Chapter 15 of The Belfry is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The Belfry is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"The Belfry's still there," I said. "It always was." She said it a little sternly. But she had smiled at the allusion, all the same--the smile that had never been denied to it. We stayed an hour in Bruges and lunched there in Jimmy's hotel.
Chapter 15 of The Belfry is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
passing reference or indirect mention
From this reading “But she had smiled at the allusion, all the same--the smile that had never been denied to it.”
a city in northwestern Belgium that is connected by canal to the North Sea; in the 13th century it was a leading member of the Hanseatic League; the old city (known as the City of Bridges) is a popular tourist attraction
From this reading “We stayed an hour in Bruges and lunched there in Jimmy's hotel.”
inflected form of “deny” — declare untrue; contradict
From this reading “But she had smiled at the allusion, all the same--the smile that had never been denied to it.”
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading “We stayed an hour in Bruges and lunched there in Jimmy's hotel.”
possessive form of “jimmy” — a short crowbar
From this reading “We stayed an hour in Bruges and lunched there in Jimmy's hotel.”
past form of “lunch” — take the midday meal
From this reading “We stayed an hour in Bruges and lunched there in Jimmy's hotel.”
past form of “stay” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading “We stayed an hour in Bruges and lunched there in Jimmy's hotel.”
with sternness; in a severe manner
From this reading “She said it a little sternly.”
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 “But she had smiled at the allusion, all the same--the smile that had never been denied to it.”
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 She said it a little sternly.
(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 But she had smiled at the allusion, all the same--the smile that had never been denied to it.
passing reference or indirect mention
From this reading But she had smiled at the allusion, all the same--the smile that had never been denied to it.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading "It always was."
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading We stayed an hour in Bruges and lunched there in Jimmy's hotel.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading We stayed an hour in Bruges and lunched there in Jimmy's hotel.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading But she had smiled at the allusion, all the same--the smile that had never been denied to it.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading But she had smiled at the allusion, all the same--the smile that had never been denied to it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "The Belfry's still there," I said.
a city in northwestern Belgium that is connected by canal to the North Sea; in the 13th century it was a leading member of the Hanseatic League; the old city (known as the City of Bridges) is a popular tourist attraction
From this reading We stayed an hour in Bruges and lunched there in Jimmy's hotel.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But she had smiled at the allusion, all the same--the smile that had never been denied to it.
inflected form of “deny” — declare untrue; contradict
From this reading But she had smiled at the allusion, all the same--the smile that had never been denied to it.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading But she had smiled at the allusion, all the same--the smile that had never been denied to it.
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading We stayed an hour in Bruges and lunched there in Jimmy's hotel.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading We stayed an hour in Bruges and lunched there in Jimmy's hotel.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "The Belfry's still there," I said.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We stayed an hour in Bruges and lunched there in Jimmy's hotel.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It always was."
possessive form of “jimmy” — a short crowbar
From this reading We stayed an hour in Bruges and lunched there in Jimmy's hotel.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading She said it a little sternly.
past form of “lunch” — take the midday meal
From this reading We stayed an hour in Bruges and lunched there in Jimmy's hotel.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading But she had smiled at the allusion, all the same--the smile that had never been denied to it.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "The Belfry's still there," I said.
Identical; not different.
From this reading But she had smiled at the allusion, all the same--the smile that had never been denied to it.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She said it a little sternly.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading But she had smiled at the allusion, all the same--the smile that had never been denied to it.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading But she had smiled at the allusion, all the same--the smile that had never been denied to it.
past form of “stay” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading We stayed an hour in Bruges and lunched there in Jimmy's hotel.
with sternness; in a severe manner
From this reading She said it a little sternly.
not in physical motion
From this reading "The Belfry's still there," I said.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But she had smiled at the allusion, all the same--the smile that had never been denied to it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "The Belfry's still there," I said.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "The Belfry's still there," I said.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But she had smiled at the allusion, all the same--the smile that had never been denied to it.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "It always was."
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We stayed an hour in Bruges and lunched there in Jimmy's hotel.
Chapter 15 of The Belfry by May Sinclair holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 15 holds 400 sentences of The Belfry, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The Belfry by May Sinclair exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 15 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 Belfry by May Sinclair on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Belfry section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Belfry 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 Belfry, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
