Chapter 4 of The Washer of the Ford is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Washer of the Ford is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Give it." "Behold!" And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer. He could not see his Sleep now. It was gone, as smoke that is licked up by the wind.
Chapter 4 of The Washer of the Ford is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
see with attention
From this reading “"Behold!"”
abstaining from food
From this reading “And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.”
any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
From this reading “And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.”
having been got the better of
From this reading “It was gone, as smoke that is licked up by the wind.”
the act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving)
From this reading “And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.”
inflected form of “rub” — move over something with pressure
From this reading “And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.”
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading “It was gone, as smoke that is licked up by the wind.”
temporary loss of strength and energy resulting from hard physical or mental work
From this reading “And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.”
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 “It was gone, as smoke that is licked up by the wind.”
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 And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It was gone, as smoke that is licked up by the wind.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
see with attention
From this reading "Behold!"
showing who or what does the action
From this reading It was gone, as smoke that is licked up by the wind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He could not see his Sleep now.
opinion or judgment
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
abstaining from food
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "Give it."
destroyed or killed
From this reading It was gone, as smoke that is licked up by the wind.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He could not see his Sleep now.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was gone, as smoke that is licked up by the wind.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Give it."
having been got the better of
From this reading It was gone, as smoke that is licked up by the wind.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He could not see his Sleep now.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He could not see his Sleep now.
the act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving)
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
inflected form of “rub” — move over something with pressure
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He could not see his Sleep now.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading He could not see his Sleep now.
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading It was gone, as smoke that is licked up by the wind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading It was gone, as smoke that is licked up by the wind.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
temporary loss of strength and energy resulting from hard physical or mental work
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading It was gone, as smoke that is licked up by the wind.
in the company of; together with
From this reading And Colum, sitting upon the strewed fern that was his bed, rubbed his eyes that were heavy with weariness and fasting and long prayer.
Chapter 4 of The Washer of the Ford by William Sharp holds 430 sentences, grouped into 86 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 4 holds 430 sentences of The Washer of the Ford, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Washer of the Ford by William Sharp exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 430 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 4 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.
