Chapter 2 of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21 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 II
Chapter 2 of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21 is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Is all this true, Mr. Guthrie?" "All true as God's word." "And all this happened twenty years ago?" "Yes." "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
Chapter 2 of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21 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.
possessive form of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading “"All true as God's word."”
United States folk singer and songwriter (1912-1967)
From this reading “"Is all this true, Mr. Guthrie?"”
the killing of a human being by another human being
From this reading “"Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.”
the collection of rules imposed by authority
From this reading “"Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.”
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading “"Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.”
an amount of time
From this reading “"Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.”
directions prescribed beforehand; the action of prescribing authoritative rules or directions
From this reading “"Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.”
one of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; located on the northern part of the island of Great Britain; famous for bagpipes and plaids and kilts
From this reading “"Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.”
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 “"And all this happened twenty years ago?"”
In this reading “"Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.”
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 "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
in the past
From this reading "And all this happened twenty years ago?"
(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 "Is all this true, Mr. Guthrie?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And all this happened twenty years ago?"
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "All true as God's word."
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
divisible by two
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
grant freedom to; free from confinement
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
possessive form of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading "All true as God's word."
United States folk singer and songwriter (1912-1967)
From this reading "Is all this true, Mr. Guthrie?"
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading "And all this happened twenty years ago?"
the killing of a human being by another human being
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Is all this true, Mr. Guthrie?"
the collection of rules imposed by authority
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Is all this true, Mr. Guthrie?"
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
an amount of time
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
directions prescribed beforehand; the action of prescribing authoritative rules or directions
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
one of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; located on the northern part of the island of Great Britain; famous for bagpipes and plaids and kilts
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "Is all this true, Mr. Guthrie?"
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading "Is all this true, Mr. Guthrie?"
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading "And all this happened twenty years ago?"
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading "All true as God's word."
a late time of life
From this reading "And all this happened twenty years ago?"
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Then by the law of Scotland you are a free man, even were this murder or homicide; for twenty years is the period of our prescription.
Chapter 2 of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21 by John Mackay [Compiler] Wilson 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 2 holds 404 sentences of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21 by John Mackay [Compiler] Wilson 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 2 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 Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21 by John Mackay [Compiler] Wilson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3060 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37336 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37336, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 255 minutes of reading across 612 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21 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 Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
