Chapter 39 of The Golden Butterfly is here in full — 280 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIX
Chapter 39 of The Golden Butterfly is here in full — 280 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"So, on the ruins he himself had made. Sat Marius reft of all his former glory." "Can you understand me, sir?" Gabriel Cassilis sat in his own study. It was the day after the garden-party.
Chapter 39 of The Golden Butterfly is here in full — 280 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/56 · 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.
referring to the first of two things or persons mentioned (or the earlier one or ones of several)
From this reading “Sat Marius reft of all his former glory."”
(Bible) the archangel who was the messenger of God
From this reading “Gabriel Cassilis sat in his own study.”
a state of high honor
From this reading “Sat Marius reft of all his former glory."”
plural of “ruin” — an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
From this reading “"So, on the ruins he himself had made.”
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading “Sat Marius reft of all his former glory."”
term of address for a man
From this reading “"Can you understand me, sir?"”
a detailed critical inspection
From this reading “Gabriel Cassilis sat in his own study.”
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading “"Can you understand me, sir?"”
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.
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.
later than; following
From this reading It was the day after the garden-party.
(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 Sat Marius reft of all his former glory."
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "Can you understand me, sir?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gabriel Cassilis sat in his own study.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading It was the day after the garden-party.
referring to the first of two things or persons mentioned (or the earlier one or ones of several)
From this reading Sat Marius reft of all his former glory."
(Bible) the archangel who was the messenger of God
From this reading Gabriel Cassilis sat in his own study.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was the day after the garden-party.
a state of high honor
From this reading Sat Marius reft of all his former glory."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "So, on the ruins he himself had made.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "So, on the ruins he himself had made.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading "So, on the ruins he himself had made.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Sat Marius reft of all his former glory."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Gabriel Cassilis sat in his own study.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the day after the garden-party.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading "So, on the ruins he himself had made.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sat Marius reft of all his former glory."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Can you understand me, sir?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Sat Marius reft of all his former glory."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "So, on the ruins he himself had made.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Gabriel Cassilis sat in his own study.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sat Marius reft of all his former glory."
plural of “ruin” — an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
From this reading "So, on the ruins he himself had made.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Sat Marius reft of all his former glory."
term of address for a man
From this reading "Can you understand me, sir?"
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "So, on the ruins he himself had made.
a detailed critical inspection
From this reading Gabriel Cassilis sat in his own study.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "So, on the ruins he himself had made.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading "Can you understand me, sir?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the day after the garden-party.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Can you understand me, sir?"
Chapter 39 of The Golden Butterfly by Walter Besant holds 280 sentences, grouped into 56 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 39 holds 280 sentences of The Golden Butterfly, unabridged, divided into 56 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 39 of The Golden Butterfly by Walter Besant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 280 sentences, grouped into 56 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 56 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 56 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 39 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 Golden Butterfly by Walter Besant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11914 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43442 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43442, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2383 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Golden Butterfly section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Golden Butterfly 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 Golden Butterfly, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
