Chapter 38 of Bessy Rane: A Novel is here in full — 102 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVIII
Chapter 38 of Bessy Rane: A Novel is here in full — 102 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BROUGHT HOME TO HIM. She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour. The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume. She took to this room as her own sitting-room the day she came back to the Hall. She had always liked it.
Chapter 38 of Bessy Rane: A Novel is here in full — 102 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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.
informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
From this reading “The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.”
inflected form of “drink” — take in liquids
From this reading “The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.”
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading “The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.”
found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
From this reading “She had always liked it.”
possessive form of “north” — the region of the United States lying to the north of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading “She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.”
reception room in an inn or club where visitors can be received
From this reading “She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.”
a distinctive odor that is pleasant
From this reading “The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.”
caused to fall to the ground
From this reading “The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.”
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 “The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.”
In this reading “She had always liked it.”
be restored
In this reading “She took to this room as her own sitting-room the day she came back to the Hall.”
In this reading “The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.”
make understandable and clear
In this reading “BROUGHT HOME TO HIM.”
In this reading “She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.”
In this reading “She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading She had always liked it.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She took to this room as her own sitting-room the day she came back to the Hall.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.
informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
From this reading The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.
the qualities that give pleasure to the senses
From this reading The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading BROUGHT HOME TO HIM.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading She took to this room as her own sitting-room the day she came back to the Hall.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading She took to this room as her own sitting-room the day she came back to the Hall.
inflected form of “drink” — take in liquids
From this reading The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had always liked it.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading She took to this room as her own sitting-room the day she came back to the Hall.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She took to this room as her own sitting-room the day she came back to the Hall.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading BROUGHT HOME TO HIM.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading BROUGHT HOME TO HIM.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She had always liked it.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.
found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
From this reading She had always liked it.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.
a form of address for a man
From this reading She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.
possessive form of “north” — the region of the United States lying to the north of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.
on one occasion
From this reading She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading She took to this room as her own sitting-room the day she came back to the Hall.
reception room in an inn or club where visitors can be received
From this reading She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.
a distinctive odor that is pleasant
From this reading The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She took to this room as her own sitting-room the day she came back to the Hall.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading She took to this room as her own sitting-room the day she came back to the Hall.
caused to fall to the ground
From this reading The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading BROUGHT HOME TO HIM.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading She took to this room as her own sitting-room the day she came back to the Hall.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She lay back in an easy-chair, in the little room that was once Mr. North's parlour.
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 The window was thrown open to the sweet flowers, the balmy air; and Ellen Adair drank in their beauty and perfume.
Chapter 38 of Bessy Rane: A Novel by Henry, Mrs. Wood holds 102 sentences, grouped into 21 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 102 sentences of Bessy Rane: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 38 of Bessy Rane: A Novel by Henry, Mrs. Wood exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 102 sentences, grouped into 21 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 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 21 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 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.
