Chapter 6 of The Gates Ajar is here in full — 450 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of The Gates Ajar is here in full — 450 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“That she should have him there. That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute. Her eyes brightened, and shaded, and pondered, doubting. She ‘didn’t see how it could ever be.’ I told her not to try and see how, but to leave it to Christ.
Chapter 6 of The Gates Ajar is here in full — 450 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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 “brighten” — make more cheerful through the use of color
From this reading “Her eyes brightened, and shaded, and pondered, doubting.”
a teacher and prophet born in Bethlehem and active in Nazareth; his life and sermons form the basis for Christianity (circa 4 BC - AD 29)
From this reading “I told her not to try and see how, but to leave it to Christ.”
marked by or given to doubt
From this reading “Her eyes brightened, and shaded, and pondered, doubting.”
make full, also in a metaphorical sense
From this reading “That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.”
lacking companions or companionship
From this reading “That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.”
past form of “ponder” — reflect deeply on a subject
From this reading “Her eyes brightened, and shaded, and pondered, doubting.”
protected from heat and light with shade or shadow
From this reading “Her eyes brightened, and shaded, and pondered, doubting.”
not loved
From this reading “That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.”
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 “That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.”
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 That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Her eyes brightened, and shaded, and pondered, doubting.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading She ‘didn’t see how it could ever be.’
past form of “brighten” — make more cheerful through the use of color
From this reading Her eyes brightened, and shaded, and pondered, doubting.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I told her not to try and see how, but to leave it to Christ.
a teacher and prophet born in Bethlehem and active in Nazareth; his life and sermons form the basis for Christianity (circa 4 BC - AD 29)
From this reading I told her not to try and see how, but to leave it to Christ.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading She ‘didn’t see how it could ever be.’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She ‘didn’t see how it could ever be.’
marked by or given to doubt
From this reading Her eyes brightened, and shaded, and pondered, doubting.
at any time
From this reading She ‘didn’t see how it could ever be.’
opinion or judgment
From this reading Her eyes brightened, and shaded, and pondered, doubting.
make full, also in a metaphorical sense
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “That she should have him there.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her eyes brightened, and shaded, and pondered, doubting.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “That she should have him there.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She ‘didn’t see how it could ever be.’
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I told her not to try and see how, but to leave it to Christ.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She ‘didn’t see how it could ever be.’
go away from a place
From this reading I told her not to try and see how, but to leave it to Christ.
lacking companions or companionship
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
past form of “ponder” — reflect deeply on a subject
From this reading Her eyes brightened, and shaded, and pondered, doubting.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading She ‘didn’t see how it could ever be.’
protected from heat and light with shade or shadow
From this reading Her eyes brightened, and shaded, and pondered, doubting.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “That she should have him there.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading “That she should have him there.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
a person, without saying who
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “That she should have him there.
in or at that place or location
From this reading “That she should have him there.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I told her not to try and see how, but to leave it to Christ.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading I told her not to try and see how, but to leave it to Christ.
make an effort or attempt
From this reading I told her not to try and see how, but to leave it to Christ.
not loved
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
which person or people
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading That is, if not himself, something,--somebody who would so much more than fill his place, that she would never have a lonely or unloved minute.
Chapter 6 of The Gates Ajar by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps holds 450 sentences, grouped into 90 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 6 holds 450 sentences of The Gates Ajar, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The Gates Ajar by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 450 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 6 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 Gates Ajar by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2735 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54230 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54230, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 227 minutes of reading across 547 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Gates Ajar section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Gates Ajar 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 Gates Ajar, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
