Chapter 38 of The Blue Castle: a novel is here in full — 43 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVIII
Chapter 38 of The Blue Castle: a novel is here in full — 43 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.” “He would. Dad holds the championship for making blunders. If there’s a thing that’s better left unsaid you can trust him to say it. But he isn’t a bad old soul, Valancy.
Chapter 38 of The Blue Castle: a novel is here in full — 43 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/8 · 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.
plural of “blunder” — an embarrassing mistake
From this reading “Dad holds the championship for making blunders.”
the status of being a champion
From this reading “Dad holds the championship for making blunders.”
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading “Dad holds the championship for making blunders.”
plural of “hold” — the act of grasping
From this reading “Dad holds the championship for making blunders.”
past form of “protest” — utter words of protest
From this reading ““But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.””
in some unspecified way or manner; or by some unspecified means
From this reading ““But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.””
something (as property) held by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary)
From this reading “If there’s a thing that’s better left unsaid you can trust him to say it.”
not made explicit
From this reading “If there’s a thing that’s better left unsaid you can trust him to say it.”
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, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.””
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 “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
later than; following
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading But he isn’t a bad old soul, Valancy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading If there’s a thing that’s better left unsaid you can trust him to say it.
plural of “blunder” — an embarrassing mistake
From this reading Dad holds the championship for making blunders.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading If there’s a thing that’s better left unsaid you can trust him to say it.
the status of being a champion
From this reading Dad holds the championship for making blunders.
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading Dad holds the championship for making blunders.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Dad holds the championship for making blunders.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “He would.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading If there’s a thing that’s better left unsaid you can trust him to say it.
plural of “hold” — the act of grasping
From this reading Dad holds the championship for making blunders.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If there’s a thing that’s better left unsaid you can trust him to say it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But he isn’t a bad old soul, Valancy.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading If there’s a thing that’s better left unsaid you can trust him to say it.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading If there’s a thing that’s better left unsaid you can trust him to say it.
held dear
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading Dad holds the championship for making blunders.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading But he isn’t a bad old soul, Valancy.
past form of “protest” — utter words of protest
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
express in words
From this reading If there’s a thing that’s better left unsaid you can trust him to say it.
in some unspecified way or manner; or by some unspecified means
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading But he isn’t a bad old soul, Valancy.
not in physical motion
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If there’s a thing that’s better left unsaid you can trust him to say it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Dad holds the championship for making blunders.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If there’s a thing that’s better left unsaid you can trust him to say it.
a special situation
From this reading If there’s a thing that’s better left unsaid you can trust him to say it.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
something (as property) held by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary)
From this reading If there’s a thing that’s better left unsaid you can trust him to say it.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
not made explicit
From this reading If there’s a thing that’s better left unsaid you can trust him to say it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “He would.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “But, Barney,” protested Valancy after a few minutes, “your father—somehow—gave me to understand that you _still_ loved _her_.”
Chapter 38 of The Blue Castle: a novel by L. M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery holds 43 sentences, grouped into 9 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 38 holds 43 sentences of The Blue Castle: a novel, unabridged, divided into 9 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 38 of The Blue Castle: a novel by L. M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 43 sentences, grouped into 9 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 9 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 9 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 38 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.
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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 Blue Castle: a novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Blue Castle: a novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
