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The Dim Lantern
The Dim Lantern

Chapter XI

Chapter 11 of The Dim Lantern is here in full — 493 sentences across 99 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Temple Bailey • Curated US English Learning Edition
Cover illustration for The Dim Lantern
Context Illustration Reading 1/98 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.
In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.
Stretched in a long leather chair, Evans read to Jane and his mother “The Eve of St. Agnes.”
“How bitter cold it was!
The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.”
0:00 / 0:00
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.

The Dim Lantern

Chapter XI

Chapter 11 of The Dim Lantern is here in full — 493 sentences across 99 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/98 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.
Line 2
In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.
/ɪn ðə ˌæftərˈnuːn ʃiː ənd ˈevənz went fɔːr ə wɔːk ənd keɪm hoʊm tuː tiː ɪn ðə ˈlaɪbreriː/
Line 3
Stretched in a long leather chair, Evans read to Jane and his mother “The Eve of St. Agnes.”
Line 4
“How bitter cold it was!
Line 5
The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.”

Learner Dictionary

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.

dined verb US /daɪnd/

past form of “dine” — have supper; eat dinner

From this reading “THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Evans noun US /ˈevənz/

United States anatomist who identified four pituitary hormones and discovered vitamin E (1882-1971)

From this reading “In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
feathers noun US /ˈfeðərz/

plural of “feather” — the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds

From this reading “The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.””

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
flock noun US /flɑːk/

a church congregation guided by a pastor

From this reading “The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.””

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
fold noun US /foʊld/

an angular or rounded shape made by folding

From this reading “The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.””

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
hare noun US /her/

swift timid long-eared mammal larger than a rabbit having a divided upper lip and long hind legs; young born furred and with open eyes

From this reading “The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.””

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
owl noun US /aʊl/

nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes

From this reading “The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.””

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
woolly adjective US /ˈwʊli/

having a fluffy character or appearance

From this reading “The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.””

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

leather chair noun + noun

In this reading “Stretched in a long leather chair, Evans read to Jane and his mother “The Eve of St. Agnes.””

540 times in 426,211 chapters
in the middle preposition + article + noun counted as “in … middle”

In this reading “THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.”

40,811 times in 426,211 chapters
came home verb + noun counted as “come home”

become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions

In this reading “In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.”

35,927 times in 426,211 chapters
In the afternoon preposition + article + noun counted as “in … afternoon”

In this reading “In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.”

23,409 times in 426,211 chapters
in the library preposition + article + noun counted as “in … library”

In this reading “In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.”

7,481 times in 426,211 chapters

All words in this reading · 58

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
a-cold

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

From this reading The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.”

Pending verification
absencenounUS /ˈæbsəns/

the state of being absent

From this reading THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
afternoonnounUS /ˌæftərˈnuːn/

the part of the day between noon and evening

From this reading In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Agnes

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

From this reading Stretched in a long leather chair, Evans read to Jane and his mother “The Eve of St. Agnes.”

Pending verification
alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
Baldy's

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

From this reading THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.

Pending verification
bitteradjectiveUS /ˈbɪtər/

marked by strong resentment or cynicism

From this reading “How bitter cold it was!

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
cameverbUS /keɪm/

inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

From this reading In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
chairnounUS /tʃer/

a seat for one person, with a support for the back

From this reading Stretched in a long leather chair, Evans read to Jane and his mother “The Eve of St. Agnes.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
coldadjectiveUS /koʊld/

having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration

From this reading “How bitter cold it was!

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
daynounUS /deɪ/

time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis

From this reading THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
DIMadjectiveUS /dɪm/

lacking in light; not bright or harsh

From this reading THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
dinedverbUS /daɪnd/

past form of “dine” — have supper; eat dinner

From this reading THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
EvansnounUS /ˈevənz/

United States anatomist who identified four pituitary hormones and discovered vitamin E (1882-1971)

From this reading In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
EvenounUS /iːv/

(Old Testament) Adam's wife in Judeo-Christian mythology: the first woman and mother of the human race; God created Eve from Adam's rib and placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

From this reading Stretched in a long leather chair, Evans read to Jane and his mother “The Eve of St. Agnes.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
feathersnounUS /ˈfeðərz/

plural of “feather” — the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds

From this reading The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
flocknounUS /flɑːk/

a church congregation guided by a pastor

From this reading The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
foldnounUS /foʊld/

an angular or rounded shape made by folding

From this reading The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Follettes

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

From this reading THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.

Pending verification
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
frozenadjectiveUS /ˈfroʊzən/

turned into ice; affected by freezing or by long and severe cold

From this reading The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
grassverbUS /ɡræs/

shoot down, of birds

From this reading The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
harenounUS /her/

swift timid long-eared mammal larger than a rabbit having a divided upper lip and long hind legs; young born furred and with open eyes

From this reading The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading Stretched in a long leather chair, Evans read to Jane and his mother “The Eve of St. Agnes.”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
homenounUS /hoʊm/

where you live at a particular time

From this reading In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
How

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

From this reading “How bitter cold it was!

Pending verification
inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading “How bitter cold it was!

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
Jane

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

From this reading THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.

Pending verification
LANTERNnounUS /ˈlæntərn/

light in a transparent protective case

From this reading THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
leathernounUS /ˈleðər/

an animal skin made smooth and flexible by removing the hair and then tanning

From this reading Stretched in a long leather chair, Evans read to Jane and his mother “The Eve of St. Agnes.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
librarynounUS /ˈlaɪbreriː/

a room where books are kept

From this reading In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
limp'd

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

From this reading The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.”

Pending verification
longadjectiveUS /lɔːŋ/

primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified

From this reading Stretched in a long leather chair, Evans read to Jane and his mother “The Eve of St. Agnes.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
middlenounUS /ˈmɪdəl/

an area that is approximately central within some larger region

From this reading THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
mothernounUS /ˈmʌðər/

a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)

From this reading Stretched in a long leather chair, Evans read to Jane and his mother “The Eve of St. Agnes.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
owlnounUS /aʊl/

nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes

From this reading The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
readverbUS /red/

interpret something that is written or printed

From this reading Stretched in a long leather chair, Evans read to Jane and his mother “The Eve of St. Agnes.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
silentadjectiveUS /ˈsaɪlənt/

marked by absence of sound

From this reading The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
St

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

From this reading Stretched in a long leather chair, Evans read to Jane and his mother “The Eve of St. Agnes.”

Pending verification
StretchedadjectiveUS /stretʃt/

(of muscles) relieved of stiffness by stretching

From this reading Stretched in a long leather chair, Evans read to Jane and his mother “The Eve of St. Agnes.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
SundaynounUS /ˈsʌndeɪ/

first day of the week; observed as a day of rest and worship by most Christians

From this reading THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
teanounUS /tiː/

a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water

From this reading In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
throughprepositionUS /θruː/

from one end or side of something to the other

From this reading The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
tremblingnounUS /ˈtrembəlɪŋ/

a shaky motion

From this reading The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
walknounUS /wɔːk/

the act of traveling by foot

From this reading In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading “How bitter cold it was!

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
wentverbUS /went/

inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically

From this reading In the afternoon she and Evans went for a walk, and came home to tea in the library.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading THE DIM LANTERN Jane, in Baldy’s absence, dined on Sunday with the Follettes, in the middle of the day.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
woollyadjectiveUS /ˈwʊli/

having a fluffy character or appearance

From this reading The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold: The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass, And silent were the flock in woolly fold.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Chapter 11 of The Dim Lantern by Temple Bailey holds 493 sentences, grouped into 99 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.

What does chapter 11 of The Dim Lantern contain?

Chapter 11 holds 493 sentences of The Dim Lantern, unabridged, divided into 99 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 11 of The Dim Lantern by Temple Bailey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 493 sentences, grouped into 99 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 11 of The Dim Lantern?

Work through the 99 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 99 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 11 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 11 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 Dim Lantern

Common questions about reading The Dim Lantern by Temple Bailey on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Dim Lantern?

Yes. All 7186 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60090 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Dim Lantern is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #60090, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Dim Lantern take to read?

About 598 minutes of reading across 1438 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Dim Lantern section by section

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

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 29 chapters of The Dim Lantern to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

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

Vocabulary met early in The Dim Lantern

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

Italicized
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Dim Lantern; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Surrounded
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Dim Lantern; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Underscores
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Dim Lantern; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Italics
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Dim Lantern; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.