Chapter 23 of North and South is here in full — 263 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of North and South is here in full — 263 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HOME AT LAST. “The saddest birds a season find to sing.” SOUTHWELL. “Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head! Thou art gone home!”
Chapter 23 of North and South is here in full — 263 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/52 · 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 knot with two loops and loose ends; used to tie shoelaces
From this reading ““Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!”
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading ““Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!”
an angular or rounded shape made by folding
From this reading ““Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!”
any loose flowing garment
From this reading ““Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!”
superlative of “sad” — experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading ““The saddest birds a season find to sing.””
a period of the year marked by special events or activities in some field
From this reading ““The saddest birds a season find to sing.””
deliver by singing
From this reading ““The saddest birds a season find to sing.””
past form of “weigh” — have a certain weight
From this reading ““Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!”
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 “The saddest birds a season find to sing.”
anew
From this reading “Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading Thou art gone home!”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading HOME AT LAST.
plural of “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading “The saddest birds a season find to sing.”
a knot with two loops and loose ends; used to tie shoelaces
From this reading “Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!
showing who or what does the action
From this reading “Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading “Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading “Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading “The saddest birds a season find to sing.”
an angular or rounded shape made by folding
From this reading “Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!
destroyed or killed
From this reading Thou art gone home!”
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading “Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!
where you live at a particular time
From this reading HOME AT LAST.
immediately past
From this reading HOME AT LAST.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading “Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!
throughout a period of time
From this reading “Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!
a symptom of some physical hurt or disorder
From this reading “Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!
any loose flowing garment
From this reading “Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!
superlative of “sad” — experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading “The saddest birds a season find to sing.”
a period of the year marked by special events or activities in some field
From this reading “The saddest birds a season find to sing.”
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading “Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!
deliver by singing
From this reading “The saddest birds a season find to sing.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SOUTHWELL.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “The saddest birds a season find to sing.”
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Thou art gone home!”
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading “Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “The saddest birds a season find to sing.”
past form of “weigh” — have a certain weight
From this reading “Never to fold the robe o’er secret pain, Never, weighed down by memory’s clouds again, To bow thy head!
Chapter 23 of North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell holds 263 sentences, grouped into 53 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 23 holds 263 sentences of North and South, unabridged, divided into 53 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 263 sentences, grouped into 53 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 53 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 53 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 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.
Common questions about reading North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10039 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4276 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4276, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2008 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through North and South section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of North and South 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 North and South, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
