Chapter 4 of Nurse Elisia is here in full — 410 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 Nurse Elisia is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Then they are right," said the sufferer with a groan. "I know now. Great Heavens!" He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered. Aunt Anne drew back, and signed to Neil to come to her side.
Chapter 4 of Nurse Elisia is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
Extreme physical or mental suffering; intense anguish.
From this reading “He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.”
reduced in size or pulled together
From this reading “He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.”
water that has condensed on a cool surface overnight from water vapor in the air
From this reading “He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.”
an utterance expressing pain or disapproval
From this reading “"Then they are right," said the sufferer with a groan.”
the apparent surface of the imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected
From this reading “Great Heavens!"”
involving the mind or an intellectual process
From this reading “He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.”
having a handwritten signature
From this reading “Aunt Anne drew back, and signed to Neil to come to her side.”
a person suffering from an illness
From this reading “"Then they are right," said the sufferer with a groan.”
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 “He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.”
In this reading “He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.”
In this reading “He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.”
In this reading “"Then they are right," said the sufferer with a groan.”
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 "Then they are right," said the sufferer with a groan.
Extreme physical or mental suffering; intense anguish.
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
Queen of England and Scotland and Ireland; daughter if James II and the last of the Stuart monarchs; in 1707 she was the last English ruler to exercise the royal veto over parliament (1665-1714)
From this reading Aunt Anne drew back, and signed to Neil to come to her side.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Then they are right," said the sufferer with a groan.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading Aunt Anne drew back, and signed to Neil to come to her side.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Aunt Anne drew back, and signed to Neil to come to her side.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Aunt Anne drew back, and signed to Neil to come to her side.
reduced in size or pulled together
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
water that has condensed on a cool surface overnight from water vapor in the air
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading Aunt Anne drew back, and signed to Neil to come to her side.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
opinion or judgment
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Great Heavens!"
an utterance expressing pain or disapproval
From this reading "Then they are right," said the sufferer with a groan.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
the apparent surface of the imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected
From this reading Great Heavens!"
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Aunt Anne drew back, and signed to Neil to come to her side.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I know now.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "I know now.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
involving the mind or an intellectual process
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Aunt Anne drew back, and signed to Neil to come to her side.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "I know now.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "Then they are right," said the sufferer with a groan.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Then they are right," said the sufferer with a groan.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading Aunt Anne drew back, and signed to Neil to come to her side.
having a handwritten signature
From this reading Aunt Anne drew back, and signed to Neil to come to her side.
not in physical motion
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
past form of “suffer” — undergo or be subjected to
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
a person suffering from an illness
From this reading "Then they are right," said the sufferer with a groan.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Then they are right," said the sufferer with a groan.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Then they are right," said the sufferer with a groan.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Then they are right," said the sufferer with a groan.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Aunt Anne drew back, and signed to Neil to come to her side.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading He closed his eyes, and lay perfectly still, but the dew upon his contracted face told plainly enough of the mental agony he suffered.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Then they are right," said the sufferer with a groan.
Chapter 4 of Nurse Elisia by George Manville Fenn holds 410 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 410 sentences of Nurse Elisia, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Nurse Elisia by George Manville Fenn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 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 Nurse Elisia by George Manville Fenn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5666 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40675 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40675, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 472 minutes of reading across 1134 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Nurse Elisia section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of Nurse Elisia 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 Nurse Elisia, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
