Chapter 8 of The Warden of the Marches is here in full — 289 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Warden of the Marches is here in full — 289 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION. Hark! what was that? Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear. There was the sound of horses’ feet, the rattling of bridles, on every side. A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.
Chapter 8 of The Warden of the Marches is here in full — 289 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/57 · 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 act of overcoming or outdoing
From this reading “Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.”
unpleasantly cool and humid
From this reading “Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.”
move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading “A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.”
(of the elements) in a wild and stormy manner
From this reading “Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.”
listen; used mostly in the imperative
From this reading “Hark! what was that?”
an instinctive motive
From this reading “A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.”
the institution and conduct of legal proceedings against a defendant for criminal behavior
From this reading “WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION.”
a rapid series of short loud sounds (as might be heard with a stethoscope in some types of respiratory disorders)
From this reading “There was the sound of horses’ feet, the rattling of bridles, on every side.”
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 “Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.”
come into existence; take on form or shape
In this reading “Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.”
In this reading “A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.”
In this reading “A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.”
In this reading “WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION.”
In this reading “Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.”
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 wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.
using the voice; not silently
From this reading A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.
at or in or to any place
From this reading A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.
the act of overcoming or outdoing
From this reading Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was the sound of horses’ feet, the rattling of bridles, on every side.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.
unpleasantly cool and humid
From this reading Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.
move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading There was the sound of horses’ feet, the rattling of bridles, on every side.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading There was the sound of horses’ feet, the rattling of bridles, on every side.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION.
(of the elements) in a wild and stormy manner
From this reading Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.
listen; used mostly in the imperative
From this reading Hark! what was that?
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.
prevent from being seen or discovered
From this reading A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.
plural of “horse” — solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading There was the sound of horses’ feet, the rattling of bridles, on every side.
an instinctive motive
From this reading A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.
a particular point in time
From this reading A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was the sound of horses’ feet, the rattling of bridles, on every side.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading There was the sound of horses’ feet, the rattling of bridles, on every side.
the institution and conduct of legal proceedings against a defendant for criminal behavior
From this reading WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION.
a rapid series of short loud sounds (as might be heard with a stethoscope in some types of respiratory disorders)
From this reading There was the sound of horses’ feet, the rattling of bridles, on every side.
past form of “seize” — take hold of; grab
From this reading A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading There was the sound of horses’ feet, the rattling of bridles, on every side.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading There was the sound of horses’ feet, the rattling of bridles, on every side.
inflected form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Hark! what was that?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was the sound of horses’ feet, the rattling of bridles, on every side.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Hark! what was that?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Hark! what was that?
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading A wild impulse seized her to creep under the dressing-table--to hide herself anywhere, but a moment later she laughed aloud.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Mabel sprang up in bed, her heart beating furiously, her hands clammy with fear.
someone who sees an event and reports what happened
From this reading WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION.
Chapter 8 of The Warden of the Marches by Sydney C. Grier holds 289 sentences, grouped into 58 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 289 sentences of The Warden of the Marches, unabridged, divided into 58 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Warden of the Marches by Sydney C. Grier exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 289 sentences, grouped into 58 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 58 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 58 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 Warden of the Marches by Sydney C. Grier on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7109 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66229 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66229, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 592 minutes of reading across 1422 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Warden of the Marches section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Warden of the Marches 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 Warden of the Marches, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
