Chapter 4 of Not Without Thorns is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Not Without Thorns is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I remember your friend, Mademoiselle Berard, very well, Miss Montmorris," he said. "And an excellent creature she is. The Laurences are old friends of mine. I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care. Do you happen to know where she is now?
Chapter 4 of Not Without Thorns is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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 living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading “"And an excellent creature she is.”
very good; of the highest quality
From this reading “"And an excellent creature she is.”
more than is needed, desired, or required
From this reading “I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.”
having unexpected good fortune
From this reading “I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.”
come to pass
From this reading “Do you happen to know where she is now?”
small silvery drumfish often mistaken for white perch; found along coasts of United States from New York to Mexico
From this reading “"I remember your friend, Mademoiselle Berard, very well, Miss Montmorris," he said.”
having no living or known mother
From this reading “I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.”
require as useful, just, or proper
From this reading “I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.”
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 “I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.”
In this reading “I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.”
In this reading “The Laurences are old friends of mine.”
as might be expected
In this reading “I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.”
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.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "And an excellent creature she is.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And an excellent creature she is.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The Laurences are old friends of mine.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I remember your friend, Mademoiselle Berard, very well, Miss Montmorris," he said.
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading "And an excellent creature she is.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Do you happen to know where she is now?
very good; of the highest quality
From this reading "And an excellent creature she is.
more than is needed, desired, or required
From this reading I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.
having unexpected good fortune
From this reading I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading "I remember your friend, Mademoiselle Berard, very well, Miss Montmorris," he said.
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading The Laurences are old friends of mine.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.
come to pass
From this reading Do you happen to know where she is now?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I remember your friend, Mademoiselle Berard, very well, Miss Montmorris," he said.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I remember your friend, Mademoiselle Berard, very well, Miss Montmorris," he said.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "And an excellent creature she is.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Do you happen to know where she is now?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Laurences are old friends of mine.
small silvery drumfish often mistaken for white perch; found along coasts of United States from New York to Mexico
From this reading "I remember your friend, Mademoiselle Berard, very well, Miss Montmorris," he said.
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading The Laurences are old friends of mine.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading "I remember your friend, Mademoiselle Berard, very well, Miss Montmorris," he said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I remember your friend, Mademoiselle Berard, very well, Miss Montmorris," he said.
used to form the superlative
From this reading I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.
having no living or known mother
From this reading I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Do you happen to know where she is now?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Laurences are old friends of mine.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The Laurences are old friends of mine.
To recall to mind.
From this reading "I remember your friend, Mademoiselle Berard, very well, Miss Montmorris," he said.
require as useful, just, or proper
From this reading I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I remember your friend, Mademoiselle Berard, very well, Miss Montmorris," he said.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "And an excellent creature she is.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Laurences are old friends of mine.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Do you happen to know where she is now?
precisely as stated
From this reading "I remember your friend, Mademoiselle Berard, very well, Miss Montmorris," he said.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "I remember your friend, Mademoiselle Berard, very well, Miss Montmorris," he said.
in or at the place that
From this reading Do you happen to know where she is now?
in the company of; together with
From this reading I thought them most fortunate in meeting with Mademoiselle Berard, for of course motherless girls require extra care.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Do you happen to know where she is now?
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I remember your friend, Mademoiselle Berard, very well, Miss Montmorris," he said.
Chapter 4 of Not Without Thorns by Mrs. Molesworth holds 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 4 holds 409 sentences of Not Without Thorns, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Not Without Thorns by Mrs. Molesworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 4 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 Not Without Thorns by Mrs. Molesworth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7781 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43106 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43106, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1557 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Not Without Thorns section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Not Without Thorns 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 Not Without Thorns, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
