Chapter 8 of The Mystery of Mrs. Blencarrow is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Mystery of Mrs. Blencarrow is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MRS. BLENCARROW’S CONFESSION. She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start. It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons. She came back to the room, immediately followed by a tall man in clerical dress.
Chapter 8 of The Mystery of Mrs. Blencarrow is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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.
of or relating to clerks
From this reading “She came back to the room, immediately followed by a tall man in clerical dress.”
an admission of misdeeds or faults
From this reading “BLENCARROW’S CONFESSION.”
the sound of a step of someone walking
From this reading “She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.”
rock fragments and pebbles
From this reading “She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.”
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading “It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons.”
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.”
a request to be present
From this reading “It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons.”
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading “She came back to the room, immediately followed by a tall man in clerical dress.”
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.
be restored
In this reading “She came back to the room, immediately followed by a tall man in clerical dress.”
In this reading “It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons.”
In this reading “She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.”
In this reading “It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons.”
In this reading “She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.”
In this reading “She came back to the room, immediately followed by a tall man in clerical dress.”
In this reading “It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons.”
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 She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading She came back to the room, immediately followed by a tall man in clerical dress.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BLENCARROW’S CONFESSION.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading She came back to the room, immediately followed by a tall man in clerical dress.
of or relating to clerks
From this reading She came back to the room, immediately followed by a tall man in clerical dress.
an admission of misdeeds or faults
From this reading BLENCARROW’S CONFESSION.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons.
put on clothes
From this reading She came back to the room, immediately followed by a tall man in clerical dress.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons.
the sound of a step of someone walking
From this reading She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
rock fragments and pebbles
From this reading She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading She came back to the room, immediately followed by a tall man in clerical dress.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She came back to the room, immediately followed by a tall man in clerical dress.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons.
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading She came back to the room, immediately followed by a tall man in clerical dress.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading MRS.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading She came back to the room, immediately followed by a tall man in clerical dress.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
a request to be present
From this reading It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading She came back to the room, immediately followed by a tall man in clerical dress.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
in or at that place or location
From this reading She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She came back to the room, immediately followed by a tall man in clerical dress.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons.
at the time that
From this reading She had been there for some time when the sound of a footstep on the gravel outside made her start.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading It was followed by a knock at the door, which she herself opened almost before the summons.
Chapter 8 of The Mystery of Mrs. Blencarrow by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant holds 128 sentences, grouped into 26 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 128 sentences of The Mystery of Mrs. Blencarrow, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Mystery of Mrs. Blencarrow by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 128 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 Mystery of Mrs. Blencarrow by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1268 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61482 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61482, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 105 minutes of reading across 254 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mystery of Mrs. Blencarrow section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Mystery of Mrs. Blencarrow 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 Mystery of Mrs. Blencarrow, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
