Chapter 15 of The Messenger is here in full — 259 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The Messenger is here in full — 259 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Greta smiled at him. "What has happened?" another would have demanded, on sight of Napier's face; not Miss Greta. She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others. "Nice to see you home again." She held out her hand to Napier.
Chapter 15 of The Messenger is here in full — 259 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/51 · 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.
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading “She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.”
a man paid to drive a privately owned car
From this reading “She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.”
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “"What has happened?" another would have demanded, on sight of Napier's face; not Miss Greta.”
plural of “direction” — a line leading to a place or point
From this reading “She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.”
machine that converts other forms of energy into mechanical energy and so imparts motion
From this reading “She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.”
Scottish mathematician who invented logarithms; introduced the use of the decimal point in writing numbers (1550-1617)
From this reading “"What has happened?" another would have demanded, on sight of Napier's face; not Miss Greta.”
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading “"Nice to see you home again."”
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading “She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.”
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 “Greta smiled at him.”
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 paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.
anew
From this reading "Nice to see you home again."
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading "What has happened?" another would have demanded, on sight of Napier's face; not Miss Greta.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Greta smiled at him.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.
a man paid to drive a privately owned car
From this reading She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading "What has happened?" another would have demanded, on sight of Napier's face; not Miss Greta.
plural of “direction” — a line leading to a place or point
From this reading She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading "What has happened?" another would have demanded, on sight of Napier's face; not Miss Greta.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.
the act of giving
From this reading She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.
the act of departing
From this reading She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Greta smiled at him.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading She held out her hand to Napier.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading "What has happened?" another would have demanded, on sight of Napier's face; not Miss Greta.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "What has happened?" another would have demanded, on sight of Napier's face; not Miss Greta.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "What has happened?" another would have demanded, on sight of Napier's face; not Miss Greta.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading She held out her hand to Napier.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She held out her hand to Napier.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Greta smiled at him.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading "Nice to see you home again."
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading "What has happened?" another would have demanded, on sight of Napier's face; not Miss Greta.
machine that converts other forms of energy into mechanical energy and so imparts motion
From this reading She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.
Scottish mathematician who invented logarithms; introduced the use of the decimal point in writing numbers (1550-1617)
From this reading She held out her hand to Napier.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What has happened?" another would have demanded, on sight of Napier's face; not Miss Greta.
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading "Nice to see you home again."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "What has happened?" another would have demanded, on sight of Napier's face; not Miss Greta.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "What has happened?" another would have demanded, on sight of Napier's face; not Miss Greta.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "What has happened?" another would have demanded, on sight of Napier's face; not Miss Greta.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading She held out her hand to Napier.
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "Nice to see you home again."
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading "What has happened?" another would have demanded, on sight of Napier's face; not Miss Greta.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading Greta smiled at him.
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She paused on the step of the motor, calmly giving the chauffeur directions about going back for the others.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Nice to see you home again."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What has happened?" another would have demanded, on sight of Napier's face; not Miss Greta.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "What has happened?" another would have demanded, on sight of Napier's face; not Miss Greta.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Nice to see you home again."
Chapter 15 of The Messenger by Elizabeth Robins holds 259 sentences, grouped into 52 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 15 holds 259 sentences of The Messenger, unabridged, divided into 52 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The Messenger by Elizabeth Robins exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 259 sentences, grouped into 52 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 52 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 52 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 15 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.
