Chapter 8 of Mistress Penwick is here in full — 88 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Mistress Penwick is here in full — 88 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SIR JULIAN POMPHREY "Now time is something to have gained! Janet, thou must go to yonder monastery and bring a priest to shrive Christopher." "And how didst thou know Christopher was shriveable?" "'Tis unseemly of thee to make jest of divine ordinances." "Nay, I would not jest but know where 'twas thou learnt of his religion?"
Chapter 8 of Mistress Penwick is here in full — 88 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/17 · 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.
Christian martyr and patron saint of travellers (3rd century)
From this reading “Janet, thou must go to yonder monastery and bring a priest to shrive Christopher."”
an old form of “did”, used with “thou”
From this reading “"And how didst thou know Christopher was shriveable?"”
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading “"'Tis unseemly of thee to make jest of divine ordinances."”
Roman Emperor and nephew of Constantine; he restored paganism as the official religion of the Roman Empire and destroyed Christian temples but his decision was reversed after his death (331?-363)
From this reading “SIR JULIAN POMPHREY "Now time is something to have gained!”
inflected form of “learn” — gain knowledge or skills
From this reading “"Nay, I would not jest but know where 'twas thou learnt of his religion?"”
the residence of a religious community
From this reading “Janet, thou must go to yonder monastery and bring a priest to shrive Christopher."”
plural of “ordinance” — an authoritative rule
From this reading “"'Tis unseemly of thee to make jest of divine ordinances."”
not in keeping with accepted standards of what is right or proper in polite society
From this reading “"'Tis unseemly of thee to make jest of divine ordinances."”
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 Janet, thou must go to yonder monastery and bring a priest to shrive Christopher."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Janet, thou must go to yonder monastery and bring a priest to shrive Christopher."
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Janet, thou must go to yonder monastery and bring a priest to shrive Christopher."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "Nay, I would not jest but know where 'twas thou learnt of his religion?"
Christian martyr and patron saint of travellers (3rd century)
From this reading Janet, thou must go to yonder monastery and bring a priest to shrive Christopher."
an old form of “did”, used with “thou”
From this reading "And how didst thou know Christopher was shriveable?"
emanating from God
From this reading "'Tis unseemly of thee to make jest of divine ordinances."
past form of “gain” — obtain
From this reading SIR JULIAN POMPHREY "Now time is something to have gained!
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Janet, thou must go to yonder monastery and bring a priest to shrive Christopher."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading SIR JULIAN POMPHREY "Now time is something to have gained!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Nay, I would not jest but know where 'twas thou learnt of his religion?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And how didst thou know Christopher was shriveable?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Nay, I would not jest but know where 'twas thou learnt of his religion?"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading SIR JULIAN POMPHREY "Now time is something to have gained!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Janet, thou must go to yonder monastery and bring a priest to shrive Christopher."
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading "'Tis unseemly of thee to make jest of divine ordinances."
Roman Emperor and nephew of Constantine; he restored paganism as the official religion of the Roman Empire and destroyed Christian temples but his decision was reversed after his death (331?-363)
From this reading SIR JULIAN POMPHREY "Now time is something to have gained!
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "And how didst thou know Christopher was shriveable?"
inflected form of “learn” — gain knowledge or skills
From this reading "Nay, I would not jest but know where 'twas thou learnt of his religion?"
engage in
From this reading "'Tis unseemly of thee to make jest of divine ordinances."
the residence of a religious community
From this reading Janet, thou must go to yonder monastery and bring a priest to shrive Christopher."
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Janet, thou must go to yonder monastery and bring a priest to shrive Christopher."
an old word for “no”
From this reading "Nay, I would not jest but know where 'twas thou learnt of his religion?"
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Nay, I would not jest but know where 'twas thou learnt of his religion?"
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading SIR JULIAN POMPHREY "Now time is something to have gained!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "'Tis unseemly of thee to make jest of divine ordinances."
plural of “ordinance” — an authoritative rule
From this reading "'Tis unseemly of thee to make jest of divine ordinances."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SIR JULIAN POMPHREY "Now time is something to have gained!
a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders
From this reading Janet, thou must go to yonder monastery and bring a priest to shrive Christopher."
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
From this reading "Nay, I would not jest but know where 'twas thou learnt of his religion?"
grant remission of a sin to
From this reading Janet, thou must go to yonder monastery and bring a priest to shrive Christopher."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And how didst thou know Christopher was shriveable?"
term of address for a man
From this reading SIR JULIAN POMPHREY "Now time is something to have gained!
a thing, without saying which
From this reading SIR JULIAN POMPHREY "Now time is something to have gained!
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading "'Tis unseemly of thee to make jest of divine ordinances."
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Janet, thou must go to yonder monastery and bring a priest to shrive Christopher."
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading SIR JULIAN POMPHREY "Now time is something to have gained!
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading "'Tis unseemly of thee to make jest of divine ordinances."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading SIR JULIAN POMPHREY "Now time is something to have gained!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Nay, I would not jest but know where 'twas thou learnt of his religion?"
not in keeping with accepted standards of what is right or proper in polite society
From this reading "'Tis unseemly of thee to make jest of divine ordinances."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "And how didst thou know Christopher was shriveable?"
in or at the place that
From this reading "Nay, I would not jest but know where 'twas thou learnt of his religion?"
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "Nay, I would not jest but know where 'twas thou learnt of his religion?"
distant but within sight (“yon” is dialectal)
From this reading Janet, thou must go to yonder monastery and bring a priest to shrive Christopher."
Chapter 8 of Mistress Penwick by Dutton Payne holds 88 sentences, grouped into 18 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 88 sentences of Mistress Penwick, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Mistress Penwick by Dutton Payne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 88 sentences, grouped into 18 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 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 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 Mistress Penwick by Dutton Payne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4267 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12256 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12256, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 355 minutes of reading across 854 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mistress Penwick section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Mistress Penwick 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 Mistress Penwick, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
