Chapter 23 of The Heart's Country is here in full — 152 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of The Heart's Country is here in full — 152 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Various important things happened that winter. The first was a deep surprise to all of Alec's friends. He became engaged to his landlady's daughter in the town where he went to college. "How can you?" I asked him, "caring for Ellen?"
Chapter 23 of The Heart's Country is here in full — 152 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
a loving feeling
From this reading “I asked him, "caring for Ellen?"”
the body of faculty and students of a college
From this reading “He became engaged to his landlady's daughter in the town where he went to college.”
a female human offspring
From this reading “He became engaged to his landlady's daughter in the town where he went to college.”
having ones attention or mind or energy engaged
From this reading “He became engaged to his landlady's daughter in the town where he went to college.”
of great significance or value
From this reading “Various important things happened that winter.”
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading “The first was a deep surprise to all of Alec's friends.”
of many different kinds purposefully arranged but lacking any uniformity
From this reading “Various important things happened that winter.”
the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox
From this reading “Various important things happened that winter.”
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 “He became engaged to his landlady's daughter in the town where he went to college.”
In this reading “Various important things happened that winter.”
In this reading “He became engaged to his landlady's daughter in the town where he went to college.”
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 The first was a deep surprise to all of Alec's friends.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The first was a deep surprise to all of Alec's friends.
(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 first was a deep surprise to all of Alec's friends.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading I asked him, "caring for Ellen?"
inflected form of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading He became engaged to his landlady's daughter in the town where he went to college.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "How can you?"
a loving feeling
From this reading I asked him, "caring for Ellen?"
the body of faculty and students of a college
From this reading He became engaged to his landlady's daughter in the town where he went to college.
a female human offspring
From this reading He became engaged to his landlady's daughter in the town where he went to college.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading The first was a deep surprise to all of Alec's friends.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I asked him, "caring for Ellen?"
having ones attention or mind or energy engaged
From this reading He became engaged to his landlady's daughter in the town where he went to college.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading The first was a deep surprise to all of Alec's friends.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I asked him, "caring for Ellen?"
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading The first was a deep surprise to all of Alec's friends.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading Various important things happened that winter.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He became engaged to his landlady's daughter in the town where he went to college.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I asked him, "caring for Ellen?"
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He became engaged to his landlady's daughter in the town where he went to college.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How can you?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I asked him, "caring for Ellen?"
of great significance or value
From this reading Various important things happened that winter.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He became engaged to his landlady's daughter in the town where he went to college.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He became engaged to his landlady's daughter in the town where he went to college.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The first was a deep surprise to all of Alec's friends.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading The first was a deep surprise to all of Alec's friends.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Various important things happened that winter.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The first was a deep surprise to all of Alec's friends.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Various important things happened that winter.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The first was a deep surprise to all of Alec's friends.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading He became engaged to his landlady's daughter in the town where he went to college.
of many different kinds purposefully arranged but lacking any uniformity
From this reading Various important things happened that winter.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The first was a deep surprise to all of Alec's friends.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading He became engaged to his landlady's daughter in the town where he went to college.
in or at the place that
From this reading He became engaged to his landlady's daughter in the town where he went to college.
the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox
From this reading Various important things happened that winter.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "How can you?"
Chapter 23 of The Heart's Country by Mary Heaton Vorse holds 152 sentences, grouped into 31 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 23 holds 152 sentences of The Heart's Country, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The Heart's Country by Mary Heaton Vorse exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 152 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 23 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 Heart's Country by Mary Heaton Vorse on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2528 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36919 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36919, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 210 minutes of reading across 506 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Heart's Country section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Heart's Country 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 Heart's Country, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
