Chapter 9 of The Messenger is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Messenger is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Miss Von "Sworsenburg" had obliged with a cloudless face. It was Lady McIntyre who looked disturbed, even guilty. She took refuge in a work-bag, which she unhooked from the back of her chair. She jerked it open hurriedly on her knees and bent her head to rummage in the depths. Conversation between Napier and Nan languished.
Chapter 9 of The Messenger is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
free from clouds
From this reading “Miss Von "Sworsenburg" had obliged with a cloudless face.”
in a hurried or hasty manner
From this reading “She jerked it open hurriedly on her knees and bent her head to rummage in the depths.”
past form of “jerk” — pull, or move with a sudden movement
From this reading “She jerked it open hurriedly on her knees and bent her head to rummage in the depths.”
past form of “languish” — lose vigor, health, or flesh, as through grief
From this reading “Conversation between Napier and Nan languished.”
your grandmother
From this reading “Conversation between Napier and Nan languished.”
Scottish mathematician who invented logarithms; introduced the use of the decimal point in writing numbers (1550-1617)
From this reading “Conversation between Napier and Nan languished.”
a safe place
From this reading “She took refuge in a work-bag, which she unhooked from the back of her chair.”
search haphazardly
From this reading “She jerked it open hurriedly on her knees and bent her head to rummage in the depths.”
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 “She took refuge in a work-bag, which she unhooked from the back of her chair.”
In this reading “She jerked it open hurriedly on her knees and bent her head to rummage in the depths.”
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 Miss Von "Sworsenburg" had obliged with a cloudless face.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She jerked it open hurriedly on her knees and bent her head to rummage in the depths.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading She took refuge in a work-bag, which she unhooked from the back of her chair.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading She jerked it open hurriedly on her knees and bent her head to rummage in the depths.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading Conversation between Napier and Nan languished.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading She took refuge in a work-bag, which she unhooked from the back of her chair.
free from clouds
From this reading Miss Von "Sworsenburg" had obliged with a cloudless face.
the use of speech for informal exchange of views or ideas or information etc.
From this reading Conversation between Napier and Nan languished.
(plural) the deepest and most remote part
From this reading She jerked it open hurriedly on her knees and bent her head to rummage in the depths.
having the place or position changed
From this reading It was Lady McIntyre who looked disturbed, even guilty.
divisible by two
From this reading It was Lady McIntyre who looked disturbed, even guilty.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Miss Von "Sworsenburg" had obliged with a cloudless face.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading She took refuge in a work-bag, which she unhooked from the back of her chair.
responsible for or chargeable with a reprehensible act
From this reading It was Lady McIntyre who looked disturbed, even guilty.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Miss Von "Sworsenburg" had obliged with a cloudless face.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading She jerked it open hurriedly on her knees and bent her head to rummage in the depths.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She took refuge in a work-bag, which she unhooked from the back of her chair.
in a hurried or hasty manner
From this reading She jerked it open hurriedly on her knees and bent her head to rummage in the depths.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She took refuge in a work-bag, which she unhooked from the back of her chair.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was Lady McIntyre who looked disturbed, even guilty.
past form of “jerk” — pull, or move with a sudden movement
From this reading She jerked it open hurriedly on her knees and bent her head to rummage in the depths.
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading She jerked it open hurriedly on her knees and bent her head to rummage in the depths.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading It was Lady McIntyre who looked disturbed, even guilty.
past form of “languish” — lose vigor, health, or flesh, as through grief
From this reading Conversation between Napier and Nan languished.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading It was Lady McIntyre who looked disturbed, even guilty.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was Lady McIntyre who looked disturbed, even guilty.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading Miss Von "Sworsenburg" had obliged with a cloudless face.
your grandmother
From this reading Conversation between Napier and Nan languished.
Scottish mathematician who invented logarithms; introduced the use of the decimal point in writing numbers (1550-1617)
From this reading Conversation between Napier and Nan languished.
under a moral obligation to do something
From this reading Miss Von "Sworsenburg" had obliged with a cloudless face.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She took refuge in a work-bag, which she unhooked from the back of her chair.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She jerked it open hurriedly on her knees and bent her head to rummage in the depths.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading She jerked it open hurriedly on her knees and bent her head to rummage in the depths.
a safe place
From this reading She took refuge in a work-bag, which she unhooked from the back of her chair.
search haphazardly
From this reading She jerked it open hurriedly on her knees and bent her head to rummage in the depths.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She took refuge in a work-bag, which she unhooked from the back of her chair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Miss Von "Sworsenburg" had obliged with a cloudless face.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She took refuge in a work-bag, which she unhooked from the back of her chair.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She jerked it open hurriedly on her knees and bent her head to rummage in the depths.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading She took refuge in a work-bag, which she unhooked from the back of her chair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She took refuge in a work-bag, which she unhooked from the back of her chair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Miss Von "Sworsenburg" had obliged with a cloudless face.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was Lady McIntyre who looked disturbed, even guilty.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading She took refuge in a work-bag, which she unhooked from the back of her chair.
which person or people
From this reading It was Lady McIntyre who looked disturbed, even guilty.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Miss Von "Sworsenburg" had obliged with a cloudless face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She took refuge in a work-bag, which she unhooked from the back of her chair.
Chapter 9 of The Messenger by Elizabeth Robins holds 183 sentences, grouped into 37 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 9 holds 183 sentences of The Messenger, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Messenger by Elizabeth Robins exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 183 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 9 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 Messenger by Elizabeth Robins on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8778 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35671 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35671, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1756 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Messenger section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of The Messenger 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 Messenger, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
