Chapter 8 of White Cockades is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of White Cockades is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MEETING--FLIGHT. Again came the muffled chime of the antique clock down-stairs; the quarter-hour. Strange sight--the sentinel in the East Room moves. He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down. Like a thief, he walks from his stool to the bed, then to the sofa.
Chapter 8 of White Cockades is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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.
made in or typical of earlier times and valued for its age
From this reading “Again came the muffled chime of the antique clock down-stairs; the quarter-hour.”
a percussion instrument consisting of a set of tuned bells that are struck with a hammer; used as an orchestral instrument
From this reading “Again came the muffled chime of the antique clock down-stairs; the quarter-hour.”
a short heavy curved sword with one edge; formerly used by sailors
From this reading “He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.”
plural of “lay” — a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
From this reading “He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.”
plural of “move” — the act of deciding to do something
From this reading “Strange sight--the sentinel in the East Room moves.”
being or made softer or less loud or clear
From this reading “Again came the muffled chime of the antique clock down-stairs; the quarter-hour.”
a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
From this reading “Strange sight--the sentinel in the East Room moves.”
a simple seat without a back or arms
From this reading “Like a thief, he walks from his stool to the bed, then to the sofa.”
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.
accumulate money for future use
In this reading “He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.”
In this reading “Like a thief, he walks from his stool to the bed, then to the sofa.”
In this reading “Strange sight--the sentinel in the East Room moves.”
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 Like a thief, he walks from his stool to the bed, then to the sofa.
anew
From this reading Again came the muffled chime of the antique clock down-stairs; the quarter-hour.
made in or typical of earlier times and valued for its age
From this reading Again came the muffled chime of the antique clock down-stairs; the quarter-hour.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.
on or to one side
From this reading He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading Like a thief, he walks from his stool to the bed, then to the sofa.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Again came the muffled chime of the antique clock down-stairs; the quarter-hour.
as if with kid gloves; with caution or prudence or tact
From this reading He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.
a percussion instrument consisting of a set of tuned bells that are struck with a hammer; used as an orchestral instrument
From this reading Again came the muffled chime of the antique clock down-stairs; the quarter-hour.
a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading Again came the muffled chime of the antique clock down-stairs; the quarter-hour.
a short heavy curved sword with one edge; formerly used by sailors
From this reading He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Again came the muffled chime of the antique clock down-stairs; the quarter-hour.
move gently or carefully
From this reading He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.
the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
From this reading Strange sight--the sentinel in the East Room moves.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.
a formation of aircraft in flight
From this reading MEETING--FLIGHT.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Like a thief, he walks from his stool to the bed, then to the sofa.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Strange sight--the sentinel in the East Room moves.
plural of “lay” — a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
From this reading He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Like a thief, he walks from his stool to the bed, then to the sofa.
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading MEETING--FLIGHT.
plural of “move” — the act of deciding to do something
From this reading Strange sight--the sentinel in the East Room moves.
being or made softer or less loud or clear
From this reading Again came the muffled chime of the antique clock down-stairs; the quarter-hour.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Again came the muffled chime of the antique clock down-stairs; the quarter-hour.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.
a quarter of an hour
From this reading Again came the muffled chime of the antique clock down-stairs; the quarter-hour.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Strange sight--the sentinel in the East Room moves.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.
a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
From this reading Strange sight--the sentinel in the East Room moves.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading Strange sight--the sentinel in the East Room moves.
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading Like a thief, he walks from his stool to the bed, then to the sofa.
a simple seat without a back or arms
From this reading Like a thief, he walks from his stool to the bed, then to the sofa.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Strange sight--the sentinel in the East Room moves.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Again came the muffled chime of the antique clock down-stairs; the quarter-hour.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Like a thief, he walks from his stool to the bed, then to the sofa.
a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
From this reading Like a thief, he walks from his stool to the bed, then to the sofa.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.
plural of “walk” — the act of traveling by foot
From this reading Like a thief, he walks from his stool to the bed, then to the sofa.
at the time that
From this reading He cautiously lays aside his cutlass; his brogans he had taken off, as if to ease his feet, when he sat down.
Chapter 8 of White Cockades by Edward Prime-Stevenson holds 208 sentences, grouped into 42 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 8 holds 208 sentences of White Cockades, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of White Cockades by Edward Prime-Stevenson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 208 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 8 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 White Cockades by Edward Prime-Stevenson 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 White Cockades section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of White Cockades 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 White Cockades, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
