Chapter 9 of Wayside Courtships is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Wayside Courtships is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I'll go and see," he said, and entered the door. "Boys, Mrs. Field wants to look in a minute. Go on with your fiddling, Sam--only I wanted to see that you weren't sitting around in dishabill." This seemed a good joke, and they all howled and haw-hawed gleefully. "So go right ahead with your evening prayers.
Chapter 9 of Wayside Courtships is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
at or in the front
From this reading “"So go right ahead with your evening prayers.”
(informal) small and of little importance
From this reading “Go on with your fiddling, Sam--only I wanted to see that you weren't sitting around in dishabill."”
in a joyous and gleeful manner
From this reading “This seemed a good joke, and they all howled and haw-hawed gleefully.”
past form of “howl” — emit long loud cries
From this reading “This seemed a good joke, and they all howled and haw-hawed gleefully.”
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading “This seemed a good joke, and they all howled and haw-hawed gleefully.”
plural of “prayer” — the act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving)
From this reading “"So go right ahead with your evening prayers.”
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading “Go on with your fiddling, Sam--only I wanted to see that you weren't sitting around in dishabill."”
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading “"Boys, Mrs. Field wants to look in a minute.”
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 "Boys, Mrs. Field wants to look in a minute.
at or in the front
From this reading "So go right ahead with your evening prayers.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading This seemed a good joke, and they all howled and haw-hawed gleefully.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "I'll go and see," he said, and entered the door.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading Go on with your fiddling, Sam--only I wanted to see that you weren't sitting around in dishabill."
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading "Boys, Mrs. Field wants to look in a minute.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Go on with your fiddling, Sam--only I wanted to see that you weren't sitting around in dishabill."
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading "I'll go and see," he said, and entered the door.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading "I'll go and see," he said, and entered the door.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading "So go right ahead with your evening prayers.
(informal) small and of little importance
From this reading Go on with your fiddling, Sam--only I wanted to see that you weren't sitting around in dishabill."
a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed
From this reading "Boys, Mrs. Field wants to look in a minute.
in a joyous and gleeful manner
From this reading This seemed a good joke, and they all howled and haw-hawed gleefully.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "I'll go and see," he said, and entered the door.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading This seemed a good joke, and they all howled and haw-hawed gleefully.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This seemed a good joke, and they all howled and haw-hawed gleefully.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I'll go and see," he said, and entered the door.
past form of “howl” — emit long loud cries
From this reading This seemed a good joke, and they all howled and haw-hawed gleefully.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Go on with your fiddling, Sam--only I wanted to see that you weren't sitting around in dishabill."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'll go and see," he said, and entered the door.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Boys, Mrs. Field wants to look in a minute.
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading This seemed a good joke, and they all howled and haw-hawed gleefully.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "Boys, Mrs. Field wants to look in a minute.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading "Boys, Mrs. Field wants to look in a minute.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "Boys, Mrs. Field wants to look in a minute.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Go on with your fiddling, Sam--only I wanted to see that you weren't sitting around in dishabill."
and nothing more
From this reading Go on with your fiddling, Sam--only I wanted to see that you weren't sitting around in dishabill."
plural of “prayer” — the act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving)
From this reading "So go right ahead with your evening prayers.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "So go right ahead with your evening prayers.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I'll go and see," he said, and entered the door.
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading Go on with your fiddling, Sam--only I wanted to see that you weren't sitting around in dishabill."
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "I'll go and see," he said, and entered the door.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading This seemed a good joke, and they all howled and haw-hawed gleefully.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading Go on with your fiddling, Sam--only I wanted to see that you weren't sitting around in dishabill."
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "So go right ahead with your evening prayers.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Go on with your fiddling, Sam--only I wanted to see that you weren't sitting around in dishabill."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "I'll go and see," he said, and entered the door.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading This seemed a good joke, and they all howled and haw-hawed gleefully.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This seemed a good joke, and they all howled and haw-hawed gleefully.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Boys, Mrs. Field wants to look in a minute.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading Go on with your fiddling, Sam--only I wanted to see that you weren't sitting around in dishabill."
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading "Boys, Mrs. Field wants to look in a minute.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Go on with your fiddling, Sam--only I wanted to see that you weren't sitting around in dishabill."
in the company of; together with
From this reading Go on with your fiddling, Sam--only I wanted to see that you weren't sitting around in dishabill."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Go on with your fiddling, Sam--only I wanted to see that you weren't sitting around in dishabill."
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Go on with your fiddling, Sam--only I wanted to see that you weren't sitting around in dishabill."
Chapter 9 of Wayside Courtships by Hamlin Garland holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 404 sentences of Wayside Courtships, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Wayside Courtships by Hamlin Garland exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Wayside Courtships by Hamlin Garland on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5245 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20247 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #20247, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 437 minutes of reading across 1049 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Wayside Courtships section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Wayside Courtships 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 Wayside Courtships, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
