Chapter 36 of The Elect Lady is here in full — 57 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVI
Chapter 36 of The Elect Lady is here in full — 57 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AGAIN THE GOBLET. The next day Alexa set Dawtie to search the house yet again for the missing goblet. “It must be somewhere!” she said. “We are beset with an absolute contradiction: the thing can't be in the house! and it must be in the house!” “If we do find it,” returned Dawtie, “folk'll say them 'at could hide could weel seek!
Chapter 36 of The Elect Lady is here in full — 57 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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.
perfect or complete or pure
From this reading ““We are beset with an absolute contradiction: the thing can't be in the house! and it must be in the house!””
annoy continually or chronically
From this reading ““We are beset with an absolute contradiction: the thing can't be in the house! and it must be in the house!””
opposition between two conflicting forces or ideas
From this reading ““We are beset with an absolute contradiction: the thing can't be in the house! and it must be in the house!””
a drinking glass with a base and stem
From this reading “AGAIN THE GOBLET.”
prevent from being seen or discovered
From this reading ““If we do find it,” returned Dawtie, “folk'll say them 'at could hide could weel seek!”
not able to be found
From this reading “The next day Alexa set Dawtie to search the house yet again for the missing goblet.”
try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of
From this reading “The next day Alexa set Dawtie to search the house yet again for the missing goblet.”
in or at or to some place
From this reading ““It must be somewhere!” she said.”
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.
perfect or complete or pure
From this reading “We are beset with an absolute contradiction: the thing can't be in the house! and it must be in the house!”
anew
From this reading AGAIN THE GOBLET.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The next day Alexa set Dawtie to search the house yet again for the missing goblet.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “We are beset with an absolute contradiction: the thing can't be in the house! and it must be in the house!”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “We are beset with an absolute contradiction: the thing can't be in the house! and it must be in the house!”
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “We are beset with an absolute contradiction: the thing can't be in the house! and it must be in the house!”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “If we do find it,” returned Dawtie, “folk'll say them 'at could hide could weel seek!
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “It must be somewhere!” she said.
annoy continually or chronically
From this reading “We are beset with an absolute contradiction: the thing can't be in the house! and it must be in the house!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “We are beset with an absolute contradiction: the thing can't be in the house! and it must be in the house!”
opposition between two conflicting forces or ideas
From this reading “We are beset with an absolute contradiction: the thing can't be in the house! and it must be in the house!”
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading “If we do find it,” returned Dawtie, “folk'll say them 'at could hide could weel seek!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The next day Alexa set Dawtie to search the house yet again for the missing goblet.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The next day Alexa set Dawtie to search the house yet again for the missing goblet.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “If we do find it,” returned Dawtie, “folk'll say them 'at could hide could weel seek!
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading “If we do find it,” returned Dawtie, “folk'll say them 'at could hide could weel seek!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “If we do find it,” returned Dawtie, “folk'll say them 'at could hide could weel seek!
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The next day Alexa set Dawtie to search the house yet again for the missing goblet.
a drinking glass with a base and stem
From this reading AGAIN THE GOBLET.
prevent from being seen or discovered
From this reading “If we do find it,” returned Dawtie, “folk'll say them 'at could hide could weel seek!
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading The next day Alexa set Dawtie to search the house yet again for the missing goblet.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “If we do find it,” returned Dawtie, “folk'll say them 'at could hide could weel seek!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “We are beset with an absolute contradiction: the thing can't be in the house! and it must be in the house!”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “It must be somewhere!” she said.
not able to be found
From this reading The next day Alexa set Dawtie to search the house yet again for the missing goblet.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “It must be somewhere!” she said.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading The next day Alexa set Dawtie to search the house yet again for the missing goblet.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading “If we do find it,” returned Dawtie, “folk'll say them 'at could hide could weel seek!
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “It must be somewhere!” she said.
express in words
From this reading “If we do find it,” returned Dawtie, “folk'll say them 'at could hide could weel seek!
try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of
From this reading The next day Alexa set Dawtie to search the house yet again for the missing goblet.
try to get or reach
From this reading “If we do find it,” returned Dawtie, “folk'll say them 'at could hide could weel seek!
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The next day Alexa set Dawtie to search the house yet again for the missing goblet.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “It must be somewhere!” she said.
in or at or to some place
From this reading “It must be somewhere!” she said.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AGAIN THE GOBLET.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading “If we do find it,” returned Dawtie, “folk'll say them 'at could hide could weel seek!
a special situation
From this reading “We are beset with an absolute contradiction: the thing can't be in the house! and it must be in the house!”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The next day Alexa set Dawtie to search the house yet again for the missing goblet.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “We are beset with an absolute contradiction: the thing can't be in the house! and it must be in the house!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “If we do find it,” returned Dawtie, “folk'll say them 'at could hide could weel seek!
in the company of; together with
From this reading “We are beset with an absolute contradiction: the thing can't be in the house! and it must be in the house!”
but in spite of that
From this reading The next day Alexa set Dawtie to search the house yet again for the missing goblet.
Chapter 36 of The Elect Lady by George MacDonald holds 57 sentences, grouped into 12 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 36 holds 57 sentences of The Elect Lady, unabridged, divided into 12 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 36 of The Elect Lady by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 57 sentences, grouped into 12 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 12 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 12 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 36 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.
