Chapter 17 of Donal Grant is here in full — 210 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Donal Grant is here in full — 210 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE EARL’S BEDCHAMBER. Having washed the blood from his face, Donal sought Simmons. “His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.” Donal turned and went straight up to lord Morven’s apartment. As he passed the door of his bedroom opening on the corridor, he heard voices in debate.
Chapter 17 of Donal Grant is here in full — 210 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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.
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading “THE EARL’S BEDCHAMBER.”
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading “As he passed the door of his bedroom opening on the corridor, he heard voices in debate.”
a manservant (usually the head servant of a household) who has charge of wines and the table
From this reading ““His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.””
an enclosed passageway; rooms usually open onto it
From this reading “As he passed the door of his bedroom opening on the corridor, he heard voices in debate.”
argue with one another
From this reading “As he passed the door of his bedroom opening on the corridor, he heard voices in debate.”
possessive form of “earl” — a British peer ranking below a marquess and above a viscount
a title used to address any British peer except a duke and extended to a bishop or a judge
From this reading ““His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.””
clean by virtue of having been washed in water
From this reading “Having washed the blood from his face, Donal sought Simmons.”
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.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Donal turned and went straight up to lord Morven’s apartment.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading “His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.”
a suite of rooms usually on one floor of an apartment house
From this reading Donal turned and went straight up to lord Morven’s apartment.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As he passed the door of his bedroom opening on the corridor, he heard voices in debate.
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading THE EARL’S BEDCHAMBER.
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading As he passed the door of his bedroom opening on the corridor, he heard voices in debate.
The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.
From this reading Having washed the blood from his face, Donal sought Simmons.
a manservant (usually the head servant of a household) who has charge of wines and the table
From this reading “His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.”
an enclosed passageway; rooms usually open onto it
From this reading As he passed the door of his bedroom opening on the corridor, he heard voices in debate.
argue with one another
From this reading As he passed the door of his bedroom opening on the corridor, he heard voices in debate.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Having washed the blood from his face, Donal sought Simmons.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading As he passed the door of his bedroom opening on the corridor, he heard voices in debate.
possessive form of “earl” — a British peer ranking below a marquess and above a viscount
From this reading THE EARL’S BEDCHAMBER.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Having washed the blood from his face, Donal sought Simmons.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Having washed the blood from his face, Donal sought Simmons.
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading Having washed the blood from his face, Donal sought Simmons.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading As he passed the door of his bedroom opening on the corridor, he heard voices in debate.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading As he passed the door of his bedroom opening on the corridor, he heard voices in debate.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Having washed the blood from his face, Donal sought Simmons.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading As he passed the door of his bedroom opening on the corridor, he heard voices in debate.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.”
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading “His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.”
a title used to address any British peer except a duke and extended to a bishop or a judge
From this reading “His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Donal turned and went straight up to lord Morven’s apartment.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading As he passed the door of his bedroom opening on the corridor, he heard voices in debate.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading As he passed the door of his bedroom opening on the corridor, he heard voices in debate.
an open or empty space in or between things
From this reading As he passed the door of his bedroom opening on the corridor, he heard voices in debate.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading As he passed the door of his bedroom opening on the corridor, he heard voices in debate.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Having washed the blood from his face, Donal sought Simmons.
term of address for a man
From this reading “His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.”
that is looked for
From this reading Having washed the blood from his face, Donal sought Simmons.
successive (without a break)
From this reading Donal turned and went straight up to lord Morven’s apartment.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading “His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE EARL’S BEDCHAMBER.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Donal turned and went straight up to lord Morven’s apartment.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Donal turned and went straight up to lord Morven’s apartment.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Donal turned and went straight up to lord Morven’s apartment.
plural of “voice” — the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading As he passed the door of his bedroom opening on the corridor, he heard voices in debate.
clean by virtue of having been washed in water
From this reading Having washed the blood from his face, Donal sought Simmons.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Donal turned and went straight up to lord Morven’s apartment.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “His lordship can’t see you now, I am sure, sir,” answered the butler; “lord Forgue is with him.”
Chapter 17 of Donal Grant by George MacDonald holds 210 sentences, grouped into 42 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 17 holds 210 sentences of Donal Grant, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Donal Grant by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 210 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 17 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.
