Chapter 22 of Condensed Novels is here in full — 68 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXII
Chapter 22 of Condensed Novels is here in full — 68 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The crash startled me from my self-control. The housekeeper bent toward me and whispered:-- "Don't be excited. It's Mr. Rawjester,--he prefers to come in sometimes in this way. It's his playfulness, ha! ha! ha!" "I perceive," I said calmly.
Chapter 22 of Condensed Novels is here in full — 68 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/13 · 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.
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading “"I perceive," I said calmly.”
fall or come down violently
From this reading “The crash startled me from my self-control.”
a servant who is employed to perform domestic task in a household
From this reading “The housekeeper bent toward me and whispered:-- "Don't be excited.”
to become aware of through the senses
From this reading “"I perceive," I said calmly.”
a festive merry feeling
From this reading “It's his playfulness, ha! ha! ha!"”
third-person singular of “prefer” — like better; value more highly
From this reading “It's Mr. Rawjester,--he prefers to come in sometimes in this way.”
the act of denying yourself; controlling your impulses
From this reading “The crash startled me from my self-control.”
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading “The crash startled me from my self-control.”
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 The housekeeper bent toward me and whispered:-- "Don't be excited.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The housekeeper bent toward me and whispered:-- "Don't be excited.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading The housekeeper bent toward me and whispered:-- "Don't be excited.
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading "I perceive," I said calmly.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading It's Mr. Rawjester,--he prefers to come in sometimes in this way.
fall or come down violently
From this reading The crash startled me from my self-control.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The housekeeper bent toward me and whispered:-- "Don't be excited.
(of persons) excessively affected by emotion
From this reading The housekeeper bent toward me and whispered:-- "Don't be excited.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The crash startled me from my self-control.
(astronomy) the angular distance of a celestial point measured westward along the celestial equator from the zenith crossing; the right ascension for an observer at a particular location and time of day
From this reading It's his playfulness, ha! ha! ha!"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It's Mr. Rawjester,--he prefers to come in sometimes in this way.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading It's his playfulness, ha! ha! ha!"
a servant who is employed to perform domestic task in a household
From this reading The housekeeper bent toward me and whispered:-- "Don't be excited.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I perceive," I said calmly.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It's Mr. Rawjester,--he prefers to come in sometimes in this way.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's Mr. Rawjester,--he prefers to come in sometimes in this way.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The crash startled me from my self-control.
a form of address for a man
From this reading It's Mr. Rawjester,--he prefers to come in sometimes in this way.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading The crash startled me from my self-control.
to become aware of through the senses
From this reading "I perceive," I said calmly.
a festive merry feeling
From this reading It's his playfulness, ha! ha! ha!"
third-person singular of “prefer” — like better; value more highly
From this reading It's Mr. Rawjester,--he prefers to come in sometimes in this way.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's Mr. Rawjester,--he prefers to come in sometimes in this way.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I perceive," I said calmly.
the act of denying yourself; controlling your impulses
From this reading The crash startled me from my self-control.
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading It's Mr. Rawjester,--he prefers to come in sometimes in this way.
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading The crash startled me from my self-control.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The crash startled me from my self-control.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading It's Mr. Rawjester,--he prefers to come in sometimes in this way.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It's Mr. Rawjester,--he prefers to come in sometimes in this way.
in the direction of
From this reading The housekeeper bent toward me and whispered:-- "Don't be excited.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading It's Mr. Rawjester,--he prefers to come in sometimes in this way.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading The housekeeper bent toward me and whispered:-- "Don't be excited.
Chapter 22 of Condensed Novels by Bret Harte holds 68 sentences, grouped into 14 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 22 holds 68 sentences of Condensed Novels, unabridged, divided into 14 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 22 of Condensed Novels by Bret Harte exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 68 sentences, grouped into 14 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 14 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 14 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 22 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, a public-domain edition. 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.
