Chapter 7 of The Watcher by the Threshold is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Watcher by the Threshold is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was plain she was in the worst of tempers. She flyted on the lass till the poor thing's cheek paled. "There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door. A bonnie dutiful child, quotha! Wumman, ha ye nae pride?--no even the mense o' a tinkler-lass?"
Chapter 7 of The Watcher by the Threshold is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
very pleasing to the eye
From this reading “A bonnie dutiful child, quotha!”
become dark or darker
From this reading “"There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.”
willingly obedient out of a sense of duty and respect
From this reading “A bonnie dutiful child, quotha!”
a girl or young woman who is unmarried
From this reading “She flyted on the lass till the poor thing's cheek paled.”
past form of “pale” — turn pale, as if in fear
From this reading “She flyted on the lass till the poor thing's cheek paled.”
plural of “pharisee” — a self-righteous or sanctimonious person
From this reading “"There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.”
plural of “temper” — a sudden outburst of anger
From this reading “It was plain she was in the worst of tempers.”
possessive form of “thing” — a special situation
From this reading “She flyted on the lass till the poor thing's cheek paled.”
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 “She flyted on the lass till the poor thing's cheek paled.”
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 bonnie dutiful child, quotha!
very pleasing to the eye
From this reading A bonnie dutiful child, quotha!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.
either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading She flyted on the lass till the poor thing's cheek paled.
a young person of either sex
From this reading A bonnie dutiful child, quotha!
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.
become dark or darker
From this reading "There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading "There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.
willingly obedient out of a sense of duty and respect
From this reading A bonnie dutiful child, quotha!
divisible by two
From this reading Wumman, ha ye nae pride?--no even the mense o' a tinkler-lass?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She flyted on the lass till the poor thing's cheek paled.
an association of criminals
From this reading "There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.
(astronomy) the angular distance of a celestial point measured westward along the celestial equator from the zenith crossing; the right ascension for an observer at a particular location and time of day
From this reading Wumman, ha ye nae pride?--no even the mense o' a tinkler-lass?"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was plain she was in the worst of tempers.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was plain she was in the worst of tempers.
a girl or young woman who is unmarried
From this reading She flyted on the lass till the poor thing's cheek paled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Wumman, ha ye nae pride?--no even the mense o' a tinkler-lass?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Wumman, ha ye nae pride?--no even the mense o' a tinkler-lass?"
not any; not one
From this reading Wumman, ha ye nae pride?--no even the mense o' a tinkler-lass?"
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading "There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was plain she was in the worst of tempers.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She flyted on the lass till the poor thing's cheek paled.
past form of “pale” — turn pale, as if in fear
From this reading She flyted on the lass till the poor thing's cheek paled.
plural of “pharisee” — a self-righteous or sanctimonious person
From this reading "There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading It was plain she was in the worst of tempers.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading She flyted on the lass till the poor thing's cheek paled.
a feeling of self-respect and personal worth
From this reading Wumman, ha ye nae pride?--no even the mense o' a tinkler-lass?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A bonnie dutiful child, quotha!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was plain she was in the worst of tempers.
plural of “temper” — a sudden outburst of anger
From this reading It was plain she was in the worst of tempers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was plain she was in the worst of tempers.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.
possessive form of “thing” — a special situation
From this reading She flyted on the lass till the poor thing's cheek paled.
up to a particular time
From this reading She flyted on the lass till the poor thing's cheek paled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Wumman, ha ye nae pride?--no even the mense o' a tinkler-lass?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was plain she was in the worst of tempers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.
a midwestern state in north central United States
From this reading "There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.
the least favorable outcome
From this reading It was plain she was in the worst of tempers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Wumman, ha ye nae pride?--no even the mense o' a tinkler-lass?"
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading Wumman, ha ye nae pride?--no even the mense o' a tinkler-lass?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "There you gang," she cried, "troking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door.
Chapter 7 of The Watcher by the Threshold by John Buchan holds 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 7 holds 409 sentences of The Watcher by the Threshold, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Watcher by the Threshold by John Buchan exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 7 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 Watcher by the Threshold by John Buchan on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3720 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #57402 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #57402, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 310 minutes of reading across 744 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Watcher by the Threshold section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Watcher by the Threshold 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 Watcher by the Threshold, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
