Chapter 8 of A California Girl is here in full — 219 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of A California Girl is here in full — 219 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
PENLOE. One afternoon Mrs. Herne received a caller. It was Mrs. Cullom. She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise. After the usual introductory talk, Mrs. Cullom said:
Chapter 8 of A California Girl is here in full — 219 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
a social or business visitor
From this reading “One afternoon Mrs. Herne received a caller.”
put in effect
From this reading “She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.”
serving to open or begin
From this reading “After the usual introductory talk, Mrs. Cullom said:”
plural of “party” — an organization to gain political power
From this reading “She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.”
past form of “promise” — make a promise or commitment
From this reading “She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.”
plural of “reason” — a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading “She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.”
two times
From this reading “She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.”
of many different kinds purposefully arranged but lacking any uniformity
From this reading “She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.”
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 One afternoon Mrs. Herne received a caller.
(usually followed by “to”) having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
later than; following
From this reading After the usual introductory talk, Mrs. Cullom said:
the part of the day between noon and evening
From this reading One afternoon Mrs. Herne received a caller.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
a social or business visitor
From this reading One afternoon Mrs. Herne received a caller.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was Mrs. Cullom.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
put in effect
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One afternoon Mrs. Herne received a caller.
serving to open or begin
From this reading After the usual introductory talk, Mrs. Cullom said:
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was Mrs. Cullom.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading One afternoon Mrs. Herne received a caller.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One afternoon Mrs. Herne received a caller.
plural of “party” — an organization to gain political power
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PENLOE.
make a promise or commitment
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
past form of “promise” — make a promise or commitment
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
plural of “reason” — a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers
From this reading One afternoon Mrs. Herne received a caller.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading After the usual introductory talk, Mrs. Cullom said:
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading After the usual introductory talk, Mrs. Cullom said:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading After the usual introductory talk, Mrs. Cullom said:
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
two times
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
From this reading After the usual introductory talk, Mrs. Cullom said:
of many different kinds purposefully arranged but lacking any uniformity
From this reading She had met Mrs. Herne twice at parties and promised to call on her each time, but for various reasons she had not been able to fulfil her promise.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was Mrs. Cullom.
Chapter 8 of A California Girl by Edward Eldridge holds 219 sentences, grouped into 44 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 219 sentences of A California Girl, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of A California Girl by Edward Eldridge exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 219 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 A California Girl by Edward Eldridge on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3624 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #28528 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #28528, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 302 minutes of reading across 725 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A California Girl section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of A California Girl 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 California Girl, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
