Chapter 3 of The Washer of the Ford is here in full — 446 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Washer of the Ford is here in full — 446 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"And when I was there, and standing by the running water, I saw a man by the stream-side. He was tall, but spare and weary: and the clothes upon him were poor and worn. He had sorrow. When he lifted his head at me, I saw the tears. Dark, wonderful, sweet eyes they were.
Chapter 3 of The Washer of the Ford is here in full — 446 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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.
clothing in general
From this reading “He was tall, but spare and weary: and the clothes upon him were poor and worn.”
held up in the air
From this reading “When he lifted his head at me, I saw the tears.”
an emotion of great sadness associated with loss or bereavement
From this reading “He had sorrow.”
refrain from harming
From this reading “He was tall, but spare and weary: and the clothes upon him were poor and worn.”
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading “He was tall, but spare and weary: and the clothes upon him were poor and worn.”
exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress
From this reading “He was tall, but spare and weary: and the clothes upon him were poor and worn.”
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading “Dark, wonderful, sweet eyes they were.”
Damaged or thinned by continuous use.
From this reading “He was tall, but spare and weary: and the clothes upon him were poor and worn.”
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 “"And when I was there, and standing by the running water, I saw a man by the stream-side.”
In this reading “"And when I was there, and standing by the running water, I saw a man by the stream-side.”
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 "And when I was there, and standing by the running water, I saw a man by the stream-side.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And when I was there, and standing by the running water, I saw a man by the stream-side.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading When he lifted his head at me, I saw the tears.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He was tall, but spare and weary: and the clothes upon him were poor and worn.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "And when I was there, and standing by the running water, I saw a man by the stream-side.
clothing in general
From this reading He was tall, but spare and weary: and the clothes upon him were poor and worn.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Dark, wonderful, sweet eyes they were.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Dark, wonderful, sweet eyes they were.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had sorrow.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was tall, but spare and weary: and the clothes upon him were poor and worn.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading When he lifted his head at me, I saw the tears.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He was tall, but spare and weary: and the clothes upon him were poor and worn.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading When he lifted his head at me, I saw the tears.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "And when I was there, and standing by the running water, I saw a man by the stream-side.
held up in the air
From this reading When he lifted his head at me, I saw the tears.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "And when I was there, and standing by the running water, I saw a man by the stream-side.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading When he lifted his head at me, I saw the tears.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading He was tall, but spare and weary: and the clothes upon him were poor and worn.
(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream
From this reading "And when I was there, and standing by the running water, I saw a man by the stream-side.
cut with a saw
From this reading "And when I was there, and standing by the running water, I saw a man by the stream-side.
an emotion of great sadness associated with loss or bereavement
From this reading He had sorrow.
refrain from harming
From this reading He was tall, but spare and weary: and the clothes upon him were poor and worn.
having a supporting base
From this reading "And when I was there, and standing by the running water, I saw a man by the stream-side.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And when I was there, and standing by the running water, I saw a man by the stream-side.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading Dark, wonderful, sweet eyes they were.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading He was tall, but spare and weary: and the clothes upon him were poor and worn.
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading When he lifted his head at me, I saw the tears.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "And when I was there, and standing by the running water, I saw a man by the stream-side.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "And when I was there, and standing by the running water, I saw a man by the stream-side.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Dark, wonderful, sweet eyes they were.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading He was tall, but spare and weary: and the clothes upon him were poor and worn.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "And when I was there, and standing by the running water, I saw a man by the stream-side.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading "And when I was there, and standing by the running water, I saw a man by the stream-side.
exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress
From this reading He was tall, but spare and weary: and the clothes upon him were poor and worn.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading He was tall, but spare and weary: and the clothes upon him were poor and worn.
at the time that
From this reading "And when I was there, and standing by the running water, I saw a man by the stream-side.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading Dark, wonderful, sweet eyes they were.
Damaged or thinned by continuous use.
From this reading He was tall, but spare and weary: and the clothes upon him were poor and worn.
Chapter 3 of The Washer of the Ford by William Sharp holds 446 sentences, grouped into 90 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 3 holds 446 sentences of The Washer of the Ford, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Washer of the Ford by William Sharp exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 446 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 3 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 Washer of the Ford by William Sharp on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3081 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43395 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43395, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 256 minutes of reading across 617 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Washer of the Ford section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of The Washer of the Ford 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 Washer of the Ford, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
