Chapter 18 of The Elect Lady is here in full — 229 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of The Elect Lady is here in full — 229 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DAWTIE AND THE LAIRD. As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him. There was not a moment to be lost! She went straight to it, and knocked rather loud. No answer came.
Chapter 18 of The Elect Lady is here in full — 229 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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.
past form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading “As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.”
not accessible to view
From this reading “As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.”
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading “She went straight to it, and knocked rather loud.”
a landowner
From this reading “DAWTIE AND THE LAIRD.”
characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading “She went straight to it, and knocked rather loud.”
move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut
From this reading “As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.”
successive (without a break)
From this reading “She went straight to it, and knocked rather loud.”
a detailed critical inspection
From this reading “As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.”
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 There was not a moment to be lost!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading DAWTIE AND THE LAIRD.
react verbally
From this reading No answer came.
past form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There was not a moment to be lost!
at or toward the back of something
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading No answer came.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DAWTIE AND THE LAIRD.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
not accessible to view
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She went straight to it, and knocked rather loud.
and nothing more
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading She went straight to it, and knocked rather loud.
a landowner
From this reading DAWTIE AND THE LAIRD.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading There was not a moment to be lost!
characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading She went straight to it, and knocked rather loud.
an artist of consummate skill
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
a particular point in time
From this reading There was not a moment to be lost!
not any; not one
From this reading No answer came.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading There was not a moment to be lost!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
on the contrary
From this reading She went straight to it, and knocked rather loud.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
in the near future
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
successive (without a break)
From this reading She went straight to it, and knocked rather loud.
a detailed critical inspection
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading DAWTIE AND THE LAIRD.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was not a moment to be lost!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading As soon as Dawtie heard her mistress's door close, she followed her master to the study, and arrived just as the door of the hidden room was shut behind him.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading She went straight to it, and knocked rather loud.
Chapter 18 of The Elect Lady by George MacDonald holds 229 sentences, grouped into 46 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 18 holds 229 sentences of The Elect Lady, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The Elect Lady by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 229 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 18 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 Elect Lady by George MacDonald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3543 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8944 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8944, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 295 minutes of reading across 709 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Elect Lady section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of The Elect Lady 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 Elect Lady, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
