Chapter 28 of Around the Tea-Table is here in full — 89 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVIII
Chapter 28 of Around the Tea-Table is here in full — 89 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ADVANTAGE OF SMALL LIBRARIES. We never see a valuable book without wanting it. The most of us have been struck through with a passion for books. Town, city and state libraries to us are an enchantment. We hear of a private library of ten thousand volumes, and think what a heaven the owner must be living in.
Chapter 28 of Around the Tea-Table is here in full — 89 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/17 · 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.
the quality of having a superior or more favorable position
From this reading “ADVANTAGE OF SMALL LIBRARIES.”
a feeling of great liking for something wonderful and unusual
From this reading “Town, city and state libraries to us are an enchantment.”
plural of “library” — a room where books are kept
From this reading “ADVANTAGE OF SMALL LIBRARIES.”
a room where books are kept
From this reading “We hear of a private library of ten thousand volumes, and think what a heaven the owner must be living in.”
(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
From this reading “We hear of a private library of ten thousand volumes, and think what a heaven the owner must be living in.”
having great material or monetary value especially for use or exchange
From this reading “We never see a valuable book without wanting it.”
plural of “volume” — the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
From this reading “We hear of a private library of ten thousand volumes, and think what a heaven the owner must be living in.”
nonexistent
From this reading “We never see a valuable book without wanting it.”
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 We never see a valuable book without wanting it.
the quality of having a superior or more favorable position
From this reading ADVANTAGE OF SMALL LIBRARIES.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Town, city and state libraries to us are an enchantment.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Town, city and state libraries to us are an enchantment.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Town, city and state libraries to us are an enchantment.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading We hear of a private library of ten thousand volumes, and think what a heaven the owner must be living in.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The most of us have been struck through with a passion for books.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading We never see a valuable book without wanting it.
Bound written or printed works.
From this reading The most of us have been struck through with a passion for books.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading Town, city and state libraries to us are an enchantment.
a feeling of great liking for something wonderful and unusual
From this reading Town, city and state libraries to us are an enchantment.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The most of us have been struck through with a passion for books.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The most of us have been struck through with a passion for books.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading We hear of a private library of ten thousand volumes, and think what a heaven the owner must be living in.
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading We hear of a private library of ten thousand volumes, and think what a heaven the owner must be living in.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We hear of a private library of ten thousand volumes, and think what a heaven the owner must be living in.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading We never see a valuable book without wanting it.
plural of “library” — a room where books are kept
From this reading ADVANTAGE OF SMALL LIBRARIES.
a room where books are kept
From this reading We hear of a private library of ten thousand volumes, and think what a heaven the owner must be living in.
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading We hear of a private library of ten thousand volumes, and think what a heaven the owner must be living in.
used to form the superlative
From this reading The most of us have been struck through with a passion for books.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading We hear of a private library of ten thousand volumes, and think what a heaven the owner must be living in.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading We never see a valuable book without wanting it.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ADVANTAGE OF SMALL LIBRARIES.
(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
From this reading We hear of a private library of ten thousand volumes, and think what a heaven the owner must be living in.
a strong feeling or emotion
From this reading The most of us have been struck through with a passion for books.
confined to particular persons or groups or providing privacy
From this reading We hear of a private library of ten thousand volumes, and think what a heaven the owner must be living in.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading We never see a valuable book without wanting it.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading ADVANTAGE OF SMALL LIBRARIES.
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading Town, city and state libraries to us are an enchantment.
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading The most of us have been struck through with a passion for books.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading We hear of a private library of ten thousand volumes, and think what a heaven the owner must be living in.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The most of us have been struck through with a passion for books.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading We hear of a private library of ten thousand volumes, and think what a heaven the owner must be living in.
the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading We hear of a private library of ten thousand volumes, and think what a heaven the owner must be living in.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading The most of us have been struck through with a passion for books.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Town, city and state libraries to us are an enchantment.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading Town, city and state libraries to us are an enchantment.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The most of us have been struck through with a passion for books.
having great material or monetary value especially for use or exchange
From this reading We never see a valuable book without wanting it.
plural of “volume” — the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
From this reading We hear of a private library of ten thousand volumes, and think what a heaven the owner must be living in.
nonexistent
From this reading We never see a valuable book without wanting it.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We never see a valuable book without wanting it.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading We hear of a private library of ten thousand volumes, and think what a heaven the owner must be living in.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The most of us have been struck through with a passion for books.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading We never see a valuable book without wanting it.
Chapter 28 of Around the Tea-Table by T. De Witt (Thomas De Witt) Talmage holds 89 sentences, grouped into 18 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 28 holds 89 sentences of Around the Tea-Table, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 28 of Around the Tea-Table by T. De Witt (Thomas De Witt) Talmage exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 89 sentences, grouped into 18 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 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 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 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.
Common questions about reading Around the Tea-Table by T. De Witt (Thomas De Witt) Talmage on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4312 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14662 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14662, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 359 minutes of reading across 863 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Around the Tea-Table section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Around the Tea-Table 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 Around the Tea-Table, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
