Chapter 39 of Helping Himself is here in full — 78 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIX
Chapter 39 of Helping Himself is here in full — 78 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
There were anxious hearts in the parsonage at Colebrook. For some weeks the minister had shown signs of overwork. His appetite had failed, and he seemed weary and worn. “He needs change,” said the doctor. “A run over to Europe would do him good.
Chapter 39 of Helping Himself is here in full — 78 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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 feeling of craving something
From this reading “His appetite had failed, and he seemed weary and worn.”
the 2nd smallest continent (actually a vast peninsula of Eurasia); the British use “Europe” to refer to all of the continent except the British Isles
From this reading ““A run over to Europe would do him good.”
a person authorized to conduct religious worship
From this reading “For some weeks the minister had shown signs of overwork.”
in such a manner as could not be otherwise
From this reading ““He needs change,” said the doctor.”
use too much
From this reading “For some weeks the minister had shown signs of overwork.”
an official residence provided by a church for its parson or vicar or rector
From this reading “There were anxious hearts in the parsonage at Colebrook.”
plural of “sign” — a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading “For some weeks the minister had shown signs of overwork.”
Damaged or thinned by continuous use.
From this reading “His appetite had failed, and he seemed weary and worn.”
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 run over to Europe would do him good.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading His appetite had failed, and he seemed weary and worn.
eagerly desirous
From this reading There were anxious hearts in the parsonage at Colebrook.
a feeling of craving something
From this reading His appetite had failed, and he seemed weary and worn.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading There were anxious hearts in the parsonage at Colebrook.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading “He needs change,” said the doctor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There were anxious hearts in the parsonage at Colebrook.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “A run over to Europe would do him good.
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading “He needs change,” said the doctor.
the 2nd smallest continent (actually a vast peninsula of Eurasia); the British use “Europe” to refer to all of the continent except the British Isles
From this reading “A run over to Europe would do him good.
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading His appetite had failed, and he seemed weary and worn.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For some weeks the minister had shown signs of overwork.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading “A run over to Europe would do him good.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading For some weeks the minister had shown signs of overwork.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading His appetite had failed, and he seemed weary and worn.
a form of whist in which players avoid winning tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades
From this reading There were anxious hearts in the parsonage at Colebrook.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “A run over to Europe would do him good.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His appetite had failed, and he seemed weary and worn.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There were anxious hearts in the parsonage at Colebrook.
a person authorized to conduct religious worship
From this reading For some weeks the minister had shown signs of overwork.
in such a manner as could not be otherwise
From this reading “He needs change,” said the doctor.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading For some weeks the minister had shown signs of overwork.
above and across; more than
From this reading “A run over to Europe would do him good.
use too much
From this reading For some weeks the minister had shown signs of overwork.
an official residence provided by a church for its parson or vicar or rector
From this reading There were anxious hearts in the parsonage at Colebrook.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading “A run over to Europe would do him good.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “He needs change,” said the doctor.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading His appetite had failed, and he seemed weary and worn.
inflected form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading For some weeks the minister had shown signs of overwork.
plural of “sign” — a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading For some weeks the minister had shown signs of overwork.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading For some weeks the minister had shown signs of overwork.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There were anxious hearts in the parsonage at Colebrook.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were anxious hearts in the parsonage at Colebrook.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “A run over to Europe would do him good.
exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress
From this reading His appetite had failed, and he seemed weary and worn.
plural of “week” — any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading For some weeks the minister had shown signs of overwork.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were anxious hearts in the parsonage at Colebrook.
Damaged or thinned by continuous use.
From this reading His appetite had failed, and he seemed weary and worn.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “A run over to Europe would do him good.
Chapter 39 of Helping Himself by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 78 sentences, grouped into 16 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 39 holds 78 sentences of Helping Himself, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 39 of Helping Himself by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 78 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 39 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 Helping Himself by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4051 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5833 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5833, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 337 minutes of reading across 811 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Helping Himself section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Helping Himself 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 Helping Himself, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
