Chapter 3 of Castle Nowhere is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Castle Nowhere is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently. 'He would not stay,--I could not keep him!' 'I could have kept him.' 'You would not ask him to stay, if he wished to go?' 'Yes, I would; he must stay, for my sake.'
Chapter 3 of Castle Nowhere is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
next to; at the side of
From this reading “'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.”
in a gradual manner
From this reading “'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.”
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading “'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.”
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading “'Yes, I would; he must stay, for my sake.'”
-ing form of “smooth” — make smooth or smoother, as if by rubbing
From this reading “'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.”
having a supporting base
From this reading “'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.”
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading “'He would not stay,--I could not keep him!'”
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading “'You would not ask him to stay, if he wished to go?'”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading 'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading 'You would not ask him to stay, if he wished to go?'
next to; at the side of
From this reading 'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading 'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading 'He would not stay,--I could not keep him!'
dearly loved
From this reading 'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading 'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading 'Yes, I would; he must stay, for my sake.'
in a gradual manner
From this reading 'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading 'You would not ask him to stay, if he wished to go?'
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading 'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading 'I could have kept him.'
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading 'He would not stay,--I could not keep him!'
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading 'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading 'He would not stay,--I could not keep him!'
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'He would not stay,--I could not keep him!'
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading 'You would not ask him to stay, if he wished to go?'
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading 'He would not stay,--I could not keep him!'
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading 'I could have kept him.'
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading 'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading 'Yes, I would; he must stay, for my sake.'
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading 'Yes, I would; he must stay, for my sake.'
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading 'He would not stay,--I could not keep him!'
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading 'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading 'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading 'Yes, I would; he must stay, for my sake.'
-ing form of “smooth” — make smooth or smoother, as if by rubbing
From this reading 'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.
having a supporting base
From this reading 'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading 'He would not stay,--I could not keep him!'
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading 'You would not ask him to stay, if he wished to go?'
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading 'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading 'What can we do, dear?' said the old man, standing beside her and smoothing her hair gently.
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading 'You would not ask him to stay, if he wished to go?'
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading 'He would not stay,--I could not keep him!'
an affirmative
From this reading 'Yes, I would; he must stay, for my sake.'
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading 'You would not ask him to stay, if he wished to go?'
Chapter 3 of Castle Nowhere by Constance Fenimore Woolson holds 419 sentences, grouped into 84 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 3 holds 419 sentences of Castle Nowhere, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Castle Nowhere by Constance Fenimore Woolson exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 419 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 3 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 Castle Nowhere by Constance Fenimore Woolson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2143 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6436 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6436, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 178 minutes of reading across 429 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Castle Nowhere section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Castle Nowhere 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 Castle Nowhere, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
