Chapter 19 of The Portent and Other Stories is here in full — 257 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of The Portent and Other Stories is here in full — 257 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Margaret_. Early in the forenoon, I came in sight of the cottage of Margaret. It lay unchanged, a grey, stone-fashioned hut, in the hollow of the mountain-basin. I scrambled down the soft green brae, and soon stood within the door of the cottage. There I was met and welcomed by Margaret’s attendant.
Chapter 19 of The Portent and Other Stories is here in full — 257 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.
someone who waits on or tends to or attends to the needs of another
From this reading “There I was met and welcomed by Margaret’s attendant.”
a slope or hillside
From this reading “I scrambled down the soft green brae, and soon stood within the door of the cottage.”
a small house with a single story
From this reading “Early in the forenoon, I came in sight of the cottage of Margaret.”
not solid; having a space or gap or cavity
From this reading “It lay unchanged, a grey, stone-fashioned hut, in the hollow of the mountain-basin.”
temporary military shelter
From this reading “It lay unchanged, a grey, stone-fashioned hut, in the hollow of the mountain-basin.”
thrown together in a disorderly fashion
From this reading “I scrambled down the soft green brae, and soon stood within the door of the cottage.”
not made or become different
From this reading “It lay unchanged, a grey, stone-fashioned hut, in the hollow of the mountain-basin.”
past form of “welcome” — accept gladly
From this reading “There I was met and welcomed by Margaret’s attendant.”
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 It lay unchanged, a grey, stone-fashioned hut, in the hollow of the mountain-basin.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I scrambled down the soft green brae, and soon stood within the door of the cottage.
someone who waits on or tends to or attends to the needs of another
From this reading There I was met and welcomed by Margaret’s attendant.
a slope or hillside
From this reading I scrambled down the soft green brae, and soon stood within the door of the cottage.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading There I was met and welcomed by Margaret’s attendant.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Early in the forenoon, I came in sight of the cottage of Margaret.
a small house with a single story
From this reading Early in the forenoon, I came in sight of the cottage of Margaret.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading I scrambled down the soft green brae, and soon stood within the door of the cottage.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading I scrambled down the soft green brae, and soon stood within the door of the cottage.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading Early in the forenoon, I came in sight of the cottage of Margaret.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Early in the forenoon, I came in sight of the cottage of Margaret.
green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading I scrambled down the soft green brae, and soon stood within the door of the cottage.
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading It lay unchanged, a grey, stone-fashioned hut, in the hollow of the mountain-basin.
not solid; having a space or gap or cavity
From this reading It lay unchanged, a grey, stone-fashioned hut, in the hollow of the mountain-basin.
temporary military shelter
From this reading It lay unchanged, a grey, stone-fashioned hut, in the hollow of the mountain-basin.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Early in the forenoon, I came in sight of the cottage of Margaret.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Early in the forenoon, I came in sight of the cottage of Margaret.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It lay unchanged, a grey, stone-fashioned hut, in the hollow of the mountain-basin.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading It lay unchanged, a grey, stone-fashioned hut, in the hollow of the mountain-basin.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Margaret_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There I was met and welcomed by Margaret’s attendant.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading There I was met and welcomed by Margaret’s attendant.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It lay unchanged, a grey, stone-fashioned hut, in the hollow of the mountain-basin.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Early in the forenoon, I came in sight of the cottage of Margaret.
thrown together in a disorderly fashion
From this reading I scrambled down the soft green brae, and soon stood within the door of the cottage.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading Early in the forenoon, I came in sight of the cottage of Margaret.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading I scrambled down the soft green brae, and soon stood within the door of the cottage.
in the near future
From this reading I scrambled down the soft green brae, and soon stood within the door of the cottage.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It lay unchanged, a grey, stone-fashioned hut, in the hollow of the mountain-basin.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading I scrambled down the soft green brae, and soon stood within the door of the cottage.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Early in the forenoon, I came in sight of the cottage of Margaret.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There I was met and welcomed by Margaret’s attendant.
not made or become different
From this reading It lay unchanged, a grey, stone-fashioned hut, in the hollow of the mountain-basin.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There I was met and welcomed by Margaret’s attendant.
past form of “welcome” — accept gladly
From this reading There I was met and welcomed by Margaret’s attendant.
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading I scrambled down the soft green brae, and soon stood within the door of the cottage.
Chapter 19 of The Portent and Other Stories by George MacDonald holds 257 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 19 holds 257 sentences of The Portent and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 52 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of The Portent and Other Stories by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 257 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 19 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.
