A Woman's Burden: A Novel

Chapter XXVIII

Chapter 28 of A Woman's Burden: A Novel is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Fergus Hume • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for A Woman's Burden: A Novel

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

MRS.

PARSLEY SEES A GHOST.

One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

But Mother Mandarin did not want to be reformed, though she sadly wanted nether garments.

Narrator

Speed 0.75x

AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter XXVIII Reading 1/34

A Woman's Burden: A Novel

Chapter XXVIII

Chapter 28 of A Woman's Burden: A Novel is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/34 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

MRS.

/ˈmɪsɪz/

Line 2

PARSLEY SEES A GHOST.

/ˈpɑːrsli siːz ə ɡoʊst/

Line 3

One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

Line 4

The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

/ðə wɜːrk ʃiː hæd ɪn hænd wɑːz ə ˈneðər ˈɡɑːrmənt ˌɪnˈtendɪd fɔːr oʊld ˈmʌðər ˈmændərən huːm fɔːr lɔːŋ pæst ʃiː hæd bɪn ˈtraɪɪŋ tuː rəˈfɔːrm/

Line 5

But Mother Mandarin did not want to be reformed, though she sadly wanted nether garments.

/bʌt ˈmʌðər ˈmændərən dɪd nɑːt wɑːnt tuː biː rɪˈfɔːrmd ðoʊ ʃiː ˈsædli ˈwɔːntɪd ˈneðər ˈɡɑːrmənts/

Learner Dictionary

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.

Mandarin noun US /ˈmændərən/

shrub or small tree having flattened globose fruit with very sweet aromatic pulp and thin yellow-orange to flame-orange rind that is loose and easily removed; native to southeastern Asia

From this reading “The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.”

Mansions noun US /ˈmæntʃənz/

plural of “mansion” — (astrology) one of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is divided

From this reading “One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.”

nether adjective US /ˈneðər/

lower

From this reading “The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.”

parsley noun US /ˈpɑːrsli/

annual or perennial herb with aromatic leaves

From this reading “PARSLEY SEES A GHOST.”

reform noun US /rəˈfɔːrm/

a change for the better as a result of correcting abuses

From this reading “The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.”

reformed adjective US /rɪˈfɔːrmd/

of or relating to the body of Protestant Christianity arising during the Reformation; used of some Protestant churches especially Calvinist as distinct from Lutheran

From this reading “But Mother Mandarin did not want to be reformed, though she sadly wanted nether garments.”

Rosary noun US /ˈroʊzəri/

a string of beads used in counting prayers (especially by Catholics)

From this reading “One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.”

sewing noun US /ˈsoʊɪŋ/

joining or attaching by stitches

From this reading “One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

nether garment adjective + noun

In this reading “The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.”

twelve months noun + noun counted as “twelve month”

In this reading “One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.”

sat sewing noun + noun

In this reading “One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.”

long past adjective + noun

In this reading “The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.”

old Mother adjective + noun

In this reading “The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.”

All words in this reading · 52

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.

AdeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading PARSLEY SEES A GHOST.

afternoonnounUS /ˌæftərˈnuːn/

the part of the day between noon and evening

From this reading One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading But Mother Mandarin did not want to be reformed, though she sadly wanted nether garments.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading But Mother Mandarin did not want to be reformed, though she sadly wanted nether garments.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading But Mother Mandarin did not want to be reformed, though she sadly wanted nether garments.

drawing-room

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

flatadjectiveUS /flæt/

having a surface without slope, tilt in which no part is higher or lower than another

From this reading One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

garmentnounUS /ˈɡɑːrmənt/

an article of clothing

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

garmentsnounUS /ˈɡɑːrmənts/

plural of “garment” — an article of clothing

From this reading But Mother Mandarin did not want to be reformed, though she sadly wanted nether garments.

GHOSTnounUS /ɡoʊst/

a mental representation of some haunting experience

From this reading PARSLEY SEES A GHOST.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

handnounUS /hænd/

the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

intendedadjectiveUS /ˌɪnˈtendɪd/

resulting from one's intentions

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

lateradverbUS /ˈleɪtər/

happening at a time subsequent to a reference time

From this reading One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

littleadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəl/

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

longadjectiveUS /lɔːŋ/

primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

MandarinnounUS /ˈmændərən/

shrub or small tree having flattened globose fruit with very sweet aromatic pulp and thin yellow-orange to flame-orange rind that is loose and easily removed; native to southeastern Asia

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

MansionsnounUS /ˈmæntʃənz/

plural of “mansion” — (astrology) one of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is divided

From this reading One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

Miriam

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

monthsnounUS /mʌnθs/

plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year

From this reading One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

MothernounUS /ˈmʌðər/

a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

MRSnounUS /ˈmɪsɪz/

a form of address for a married woman

From this reading MRS.

netheradjectiveUS /ˈneðər/

lower

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading But Mother Mandarin did not want to be reformed, though she sadly wanted nether garments.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

oldadjectiveUS /oʊld/

(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

OnepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

PARSLEYnounUS /ˈpɑːrsli/

annual or perennial herb with aromatic leaves

From this reading PARSLEY SEES A GHOST.

pastnounUS /pæst/

the time that has elapsed

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

reformnounUS /rəˈfɔːrm/

a change for the better as a result of correcting abuses

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

reformedadjectiveUS /rɪˈfɔːrmd/

of or relating to the body of Protestant Christianity arising during the Reformation; used of some Protestant churches especially Calvinist as distinct from Lutheran

From this reading But Mother Mandarin did not want to be reformed, though she sadly wanted nether garments.

RosarynounUS /ˈroʊzəri/

a string of beads used in counting prayers (especially by Catholics)

From this reading One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

sadlyadverbUS /ˈsædli/

in an unfortunate way

From this reading But Mother Mandarin did not want to be reformed, though she sadly wanted nether garments.

satnounUS /sæt/

the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians

From this reading One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

SEESnounUS /siːz/

plural of “see” — the seat within a bishop's diocese where his cathedral is located

From this reading PARSLEY SEES A GHOST.

sewingnounUS /ˈsoʊɪŋ/

joining or attaching by stitches

From this reading One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

someadjectiveUS /sʌm/

(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity

From this reading One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

thoughconjunctionUS /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading But Mother Mandarin did not want to be reformed, though she sadly wanted nether garments.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

tryingadjectiveUS /ˈtraɪɪŋ/

hard to endure

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

twelvenounUS /twelv/

the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one

From this reading One afternoon, some twelve months later, Miriam sat sewing in the drawing-room of the little flat at Rosary Mansions.

wantverbUS /wɑːnt/

feel or have a desire for; want strongly

From this reading But Mother Mandarin did not want to be reformed, though she sadly wanted nether garments.

wantedadjectiveUS /ˈwɔːntɪd/

desired or wished for or sought

From this reading But Mother Mandarin did not want to be reformed, though she sadly wanted nether garments.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

whompronounUS /huːm/

the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

workverbUS /wɜːrk/

exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity

From this reading The work she had in hand was a nether garment intended for old Mother Mandarin, whom for long past she had been trying to reform.

Chapter 28 of A Woman's Burden: A Novel by Fergus Hume holds 173 sentences, grouped into 35 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.

What does chapter 28 of A Woman's Burden: A Novel contain?

Chapter 28 holds 173 sentences of A Woman's Burden: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 28 of A Woman's Burden: A Novel by Fergus Hume exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 173 sentences, grouped into 35 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.

How do I study chapter 28 of A Woman's Burden: A Novel?

Work through the 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 35 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.

Can chapter 28 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 28 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.

Questions about reading A Woman's Burden: A Novel

Common questions about reading A Woman's Burden: A Novel by Fergus Hume on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of A Woman's Burden: A Novel?

Yes. All 7019 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35240 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of A Woman's Burden: A Novel is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #35240, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does A Woman's Burden: A Novel take to read?

About 584 minutes of reading across 1404 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read A Woman's Burden: A Novel section by section

How to work through A Woman's Burden: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

Open a chapter

Choose one of the 34 chapters of A Woman's Burden: A Novel to begin.
Read one section

Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Listen and tap

Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in A Woman's Burden: A Novel

Words and structures a reader meets early in A Woman's Burden: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Author: A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Woman's Burden: A Novel; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Mystery: A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Woman's Burden: A Novel; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Hansom: A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Woman's Burden: A Novel; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Expedition: A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Woman's Burden: A Novel; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.

Chapter XXVIII

What does chapter 28 of A Woman's Burden: A Novel contain?

How do I study chapter 28 of A Woman's Burden: A Novel?

Can chapter 28 be read aloud to me?

Questions about reading A Woman's Burden: A Novel

How to read A Woman's Burden: A Novel section by section

Open a chapter

Read one section

Listen and tap

Vocabulary met early in A Woman's Burden: A Novel