Chapter 18 of A Rough Shaking is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of A Rough Shaking is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE BAKER. Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work. He had eaten half a loaf, and now drew in his cap some water from the well and drank. He felt better than any moment since leaving the farm. He was full of hope.
Chapter 18 of A Rough Shaking is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
someone who bakes commercially
From this reading “THE BAKER.”
a tight-fitting headdress
From this reading “He had eaten half a loaf, and now drew in his cap some water from the well and drank.”
inflected form of “drink” — take in liquids
From this reading “He had eaten half a loaf, and now drew in his cap some water from the well and drank.”
inflected form of “eat” — take in solid food
From this reading “He had eaten half a loaf, and now drew in his cap some water from the well and drank.”
be a farmer; work as a farmer
From this reading “He felt better than any moment since leaving the farm.”
the act of departing
From this reading “He felt better than any moment since leaving the farm.”
a shaped mass of baked bread that is usually sliced before eating
From this reading “He had eaten half a loaf, and now drew in his cap some water from the well and drank.”
a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
From this reading “Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.”
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 Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading He felt better than any moment since leaving the farm.
someone who bakes commercially
From this reading THE BAKER.
(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 felt better than any moment since leaving the farm.
a tight-fitting headdress
From this reading He had eaten half a loaf, and now drew in his cap some water from the well and drank.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
inflected form of “drink” — take in liquids
From this reading He had eaten half a loaf, and now drew in his cap some water from the well and drank.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading He had eaten half a loaf, and now drew in his cap some water from the well and drank.
inflected form of “eat” — take in solid food
From this reading He had eaten half a loaf, and now drew in his cap some water from the well and drank.
apart from; not including
From this reading Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
be a farmer; work as a farmer
From this reading He felt better than any moment since leaving the farm.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading He felt better than any moment since leaving the farm.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He had eaten half a loaf, and now drew in his cap some water from the well and drank.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading He was full of hope.
the act of departing
From this reading Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had eaten half a loaf, and now drew in his cap some water from the well and drank.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading He had eaten half a loaf, and now drew in his cap some water from the well and drank.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He had eaten half a loaf, and now drew in his cap some water from the well and drank.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading He was full of hope.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He had eaten half a loaf, and now drew in his cap some water from the well and drank.
the act of departing
From this reading He felt better than any moment since leaving the farm.
a shaped mass of baked bread that is usually sliced before eating
From this reading He had eaten half a loaf, and now drew in his cap some water from the well and drank.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
a particular point in time
From this reading He felt better than any moment since leaving the farm.
a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
From this reading Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He had eaten half a loaf, and now drew in his cap some water from the well and drank.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
above and across; more than
From this reading Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading He felt better than any moment since leaving the farm.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading He had eaten half a loaf, and now drew in his cap some water from the well and drank.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading He felt better than any moment since leaving the farm.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BAKER.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
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 Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading He had eaten half a loaf, and now drew in his cap some water from the well and drank.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading Clare went over the wall and the well without a notion of what he was going to do, except look for work.
Chapter 18 of A Rough Shaking by George MacDonald holds 179 sentences, grouped into 36 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 18 holds 179 sentences of A Rough Shaking, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of A Rough Shaking by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 179 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 18 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 Rough Shaking by George MacDonald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6421 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8886 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8886, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 535 minutes of reading across 1285 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Rough Shaking section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of A Rough Shaking 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 Rough Shaking, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
