Chapter 8 of In Convent Walls The Story of the Despensers is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of In Convent Walls The Story of the Despensers is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Nay, what next?" saith she. "Heard I ever such strange fancies as thine? Thou wilt be marvelling next if the stars be never athirst." "And if rain be the moon weeping," quoth Sister Philippa, who seemed as much amused as Roberga. "No, the moon weepeth not," said Margaret.
Chapter 8 of In Convent Walls The Story of the Despensers is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
pleasantly occupied
From this reading “"And if rain be the moon weeping," quoth Sister Philippa, who seemed as much amused as Roberga.”
plural of “fancy” — something many people believe that is false
From this reading “"Heard I ever such strange fancies as thine?”
an old word for “no”
From this reading “"Nay, what next?" saith she.”
water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
From this reading “"And if rain be the moon weeping," quoth Sister Philippa, who seemed as much amused as Roberga.”
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading “Thou wilt be marvelling next if the stars be never athirst."”
an old word for “yours”
From this reading “"Heard I ever such strange fancies as thine?”
showing sorrow
From this reading “"And if rain be the moon weeping," quoth Sister Philippa, who seemed as much amused as Roberga.”
an old form of “will”, used with “thou”
From this reading “Thou wilt be marvelling next if the stars be never athirst."”
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.
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.
pleasantly occupied
From this reading "And if rain be the moon weeping," quoth Sister Philippa, who seemed as much amused as Roberga.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And if rain be the moon weeping," quoth Sister Philippa, who seemed as much amused as Roberga.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Heard I ever such strange fancies as thine?
(usually followed by “for”) extremely desirous
From this reading Thou wilt be marvelling next if the stars be never athirst."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Thou wilt be marvelling next if the stars be never athirst."
at any time
From this reading "Heard I ever such strange fancies as thine?
plural of “fancy” — something many people believe that is false
From this reading "Heard I ever such strange fancies as thine?
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading "Heard I ever such strange fancies as thine?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Heard I ever such strange fancies as thine?
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Thou wilt be marvelling next if the stars be never athirst."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No, the moon weepeth not," said Margaret.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Thou wilt be marvelling next if the stars be never athirst."
the natural satellite of the Earth
From this reading "And if rain be the moon weeping," quoth Sister Philippa, who seemed as much amused as Roberga.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading "And if rain be the moon weeping," quoth Sister Philippa, who seemed as much amused as Roberga.
an old word for “no”
From this reading "Nay, what next?" saith she.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Thou wilt be marvelling next if the stars be never athirst."
immediately following in time or order
From this reading "Nay, what next?" saith she.
not any; not one
From this reading "No, the moon weepeth not," said Margaret.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "No, the moon weepeth not," said Margaret.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And if rain be the moon weeping," quoth Sister Philippa, who seemed as much amused as Roberga.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And if rain be the moon weeping," quoth Sister Philippa, who seemed as much amused as Roberga.
water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
From this reading "And if rain be the moon weeping," quoth Sister Philippa, who seemed as much amused as Roberga.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And if rain be the moon weeping," quoth Sister Philippa, who seemed as much amused as Roberga.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "No, the moon weepeth not," said Margaret.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Nay, what next?" saith she.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading "And if rain be the moon weeping," quoth Sister Philippa, who seemed as much amused as Roberga.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Nay, what next?" saith she.
a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading "And if rain be the moon weeping," quoth Sister Philippa, who seemed as much amused as Roberga.
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading Thou wilt be marvelling next if the stars be never athirst."
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading "Heard I ever such strange fancies as thine?
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading "Heard I ever such strange fancies as thine?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Thou wilt be marvelling next if the stars be never athirst."
an old word for “yours”
From this reading "Heard I ever such strange fancies as thine?
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Thou wilt be marvelling next if the stars be never athirst."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No, the moon weepeth not," said Margaret.
showing sorrow
From this reading "And if rain be the moon weeping," quoth Sister Philippa, who seemed as much amused as Roberga.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Nay, what next?" saith she.
which person or people
From this reading "And if rain be the moon weeping," quoth Sister Philippa, who seemed as much amused as Roberga.
an old form of “will”, used with “thou”
From this reading Thou wilt be marvelling next if the stars be never athirst."
Chapter 8 of In Convent Walls The Story of the Despensers by Emily Sarah Holt holds 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 8 holds 409 sentences of In Convent Walls The Story of the Despensers, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of In Convent Walls The Story of the Despensers by Emily Sarah Holt exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 8 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 In Convent Walls The Story of the Despensers by Emily Sarah Holt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5749 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27958 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27958, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 479 minutes of reading across 1150 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through In Convent Walls The Story of the Despensers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of In Convent Walls The Story of the Despensers 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 In Convent Walls The Story of the Despensers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
