Chapter 24 of The Kentons is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of The Kentons is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"No, it's our business--my business. We allowed her to get in for it. She's quite right about it. We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame. It isn't enough for us to say that it was really no shame.
Chapter 24 of The Kentons is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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 “allow” — make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
From this reading “We allowed her to get in for it.”
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading “"No, it's our business--my business.”
perform an act, usually with a negative connotation
From this reading “We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.”
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading “We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.”
plural of “put” — the option to sell a given stock (or stock index or commodity future) at a given price before a given date
From this reading “We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.”
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading “It isn't enough for us to say that it was really no shame.”
a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt
From this reading “We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.”
up to a particular time
From this reading “We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading She's quite right about it.
past form of “allow” — make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
From this reading We allowed her to get in for it.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading "No, it's our business--my business.
perform an act, usually with a negative connotation
From this reading We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading It isn't enough for us to say that it was really no shame.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading We allowed her to get in for it.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading We allowed her to get in for it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading We allowed her to get in for it.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We allowed her to get in for it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It isn't enough for us to say that it was really no shame.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading We allowed her to get in for it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No, it's our business--my business.
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.
used to form the superlative
From this reading We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "No, it's our business--my business.
not any; not one
From this reading "No, it's our business--my business.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading "No, it's our business--my business.
plural of “put” — the option to sell a given stock (or stock index or commodity future) at a given price before a given date
From this reading We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading She's quite right about it.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading It isn't enough for us to say that it was really no shame.
precisely, exactly
From this reading She's quite right about it.
express in words
From this reading It isn't enough for us to say that it was really no shame.
a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt
From this reading We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She's quite right about it.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.
a special situation
From this reading We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.
up to a particular time
From this reading We must not let him commit himself to her till he knows the thing that most puts her to shame.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We allowed her to get in for it.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It isn't enough for us to say that it was really no shame.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It isn't enough for us to say that it was really no shame.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We allowed her to get in for it.
Chapter 24 of The Kentons by William Dean Howells holds 191 sentences, grouped into 39 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 24 holds 191 sentences of The Kentons, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of The Kentons by William Dean Howells exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 191 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 24 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 Kentons by William Dean Howells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4483 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3362 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3362, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 373 minutes of reading across 897 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Kentons section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Kentons 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 Kentons, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
