Chapter 8 of The Inner Shrine is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Inner Shrine is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?" "Monsieur de Bienville has those qualities for me." "But surely, dear, you can't mean--?" "Yes, I do mean." The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
Chapter 8 of The Inner Shrine is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
relevant relation or interconnection
From this reading “The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.”
an admission of misdeeds or faults
From this reading “The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.”
plural of “drop” — a shape that is spherical and small
From this reading “The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.”
plural of “essential” — anything indispensable
From this reading “"True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?"”
plural of “give” — the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
From this reading “The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.”
plural of “ocean” — a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere
From this reading “The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.”
plural of “quality” — an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone
From this reading “"True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?"”
formality and propriety of manner
From this reading “The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.”
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 avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?"
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?"
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?"
a statement asserting the existence or the truth of something
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
relevant relation or interconnection
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Monsieur de Bienville has those qualities for me."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But surely, dear, you can't mean--?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But surely, dear, you can't mean--?"
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading "True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?"
an admission of misdeeds or faults
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
deem to be
From this reading "True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?"
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading "Monsieur de Bienville has those qualities for me."
dearly loved
From this reading "True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?"
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Yes, I do mean."
plural of “drop” — a shape that is spherical and small
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
plural of “essential” — anything indispensable
From this reading "True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?"
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Monsieur de Bienville has those qualities for me."
plural of “give” — the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Monsieur de Bienville has those qualities for me."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Yes, I do mean."
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Monsieur de Bienville has those qualities for me."
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading "But surely, dear, you can't mean--?"
used as a French courtesy title; equivalent to English “Mr”
From this reading "Monsieur de Bienville has those qualities for me."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?"
plural of “ocean” — a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading "True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?"
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
plural of “quality” — an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone
From this reading "True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?"
with low volume
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
formality and propriety of manner
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
not in physical motion
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading "But surely, dear, you can't mean--?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?"
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading "Monsieur de Bienville has those qualities for me."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?"
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading "True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?"
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading "True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?"
which person or people
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The avowal was made quietly, with the still bearing of one who gives a few drops of confession out of deep oceans of reserve.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, I do mean."
but in spite of that
From this reading "True, dear; and yet are there not certain qualities which we ought to consider as essentials--?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "But surely, dear, you can't mean--?"
Chapter 8 of The Inner Shrine by Basil King holds 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 8 holds 415 sentences of The Inner Shrine, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Inner Shrine by Basil King exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 8 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 Inner Shrine by Basil King on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4894 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14393 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14393, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 407 minutes of reading across 979 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Inner Shrine section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of The Inner Shrine 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 Inner Shrine, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
