Chapter 10 of Bella Donna: A Novel is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of Bella Donna: A Novel is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound. "Ruby!" Baroudi leaned back quietly, looking calm and strong and practical. And this time Mrs. Armine noticed that the basket chair did not creak beneath his movement. "Is it all right about the dinner, Nigel?"
Chapter 10 of Bella Donna: A Novel is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
any of various aromatic resinous substances used for healing and soothing
From this reading “She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.”
a container that is usually woven and has handles
From this reading “And this time Mrs. Armine noticed that the basket chair did not creak beneath his movement.”
make a high-pitched, screeching noise
From this reading “And this time Mrs. Armine noticed that the basket chair did not creak beneath his movement.”
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading “Baroudi leaned back quietly, looking calm and strong and practical.”
possessive form of “morning” — the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading “She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.”
concerned with actual use or practice
From this reading “Baroudi leaned back quietly, looking calm and strong and practical.”
a transparent piece of ruby that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem
From this reading “"Ruby!"”
an injury to living tissue (especially an injury involving a cut or break in the skin)
From this reading “She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.”
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 She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "Is it all right about the dinner, Nigel?"
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "Is it all right about the dinner, Nigel?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Baroudi leaned back quietly, looking calm and strong and practical.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And this time Mrs. Armine noticed that the basket chair did not creak beneath his movement.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Baroudi leaned back quietly, looking calm and strong and practical.
any of various aromatic resinous substances used for healing and soothing
From this reading She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Baroudi leaned back quietly, looking calm and strong and practical.
a container that is usually woven and has handles
From this reading And this time Mrs. Armine noticed that the basket chair did not creak beneath his movement.
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading And this time Mrs. Armine noticed that the basket chair did not creak beneath his movement.
make calm or still
From this reading Baroudi leaned back quietly, looking calm and strong and practical.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading And this time Mrs. Armine noticed that the basket chair did not creak beneath his movement.
make a high-pitched, screeching noise
From this reading And this time Mrs. Armine noticed that the basket chair did not creak beneath his movement.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading And this time Mrs. Armine noticed that the basket chair did not creak beneath his movement.
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading "Is it all right about the dinner, Nigel?"
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading And this time Mrs. Armine noticed that the basket chair did not creak beneath his movement.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Is it all right about the dinner, Nigel?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Is it all right about the dinner, Nigel?"
set down according to a plan
From this reading She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading Baroudi leaned back quietly, looking calm and strong and practical.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Baroudi leaned back quietly, looking calm and strong and practical.
possessive form of “morning” — the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.
a change of position that does not entail a change of location
From this reading And this time Mrs. Armine noticed that the basket chair did not creak beneath his movement.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading And this time Mrs. Armine noticed that the basket chair did not creak beneath his movement.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Is it all right about the dinner, Nigel?"
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading And this time Mrs. Armine noticed that the basket chair did not creak beneath his movement.
being perceived or observed
From this reading And this time Mrs. Armine noticed that the basket chair did not creak beneath his movement.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.
concerned with actual use or practice
From this reading Baroudi leaned back quietly, looking calm and strong and practical.
with low volume
From this reading Baroudi leaned back quietly, looking calm and strong and practical.
the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced
From this reading She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "Is it all right about the dinner, Nigel?"
a transparent piece of ruby that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem
From this reading "Ruby!"
a general conscious awareness
From this reading She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.
having strength or power greater than average or expected
From this reading Baroudi leaned back quietly, looking calm and strong and practical.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading And this time Mrs. Armine noticed that the basket chair did not creak beneath his movement.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading And this time Mrs. Armine noticed that the basket chair did not creak beneath his movement.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading And this time Mrs. Armine noticed that the basket chair did not creak beneath his movement.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.
an injury to living tissue (especially an injury involving a cut or break in the skin)
From this reading She felt a great sense of relief, as if a balm were laid at evening upon the morning's wound.
Chapter 10 of Bella Donna: A Novel by Robert Hichens holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 10 holds 404 sentences of Bella Donna: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of Bella Donna: A Novel by Robert Hichens exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 10 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 Bella Donna: A Novel by Robert Hichens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13461 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17698 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17698, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2693 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bella Donna: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of Bella Donna: A Novel 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 Bella Donna: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
