VELMORA ACADEMY

Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies

Menu Close

The Ambassadors

Chapter XXXVI · Chapter 36

Chapter 36 of The Ambassadors is here in full — 231 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Henry James • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for The Ambassadors

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

“That will do,” she laughed, “if you’re too delicate to call it _my_ being!

Naturally,” she added, “you came over more or less for surprises.”

“Naturally!”—he valued the reminder.

“But they were to have been all for you”—she continued to piece it out—“and none of them for _her_.”

Once more he stopped before her as if she had touched the point.

Narrator

Speed 0.75x

AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter XXXVI Reading 1/46

The Ambassadors

Chapter XXXVI · Chapter 36

Chapter 36 of The Ambassadors is here in full — 231 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/46 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

“That will do,” she laughed, “if you’re too delicate to call it _my_ being!

Line 2

Naturally,” she added, “you came over more or less for surprises.”

Line 3

“Naturally!”—he valued the reminder.

Line 4

“But they were to have been all for you”—she continued to piece it out—“and none of them for _her_.”

Line 5

Once more he stopped before her as if she had touched the point.

All words in this reading · 49

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.

added

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

From this reading Naturally,” she added, “you came over more or less for surprises.”

all

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

From this reading “But they were to have been all for you”—she continued to piece it out—“and none of them for _her_.”

and

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

From this reading “But they were to have been all for you”—she continued to piece it out—“and none of them for _her_.”

as

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

From this reading Once more he stopped before her as if she had touched the point.

been

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

From this reading “But they were to have been all for you”—she continued to piece it out—“and none of them for _her_.”

before

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

From this reading Once more he stopped before her as if she had touched the point.

being

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

From this reading “That will do,” she laughed, “if you’re too delicate to call it _my_ being!

But

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

From this reading “But they were to have been all for you”—she continued to piece it out—“and none of them for _her_.”

call

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

From this reading “That will do,” she laughed, “if you’re too delicate to call it _my_ being!

came

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

From this reading Naturally,” she added, “you came over more or less for surprises.”

continued

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

From this reading “But they were to have been all for you”—she continued to piece it out—“and none of them for _her_.”

delicate

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

From this reading “That will do,” she laughed, “if you’re too delicate to call it _my_ being!

do

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

From this reading “That will do,” she laughed, “if you’re too delicate to call it _my_ being!

for

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

From this reading Naturally,” she added, “you came over more or less for surprises.”

had

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

From this reading Once more he stopped before her as if she had touched the point.

have

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

From this reading “But they were to have been all for you”—she continued to piece it out—“and none of them for _her_.”

he

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

From this reading “Naturally!”—he valued the reminder.

her

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

From this reading “But they were to have been all for you”—she continued to piece it out—“and none of them for _her_.”

if

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

From this reading “That will do,” she laughed, “if you’re too delicate to call it _my_ being!

it

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

From this reading “That will do,” she laughed, “if you’re too delicate to call it _my_ being!

laughed

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

From this reading “That will do,” she laughed, “if you’re too delicate to call it _my_ being!

less

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

From this reading Naturally,” she added, “you came over more or less for surprises.”

more

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

From this reading Naturally,” she added, “you came over more or less for surprises.”

my

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

From this reading “That will do,” she laughed, “if you’re too delicate to call it _my_ being!

Naturally

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

From this reading Naturally,” she added, “you came over more or less for surprises.”

none

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

From this reading “But they were to have been all for you”—she continued to piece it out—“and none of them for _her_.”

of

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

From this reading “But they were to have been all for you”—she continued to piece it out—“and none of them for _her_.”

Once

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

From this reading Once more he stopped before her as if she had touched the point.

or

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

From this reading Naturally,” she added, “you came over more or less for surprises.”

out

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

From this reading “But they were to have been all for you”—she continued to piece it out—“and none of them for _her_.”

over

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

From this reading Naturally,” she added, “you came over more or less for surprises.”

piece

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

From this reading “But they were to have been all for you”—she continued to piece it out—“and none of them for _her_.”

point

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

From this reading Once more he stopped before her as if she had touched the point.

reminder

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

From this reading “Naturally!”—he valued the reminder.

she

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

From this reading “That will do,” she laughed, “if you’re too delicate to call it _my_ being!

stopped

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

From this reading Once more he stopped before her as if she had touched the point.

surprises

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

From this reading Naturally,” she added, “you came over more or less for surprises.”

That

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

From this reading “That will do,” she laughed, “if you’re too delicate to call it _my_ being!

the

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

From this reading “Naturally!”—he valued the reminder.

them

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

From this reading “But they were to have been all for you”—she continued to piece it out—“and none of them for _her_.”

they

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

From this reading “But they were to have been all for you”—she continued to piece it out—“and none of them for _her_.”

to

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

From this reading “That will do,” she laughed, “if you’re too delicate to call it _my_ being!

too

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

From this reading “That will do,” she laughed, “if you’re too delicate to call it _my_ being!

touched

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

From this reading Once more he stopped before her as if she had touched the point.

valued

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

From this reading “Naturally!”—he valued the reminder.

were

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

From this reading “But they were to have been all for you”—she continued to piece it out—“and none of them for _her_.”

will

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

From this reading “That will do,” she laughed, “if you’re too delicate to call it _my_ being!

you

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

From this reading Naturally,” she added, “you came over more or less for surprises.”

you're

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

From this reading “That will do,” she laughed, “if you’re too delicate to call it _my_ being!

Chapter 36 of The Ambassadors by Henry James holds 231 sentences, grouped into 47 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.

What does chapter 36 of The Ambassadors contain?

Chapter 36 holds 231 sentences of The Ambassadors, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 36 of The Ambassadors by Henry James exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 231 sentences, grouped into 47 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 36 of The Ambassadors?

Work through the 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 47 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 36 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 36 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 The Ambassadors

Common questions about reading The Ambassadors by Henry James on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Ambassadors?

Yes. All 9031 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #432 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Ambassadors is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #432, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Ambassadors take to read?

About 600 minutes of reading across 1807 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Ambassadors section by section

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

Open a chapter

Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Ambassadors to begin.
Read one section

Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Listen and tap

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

Vocabulary met early in The Ambassadors

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Ambassadors, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Preface: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Ambassadors; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
First: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Ambassadors; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Second: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Ambassadors; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Third: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Ambassadors; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.