Chapter 39 of Old Kensington is here in full — 254 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIX
Chapter 39 of Old Kensington is here in full — 254 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HOLY ST. FRANCIS, WHAT A CHANGE IS HERE. If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold. --A. Clough. Twelve o'clock is striking in a bare room full of sunshine.
Chapter 39 of Old Kensington is here in full — 254 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/50 · 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 particular environment or surrounding influence
From this reading “If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.”
completely unclothed
From this reading “Twelve o'clock is striking in a bare room full of sunshine.”
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading “If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.”
a sacred place of pilgrimage
From this reading “HOLY ST.”
sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect
From this reading “Twelve o'clock is striking in a bare room full of sunshine.”
the rays of the sun
From this reading “Twelve o'clock is striking in a bare room full of sunshine.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading “Twelve o'clock is striking in a bare room full of sunshine.”
plural of “wandering” — travelling about without any clear destination
From this reading “If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.”
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 “Twelve o'clock is striking in a bare room full of sunshine.”
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 FRANCIS, WHAT A CHANGE IS HERE.
(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 If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
a particular environment or surrounding influence
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
completely unclothed
From this reading Twelve o'clock is striking in a bare room full of sunshine.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading FRANCIS, WHAT A CHANGE IS HERE.
causing sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading --A. Clough.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
set up or found
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading FRANCIS, WHAT A CHANGE IS HERE.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading Twelve o'clock is striking in a bare room full of sunshine.
coins made of gold
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
an old form of “has”
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading FRANCIS, WHAT A CHANGE IS HERE.
a sacred place of pilgrimage
From this reading HOLY ST.
characteristic of humanity
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading FRANCIS, WHAT A CHANGE IS HERE.
friendliness evidence by a kindly and helpful disposition
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
according to the clock
From this reading Twelve o'clock is striking in a bare room full of sunshine.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Twelve o'clock is striking in a bare room full of sunshine.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
a general conscious awareness
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HOLY ST.
sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect
From this reading Twelve o'clock is striking in a bare room full of sunshine.
the rays of the sun
From this reading Twelve o'clock is striking in a bare room full of sunshine.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading Twelve o'clock is striking in a bare room full of sunshine.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
plural of “wandering” — travelling about without any clear destination
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading FRANCIS, WHAT A CHANGE IS HERE.
at the time that
From this reading If when in cheerless wanderings dull and cold, A sense of human kindliness hath found us, We seem to have around us An atmosphere all gold.
Chapter 39 of Old Kensington by Anne Thackeray Ritchie holds 254 sentences, grouped into 51 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 39 holds 254 sentences of Old Kensington, unabridged, divided into 51 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 39 of Old Kensington by Anne Thackeray Ritchie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 254 sentences, grouped into 51 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 51 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 51 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 39 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 Old Kensington by Anne Thackeray Ritchie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8731 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36235 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36235, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1747 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Old Kensington section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Old Kensington 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 Old Kensington, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
