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Old Kensington
Old Kensington

Chapter XXXI

Chapter 31 of Old Kensington is here in full — 291 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Old Kensington
Context Illustration Reading 1/58 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
CRAGS AND FRESH AIR.
My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.
All this and more the gods have sent.
--Horace: T. Martin.
The old town of Pebblesthwaite, in Yorkshire, slides down the side of a hill into the hollow.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Old Kensington

Chapter XXXI

Chapter 31 of Old Kensington is here in full — 291 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/58 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
CRAGS AND FRESH AIR.
/kræɡz ənd freʃ er/
Line 2
My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.
Line 3
All this and more the gods have sent.
/ɔːl ðɪs ənd mɔːr ðə ɡɑːdz hæv sent/
Line 4
--Horace: T. Martin.
/ˈhɔːrəs tiː ˈmɑːrtən/
Line 5
The old town of Pebblesthwaite, in Yorkshire, slides down the side of a hill into the hollow.

Learner Dictionary

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.

ceaselessly adverb US /ˈsiːzləsli/

with unflagging resolve

From this reading “My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.”

crags noun US /kræɡz/

plural of “crag” — a steep rugged rock or cliff

From this reading “CRAGS AND FRESH AIR.”

flowing noun US /ˈfloʊɪŋ/

the motion characteristic of fluids (liquids or gases)

From this reading “My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.”

Horace noun US /ˈhɔːrəs/

Roman lyric poet said to have influenced English poetry (65-8 BC)

From this reading “--Horace: T. Martin.”

patch noun US /pætʃ/

a small contrasting part of something

From this reading “My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.”

prayers noun US /prerz/

plural of “prayer” — the act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving)

From this reading “My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.”

slides noun US /slaɪdz/

plural of “slide” — a small flat rectangular piece of glass on which specimens can be mounted for microscopic study

From this reading “The old town of Pebblesthwaite, in Yorkshire, slides down the side of a hill into the hollow.”

Yorkshire noun US /ˈjɔːrkʃər/

a former large county in northern England; in 1974 it was divided into three smaller counties

From this reading “The old town of Pebblesthwaite, in Yorkshire, slides down the side of a hill into the hollow.”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

FRESH AIR adjective + noun

In this reading “CRAGS AND FRESH AIR.”

slides down verb + adjective counted as “slide down”

fall or sink heavily

In this reading “The old town of Pebblesthwaite, in Yorkshire, slides down the side of a hill into the hollow.”

old town adjective + noun

In this reading “The old town of Pebblesthwaite, in Yorkshire, slides down the side of a hill into the hollow.”

All words in this reading · 55

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.

AdeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

AIRnounUS /er/

a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of

From this reading CRAGS AND FRESH AIR.

AlladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 All this and more the gods have sent.

ANDconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading CRAGS AND FRESH AIR.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

ceaselesslyadverbUS /ˈsiːzləsli/

with unflagging resolve

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

chargeverbUS /tʃɑːrdʒ/

to make a rush at or sudden attack upon, as in battle

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

clearverbUS /klɪr/

rid of obstructions

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

CRAGSnounUS /kræɡz/

plural of “crag” — a steep rugged rock or cliff

From this reading CRAGS AND FRESH AIR.

crownnounUS /kraʊn/

the Crown (or the reigning monarch) as the symbol of the power and authority of a monarchy

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

downadjectiveUS /daʊn/

being or moving lower in position or less in some value

From this reading The old town of Pebblesthwaite, in Yorkshire, slides down the side of a hill into the hollow.

flowingnounUS /ˈfloʊɪŋ/

the motion characteristic of fluids (liquids or gases)

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

foundverbUS /faʊnd/

set up or found

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

FRESHadjectiveUS /freʃ/

recently made, produced, or harvested

From this reading CRAGS AND FRESH AIR.

gardennounUS /ˈɡɑːrdən/

a plot of ground where plants are cultivated

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

godsnounUS /ɡɑːdz/

plural of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions

From this reading All this and more the gods have sent.

growingnounUS /ˈɡroʊɪŋ/

(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading All this and more the gods have sent.

hillnounUS /hɪl/

a local and well-defined elevation of the land

From this reading The old town of Pebblesthwaite, in Yorkshire, slides down the side of a hill into the hollow.

hollowadjectiveUS /ˈhɑːloʊ/

not solid; having a space or gap or cavity

From this reading The old town of Pebblesthwaite, in Yorkshire, slides down the side of a hill into the hollow.

HoracenounUS /ˈhɔːrəs/

Roman lyric poet said to have influenced English poetry (65-8 BC)

From this reading --Horace: T. Martin.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading The old town of Pebblesthwaite, in Yorkshire, slides down the side of a hill into the hollow.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading The old town of Pebblesthwaite, in Yorkshire, slides down the side of a hill into the hollow.

landnounUS /lænd/

the land on which real estate is located

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

largeadjectiveUS /lɑːrdʒ/

above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

MartinnounUS /ˈmɑːrtən/

French bishop who is a patron saint of France (died in 397)

From this reading --Horace: T. Martin.

moreadjectiveUS /mɔːr/

(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree

From this reading All this and more the gods have sent.

MydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

oldadjectiveUS /oʊld/

(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age

From this reading The old town of Pebblesthwaite, in Yorkshire, slides down the side of a hill into the hollow.

patchnounUS /pætʃ/

a small contrasting part of something

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

Pebblesthwaite

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The old town of Pebblesthwaite, in Yorkshire, slides down the side of a hill into the hollow.

piecenounUS /piːs/

a separate part of a whole

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

prayersnounUS /prerz/

plural of “prayer” — the act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving)

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

sentnounUS /sent/

100 senti equal 1 kroon in Estonia

From this reading All this and more the gods have sent.

shouldmodal verbUS /ʃʊd/

used to say what is right, expected, or advisable

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

sidenounUS /saɪd/

a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location

From this reading The old town of Pebblesthwaite, in Yorkshire, slides down the side of a hill into the hollow.

slidesnounUS /slaɪdz/

plural of “slide” — a small flat rectangular piece of glass on which specimens can be mounted for microscopic study

From this reading The old town of Pebblesthwaite, in Yorkshire, slides down the side of a hill into the hollow.

springnounUS /sprɪŋ/

the season of growth

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

TnounUS /tiː/

a base found in DNA (but not in RNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine

From this reading --Horace: T. Martin.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

thereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

townnounUS /taʊn/

an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city

From this reading The old town of Pebblesthwaite, in Yorkshire, slides down the side of a hill into the hollow.

usedadjectiveUS /juːzd/

employed in accomplishing something

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

veryadjectiveUS /ˈveri/

precisely as stated

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

whereconjunctionUS /wer/

in or at the place that

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

Wherein

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

wholeadjectiveUS /hoʊl/

including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

woodnounUS /wʊd/

the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees

From this reading My prayers with this I used to charge: A piece of land not very large, Wherein there should a garden be; A clear spring flowing ceaselessly; And where, to crown the whole, there should A patch be found of growing wood.

YorkshirenounUS /ˈjɔːrkʃər/

a former large county in northern England; in 1974 it was divided into three smaller counties

From this reading The old town of Pebblesthwaite, in Yorkshire, slides down the side of a hill into the hollow.

Chapter 31 of Old Kensington by Anne Thackeray Ritchie holds 291 sentences, grouped into 59 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.

What does chapter 31 of Old Kensington contain?

Chapter 31 holds 291 sentences of Old Kensington, unabridged, divided into 59 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 31 of Old Kensington by Anne Thackeray Ritchie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 291 sentences, grouped into 59 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.

How do I study chapter 31 of Old Kensington?

Work through the 59 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 59 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.

Can chapter 31 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Old Kensington

Common questions about reading Old Kensington by Anne Thackeray Ritchie on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Old Kensington?

Yes. All 8731 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36235 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Old Kensington is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #36235, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Old Kensington take to read?

About 600 minutes of reading across 1747 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Old Kensington section by section

How to work through Old Kensington section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 40 chapters of Old Kensington to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Old Kensington

Words and structures a reader meets early in Old Kensington, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

London
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Old Kensington; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Smith
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Old Kensington; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Elder
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Old Kensington; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Waterloo
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Old Kensington; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.