Chapter 15 of Condensed Novels is here in full — 26 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Condensed Novels is here in full — 26 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress. "O my lady, such news!" "Explain yourself," said her mistress, rising. "An accident has happened on the railway, and a man has been killed." "What--not Edgardo!" almost screamed Selina.
Chapter 15 of Condensed Novels is here in full — 26 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/5 · 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.
an unfortunate mishap; especially one causing damage or injury
From this reading “"An accident has happened on the railway, and a man has been killed."”
make plain and comprehensible
From this reading “"Explain yourself," said her mistress, rising.”
a female domestic
From this reading “A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.”
Having no name, or having a name that is kept secret or unknown.
From this reading “A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.”
the act of having and controlling property
From this reading “A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.”
line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight
From this reading “"An accident has happened on the railway, and a man has been killed."”
done under pressure
From this reading “A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.”
past form of “scream” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “"What--not Edgardo!" almost screamed Selina.”
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 A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
an unfortunate mishap; especially one causing damage or injury
From this reading "An accident has happened on the railway, and a man has been killed."
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading "What--not Edgardo!" almost screamed Selina.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "An accident has happened on the railway, and a man has been killed."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "An accident has happened on the railway, and a man has been killed."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "An accident has happened on the railway, and a man has been killed."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What--not Edgardo!" almost screamed Selina.
make plain and comprehensible
From this reading "Explain yourself," said her mistress, rising.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading "An accident has happened on the railway, and a man has been killed."
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "An accident has happened on the railway, and a man has been killed."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading "An accident has happened on the railway, and a man has been killed."
a polite name for any woman
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
a female domestic
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "An accident has happened on the railway, and a man has been killed."
an adulterous woman; a woman who has an ongoing extramarital sexual relationship with a man
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "O my lady, such news!"
Having no name, or having a name that is kept secret or unknown.
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
information about recent and important events
From this reading "O my lady, such news!"
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "What--not Edgardo!" almost screamed Selina.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading "O my lady, such news!"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "An accident has happened on the railway, and a man has been killed."
the act of having and controlling property
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
the state of being present; current existence
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight
From this reading "An accident has happened on the railway, and a man has been killed."
advancing or becoming higher or greater in degree or value or status
From this reading "Explain yourself," said her mistress, rising.
done under pressure
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Explain yourself," said her mistress, rising.
past form of “scream” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "What--not Edgardo!" almost screamed Selina.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What--not Edgardo!" almost screamed Selina.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading "O my lady, such news!"
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A nameless terror seemed to have taken possession of Clarissa, Lady Selina's maid, as she rushed into the presence of her mistress.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What--not Edgardo!" almost screamed Selina.
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading "Explain yourself," said her mistress, rising.
Chapter 15 of Condensed Novels by Bret Harte holds 26 sentences, grouped into 6 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 15 holds 26 sentences of Condensed Novels, unabridged, divided into 6 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Condensed Novels by Bret Harte exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 26 sentences, grouped into 6 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 6 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 6 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 15 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 Condensed Novels by Bret Harte on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1918 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2277 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2277, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 159 minutes of reading across 384 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Condensed Novels section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of Condensed Novels 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 Condensed Novels, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
