Chapter 13 of The Ambassadors is here in full — 218 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of The Ambassadors is here in full — 218 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Strether resumed for a minute his walk. “She’s really perfectly lovely, you know. Far prettier than any girl I’ve seen over here yet.” “That’s precisely on what I perhaps most build.” And she mused a moment in her friend’s way.
Chapter 13 of The Ambassadors is here in full — 218 sentences across 44 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.
make by combining materials and parts
From this reading ““That’s precisely on what I perhaps most build.””
possessive form of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
appealing to the emotions as well as the eye
From this reading ““She’s really perfectly lovely, you know.”
past form of “muse” — reflect deeply on a subject
From this reading “And she mused a moment in her friend’s way.”
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading ““She’s really perfectly lovely, you know.”
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading ““That’s precisely on what I perhaps most build.””
comparative of “pretty” — pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading “Far prettier than any girl I’ve seen over here yet.””
past form of “resume” — take up or begin anew
From this reading “Strether resumed for a minute his walk.”
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 Strether resumed for a minute his walk.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And she mused a moment in her friend’s way.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Far prettier than any girl I’ve seen over here yet.”
make by combining materials and parts
From this reading “That’s precisely on what I perhaps most build.”
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading Far prettier than any girl I’ve seen over here yet.”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Strether resumed for a minute his walk.
possessive form of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading And she mused a moment in her friend’s way.
a young female
From this reading Far prettier than any girl I’ve seen over here yet.”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading And she mused a moment in her friend’s way.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Far prettier than any girl I’ve seen over here yet.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Strether resumed for a minute his walk.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “That’s precisely on what I perhaps most build.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Far prettier than any girl I’ve seen over here yet.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading And she mused a moment in her friend’s way.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “She’s really perfectly lovely, you know.
appealing to the emotions as well as the eye
From this reading “She’s really perfectly lovely, you know.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading Strether resumed for a minute his walk.
a particular point in time
From this reading And she mused a moment in her friend’s way.
used to form the superlative
From this reading “That’s precisely on what I perhaps most build.”
past form of “muse” — reflect deeply on a subject
From this reading And she mused a moment in her friend’s way.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “That’s precisely on what I perhaps most build.”
above and across; more than
From this reading Far prettier than any girl I’ve seen over here yet.”
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “She’s really perfectly lovely, you know.
by chance
From this reading “That’s precisely on what I perhaps most build.”
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading “That’s precisely on what I perhaps most build.”
comparative of “pretty” — pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading Far prettier than any girl I’ve seen over here yet.”
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading “She’s really perfectly lovely, you know.
past form of “resume” — take up or begin anew
From this reading Strether resumed for a minute his walk.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Far prettier than any girl I’ve seen over here yet.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And she mused a moment in her friend’s way.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “She’s really perfectly lovely, you know.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Strether resumed for a minute his walk.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Far prettier than any girl I’ve seen over here yet.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s precisely on what I perhaps most build.”
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading Strether resumed for a minute his walk.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading And she mused a moment in her friend’s way.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “That’s precisely on what I perhaps most build.”
but in spite of that
From this reading Far prettier than any girl I’ve seen over here yet.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “She’s really perfectly lovely, you know.
Chapter 13 of The Ambassadors by Henry James holds 218 sentences, grouped into 44 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 13 holds 218 sentences of The Ambassadors, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The Ambassadors by Henry James exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 218 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 13 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 The Ambassadors by Henry James on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9031 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #432 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #432, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1807 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Ambassadors section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Ambassadors 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 The Ambassadors, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
