Chapter 15 of The Portent and Other Stories is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The Portent and Other Stories is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_The Clanking Shoe_. Time passed. We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear. One night I ventured to take a light with me. “How nice to have a candle!” she said as I entered.
Chapter 15 of The Portent and Other Stories is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading ““How nice to have a candle!” she said as I entered.”
having a hard nonresonant metallic sound
From this reading “_The Clanking Shoe_.”
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading ““How nice to have a candle!” she said as I entered.”
get by special effort
From this reading “We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.”
a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
From this reading “We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.”
footwear shaped to fit the foot (below the ankle) with a flexible upper of leather or plastic and a sole and heel of heavier material
experiencing or accompanied by sleeplessness
From this reading “We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.”
past form of “venture” — proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers
From this reading “One night I ventured to take a light with me.”
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 One night I ventured to take a light with me.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading “How nice to have a candle!” she said as I entered.
having a hard nonresonant metallic sound
From this reading _The Clanking Shoe_.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading “How nice to have a candle!” she said as I entered.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “How nice to have a candle!” she said as I entered.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How nice to have a candle!” she said as I entered.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading One night I ventured to take a light with me.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading One night I ventured to take a light with me.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading One night I ventured to take a light with me.
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading “How nice to have a candle!” she said as I entered.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading One night I ventured to take a light with me.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One night I ventured to take a light with me.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading Time passed.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “How nice to have a candle!” she said as I entered.
get by special effort
From this reading We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.
a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
From this reading We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “How nice to have a candle!” she said as I entered.
footwear shaped to fit the foot (below the ankle) with a flexible upper of leather or plastic and a sole and heel of heavier material
From this reading _The Clanking Shoe_.
experiencing or accompanied by sleeplessness
From this reading We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.
carry out
From this reading One night I ventured to take a light with me.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _The Clanking Shoe_.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Time passed.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.
past form of “venture” — proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers
From this reading One night I ventured to take a light with me.
precisely as stated
From this reading We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We began to feel very secure in that room, watched as it was by the sleepless sentry, Fear.
in the company of; together with
From this reading One night I ventured to take a light with me.
Chapter 15 of The Portent and Other Stories by George MacDonald holds 159 sentences, grouped into 32 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 159 sentences of The Portent and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The Portent and Other Stories by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 159 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 Portent and Other Stories by George MacDonald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4173 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8913 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8913, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 347 minutes of reading across 835 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Portent and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Portent and Other Stories 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 Portent and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
