Chapter 19 of Town and Country is here in full — 39 sentences across 8 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of Town and Country is here in full — 39 sentences across 8 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"News!" exclaimed Capt. Thorndyke, as he shook the hand of his friend Basyl. "Have you not heard it? Why, it's common talk. Young Clifton imbibes rather too freely. You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."
Chapter 19 of Town and Country is here in full — 39 sentences across 8 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/7 · 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.
an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading “You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."”
in a free manner
From this reading “Young Clifton imbibes rather too freely.”
take in, also metaphorically
From this reading “You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."”
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading “You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."”
plural of “liquor” — an alcoholic beverage that is distilled rather than fermented
From this reading “You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."”
information about recent and important events
From this reading “"News!" exclaimed Capt. Thorndyke, as he shook the hand of his friend Basyl.”
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading “"News!" exclaimed Capt. Thorndyke, as he shook the hand of his friend Basyl.”
plural of “state” — the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading “You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."”
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.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "News!" exclaimed Capt. Thorndyke, as he shook the hand of his friend Basyl.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "News!" exclaimed Capt. Thorndyke, as he shook the hand of his friend Basyl.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "News!" exclaimed Capt. Thorndyke, as he shook the hand of his friend Basyl.
an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Young Clifton imbibes rather too freely.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."
belonging to or participated in by a community as a whole; public
From this reading Why, it's common talk.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading "News!" exclaimed Capt. Thorndyke, as he shook the hand of his friend Basyl.
in a free manner
From this reading Young Clifton imbibes rather too freely.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading "News!" exclaimed Capt. Thorndyke, as he shook the hand of his friend Basyl.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading "News!" exclaimed Capt. Thorndyke, as he shook the hand of his friend Basyl.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Have you not heard it?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "News!" exclaimed Capt. Thorndyke, as he shook the hand of his friend Basyl.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading "Have you not heard it?
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "News!" exclaimed Capt. Thorndyke, as he shook the hand of his friend Basyl.
take in, also metaphorically
From this reading You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Young Clifton imbibes rather too freely.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Have you not heard it?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Why, it's common talk.
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."
plural of “liquor” — an alcoholic beverage that is distilled rather than fermented
From this reading You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."
information about recent and important events
From this reading "News!" exclaimed Capt. Thorndyke, as he shook the hand of his friend Basyl.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Have you not heard it?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "News!" exclaimed Capt. Thorndyke, as he shook the hand of his friend Basyl.
on the contrary
From this reading Young Clifton imbibes rather too freely.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading "News!" exclaimed Capt. Thorndyke, as he shook the hand of his friend Basyl.
plural of “state” — the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading Why, it's common talk.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "News!" exclaimed Capt. Thorndyke, as he shook the hand of his friend Basyl.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "News!" exclaimed Capt. Thorndyke, as he shook the hand of his friend Basyl.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Young Clifton imbibes rather too freely.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why, it's common talk.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading You know him,--Laneville & Co.'s clerk,--best judge of liquors in the states; strange that he will imbibe."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Have you not heard it?
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Young Clifton imbibes rather too freely.
Chapter 19 of Town and Country by John S. (John Stowell) Adams holds 39 sentences, grouped into 8 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 19 holds 39 sentences of Town and Country, unabridged, divided into 8 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of Town and Country by John S. (John Stowell) Adams exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 39 sentences, grouped into 8 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 8 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 8 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 19 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 Town and Country by John S. (John Stowell) Adams on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4543 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4669 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4669, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 378 minutes of reading across 909 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Town and Country section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Town and 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 Town and Country, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
