Chapter 39 of A Rough Shaking is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIX
Chapter 39 of A Rough Shaking is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE PANTHER. Clare scrambled to his feet, and surveyed the man who had thus roused him. He had a vague sense of having seen him before, but could not remember where. Feeling faint, and finding himself beside a gun, he leaned upon it. The sailor regarded him with an insolent look.
Chapter 39 of A Rough Shaking is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/13 · 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 weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading “Feeling faint, and finding himself beside a gun, he leaned upon it.”
marked by casual disrespect
From this reading “The sailor regarded him with an insolent look.”
a large spotted feline of tropical America similar to the leopard; in some classifications considered a member of the genus Felis
From this reading “THE PANTHER.”
past form of “rouse” — become active
From this reading “Clare scrambled to his feet, and surveyed the man who had thus roused him.”
any member of a ship's crew
From this reading “The sailor regarded him with an insolent look.”
thrown together in a disorderly fashion
From this reading “Clare scrambled to his feet, and surveyed the man who had thus roused him.”
past form of “survey” — consider in a comprehensive way
From this reading “Clare scrambled to his feet, and surveyed the man who had thus roused him.”
not clearly expressed or understood
From this reading “He had a vague sense of having seen him before, but could not remember where.”
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 He had a vague sense of having seen him before, but could not remember where.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The sailor regarded him with an insolent look.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Clare scrambled to his feet, and surveyed the man who had thus roused him.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading He had a vague sense of having seen him before, but could not remember where.
next to; at the side of
From this reading Feeling faint, and finding himself beside a gun, he leaned upon it.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He had a vague sense of having seen him before, but could not remember where.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Clare scrambled to his feet, and surveyed the man who had thus roused him.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He had a vague sense of having seen him before, but could not remember where.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading Feeling faint, and finding himself beside a gun, he leaned upon it.
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading Feeling faint, and finding himself beside a gun, he leaned upon it.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Clare scrambled to his feet, and surveyed the man who had thus roused him.
the act of determining the properties of something, usually by research or calculation
From this reading Feeling faint, and finding himself beside a gun, he leaned upon it.
a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading Feeling faint, and finding himself beside a gun, he leaned upon it.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Clare scrambled to his feet, and surveyed the man who had thus roused him.
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading He had a vague sense of having seen him before, but could not remember where.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had a vague sense of having seen him before, but could not remember where.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Clare scrambled to his feet, and surveyed the man who had thus roused him.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Feeling faint, and finding himself beside a gun, he leaned upon it.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Clare scrambled to his feet, and surveyed the man who had thus roused him.
marked by casual disrespect
From this reading The sailor regarded him with an insolent look.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Feeling faint, and finding himself beside a gun, he leaned upon it.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading Feeling faint, and finding himself beside a gun, he leaned upon it.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The sailor regarded him with an insolent look.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Clare scrambled to his feet, and surveyed the man who had thus roused him.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He had a vague sense of having seen him before, but could not remember where.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He had a vague sense of having seen him before, but could not remember where.
a large spotted feline of tropical America similar to the leopard; in some classifications considered a member of the genus Felis
From this reading THE PANTHER.
past form of “regard” — deem to be
From this reading The sailor regarded him with an insolent look.
To recall to mind.
From this reading He had a vague sense of having seen him before, but could not remember where.
past form of “rouse” — become active
From this reading Clare scrambled to his feet, and surveyed the man who had thus roused him.
any member of a ship's crew
From this reading The sailor regarded him with an insolent look.
thrown together in a disorderly fashion
From this reading Clare scrambled to his feet, and surveyed the man who had thus roused him.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He had a vague sense of having seen him before, but could not remember where.
a general conscious awareness
From this reading He had a vague sense of having seen him before, but could not remember where.
past form of “survey” — consider in a comprehensive way
From this reading Clare scrambled to his feet, and surveyed the man who had thus roused him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE PANTHER.
(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result
From this reading Clare scrambled to his feet, and surveyed the man who had thus roused him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Clare scrambled to his feet, and surveyed the man who had thus roused him.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Feeling faint, and finding himself beside a gun, he leaned upon it.
not clearly expressed or understood
From this reading He had a vague sense of having seen him before, but could not remember where.
in or at the place that
From this reading He had a vague sense of having seen him before, but could not remember where.
which person or people
From this reading Clare scrambled to his feet, and surveyed the man who had thus roused him.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The sailor regarded him with an insolent look.
Chapter 39 of A Rough Shaking by George MacDonald holds 65 sentences, grouped into 13 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 39 holds 65 sentences of A Rough Shaking, unabridged, divided into 13 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 39 of A Rough Shaking by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 65 sentences, grouped into 13 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 13 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 13 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 39 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.
