Chapter 9 of Too dearly bought is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Too dearly bought is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A COLD EVENING. IT was a Sunday evening, and bitterly cold. A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town. Martha Stevens cowered over a scanty fire, with her shivering children. Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
Chapter 9 of Too dearly bought is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
make worse
From this reading “A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town.”
-ing form of “cling” — come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation
From this reading “Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.”
ice crystals forming a white deposit (especially on objects outside)
From this reading “A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town.”
past form of “reign” — have sovereign power
From this reading “A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town.”
lacking in magnitude or quantity
From this reading “Martha Stevens cowered over a scanty fire, with her shivering children.”
a sensation of cold that often marks the start of an infection and the development of a fever
From this reading “Martha Stevens cowered over a scanty fire, with her shivering children.”
United States psychologist and psychophysicist who proposed Stevens' power law to replace Fechner's law (1906-1973)
From this reading “Martha Stevens cowered over a scanty fire, with her shivering children.”
past form of “wail” — emit long loud cries
From this reading “Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.”
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 a Sunday evening, and bitterly cold.”
In this reading “A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town.”
In this reading “A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town.”
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 COLD EVENING.
make worse
From this reading A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading IT was a Sunday evening, and bitterly cold.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
with bitterness; in a resentful manner
From this reading IT was a Sunday evening, and bitterly cold.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading Martha Stevens cowered over a scanty fire, with her shivering children.
-ing form of “cling” — come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation
From this reading Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading A COLD EVENING.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Martha Stevens cowered over a scanty fire, with her shivering children.
put on clothes
From this reading Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading A COLD EVENING.
having lost freshness or brilliance of color
From this reading Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
start firing a weapon
From this reading Martha Stevens cowered over a scanty fire, with her shivering children.
ice crystals forming a white deposit (especially on objects outside)
From this reading A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town.
annoy continually or chronically
From this reading Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Martha Stevens cowered over a scanty fire, with her shivering children.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading IT was a Sunday evening, and bitterly cold.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Martha Stevens cowered over a scanty fire, with her shivering children.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune
From this reading A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town.
possessive form of “mother” — a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
above and across; more than
From this reading Martha Stevens cowered over a scanty fire, with her shivering children.
past form of “reign” — have sovereign power
From this reading A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town.
lacking in magnitude or quantity
From this reading Martha Stevens cowered over a scanty fire, with her shivering children.
a sensation of cold that often marks the start of an infection and the development of a fever
From this reading Martha Stevens cowered over a scanty fire, with her shivering children.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
United States psychologist and psychophysicist who proposed Stevens' power law to replace Fechner's law (1906-1973)
From this reading Martha Stevens cowered over a scanty fire, with her shivering children.
not in physical motion
From this reading Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
first day of the week; observed as a day of rest and worship by most Christians
From this reading IT was a Sunday evening, and bitterly cold.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
past form of “wail” — emit long loud cries
From this reading Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading IT was a Sunday evening, and bitterly cold.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Harry had wailed himself to sleep in his little bed; but Millie and Bobbie were up still, clinging to their mother's faded dress.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading A hard frost had come to aggravate the misery which already reigned in the town.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Martha Stevens cowered over a scanty fire, with her shivering children.
Chapter 9 of Too dearly bought by Agnes Giberne holds 146 sentences, grouped into 30 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 9 holds 146 sentences of Too dearly bought, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Too dearly bought by Agnes Giberne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 146 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 9 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 Too dearly bought by Agnes Giberne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Too dearly bought section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Too dearly bought 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 Too dearly bought, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
