Chapter 4 of Christmas Roses and Other Stories is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Christmas Roses and Other Stories is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her. Her Jack. The wife who was, perhaps, to have been his. The children that she, perhaps, should have seen. All dead.
Chapter 4 of Christmas Roses and Other Stories is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
in a close relation or position in time or space
From this reading “She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.”
brought together in one place
From this reading “She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.”
the one or ones belonging to her
From this reading “She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.”
plural of “hope” — a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading “She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.”
a small worthless amount
From this reading “Her Jack.”
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading “She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.”
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading “She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.”
people who have been slain (as in battle)
From this reading “She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.”
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.
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.
(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 All dead.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The wife who was, perhaps, to have been his.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading The children that she, perhaps, should have seen.
in a close relation or position in time or space
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading All dead.
brought together in one place
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The wife who was, perhaps, to have been his.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
the one or ones belonging to her
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
plural of “hope” — a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
a small worthless amount
From this reading Her Jack.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
by chance
From this reading The wife who was, perhaps, to have been his.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading The children that she, perhaps, should have seen.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading The children that she, perhaps, should have seen.
people who have been slain (as in battle)
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The children that she, perhaps, should have seen.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The wife who was, perhaps, to have been his.
in or at that place or location
From this reading She had gathered his hand closely in hers and she sat there, quiet, looking at her hopes lying slain before her.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The wife who was, perhaps, to have been his.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The wife who was, perhaps, to have been his.
which person or people
From this reading The wife who was, perhaps, to have been his.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading The wife who was, perhaps, to have been his.
Chapter 4 of Christmas Roses and Other Stories by Anne Douglas Sedgwick holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 4 holds 410 sentences of Christmas Roses and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Christmas Roses and Other Stories by Anne Douglas Sedgwick exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 4 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 Christmas Roses and Other Stories by Anne Douglas Sedgwick on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5436 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40650 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40650, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 453 minutes of reading across 1088 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Christmas Roses and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Christmas Roses and Other Stories 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 Christmas Roses and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
