Chapter 38 of The Lock and Key Library — Old Time English is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVIII
Chapter 38 of The Lock and Key Library — Old Time English is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it. Now. A murderess? Wait a moment. A moment may make me free; a moment may make me-- that!
Chapter 38 of The Lock and Key Library — Old Time English is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
especially a leaf of grass or the broad portion of a leaf as distinct from the petiole
From this reading “How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.”
plural of “draw” — a gully that is shallower than a ravine
From this reading “How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.”
plural of “gleam” — an appearance of reflected light
From this reading “How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.”
hold firmly
From this reading “How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.”
the handle of a sword or dagger
From this reading “How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.”
the light of the Moon
From this reading “How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.”
having or caused by an irregular surface
From this reading “How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.”
plural of “swing” — a state of steady vigorous action that is characteristic of an activity
From this reading “How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.”
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 How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
especially a leaf of grass or the broad portion of a leaf as distinct from the petiole
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
plural of “draw” — a gully that is shallower than a ravine
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
grant freedom to; free from confinement
From this reading A moment may make me free; a moment may make me-- that!
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
plural of “gleam” — an appearance of reflected light
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
hold firmly
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
the handle of a sword or dagger
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
engage in
From this reading A moment may make me free; a moment may make me-- that!
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading A moment may make me free; a moment may make me-- that!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A moment may make me free; a moment may make me-- that!
a particular point in time
From this reading Wait a moment.
the light of the Moon
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
a woman murderer
From this reading A murderess?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now.
having or caused by an irregular surface
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
plural of “swing” — a state of steady vigorous action that is characteristic of an activity
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A moment may make me free; a moment may make me-- that!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading Wait a moment.
in the company of; together with
From this reading How the moonlight gleams from the blade as my arm swings up and back: with how close a grasp the rough hilt draws my fingers round it.
Chapter 38 of The Lock and Key Library — Old Time English by Julian [Editor] Hawthorne holds 142 sentences, grouped into 29 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 38 holds 142 sentences of The Lock and Key Library — Old Time English, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 38 of The Lock and Key Library — Old Time English by Julian [Editor] Hawthorne exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 142 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 38 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 Lock and Key Library — Old Time English by Julian [Editor] Hawthorne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6222 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1831 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1831, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 518 minutes of reading across 1245 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Lock and Key Library — Old Time English section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Lock and Key Library — Old Time English 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 Lock and Key Library — Old Time English, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
