Chapter 31 of Bessy Rane: A Novel is here in full — 356 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of Bessy Rane: A Novel is here in full — 356 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MRS. GASS AT HOME. It was a warm and sunny day in Dallory. Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows. "How d'ye do, doctor?
Chapter 31 of Bessy Rane: A Novel is here in full — 356 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/71 · 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.
plural of “acquaintance” — personal knowledge or information about someone or something
From this reading “Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.”
-ing form of “enjoy” — derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
From this reading “Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.”
-ing form of “exchange” — give to, and receive from, one another
From this reading “Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.”
plural of “gas” — the state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by: relatively low density and viscosity
From this reading “GASS AT HOME.”
plural of “geranium” — any of numerous plants of the family Geraniaceae
From this reading “Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.”
light informal conversation for social occasions
From this reading “Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.”
bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer
From this reading “It was a warm and sunny day in Dallory.”
the rays of the sun
From this reading “Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.”
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 “It was a warm and sunny day in Dallory.”
a reception held in your own home
In this reading “GASS AT HOME.”
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 It was a warm and sunny day in Dallory.
plural of “acquaintance” — personal knowledge or information about someone or something
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was a warm and sunny day in Dallory.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading GASS AT HOME.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How d'ye do, doctor?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was a warm and sunny day in Dallory.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading It was a warm and sunny day in Dallory.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "How d'ye do, doctor?
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading "How d'ye do, doctor?
-ing form of “enjoy” — derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
-ing form of “exchange” — give to, and receive from, one another
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
plural of “gas” — the state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by: relatively low density and viscosity
From this reading GASS AT HOME.
plural of “geranium” — any of numerous plants of the family Geraniaceae
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
light informal conversation for social occasions
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading GASS AT HOME.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How d'ye do, doctor?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was a warm and sunny day in Dallory.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a warm and sunny day in Dallory.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading MRS.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
go across or through
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer
From this reading It was a warm and sunny day in Dallory.
the rays of the sun
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading It was a warm and sunny day in Dallory.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a warm and sunny day in Dallory.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
(trademark) an operating system with a graphical user interface
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Mrs. Gass threw open her window and sat behind the geraniums enjoying the sunshine, exchanging salutations and gossip with as many of her acquaintances as happened to pass her windows.
Chapter 31 of Bessy Rane: A Novel by Henry, Mrs. Wood holds 356 sentences, grouped into 72 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 31 holds 356 sentences of Bessy Rane: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 72 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of Bessy Rane: A Novel by Henry, Mrs. Wood exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 356 sentences, grouped into 72 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 72 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 72 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 31 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.
