Chapter 15 of Memoirs of a Country Doll. Written by Herself is here in full — 55 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Memoirs of a Country Doll. Written by Herself is here in full — 55 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE PANTOMIME. The evening arrived. We drove into town rather earlier than usual. My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full. The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
Chapter 15 of Memoirs of a Country Doll. Written by Herself is here in full — 55 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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.
past form of “commence” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."”
hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading “My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.”
earlier in time; previously
From this reading “We drove into town rather earlier than usual.”
violent or severe weather (viewed as caused by the action of the four elements)
From this reading “The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."”
third-person singular of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading “The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."”
a performance using gestures and body movements without words
From this reading “THE PANTOMIME.”
look furtively
From this reading “My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.”
a long narrow opening
From this reading “My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.”
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 “My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.”
In this reading “The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."”
make oneself visible; take action
In this reading “The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."”
In this reading “We drove into town rather earlier than usual.”
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 My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
a person or thing that is a resource that helps make something easier or possible to do
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
past form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading The evening arrived.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
call upon in supplication; entreat
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
past form of “commence” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.
a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together
From this reading We drove into town rather earlier than usual.
earlier in time; previously
From this reading We drove into town rather earlier than usual.
violent or severe weather (viewed as caused by the action of the four elements)
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading The evening arrived.
a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
third-person singular of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
at or to or toward the front
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading We drove into town rather earlier than usual.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.
used to form the superlative
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
a performance using gestures and body movements without words
From this reading THE PANTOMIME.
look furtively
From this reading My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.
participate in games or sport
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
on the contrary
From this reading We drove into town rather earlier than usual.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.
a long narrow opening
From this reading My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading We drove into town rather earlier than usual.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE PANTOMIME.
in or at that place or location
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading We drove into town rather earlier than usual.
occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
From this reading We drove into town rather earlier than usual.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if the house was full.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We drove into town rather earlier than usual.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading The play commenced, and was as follows: First, there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your aid; come forward! and be not afraid."
Chapter 15 of Memoirs of a Country Doll. Written by Herself by Mary Curtis holds 55 sentences, grouped into 11 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 15 holds 55 sentences of Memoirs of a Country Doll. Written by Herself, unabridged, divided into 11 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Memoirs of a Country Doll. Written by Herself by Mary Curtis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 55 sentences, grouped into 11 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 11 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 11 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 15 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.
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Yes. All 491 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #64139 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #64139, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 40 minutes of reading across 99 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Choose one of the 20 chapters of Memoirs of a Country Doll. Written by Herself to begin.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Memoirs of a Country Doll. Written by Herself, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
