Chapter 13 of The Von Toodleburgs is here in full — 108 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of The Von Toodleburgs is here in full — 108 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE COMING WINTER, AND A MERRY-MAKING. November was come now. The day I write of was damp and cheerless. Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests. A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
Chapter 13 of The Von Toodleburgs is here in full — 108 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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.
plural of “crest” — the top line of a hill, mountain, or wave
From this reading “Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.”
slightly wet
From this reading “The day I write of was damp and cheerless.”
(of rain) falling lightly in very small drops
From this reading “A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.”
the month following October and preceding December
From this reading “November was come now.”
-ing form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading “Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.”
United States abolitionist (1786-1865)
From this reading “Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.”
past form of “toss” — throw or toss with a light motion
From this reading “Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.”
the 26th letter of the Roman alphabet
From this reading “Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.”
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 THE COMING WINTER, AND A MERRY-MAKING.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE COMING WINTER, AND A MERRY-MAKING.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
a vessel containing liquid in which something is immersed (as to process it or to maintain it at a constant temperature or to lubricate it)
From this reading A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
causing sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy
From this reading The day I write of was damp and cheerless.
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading November was come now.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading THE COMING WINTER, AND A MERRY-MAKING.
plural of “crest” — the top line of a hill, mountain, or wave
From this reading Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.
slightly wet
From this reading The day I write of was damp and cheerless.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The day I write of was damp and cheerless.
(of rain) falling lightly in very small drops
From this reading A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
destroyed or killed
From this reading A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading The day I write of was damp and cheerless.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.
and nothing more
From this reading A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE COMING WINTER, AND A MERRY-MAKING.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
the month following October and preceding December
From this reading November was come now.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading November was come now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The day I write of was damp and cheerless.
above and across; more than
From this reading Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.
water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
From this reading A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.
-ing form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
possessing sweep
From this reading Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
United States abolitionist (1786-1865)
From this reading Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE COMING WINTER, AND A MERRY-MAKING.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
past form of “toss” — throw or toss with a light motion
From this reading Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading A drizzling rain fell over Nyack, and the little town looked as if it had just taken a bath and gone to sleep for the night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading November was come now.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.
the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox
From this reading THE COMING WINTER, AND A MERRY-MAKING.
produce a literary work
From this reading The day I write of was damp and cheerless.
the 26th letter of the Roman alphabet
From this reading Grey, vapory clouds swept over the Tappan Zee, and a sad, sighing wind tossed it into crests.
Chapter 13 of The Von Toodleburgs by F. Colburn (Francis Colburn) Adams holds 108 sentences, grouped into 22 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 13 holds 108 sentences of The Von Toodleburgs, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The Von Toodleburgs by F. Colburn (Francis Colburn) Adams exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 108 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 13 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 Von Toodleburgs by F. Colburn (Francis Colburn) Adams on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4059 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18549 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18549, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 338 minutes of reading across 812 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Von Toodleburgs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of The Von Toodleburgs 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 Von Toodleburgs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
