Chapter 14 of Donal Grant is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of Donal Grant is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A PRESENCE YET NOT A PRESENCE. The twilight had fallen while he wrote, and the wind had risen. It was now blowing a gale. When he could no longer see, he rose to light his lamp, and looked out of the window. All was dusk around him.
Chapter 14 of Donal Grant is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
processing that involves blowing a gas
From this reading “It was now blowing a gale.”
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading “All was dusk around him.”
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading “The twilight had fallen while he wrote, and the wind had risen.”
a strong wind moving 45-90 knots; force 7 to 10 on Beaufort scale
From this reading “It was now blowing a gale.”
an artificial source of visible illumination
From this reading “When he could no longer see, he rose to light his lamp, and looked out of the window.”
(of e.g. celestial bodies) above the horizon
From this reading “The twilight had fallen while he wrote, and the wind had risen.”
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading “The twilight had fallen while he wrote, and the wind had risen.”
inflected form of “write” — produce a literary work
From this reading “The twilight had fallen while he wrote, and the wind had risen.”
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 PRESENCE YET NOT A PRESENCE.
(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 was dusk around him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The twilight had fallen while he wrote, and the wind had risen.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading All was dusk around him.
processing that involves blowing a gas
From this reading It was now blowing a gale.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading When he could no longer see, he rose to light his lamp, and looked out of the window.
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading All was dusk around him.
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading The twilight had fallen while he wrote, and the wind had risen.
a strong wind moving 45-90 knots; force 7 to 10 on Beaufort scale
From this reading It was now blowing a gale.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The twilight had fallen while he wrote, and the wind had risen.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The twilight had fallen while he wrote, and the wind had risen.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading All was dusk around him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading When he could no longer see, he rose to light his lamp, and looked out of the window.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was now blowing a gale.
an artificial source of visible illumination
From this reading When he could no longer see, he rose to light his lamp, and looked out of the window.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading When he could no longer see, he rose to light his lamp, and looked out of the window.
for more time
From this reading When he could no longer see, he rose to light his lamp, and looked out of the window.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading When he could no longer see, he rose to light his lamp, and looked out of the window.
not any; not one
From this reading When he could no longer see, he rose to light his lamp, and looked out of the window.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading A PRESENCE YET NOT A PRESENCE.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading It was now blowing a gale.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading When he could no longer see, he rose to light his lamp, and looked out of the window.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading When he could no longer see, he rose to light his lamp, and looked out of the window.
the state of being present; current existence
From this reading A PRESENCE YET NOT A PRESENCE.
(of e.g. celestial bodies) above the horizon
From this reading The twilight had fallen while he wrote, and the wind had risen.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading When he could no longer see, he rose to light his lamp, and looked out of the window.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading When he could no longer see, he rose to light his lamp, and looked out of the window.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The twilight had fallen while he wrote, and the wind had risen.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading When he could no longer see, he rose to light his lamp, and looked out of the window.
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading The twilight had fallen while he wrote, and the wind had risen.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was now blowing a gale.
at the time that
From this reading When he could no longer see, he rose to light his lamp, and looked out of the window.
during the time that
From this reading The twilight had fallen while he wrote, and the wind had risen.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading The twilight had fallen while he wrote, and the wind had risen.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading When he could no longer see, he rose to light his lamp, and looked out of the window.
inflected form of “write” — produce a literary work
From this reading The twilight had fallen while he wrote, and the wind had risen.
but in spite of that
From this reading A PRESENCE YET NOT A PRESENCE.
Chapter 14 of Donal Grant by George MacDonald holds 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 14 holds 148 sentences of Donal Grant, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of Donal Grant by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 14 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 Donal Grant by George MacDonald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9850 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2433 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2433, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1970 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Donal Grant section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Donal Grant 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 Donal Grant, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
