Chapter 40 of Madam: A Novel is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XL
Chapter 40 of Madam: A Novel is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why. He was roused now to the inappropriateness of his presence here. What had he to do in the midst of a family tragedy with which he had no connection? His heart contracted with one sharp spasm of pain. He had no connection with the Trevanions.
Chapter 40 of Madam: A Novel is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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 relation between things or events (as in the case of one causing the other or sharing features with it)
From this reading “What had he to do in the midst of a family tragedy with which he had no connection?”
reduced in size or pulled together
From this reading “His heart contracted with one sharp spasm of pain.”
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading “Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why.”
the location of something surrounded by other things
From this reading “What had he to do in the midst of a family tragedy with which he had no connection?”
plural of “river” — a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading “Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why.”
past form of “rouse” — become active
From this reading “He was roused now to the inappropriateness of his presence here.”
a painful and involuntary muscular contraction
From this reading “His heart contracted with one sharp spasm of pain.”
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading “What had he to do in the midst of a family tragedy with which he had no connection?”
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 “Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why.”
the middle or central part or point
In this reading “What had he to do in the midst of a family tragedy with which he had no connection?”
In this reading “Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why.”
In this reading “Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why.”
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 What had he to do in the midst of a family tragedy with which he had no connection?
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why.
a relation between things or events (as in the case of one causing the other or sharing features with it)
From this reading What had he to do in the midst of a family tragedy with which he had no connection?
reduced in size or pulled together
From this reading His heart contracted with one sharp spasm of pain.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading What had he to do in the midst of a family tragedy with which he had no connection?
a social unit living together
From this reading What had he to do in the midst of a family tragedy with which he had no connection?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading His heart contracted with one sharp spasm of pain.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading He was roused now to the inappropriateness of his presence here.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He was roused now to the inappropriateness of his presence here.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading What had he to do in the midst of a family tragedy with which he had no connection?
inappropriate conduct
From this reading He was roused now to the inappropriateness of his presence here.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why.
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why.
the location of something surrounded by other things
From this reading What had he to do in the midst of a family tragedy with which he had no connection?
not any; not one
From this reading What had he to do in the midst of a family tragedy with which he had no connection?
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He was roused now to the inappropriateness of his presence here.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He was roused now to the inappropriateness of his presence here.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading His heart contracted with one sharp spasm of pain.
a symptom of some physical hurt or disorder
From this reading His heart contracted with one sharp spasm of pain.
the state of being present; current existence
From this reading He was roused now to the inappropriateness of his presence here.
plural of “river” — a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why.
past form of “rouse” — become active
From this reading He was roused now to the inappropriateness of his presence here.
only a very short time before
From this reading Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading His heart contracted with one sharp spasm of pain.
a painful and involuntary muscular contraction
From this reading His heart contracted with one sharp spasm of pain.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He was roused now to the inappropriateness of his presence here.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He was roused now to the inappropriateness of his presence here.
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading What had he to do in the midst of a family tragedy with which he had no connection?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He had no connection with the Trevanions.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was roused now to the inappropriateness of his presence here.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What had he to do in the midst of a family tragedy with which he had no connection?
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading What had he to do in the midst of a family tragedy with which he had no connection?
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Rivers had stood listening all through this strange scene, he scarcely knew why.
in the company of; together with
From this reading What had he to do in the midst of a family tragedy with which he had no connection?
Chapter 40 of Madam: A Novel by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant holds 129 sentences, grouped into 26 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 40 holds 129 sentences of Madam: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 40 of Madam: A Novel by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 129 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 40 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 Madam: A Novel by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9211 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55125 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55125, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1843 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Madam: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Madam: A Novel 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 Madam: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
