Chapter 20 of Donal Grant is here in full — 367 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Donal Grant is here in full — 367 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MUSIC-NEST. The hour came, and with the very stroke of the clock, lady Arctura and Davie were in the schoolroom. A moment more, and they set out to climb the spiral of Baliol’s tower. But what a different lady was Arctura this afternoon! She was cheerful, even merry--with Davie, almost jolly.
Chapter 20 of Donal Grant is here in full — 367 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/73 · 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.
being full of or promoting cheer; having or showing good spirits
From this reading “She was cheerful, even merry--with Davie, almost jolly.”
go upward with gradual or continuous progress
From this reading “A moment more, and they set out to climb the spiral of Baliol’s tower.”
a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading “The hour came, and with the very stroke of the clock, lady Arctura and Davie were in the schoolroom.”
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading “She was cheerful, even merry--with Davie, almost jolly.”
a room in a school where lessons take place
From this reading “The hour came, and with the very stroke of the clock, lady Arctura and Davie were in the schoolroom.”
a plane curve traced by a point circling about the center but at increasing distances from the center
From this reading “A moment more, and they set out to climb the spiral of Baliol’s tower.”
(sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand
From this reading “The hour came, and with the very stroke of the clock, lady Arctura and Davie were in the schoolroom.”
a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
From this reading “A moment more, and they set out to climb the spiral of Baliol’s tower.”
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 moment more, and they set out to climb the spiral of Baliol’s tower.
the part of the day between noon and evening
From this reading But what a different lady was Arctura this afternoon!
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading She was cheerful, even merry--with Davie, almost jolly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The hour came, and with the very stroke of the clock, lady Arctura and Davie were in the schoolroom.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The hour came, and with the very stroke of the clock, lady Arctura and Davie were in the schoolroom.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A moment more, and they set out to climb the spiral of Baliol’s tower.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But what a different lady was Arctura this afternoon!
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The hour came, and with the very stroke of the clock, lady Arctura and Davie were in the schoolroom.
being full of or promoting cheer; having or showing good spirits
From this reading She was cheerful, even merry--with Davie, almost jolly.
go upward with gradual or continuous progress
From this reading A moment more, and they set out to climb the spiral of Baliol’s tower.
a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading The hour came, and with the very stroke of the clock, lady Arctura and Davie were in the schoolroom.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The hour came, and with the very stroke of the clock, lady Arctura and Davie were in the schoolroom.
unlike in nature or quality or form or degree
From this reading But what a different lady was Arctura this afternoon!
divisible by two
From this reading She was cheerful, even merry--with Davie, almost jolly.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading The hour came, and with the very stroke of the clock, lady Arctura and Davie were in the schoolroom.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The hour came, and with the very stroke of the clock, lady Arctura and Davie were in the schoolroom.
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading She was cheerful, even merry--with Davie, almost jolly.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading The hour came, and with the very stroke of the clock, lady Arctura and Davie were in the schoolroom.
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading She was cheerful, even merry--with Davie, almost jolly.
a particular point in time
From this reading A moment more, and they set out to climb the spiral of Baliol’s tower.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading A moment more, and they set out to climb the spiral of Baliol’s tower.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE MUSIC-NEST.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The hour came, and with the very stroke of the clock, lady Arctura and Davie were in the schoolroom.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading A moment more, and they set out to climb the spiral of Baliol’s tower.
a room in a school where lessons take place
From this reading The hour came, and with the very stroke of the clock, lady Arctura and Davie were in the schoolroom.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading A moment more, and they set out to climb the spiral of Baliol’s tower.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was cheerful, even merry--with Davie, almost jolly.
a plane curve traced by a point circling about the center but at increasing distances from the center
From this reading A moment more, and they set out to climb the spiral of Baliol’s tower.
(sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand
From this reading The hour came, and with the very stroke of the clock, lady Arctura and Davie were in the schoolroom.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MUSIC-NEST.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A moment more, and they set out to climb the spiral of Baliol’s tower.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading But what a different lady was Arctura this afternoon!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A moment more, and they set out to climb the spiral of Baliol’s tower.
a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
From this reading A moment more, and they set out to climb the spiral of Baliol’s tower.
precisely as stated
From this reading The hour came, and with the very stroke of the clock, lady Arctura and Davie were in the schoolroom.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But what a different lady was Arctura this afternoon!
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The hour came, and with the very stroke of the clock, lady Arctura and Davie were in the schoolroom.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading But what a different lady was Arctura this afternoon!
in the company of; together with
From this reading The hour came, and with the very stroke of the clock, lady Arctura and Davie were in the schoolroom.
Chapter 20 of Donal Grant by George MacDonald holds 367 sentences, grouped into 74 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 20 holds 367 sentences of Donal Grant, unabridged, divided into 74 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Donal Grant by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 367 sentences, grouped into 74 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 74 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 74 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 20 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.
