Chapter 1 of Hathercourt is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Hathercourt is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Hathercourt, by Mrs Molesworth. ________________________________________________________________________ HATHERCOURT, BY MRS MOLESWORTH. CHAPTER ONE. "TWOE SISTERS." "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
Chapter 1 of Hathercourt is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
plural of “aisle” — a long narrow passage (as in a cave or woods)
From this reading “"The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.”
having or showing excessive or compulsive concern with something
From this reading “"The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.”
plural of “legend” — a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events
From this reading “"The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.”
-ing form of “neighbour” — live or be located as a neighbor
From this reading “"The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.”
a line that forms the length of an arrow pointer
From this reading “"The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.”
(poetic) tranquil silence
From this reading “"The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.”
move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
From this reading “"The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.”
a place for the burial of a corpse (especially beneath the ground and marked by a tombstone)
From this reading “"The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “"The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.”
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.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
plural of “aisle” — a long narrow passage (as in a cave or woods)
From this reading "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Hathercourt, by Mrs Molesworth.
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading CHAPTER ONE.
(Old Testament) Adam's wife in Judeo-Christian mythology: the first woman and mother of the human race; God created Eve from Adam's rib and placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
From this reading "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
having lost freshness or brilliance of color
From this reading "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
a group of persons together in one place
From this reading "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hathercourt, by Mrs Molesworth.
having or showing excessive or compulsive concern with something
From this reading "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
plural of “legend” — a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events
From this reading "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hathercourt, by Mrs Molesworth.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Hathercourt, by Mrs Molesworth.
-ing form of “neighbour” — live or be located as a neighbor
From this reading "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading CHAPTER ONE.
a line that forms the length of an arrow pointer
From this reading "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
plural of “sister” — a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading "TWOE SISTERS."
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
(poetic) tranquil silence
From this reading "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
From this reading "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
a place for the burial of a corpse (especially beneath the ground and marked by a tombstone)
From this reading "The haunted aisles, the gathering gloom, By some stray shaft of eve made fair; The stillness of the neighbouring air, The faded legends of the tomb.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "TWOE SISTERS."
Chapter 1 of Hathercourt by Mrs. Molesworth holds 417 sentences, grouped into 84 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, 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 1 holds 417 sentences of Hathercourt, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Hathercourt by Mrs. Molesworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 1 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 Hathercourt by Mrs. Molesworth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7068 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43168 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43168, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 589 minutes of reading across 1414 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Hathercourt section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Hathercourt 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 Hathercourt, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
