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Mildred and Elsie
Mildred and Elsie

Chapter XXIII

Chapter 23 of Mildred and Elsie is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Martha Finley • Curated US English Learning Edition
Cover illustration for Mildred and Elsie
Context Illustration Reading 1/21 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."
Longfellow.
It was evening.
Mildred was alone in the parlor, all the rest of the family having gone to a concert.
They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Mildred and Elsie

Chapter XXIII

Chapter 23 of Mildred and Elsie is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/21 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."
Line 2
Longfellow.
/ˈlɔːŋfeloʊ/
Line 3
It was evening.
/ɪt wɑːz ˈiːvnɪŋ/
Line 4
Mildred was alone in the parlor, all the rest of the family having gone to a concert.
Line 5
They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.
/ðeɪ hæd ɜːrdʒd hɜːr tuː ɡoʊ tuː bʌt ʃiː hæd dɪˈklaɪnd ˈseɪɪŋ ʃiː ˈɡreɪtli prəˈfɜːrd ə ˈkwaɪət ˈiːvnɪŋ æt hoʊm/

Learner Dictionary

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.

beheld verb US /biˈheld/

inflected form of “behold” — see with attention

From this reading “"Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
concert noun US /ˈkɑːnsərt/

a performance of music by players or singers not involving theatrical staging

From this reading “Mildred was alone in the parlor, all the rest of the family having gone to a concert.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
declined verb US /dɪˈklaɪnd/

past form of “decline” — grow worse

From this reading “They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
image noun US /ˈɪmədʒ/

an iconic mental representation

From this reading “"Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Longfellow noun US /ˈlɔːŋfeloʊ/

United States poet remembered for his long narrative poems (1807-1882)

From this reading “Longfellow.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
parlor noun US /ˈpɑːrlər/

reception room in an inn or club where visitors can be received

From this reading “Mildred was alone in the parlor, all the rest of the family having gone to a concert.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
preferred adjective US /prəˈfɜːrd/

more desirable than another

From this reading “They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
urged verb US /ɜːrdʒd/

past form of “urge” — force or impel in an indicated direction

From this reading “They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

at home preposition + noun

a reception held in your own home

In this reading “They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.”

94,709 times in 426,211 chapters
in the parlor preposition + article + noun counted as “in … parlor”

In this reading “Mildred was alone in the parlor, all the rest of the family having gone to a concert.”

3,475 times in 426,211 chapters
rest of verb + particle

In this reading “Mildred was alone in the parlor, all the rest of the family having gone to a concert.”

80,160 times in 426,211 chapters

All words in this reading · 54

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading Mildred was alone in the parlor, all the rest of the family having gone to a concert.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
absencenounUS /ˈæbsəns/

the state of being absent

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 Mildred was alone in the parlor, all the rest of the family having gone to a concert.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
aloneadjectiveUS /əˈloʊn/

Having no one else present.

From this reading Mildred was alone in the parlor, all the rest of the family having gone to a concert.

Velmora curated lexicon
andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
beautifuladjectiveUS /ˈbjuːtəfəl/

delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
beautynounUS /ˈbjuːti/

the qualities that give pleasure to the senses

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
beheldverbUS /biˈheld/

inflected form of “behold” — see with attention

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
Cloth'd

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

Pending verification
concertnounUS /ˈkɑːnsərt/

a performance of music by players or singers not involving theatrical staging

From this reading Mildred was alone in the parlor, all the rest of the family having gone to a concert.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
deathlikeadjective

having the physical appearance of death

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
declinedverbUS /dɪˈklaɪnd/

past form of “decline” — grow worse

From this reading They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
eveningnounUS /ˈiːvnɪŋ/

the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)

From this reading It was evening.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
familynounUS /ˈfæməli/

a social unit living together

From this reading Mildred was alone in the parlor, all the rest of the family having gone to a concert.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
goverbUS /ɡoʊ/

change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically

From this reading They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
goneadjectiveUS /ɡɔːn/

destroyed or killed

From this reading Mildred was alone in the parlor, all the rest of the family having gone to a concert.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
greatlyadverbUS /ˈɡreɪtli/

to an extraordinary extent or degree

From this reading They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
havingauxiliary verbUS /ˈhævɪŋ/

the -ing form of “have”

From this reading Mildred was alone in the parlor, all the rest of the family having gone to a concert.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
heartnounUS /hɑːrt/

the locus of feelings and intuitions

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
homenounUS /hoʊm/

where you live at a particular time

From this reading They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
imagenounUS /ˈɪmədʒ/

an iconic mental representation

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It was evening.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
lastadjectiveUS /læst/

immediately past

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
LongfellownounUS /ˈlɔːŋfeloʊ/

United States poet remembered for his long narrative poems (1807-1882)

From this reading Longfellow.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
lovenounUS /lʌv/

a strong positive emotion of regard and affection

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
madeadjectiveUS /meɪd/

produced by a manufacturing process

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Mildred

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Mildred was alone in the parlor, all the rest of the family having gone to a concert.

Pending verification
moreadjectiveUS /mɔːr/

(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
OnlyadverbUS /ˈoʊnli/

and nothing more

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
parlornounUS /ˈpɑːrlər/

reception room in an inn or club where visitors can be received

From this reading Mildred was alone in the parlor, all the rest of the family having gone to a concert.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
preferredadjectiveUS /prəˈfɜːrd/

more desirable than another

From this reading They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
quietadjectiveUS /ˈkwaɪət/

characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity

From this reading They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
restverbUS /rest/

not move; be in a resting position

From this reading Mildred was alone in the parlor, all the rest of the family having gone to a concert.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
sayingnounUS /ˈseɪɪŋ/

a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations

From this reading They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
silencenounUS /ˈsaɪ.ləns/

Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

Velmora curated lexicon
thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
TheypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading Mildred was alone in the parlor, all the rest of the family having gone to a concert.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
tooadverbUS /tuː/

to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits

From this reading They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
urgedverbUS /ɜːrdʒd/

past form of “urge” — force or impel in an indicated direction

From this reading They had urged her to go too, but she had declined, saying she greatly preferred a quiet evening at home.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
WithinprepositionUS /wɪˈðɪn/

inside; before a period of time has passed

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
youthnounUS /juːθ/

a young person (especially a young man or boy)

From this reading "Within her heart was his image, Cloth'd in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him, Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence."

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Chapter 23 of Mildred and Elsie by Martha Finley holds 109 sentences, grouped into 22 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.

What does chapter 23 of Mildred and Elsie contain?

Chapter 23 holds 109 sentences of Mildred and Elsie, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 23 of Mildred and Elsie by Martha Finley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 109 sentences, grouped into 22 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.

How do I study chapter 23 of Mildred and Elsie?

Work through the 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 22 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.

Can chapter 23 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 23 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.

Questions about reading Mildred and Elsie

Common questions about reading Mildred and Elsie by Martha Finley on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Mildred and Elsie?

Yes. All 3109 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45651 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Mildred and Elsie is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #45651, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Mildred and Elsie take to read?

About 259 minutes of reading across 622 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Mildred and Elsie section by section

How to work through Mildred and Elsie section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 23 chapters of Mildred and Elsie to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Mildred and Elsie

Words and structures a reader meets early in Mildred and Elsie, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Beautiful
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Mildred and Elsie; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
First
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Mildred and Elsie; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Light
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Mildred and Elsie; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Breaks
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Mildred and Elsie; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.