Chapter 20 of Miss Devereux, spinster is here in full — 248 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Miss Devereux, spinster is here in full — 248 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A ROUGH DIAMOND. "O let me be myself! But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?" JEAN INGELOW. "JEAN, make haste!
Chapter 20 of Miss Devereux, spinster is here in full — 248 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/49 · 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.
money collected under a tariff
From this reading “But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"”
a transparent piece of diamond that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem
From this reading “A ROUGH DIAMOND.”
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading “But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"”
a coarse durable twill-weave cotton fabric
From this reading “JEAN INGELOW.”
plural of “maxim” — a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits
From this reading “But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"”
plural of “mode” — how something is done or how it happens
From this reading “But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"”
(baseball) the slight elevation on which the pitcher stands
From this reading “But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"”
an example that is used to justify similar occurrences at a later time
From this reading “But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"”
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 “"JEAN, make haste!”
In this reading “A ROUGH DIAMOND.”
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 ROUGH DIAMOND.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "O let me be myself!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"
money collected under a tariff
From this reading But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"
a transparent piece of diamond that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem
From this reading A ROUGH DIAMOND.
set up or found
From this reading But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"
overly eager speed (and possible carelessness)
From this reading "JEAN, make haste!
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading JEAN INGELOW.
a coarse durable twill-weave cotton fabric
From this reading JEAN INGELOW.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading "O let me be myself!
engage in
From this reading "JEAN, make haste!
plural of “maxim” — a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits
From this reading But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "O let me be myself!
plural of “mode” — how something is done or how it happens
From this reading But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"
(baseball) the slight elevation on which the pitcher stands
From this reading But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading "O let me be myself!
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading "O let me be myself!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"
an example that is used to justify similar occurrences at a later time
From this reading But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"
not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness
From this reading But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"
having or caused by an irregular surface
From this reading A ROUGH DIAMOND.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"
in or at the place that
From this reading But where, O where, Under this heap of precedent, this mound Of customs, modes and maxims, cumbrance rare, Shall the Myself be found?"
Chapter 20 of Miss Devereux, spinster by Agnes Giberne holds 248 sentences, grouped into 50 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 20 holds 248 sentences of Miss Devereux, spinster, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Miss Devereux, spinster by Agnes Giberne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 248 sentences, grouped into 50 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 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 50 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 20 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 Miss Devereux, spinster by Agnes Giberne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Miss Devereux, spinster section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Miss Devereux, spinster 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 Miss Devereux, spinster, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
