Chapter 20 of Charlemont is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Charlemont is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BLOWS--A CRISIS. But this mood lasted not long. Youth, pride, anger, asserted themselves before the lapse of many minutes. Darker feelings got possession of his mind. He rose to his feet.
Chapter 20 of Charlemont is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
confidently declared to be so
From this reading “Youth, pride, anger, asserted themselves before the lapse of many minutes.”
plural of “blow” — a powerful stroke with the fist or a weapon
From this reading “BLOWS--A CRISIS.”
an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty
From this reading “BLOWS--A CRISIS.”
comparative of “dark” — devoid of or deficient in light or brightness; shadowed or black
From this reading “Darker feelings got possession of his mind.”
pass into a specified state or condition
From this reading “Youth, pride, anger, asserted themselves before the lapse of many minutes.”
past form of “last” — persist for a specified period of time
From this reading “But this mood lasted not long.”
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading “But this mood lasted not long.”
the act of having and controlling property
From this reading “Darker feelings got possession of his mind.”
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 BLOWS--A CRISIS.
a strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance
From this reading Youth, pride, anger, asserted themselves before the lapse of many minutes.
confidently declared to be so
From this reading Youth, pride, anger, asserted themselves before the lapse of many minutes.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Youth, pride, anger, asserted themselves before the lapse of many minutes.
plural of “blow” — a powerful stroke with the fist or a weapon
From this reading BLOWS--A CRISIS.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But this mood lasted not long.
an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty
From this reading BLOWS--A CRISIS.
comparative of “dark” — devoid of or deficient in light or brightness; shadowed or black
From this reading Darker feelings got possession of his mind.
emotional or moral sensitivity (especially in relation to personal principles or dignity)
From this reading Darker feelings got possession of his mind.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading He rose to his feet.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Darker feelings got possession of his mind.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He rose to his feet.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Darker feelings got possession of his mind.
pass into a specified state or condition
From this reading Youth, pride, anger, asserted themselves before the lapse of many minutes.
past form of “last” — persist for a specified period of time
From this reading But this mood lasted not long.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading But this mood lasted not long.
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 Youth, pride, anger, asserted themselves before the lapse of many minutes.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading Darker feelings got possession of his mind.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading Youth, pride, anger, asserted themselves before the lapse of many minutes.
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading But this mood lasted not long.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But this mood lasted not long.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Youth, pride, anger, asserted themselves before the lapse of many minutes.
the act of having and controlling property
From this reading Darker feelings got possession of his mind.
a feeling of self-respect and personal worth
From this reading Youth, pride, anger, asserted themselves before the lapse of many minutes.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading He rose to his feet.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Youth, pride, anger, asserted themselves before the lapse of many minutes.
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading Youth, pride, anger, asserted themselves before the lapse of many minutes.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading But this mood lasted not long.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He rose to his feet.
a young person (especially a young man or boy)
From this reading Youth, pride, anger, asserted themselves before the lapse of many minutes.
Chapter 20 of Charlemont by William Gilmore Simms holds 131 sentences, grouped into 27 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 20 holds 131 sentences of Charlemont, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Charlemont by William Gilmore Simms exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 131 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 20 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 Charlemont by William Gilmore Simms on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7184 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6012 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6012, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 598 minutes of reading across 1437 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Charlemont section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of Charlemont 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 Charlemont, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
