Chapter 31 of Notwithstanding is here in full — 107 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of Notwithstanding is here in full — 107 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore." W. E. HENLEY. In the sick-room all was still. Lady Louisa lay with her eyes open, fixed. Blended with the cawing of the rooks came the tolling of the bell for her son's funeral.
Chapter 31 of Notwithstanding is here in full — 107 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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.
combined or mixed together so that the constituent parts are indistinguishable
From this reading “Blended with the cawing of the rooks came the tolling of the bell for her son's funeral.”
lie adjacent to another or share a boundary
From this reading “"But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."”
at any future time; in the future
From this reading “"But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."”
plural of “rook” — (chess) the piece that can move any number of unoccupied squares in a direction parallel to the sides of the chessboard
From this reading “Blended with the cawing of the rooks came the tolling of the bell for her son's funeral.”
unusualness as a consequence of not being well known
From this reading “"But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."”
-ing form of “toll” — ring slowly
From this reading “Blended with the cawing of the rooks came the tolling of the bell for her son's funeral.”
an implement used in the practice of a vocation
From this reading “"But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."”
small workplace where handcrafts or manufacturing are done
From this reading “"But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."”
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 “"But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."”
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 "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
(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 In the sick-room all was still.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
past form of “banish” — expel from a community or group
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading Blended with the cawing of the rooks came the tolling of the bell for her son's funeral.
combined or mixed together so that the constituent parts are indistinguishable
From this reading Blended with the cawing of the rooks came the tolling of the bell for her son's funeral.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
lie adjacent to another or share a boundary
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Blended with the cawing of the rooks came the tolling of the bell for her son's funeral.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Blended with the cawing of the rooks came the tolling of the bell for her son's funeral.
a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for normal reproduction; an important antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in the body
From this reading W. E. HENLEY.
at any future time; in the future
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
opinion or judgment
From this reading Lady Louisa lay with her eyes open, fixed.
(of a number) having a fixed and unchanging value
From this reading Lady Louisa lay with her eyes open, fixed.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
a ceremony at which a dead person is buried or cremated
From this reading Blended with the cawing of the rooks came the tolling of the bell for her son's funeral.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading W. E. HENLEY.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Lady Louisa lay with her eyes open, fixed.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
intense and profound fear
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
a polite name for any woman
From this reading Lady Louisa lay with her eyes open, fixed.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Lady Louisa lay with her eyes open, fixed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lady Louisa lay with her eyes open, fixed.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
To move from a closed position.
From this reading Lady Louisa lay with her eyes open, fixed.
plural of “rook” — (chess) the piece that can move any number of unoccupied squares in a direction parallel to the sides of the chessboard
From this reading Blended with the cawing of the rooks came the tolling of the bell for her son's funeral.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the sick-room all was still.
possessive form of “son” — a male human offspring
From this reading Blended with the cawing of the rooks came the tolling of the bell for her son's funeral.
not in physical motion
From this reading In the sick-room all was still.
unusualness as a consequence of not being well known
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
-ing form of “toll” — ring slowly
From this reading Blended with the cawing of the rooks came the tolling of the bell for her son's funeral.
an implement used in the practice of a vocation
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
a heavy grey-white metallic element; the pure form is used mainly in electrical applications; it is found in several ores including wolframite and scheelite
From this reading W. E. HENLEY.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading In the sick-room all was still.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Lady Louisa lay with her eyes open, fixed.
small workplace where handcrafts or manufacturing are done
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
Damaged or thinned by continuous use.
From this reading "But I wait in a horror of strangeness-- A tool on His workshop floor, Worn to the butt, and banished His hand for evermore."
Chapter 31 of Notwithstanding by Mary Cholmondeley holds 107 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.
Chapter 31 holds 107 sentences of Notwithstanding, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of Notwithstanding by Mary Cholmondeley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 107 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.
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.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 31 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 Notwithstanding by Mary Cholmondeley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5817 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37781 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37781, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 484 minutes of reading across 1164 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Notwithstanding section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Notwithstanding 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 Notwithstanding, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
