324 minutes of reading across 780 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Under Dog section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Under Dog 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 Under Dog, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
