Chapter 38 of Arthur Mervyn is here in full — 514 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVIII
Chapter 38 of Arthur Mervyn is here in full — 514 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended. My friend noticed my discomposure. "What, Arthur! thou art quite the 'penseroso' to-night. Come, let me cheer thee with a song. Thou shalt have thy favourite ditty."
Chapter 38 of Arthur Mervyn is here in full — 514 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/102 · 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.
elected vice president and became 21st President of the United States when Garfield was assassinated (1830-1886)
From this reading “"What, Arthur! thou art quite the 'penseroso' to-night.”
give encouragement to
From this reading “Come, let me cheer thee with a song.”
a short simple song (or the words of a poem intended to be sung)
From this reading “Thou shalt have thy favourite ditty."”
a competitor thought likely to win
From this reading “Thou shalt have thy favourite ditty."”
be a hindrance or obstacle to
From this reading “The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.”
expressing sorrow
From this reading “The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.”
yielding a fair profit
From this reading “The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.”
an old form of “shall”, used with “thou”
From this reading “Thou shalt have thy favourite ditty."”
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 Come, let me cheer thee with a song.
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading "What, Arthur! thou art quite the 'penseroso' to-night.
elected vice president and became 21st President of the United States when Garfield was assassinated (1830-1886)
From this reading "What, Arthur! thou art quite the 'penseroso' to-night.
give encouragement to
From this reading Come, let me cheer thee with a song.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come, let me cheer thee with a song.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.
anxious embarrassment
From this reading My friend noticed my discomposure.
a short simple song (or the words of a poem intended to be sung)
From this reading Thou shalt have thy favourite ditty."
a competitor thought likely to win
From this reading Thou shalt have thy favourite ditty."
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading My friend noticed my discomposure.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Thou shalt have thy favourite ditty."
be a hindrance or obstacle to
From this reading The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.
resulting from one's intentions
From this reading The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Come, let me cheer thee with a song.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.
expressing sorrow
From this reading The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My friend noticed my discomposure.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.
being perceived or observed
From this reading My friend noticed my discomposure.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.
yielding a fair profit
From this reading The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What, Arthur! thou art quite the 'penseroso' to-night.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading "What, Arthur! thou art quite the 'penseroso' to-night.
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
From this reading The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.
an old form of “shall”, used with “thou”
From this reading Thou shalt have thy favourite ditty."
a short musical composition with words
From this reading Come, let me cheer thee with a song.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading Come, let me cheer thee with a song.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading "What, Arthur! thou art quite the 'penseroso' to-night.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading Thou shalt have thy favourite ditty."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What, Arthur! thou art quite the 'penseroso' to-night.
go to see a place, as for entertainment
From this reading The reading of this letter, though it made me mournful, did not hinder me from paying the visit I intended.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What, Arthur! thou art quite the 'penseroso' to-night.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Come, let me cheer thee with a song.
Chapter 38 of Arthur Mervyn by Charles Brockden Brown holds 514 sentences, grouped into 103 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 38 holds 514 sentences of Arthur Mervyn, unabridged, divided into 103 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 38 of Arthur Mervyn by Charles Brockden Brown exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 514 sentences, grouped into 103 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 103 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 103 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 38 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 Arthur Mervyn by Charles Brockden Brown on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9110 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18508 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18508, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1822 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Arthur Mervyn section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Arthur Mervyn 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 Arthur Mervyn, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
