Chapter 3 of A Beleaguered City is here in full — 384 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of A Beleaguered City is here in full — 384 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
If my Agnès had been with me she would have seen our child, she would have heard that voice! The great cold drops of moisture were on my forehead. My limbs trembled, my heart fluttered in my bosom. I could neither listen nor yet speak. And those who would have spoken to me, those who loved me, sighing, went away.
Chapter 3 of A Beleaguered City is here in full — 384 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/76 · 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.
the chest considered as the place where secret thoughts are kept
From this reading “My limbs trembled, my heart fluttered in my bosom.”
plural of “drop” — a shape that is spherical and small
From this reading “The great cold drops of moisture were on my forehead.”
past form of “flutter” — move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
From this reading “My limbs trembled, my heart fluttered in my bosom.”
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading “The great cold drops of moisture were on my forehead.”
plural of “limb” — one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
From this reading “My limbs trembled, my heart fluttered in my bosom.”
wetness caused by water
From this reading “The great cold drops of moisture were on my forehead.”
-ing form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading “And those who would have spoken to me, those who loved me, sighing, went away.”
past form of “tremble” — move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading “My limbs trembled, my heart fluttered in my bosom.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If my Agnès had been with me she would have seen our child, she would have heard that voice!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And those who would have spoken to me, those who loved me, sighing, went away.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading And those who would have spoken to me, those who loved me, sighing, went away.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading If my Agnès had been with me she would have seen our child, she would have heard that voice!
the chest considered as the place where secret thoughts are kept
From this reading My limbs trembled, my heart fluttered in my bosom.
a young person of either sex
From this reading If my Agnès had been with me she would have seen our child, she would have heard that voice!
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 The great cold drops of moisture were on my forehead.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I could neither listen nor yet speak.
plural of “drop” — a shape that is spherical and small
From this reading The great cold drops of moisture were on my forehead.
past form of “flutter” — move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
From this reading My limbs trembled, my heart fluttered in my bosom.
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading The great cold drops of moisture were on my forehead.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading The great cold drops of moisture were on my forehead.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading If my Agnès had been with me she would have seen our child, she would have heard that voice!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading If my Agnès had been with me she would have seen our child, she would have heard that voice!
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading If my Agnès had been with me she would have seen our child, she would have heard that voice!
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading My limbs trembled, my heart fluttered in my bosom.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I could neither listen nor yet speak.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If my Agnès had been with me she would have seen our child, she would have heard that voice!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading My limbs trembled, my heart fluttered in my bosom.
plural of “limb” — one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
From this reading My limbs trembled, my heart fluttered in my bosom.
hear with intention
From this reading I could neither listen nor yet speak.
held dear
From this reading And those who would have spoken to me, those who loved me, sighing, went away.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading If my Agnès had been with me she would have seen our child, she would have heard that voice!
wetness caused by water
From this reading The great cold drops of moisture were on my forehead.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading If my Agnès had been with me she would have seen our child, she would have heard that voice!
not one and not the other of two
From this reading I could neither listen nor yet speak.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading I could neither listen nor yet speak.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The great cold drops of moisture were on my forehead.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The great cold drops of moisture were on my forehead.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading If my Agnès had been with me she would have seen our child, she would have heard that voice!
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading If my Agnès had been with me she would have seen our child, she would have heard that voice!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading If my Agnès had been with me she would have seen our child, she would have heard that voice!
-ing form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading And those who would have spoken to me, those who loved me, sighing, went away.
express in speech
From this reading I could neither listen nor yet speak.
uttered through the medium of speech or characterized by speech; sometimes used in combination
From this reading And those who would have spoken to me, those who loved me, sighing, went away.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading If my Agnès had been with me she would have seen our child, she would have heard that voice!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The great cold drops of moisture were on my forehead.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading And those who would have spoken to me, those who loved me, sighing, went away.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And those who would have spoken to me, those who loved me, sighing, went away.
past form of “tremble” — move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading My limbs trembled, my heart fluttered in my bosom.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading If my Agnès had been with me she would have seen our child, she would have heard that voice!
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading And those who would have spoken to me, those who loved me, sighing, went away.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The great cold drops of moisture were on my forehead.
which person or people
From this reading And those who would have spoken to me, those who loved me, sighing, went away.
in the company of; together with
From this reading If my Agnès had been with me she would have seen our child, she would have heard that voice!
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading If my Agnès had been with me she would have seen our child, she would have heard that voice!
but in spite of that
From this reading I could neither listen nor yet speak.
Chapter 3 of A Beleaguered City by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant holds 384 sentences, grouped into 77 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 3 holds 384 sentences of A Beleaguered City, unabridged, divided into 77 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of A Beleaguered City by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 384 sentences, grouped into 77 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 77 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 77 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 3 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 A Beleaguered City by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2442 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11521 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11521, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 203 minutes of reading across 489 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Beleaguered City section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of A Beleaguered City 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 A Beleaguered City, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
