Chapter 23 of A Blot on the Scutcheon is here in full — 132 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of A Blot on the Scutcheon is here in full — 132 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree. It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither. What was Cecile thinking of him now? What was she saying? What doing?
Chapter 23 of A Blot on the Scutcheon is here in full — 132 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
having the limits or boundaries established
From this reading “It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.”
come together as in a cluster or flock
From this reading “It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.”
-ing form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.”
used of old persons or old trees; covered with knobs or knots
From this reading “THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.”
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading “THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.”
past form of “matter” — have weight; have import, carry weight
From this reading “It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.”
plural of “shrub” — a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
From this reading “It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.”
the main stem of a tree; usually covered with bark; the bole is usually the part that is commercially useful for lumber
From this reading “THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.”
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.
a fence built of rough stones; used to separate fields
In this reading “It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.”
In this reading “THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.”
In this reading “It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.”
In this reading “THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.”
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 THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
having the limits or boundaries established
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading What was Cecile thinking of him now?
come together as in a cluster or flock
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading What doing?
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.
-ing form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
used of old persons or old trees; covered with knobs or knots
From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.
past form of “matter” — have weight; have import, carry weight
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading What was Cecile thinking of him now?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading What was she saying?
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading What was she saying?
plural of “shrub” — a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading What was Cecile thinking of him now?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
the main stem of a tree; usually covered with bark; the bole is usually the part that is commercially useful for lumber
From this reading THE MEETING IN THE FOREST Morice Conyers stood leaning against the gnarled trunk of a mulberry-tree.
a way of regarding situations or topics etc.
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It mattered nothing to him that his view was bounded by a cluster of shrubs and a stone wall; he was gazing at neither.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What was Cecile thinking of him now?
Chapter 23 of A Blot on the Scutcheon by Mabel Winifred Knowles holds 132 sentences, grouped into 27 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 23 holds 132 sentences of A Blot on the Scutcheon, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of A Blot on the Scutcheon by Mabel Winifred Knowles exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 132 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 23 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 Blot on the Scutcheon by Mabel Winifred Knowles on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4268 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34164 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34164, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 355 minutes of reading across 854 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Blot on the Scutcheon section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of A Blot on the Scutcheon 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 Blot on the Scutcheon, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
