Chapter 13 of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Complete is here in full — 98 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Complete is here in full — 98 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais. The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring. It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden. "What shall we do this spring?" I asked.
Chapter 13 of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Complete is here in full — 98 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading “The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.”
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading “It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.”
something that precedes and indicates the approach of something or someone
From this reading “The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.”
march in a procession
From this reading “The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.”
any property detected by the olfactory system
From this reading “It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.”
falling in drops or as if falling like rain
From this reading “It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.”
(of persons) having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks
From this reading “One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.”
the season of growth
From this reading “The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.”
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 The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading I asked.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "What shall we do this spring?"
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.
start firing a weapon
From this reading One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.
something that precedes and indicates the approach of something or someone
From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.
march in a procession
From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.
any property detected by the olfactory system
From this reading It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.
falling in drops or as if falling like rain
From this reading It had been raining, and a light odor came from the garden.
(of persons) having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks
From this reading One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "What shall we do this spring?"
the season of growth
From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "What shall we do this spring?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "What shall we do this spring?"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What shall we do this spring?"
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading The window was open; it was one of the early days in March, a harbinger of spring.
in the company of; together with
From this reading One evening I was seated before the fire with Desgenais.
Chapter 13 of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Complete by Alfred de Musset holds 98 sentences, grouped into 20 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 98 sentences of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Complete, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Complete by Alfred de Musset exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 98 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 Confession of a Child of the Century — Complete by Alfred de Musset on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4282 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3942 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3942, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 356 minutes of reading across 857 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Confession of a Child of the Century — Complete section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of The Confession of a Child of the Century — Complete 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 Confession of a Child of the Century — Complete, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
