Chapter 19 of A Life's Secret: A Novel is here in full — 106 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of A Life's Secret: A Novel is here in full — 106 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE LITTLE BOY AT REST. No clue whatever had been obtained to the assailants of John Baxendale. The chief injury lay in the ribs. Two or three of them were broken: the head was also much bruised and cut. He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
Chapter 19 of A Life's Secret: A Novel is here in full — 106 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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.
plural of “assailant” — someone who attacks
From this reading “No clue whatever had been obtained to the assailants of John Baxendale.”
playing or singing with instrumental or vocal accompaniment
From this reading “He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.”
past form of “bruise” — injure the underlying soft tissue or bone of
From this reading “Two or three of them were broken: the head was also much bruised and cut.”
a slight indication
From this reading “No clue whatever had been obtained to the assailants of John Baxendale.”
a health facility where patients receive treatment
From this reading “He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.”
any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
From this reading “The chief injury lay in the ribs.”
past form of “obtain” — come into possession of
From this reading “No clue whatever had been obtained to the assailants of John Baxendale.”
plural of “rib” — support resembling the rib of an animal
From this reading “The chief injury lay in the ribs.”
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 “THE LITTLE BOY AT REST.”
In this reading “He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.”
keep or lay aside for future use
In this reading “The chief injury lay in the ribs.”
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.
in addition
From this reading Two or three of them were broken: the head was also much bruised and cut.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Two or three of them were broken: the head was also much bruised and cut.
plural of “assailant” — someone who attacks
From this reading No clue whatever had been obtained to the assailants of John Baxendale.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading THE LITTLE BOY AT REST.
playing or singing with instrumental or vocal accompaniment
From this reading He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading No clue whatever had been obtained to the assailants of John Baxendale.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading No clue whatever had been obtained to the assailants of John Baxendale.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
a youthful male person
From this reading THE LITTLE BOY AT REST.
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading Two or three of them were broken: the head was also much bruised and cut.
past form of “bruise” — injure the underlying soft tissue or bone of
From this reading Two or three of them were broken: the head was also much bruised and cut.
a person who is in charge
From this reading The chief injury lay in the ribs.
a slight indication
From this reading No clue whatever had been obtained to the assailants of John Baxendale.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading Two or three of them were broken: the head was also much bruised and cut.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading No clue whatever had been obtained to the assailants of John Baxendale.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Two or three of them were broken: the head was also much bruised and cut.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
a health facility where patients receive treatment
From this reading He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The chief injury lay in the ribs.
any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
From this reading The chief injury lay in the ribs.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading No clue whatever had been obtained to the assailants of John Baxendale.
referring to the second of two things or persons mentioned (or the last one or ones of several)
From this reading He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The chief injury lay in the ribs.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading THE LITTLE BOY AT REST.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Two or three of them were broken: the head was also much bruised and cut.
(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance
From this reading He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
not any; not one
From this reading No clue whatever had been obtained to the assailants of John Baxendale.
past form of “obtain” — come into possession of
From this reading No clue whatever had been obtained to the assailants of John Baxendale.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading No clue whatever had been obtained to the assailants of John Baxendale.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Two or three of them were broken: the head was also much bruised and cut.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading THE LITTLE BOY AT REST.
plural of “rib” — support resembling the rib of an animal
From this reading The chief injury lay in the ribs.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE LITTLE BOY AT REST.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Two or three of them were broken: the head was also much bruised and cut.
in or at that place or location
From this reading He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Two or three of them were broken: the head was also much bruised and cut.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading No clue whatever had been obtained to the assailants of John Baxendale.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Two or three of them were broken: the head was also much bruised and cut.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Two or three of them were broken: the head was also much bruised and cut.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Two or three of them were broken: the head was also much bruised and cut.
any or all of a kind, it does not matter which
From this reading No clue whatever had been obtained to the assailants of John Baxendale.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading He had been taken into his own home and there attended to: it was nearer than the hospital: though the latter would have been the better place.
Chapter 19 of A Life's Secret: A Novel by Henry, Mrs. Wood holds 106 sentences, grouped into 22 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 19 holds 106 sentences of A Life's Secret: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of A Life's Secret: A Novel by Henry, Mrs. Wood exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 106 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 19 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 Life's Secret: A Novel by Henry, Mrs. Wood on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6641 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38832 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38832, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 553 minutes of reading across 1329 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Life's Secret: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of A Life's Secret: A Novel 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 Life's Secret: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
