Chapter 37 of Small Souls is here in full — 215 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVII
Chapter 37 of Small Souls is here in full — 215 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said: "Mrs. van Saetzema is here, ma'am." Constance' eyelashes trembled and her lips contracted. She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid: "Very well, Truitje; ask her to come up."
Chapter 37 of Small Souls is here in full — 215 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
the act of arranging and adapting a piece of music
From this reading “Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:”
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading “Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:”
a lake in southeastern Germany on the northern side of the Swiss Alps; forms part of the Rhine River
From this reading “Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:”
reduced in size or pulled together
From this reading “Constance' eyelashes trembled and her lips contracted.”
plural of “eyelash” — any of the short curved hairs that grow from the edges of the eyelids
From this reading “Constance' eyelashes trembled and her lips contracted.”
a woman of refinement
From this reading “"Mrs. van Saetzema is here, ma'am."”
past form of “refrain” — resist doing something
From this reading “She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:”
plural of “sort” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading “Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:”
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.
a reception held in your own home
In this reading “She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:”
In this reading “Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:”
bring forth, usually something desirable
In this reading “"Very well, Truitje; ask her to come up."”
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.
(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 Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:
the act of arranging and adapting a piece of music
From this reading Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Very well, Truitje; ask her to come up."
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:
for the reason that
From this reading She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Very well, Truitje; ask her to come up."
a lake in southeastern Germany on the northern side of the Swiss Alps; forms part of the Rhine River
From this reading Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:
reduced in size or pulled together
From this reading Constance' eyelashes trembled and her lips contracted.
accept an excuse for
From this reading She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:
plural of “eyelash” — any of the short curved hairs that grow from the edges of the eyelids
From this reading Constance' eyelashes trembled and her lips contracted.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Mrs. van Saetzema is here, ma'am."
where you live at a particular time
From this reading She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Mrs. van Saetzema is here, ma'am."
found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
From this reading She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading Constance' eyelashes trembled and her lips contracted.
a woman of refinement
From this reading "Mrs. van Saetzema is here, ma'am."
a female domestic
From this reading She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:
engage in
From this reading She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "Mrs. van Saetzema is here, ma'am."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:
past form of “refrain” — resist doing something
From this reading She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Mrs. van Saetzema is here, ma'am."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:
express in words
From this reading She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:
a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:
plural of “sort” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:
past form of “tremble” — move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading Constance' eyelashes trembled and her lips contracted.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Very well, Truitje; ask her to come up."
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Very well, Truitje; ask her to come up."
any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
From this reading "Mrs. van Saetzema is here, ma'am."
precisely as stated
From this reading "Very well, Truitje; ask her to come up."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and 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 "Very well, Truitje; ask her to come up."
at the time that
From this reading Constance was in her bedroom one morning, arranging all sorts of things, when the servant came and said:
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading She would have liked to make an excuse, to say that she was not at home; but she refrained because of the maid:
Chapter 37 of Small Souls by Louis Couperus holds 215 sentences, grouped into 43 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 37 holds 215 sentences of Small Souls, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 37 of Small Souls by Louis Couperus exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 215 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 37 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 Small Souls by Louis Couperus on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5866 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34021 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34021, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 488 minutes of reading across 1174 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Small Souls section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Small Souls 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 Small Souls, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
