Chapter 29 of Condensed Novels is here in full — 54 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIX
Chapter 29 of Condensed Novels is here in full — 54 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The reader will guess what followed. I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth. The generous girl asserted that she had detected the superiority of my manner at once. We plighted our troth, and resolved to wait upon events. Briggs called to see me a few days afterward.
Chapter 29 of Condensed Novels is here in full — 54 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/10 · 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.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading “Briggs called to see me a few days afterward.”
confidently declared to be so
From this reading “The generous girl asserted that she had detected the superiority of my manner at once.”
the time when something begins (especially life)
From this reading “I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth.”
past form of “confide” — reveal in private; tell confidentially
From this reading “I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth.”
perceived or discerned
From this reading “The generous girl asserted that she had detected the superiority of my manner at once.”
English historian noted for his works on the history of English law (1850-1906)
From this reading “I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth.”
the quality of being superior
From this reading “The generous girl asserted that she had detected the superiority of my manner at once.”
a mutual promise to marry
From this reading “We plighted our troth, and resolved to wait upon events.”
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 Briggs called to see me a few days afterward.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading Briggs called to see me a few days afterward.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading We plighted our troth, and resolved to wait upon events.
confidently declared to be so
From this reading The generous girl asserted that she had detected the superiority of my manner at once.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The generous girl asserted that she had detected the superiority of my manner at once.
the time when something begins (especially life)
From this reading I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Briggs called to see me a few days afterward.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Briggs called to see me a few days afterward.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth.
past form of “confide” — reveal in private; tell confidentially
From this reading I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading Briggs called to see me a few days afterward.
to a great depth psychologically or emotionally
From this reading I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth.
perceived or discerned
From this reading The generous girl asserted that she had detected the superiority of my manner at once.
plural of “event” — something that happens at a given place and time
From this reading We plighted our troth, and resolved to wait upon events.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Briggs called to see me a few days afterward.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading The reader will guess what followed.
willing to give and share unstintingly
From this reading The generous girl asserted that she had detected the superiority of my manner at once.
a young female
From this reading The generous girl asserted that she had detected the superiority of my manner at once.
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading The reader will guess what followed.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The generous girl asserted that she had detected the superiority of my manner at once.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth.
English historian noted for his works on the history of English law (1850-1906)
From this reading I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading The generous girl asserted that she had detected the superiority of my manner at once.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Briggs called to see me a few days afterward.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth.
on one occasion
From this reading The generous girl asserted that she had detected the superiority of my manner at once.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading We plighted our troth, and resolved to wait upon events.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We plighted our troth, and resolved to wait upon events.
a person who enjoys reading
From this reading The reader will guess what followed.
determined
From this reading We plighted our troth, and resolved to wait upon events.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Briggs called to see me a few days afterward.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The generous girl asserted that she had detected the superiority of my manner at once.
the quality of being superior
From this reading The generous girl asserted that she had detected the superiority of my manner at once.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The generous girl asserted that she had detected the superiority of my manner at once.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The reader will guess what followed.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth.
a mutual promise to marry
From this reading We plighted our troth, and resolved to wait upon events.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading We plighted our troth, and resolved to wait upon events.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading We plighted our troth, and resolved to wait upon events.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We plighted our troth, and resolved to wait upon events.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading The reader will guess what followed.
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading The reader will guess what followed.
in the company of; together with
From this reading I fell deeply in love with Clara Maitland, to whom I confided the secret of my birth.
Chapter 29 of Condensed Novels by Bret Harte holds 54 sentences, grouped into 11 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 29 holds 54 sentences of Condensed Novels, unabridged, divided into 11 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 29 of Condensed Novels by Bret Harte exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 54 sentences, grouped into 11 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 11 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 11 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 29 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.
