Chapter 15 of Bessy Rane: A Novel is here in full — 269 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Bessy Rane: A Novel is here in full — 269 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MARY DALLORY. The guests waited in the drawing-room. Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness. A slight frown crossed her brow, however, at the tardy entrance of her son and Richard North. "We have waited for you," she said rather sharply.
Chapter 15 of Bessy Rane: A Novel is here in full — 269 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/53 · 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.
-ing form of “bestow” — present
From this reading “Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.”
look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading “A slight frown crossed her brow, however, at the tardy entrance of her son and Richard North.”
a flash of light (especially reflected light)
From this reading “Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.”
characterized by charm, good taste, and generosity of spirit
From this reading “Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.”
the property of being extremely abundant
From this reading “Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.”
a fabric made from the fine threads produced by certain insect larvae
From this reading “Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.”
plural of “smile” — a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading “Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.”
after the expected or usual time; delayed
From this reading “A slight frown crossed her brow, however, at the tardy entrance of her son and Richard North.”
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.
In this reading “Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.”
In this reading “"We have waited for you," she said rather sharply.”
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 A slight frown crossed her brow, however, at the tardy entrance of her son and Richard North.
later than; following
From this reading Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.
(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 Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A slight frown crossed her brow, however, at the tardy entrance of her son and Richard North.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading A slight frown crossed her brow, however, at the tardy entrance of her son and Richard North.
-ing form of “bestow” — present
From this reading Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading A slight frown crossed her brow, however, at the tardy entrance of her son and Richard North.
placed crosswise
From this reading A slight frown crossed her brow, however, at the tardy entrance of her son and Richard North.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MARY DALLORY.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The guests waited in the drawing-room.
put on clothes
From this reading Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.
something that provides access (to get in or get out)
From this reading A slight frown crossed her brow, however, at the tardy entrance of her son and Richard North.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "We have waited for you," she said rather sharply.
look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading A slight frown crossed her brow, however, at the tardy entrance of her son and Richard North.
a flash of light (especially reflected light)
From this reading Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.
characterized by charm, good taste, and generosity of spirit
From this reading Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.
plural of “guest” — a visitor to whom hospitality is extended
From this reading The guests waited in the drawing-room.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "We have waited for you," she said rather sharply.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading A slight frown crossed her brow, however, at the tardy entrance of her son and Richard North.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The guests waited in the drawing-room.
a woman of refinement
From this reading Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading MARY DALLORY.
the region of the United States lying to the north of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading A slight frown crossed her brow, however, at the tardy entrance of her son and Richard North.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A slight frown crossed her brow, however, at the tardy entrance of her son and Richard North.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.
on the contrary
From this reading "We have waited for you," she said rather sharply.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A slight frown crossed her brow, however, at the tardy entrance of her son and Richard North.
the property of being extremely abundant
From this reading Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "We have waited for you," she said rather sharply.
in an aggressive manner
From this reading "We have waited for you," she said rather sharply.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "We have waited for you," she said rather sharply.
a fabric made from the fine threads produced by certain insect larvae
From this reading Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.
a deliberate discourteous act (usually as an expression of anger or disapproval)
From this reading A slight frown crossed her brow, however, at the tardy entrance of her son and Richard North.
plural of “smile” — a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.
an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization
From this reading Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.
a male human offspring
From this reading A slight frown crossed her brow, however, at the tardy entrance of her son and Richard North.
the quality of being bland and gracious or ingratiating in manner
From this reading Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.
after the expected or usual time; delayed
From this reading A slight frown crossed her brow, however, at the tardy entrance of her son and Richard North.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The guests waited in the drawing-room.
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading The guests waited in the drawing-room.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We have waited for you," she said rather sharply.
a Caucasian
From this reading Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Madam, with gracious suavity, was bestowing her smiles on all, after her manner in society, her white silk dress gleaming with richness.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "We have waited for you," she said rather sharply.
Chapter 15 of Bessy Rane: A Novel by Henry, Mrs. Wood holds 269 sentences, grouped into 54 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 15 holds 269 sentences of Bessy Rane: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 54 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Bessy Rane: A Novel by Henry, Mrs. Wood exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 269 sentences, grouped into 54 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 54 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 54 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 15 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 Bessy Rane: A Novel by Henry, Mrs. Wood on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11951 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58288 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58288, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2391 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bessy Rane: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Bessy Rane: 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 Bessy Rane: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
