Chapter 16 of Greyfriars Bobby is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Greyfriars Bobby is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I can no' stop now to wag my tongue. Here's the gude-wife. I'll just help her get you awa' to your bed.” It was dark when he returned to the gate, and the Castle wore its luminous crown. The lights from the street lamps flickered on the up-turned, anxious faces.
Chapter 16 of Greyfriars Bobby is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
the Crown (or the reigning monarch) as the symbol of the power and authority of a monarchy
From this reading “It was dark when he returned to the gate, and the Castle wore its luminous crown.”
past form of “flicker” — move back and forth very rapidly
From this reading “The lights from the street lamps flickered on the up-turned, anxious faces.”
plural of “lamp” — an artificial source of visible illumination
From this reading “The lights from the street lamps flickered on the up-turned, anxious faces.”
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading “The lights from the street lamps flickered on the up-turned, anxious faces.”
softly bright or radiant
From this reading “It was dark when he returned to the gate, and the Castle wore its luminous crown.”
a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading ““I can no' stop now to wag my tongue.”
a witty amusing person who makes jokes
From this reading ““I can no' stop now to wag my tongue.”
inflected form of “wear” — be dressed in
From this reading “It was dark when he returned to the gate, and the Castle wore its luminous crown.”
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 It was dark when he returned to the gate, and the Castle wore its luminous crown.
eagerly desirous
From this reading The lights from the street lamps flickered on the up-turned, anxious faces.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll just help her get you awa' to your bed.”
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading I'll just help her get you awa' to your bed.”
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading “I can no' stop now to wag my tongue.
a large and stately mansion
From this reading It was dark when he returned to the gate, and the Castle wore its luminous crown.
the Crown (or the reigning monarch) as the symbol of the power and authority of a monarchy
From this reading It was dark when he returned to the gate, and the Castle wore its luminous crown.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading It was dark when he returned to the gate, and the Castle wore its luminous crown.
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading The lights from the street lamps flickered on the up-turned, anxious faces.
past form of “flicker” — move back and forth very rapidly
From this reading The lights from the street lamps flickered on the up-turned, anxious faces.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The lights from the street lamps flickered on the up-turned, anxious faces.
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading It was dark when he returned to the gate, and the Castle wore its luminous crown.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading I'll just help her get you awa' to your bed.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Here's the gude-wife.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was dark when he returned to the gate, and the Castle wore its luminous crown.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading I'll just help her get you awa' to your bed.”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I'll just help her get you awa' to your bed.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Here's the gude-wife.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I can no' stop now to wag my tongue.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll just help her get you awa' to your bed.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was dark when he returned to the gate, and the Castle wore its luminous crown.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading It was dark when he returned to the gate, and the Castle wore its luminous crown.
and nothing more
From this reading I'll just help her get you awa' to your bed.”
plural of “lamp” — an artificial source of visible illumination
From this reading The lights from the street lamps flickered on the up-turned, anxious faces.
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading The lights from the street lamps flickered on the up-turned, anxious faces.
softly bright or radiant
From this reading It was dark when he returned to the gate, and the Castle wore its luminous crown.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “I can no' stop now to wag my tongue.
not any; not one
From this reading “I can no' stop now to wag my tongue.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “I can no' stop now to wag my tongue.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The lights from the street lamps flickered on the up-turned, anxious faces.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading It was dark when he returned to the gate, and the Castle wore its luminous crown.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading “I can no' stop now to wag my tongue.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading The lights from the street lamps flickered on the up-turned, anxious faces.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Here's the gude-wife.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I can no' stop now to wag my tongue.
a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading “I can no' stop now to wag my tongue.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The lights from the street lamps flickered on the up-turned, anxious faces.
a witty amusing person who makes jokes
From this reading “I can no' stop now to wag my tongue.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was dark when he returned to the gate, and the Castle wore its luminous crown.
at the time that
From this reading It was dark when he returned to the gate, and the Castle wore its luminous crown.
inflected form of “wear” — be dressed in
From this reading It was dark when he returned to the gate, and the Castle wore its luminous crown.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I'll just help her get you awa' to your bed.”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I'll just help her get you awa' to your bed.”
Chapter 16 of Greyfriars Bobby by Eleanor Atkinson holds 183 sentences, grouped into 37 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 16 holds 183 sentences of Greyfriars Bobby, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Greyfriars Bobby by Eleanor Atkinson exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 183 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 16 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 Greyfriars Bobby by Eleanor Atkinson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3462 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2693 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2693, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 288 minutes of reading across 693 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Greyfriars Bobby section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Greyfriars Bobby 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 Greyfriars Bobby, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
