Chapter 6 of The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
XXV. Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn. Creamy white, fragrant even in ruin, lay scattered the glory of the May. It told me that spring is over. Have I enjoyed it as I should?
Chapter 6 of The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft is here in full — 156 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.
plural of “blossom” — reproductive organ of angiosperm plants especially one having showy or colorful parts
From this reading “Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.”
of the color of cream
From this reading “Creamy white, fragrant even in ruin, lay scattered the glory of the May.”
a competitor thought likely to win
From this reading “Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.”
pleasant-smelling
From this reading “Creamy white, fragrant even in ruin, lay scattered the glory of the May.”
a spring-flowering shrub or small tree of the genus Crataegus
From this reading “Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.”
a narrow way or road
From this reading “Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.”
occurring or distributed over widely spaced and irregular intervals in time or space
From this reading “Creamy white, fragrant even in ruin, lay scattered the glory of the May.”
get rid of
From this reading “Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.”
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 Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Have I enjoyed it as I should?
plural of “blossom” — reproductive organ of angiosperm plants especially one having showy or colorful parts
From this reading Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.
of the color of cream
From this reading Creamy white, fragrant even in ruin, lay scattered the glory of the May.
past form of “enjoy” — derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
From this reading Have I enjoyed it as I should?
divisible by two
From this reading Creamy white, fragrant even in ruin, lay scattered the glory of the May.
a competitor thought likely to win
From this reading Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.
set up or found
From this reading Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.
pleasant-smelling
From this reading Creamy white, fragrant even in ruin, lay scattered the glory of the May.
a state of high honor
From this reading Creamy white, fragrant even in ruin, lay scattered the glory of the May.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Have I enjoyed it as I should?
a spring-flowering shrub or small tree of the genus Crataegus
From this reading Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It told me that spring is over.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.
a narrow way or road
From this reading Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Creamy white, fragrant even in ruin, lay scattered the glory of the May.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading Creamy white, fragrant even in ruin, lay scattered the glory of the May.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It told me that spring is over.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.
above and across; more than
From this reading It told me that spring is over.
an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
From this reading Creamy white, fragrant even in ruin, lay scattered the glory of the May.
occurring or distributed over widely spaced and irregular intervals in time or space
From this reading Creamy white, fragrant even in ruin, lay scattered the glory of the May.
get rid of
From this reading Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading Have I enjoyed it as I should?
the season of growth
From this reading It told me that spring is over.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It told me that spring is over.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading It told me that spring is over.
close enough to be walked to
From this reading Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.
a Caucasian
From this reading Creamy white, fragrant even in ruin, lay scattered the glory of the May.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Walking in a favourite lane to-day, I found it covered with shed blossoms of the hawthorn.
the cardinal number that is the sum of twenty-four and one
From this reading XXV.
Chapter 6 of The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft by George Gissing holds 156 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 6 holds 156 sentences of The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft by George Gissing exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 156 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 6 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 Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft by George Gissing on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2794 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1463 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1463, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 232 minutes of reading across 559 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft 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 Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
