Chapter 21 of The Heroine is here in full — 69 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Heroine is here in full — 69 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
O Biddy Grimes, I am poisoned! That fatal draught last night--why did I drink it?--I am in dreadful agony. When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know. Farewell for ever, my poor Biddy! I bequeath you all my ornaments.
Chapter 21 of The Heroine is here in full — 69 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/13 · 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.
leave or give by will after one's death
From this reading “I bequeath you all my ornaments.”
adult female chicken
From this reading “O Biddy Grimes, I am poisoned!”
a serving of drink (usually alcoholic) drawn from a keg
From this reading “That fatal draught last night--why did I drink it?--I am in dreadful agony.”
plural of “grime” — the state of being covered with unclean things
From this reading “O Biddy Grimes, I am poisoned!”
property that is leased or rented out or let
From this reading “When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.”
plural of “ornament” — something used to beautify
From this reading “I bequeath you all my ornaments.”
past form of “poison” — spoil as if by poison
From this reading “O Biddy Grimes, I am poisoned!”
plural of “reach” — the limits within which something can be effective
From this reading “When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.”
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 “When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.”
In this reading “When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.”
In this reading “Farewell for ever, my poor Biddy!”
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.
Extreme physical or mental suffering; intense anguish.
From this reading That fatal draught last night--why did I drink it?--I am in dreadful agony.
(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 When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading O Biddy Grimes, I am poisoned!
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.
leave or give by will after one's death
From this reading I bequeath you all my ornaments.
adult female chicken
From this reading O Biddy Grimes, I am poisoned!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading That fatal draught last night--why did I drink it?--I am in dreadful agony.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.
a serving of drink (usually alcoholic) drawn from a keg
From this reading That fatal draught last night--why did I drink it?--I am in dreadful agony.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading That fatal draught last night--why did I drink it?--I am in dreadful agony.
take in liquids
From this reading That fatal draught last night--why did I drink it?--I am in dreadful agony.
at any time
From this reading Farewell for ever, my poor Biddy!
an acknowledgment or expression of goodwill at parting
From this reading Farewell for ever, my poor Biddy!
bringing death
From this reading That fatal draught last night--why did I drink it?--I am in dreadful agony.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Farewell for ever, my poor Biddy!
plural of “grime” — the state of being covered with unclean things
From this reading O Biddy Grimes, I am poisoned!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading O Biddy Grimes, I am poisoned!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading That fatal draught last night--why did I drink it?--I am in dreadful agony.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading That fatal draught last night--why did I drink it?--I am in dreadful agony.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.
immediately past
From this reading That fatal draught last night--why did I drink it?--I am in dreadful agony.
property that is leased or rented out or let
From this reading When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Farewell for ever, my poor Biddy!
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading That fatal draught last night--why did I drink it?--I am in dreadful agony.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading O Biddy Grimes, I am poisoned!
plural of “ornament” — something used to beautify
From this reading I bequeath you all my ornaments.
above and across; more than
From this reading When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.
past form of “poison” — spoil as if by poison
From this reading O Biddy Grimes, I am poisoned!
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Farewell for ever, my poor Biddy!
plural of “reach” — the limits within which something can be effective
From this reading When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That fatal draught last night--why did I drink it?--I am in dreadful agony.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.
at the time that
From this reading When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading That fatal draught last night--why did I drink it?--I am in dreadful agony.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading When this reaches you, all will be over.--But I would not die without letting you know.
Chapter 21 of The Heroine by Eaton Stannard Barrett holds 69 sentences, grouped into 14 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 21 holds 69 sentences of The Heroine, unabridged, divided into 14 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Heroine by Eaton Stannard Barrett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 69 sentences, grouped into 14 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 14 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 14 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 21 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 Heroine by Eaton Stannard Barrett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5821 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43065 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43065, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 485 minutes of reading across 1165 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Heroine section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Heroine 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 Heroine, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
