Chapter V of The Whip Hand: A Tale of the Pine Country, “The End of the Beginning,” is here in full — 43 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter V of The Whip Hand: A Tale of the Pine Country, “The End of the Beginning,” is here in full — 43 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair. The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:
Chapter V of The Whip Hand: A Tale of the Pine Country, “The End of the Beginning,” is here in full — 43 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/8 · 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.
movement that causes the formation of a curve
From this reading “Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.”
plural of “davy” — English chemist who was a pioneer in electrochemistry and who used it to isolate elements sodium and potassium and barium and boron and calcium and magnesium and chlorine (1778-1829)
From this reading “The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:”
plural of “elbow” — hinge joint between the forearm and upper arm and the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped
From this reading “Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.”
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading “Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.”
third-person singular of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading “The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:”
plural of “leaf” — the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants
From this reading “The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:”
a brief written record
From this reading “The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:”
distribute or disperse widely
From this reading “The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:”
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.
move outward
In this reading “The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:”
apply thoroughly; think through
In this reading “Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.”
able to be negotiated or arranged by compromise
In this reading “Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.”
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 Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:
movement that causes the formation of a curve
From this reading Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.
the two together, not just one
From this reading Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.
plural of “davy” — English chemist who was a pioneer in electrochemistry and who used it to isolate elements sodium and potassium and barium and boron and calcium and magnesium and chlorine (1778-1829)
From this reading The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:
plural of “elbow” — hinge joint between the forearm and upper arm and the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped
From this reading Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.
third-person singular of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:
plural of “leaf” — the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants
From this reading The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:
a brief written record
From this reading The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:
above and across; more than
From this reading Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.
distribute or disperse widely
From this reading The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Bending over a book sat Halloran, both elbows on the table, the fingers of both hands run through his hair.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The book lay open, and spread out on the leaves was a note from Miss Davies; in part this ran as follows:
Chapter 5 of The Whip Hand: A Tale of the Pine Country by Samuel Merwin holds 43 sentences, grouped into 9 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 5 holds 43 sentences of The Whip Hand: A Tale of the Pine Country, unabridged, divided into 9 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Whip Hand: A Tale of the Pine Country by Samuel Merwin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 43 sentences, grouped into 9 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 9 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 9 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 5 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 Whip Hand: A Tale of the Pine Country by Samuel Merwin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4149 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54102 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54102, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 345 minutes of reading across 830 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Whip Hand: A Tale of the Pine Country section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The Whip Hand: A Tale of the Pine Country 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 Whip Hand: A Tale of the Pine Country, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
