Chapter 27 of The Quiet Heart is here in full — 35 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of The Quiet Heart is here in full — 35 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“It must not be--I cannot permit it,” said Mrs Laurie. “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance? Menie! Menie!” And with hasty steps Mrs Laurie paces backward and forward the narrow room.
Chapter 27 of The Quiet Heart is here in full — 35 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/7 · 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.
at or to or toward the back or rear
From this reading “And with hasty steps Mrs Laurie paces backward and forward the narrow room.”
third-person singular of “deserve” — be worthy or deserving
From this reading ““Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?”
excessively quick
From this reading “And with hasty steps Mrs Laurie paces backward and forward the narrow room.”
make or become more narrow or restricted
From this reading “And with hasty steps Mrs Laurie paces backward and forward the narrow room.”
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading ““Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?”
plural of “pace” — the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
From this reading “And with hasty steps Mrs Laurie paces backward and forward the narrow room.”
a legal document giving official permission to do something
From this reading ““It must not be--I cannot permit it,” said Mrs Laurie.”
disclosing unintentionally something concealed
From this reading ““Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?”
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 “And with hasty steps Mrs Laurie paces backward and forward the narrow room.”
In this reading “And with hasty steps Mrs Laurie paces backward and forward the narrow room.”
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 “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And with hasty steps Mrs Laurie paces backward and forward the narrow room.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
at or to or toward the back or rear
From this reading And with hasty steps Mrs Laurie paces backward and forward the narrow room.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “It must not be--I cannot permit it,” said Mrs Laurie.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It must not be--I cannot permit it,” said Mrs Laurie.
third-person singular of “deserve” — be worthy or deserving
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
divisible by two
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
at or to or toward the front
From this reading And with hasty steps Mrs Laurie paces backward and forward the narrow room.
the act of giving
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
excessively quick
From this reading And with hasty steps Mrs Laurie paces backward and forward the narrow room.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “It must not be--I cannot permit it,” said Mrs Laurie.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “It must not be--I cannot permit it,” said Mrs Laurie.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It must not be--I cannot permit it,” said Mrs Laurie.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading “It must not be--I cannot permit it,” said Mrs Laurie.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “It must not be--I cannot permit it,” said Mrs Laurie.
make or become more narrow or restricted
From this reading And with hasty steps Mrs Laurie paces backward and forward the narrow room.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “It must not be--I cannot permit it,” said Mrs Laurie.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
plural of “pace” — the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
From this reading And with hasty steps Mrs Laurie paces backward and forward the narrow room.
a legal document giving official permission to do something
From this reading “It must not be--I cannot permit it,” said Mrs Laurie.
the act of expressing earnest opposition or protest
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading And with hasty steps Mrs Laurie paces backward and forward the narrow room.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “It must not be--I cannot permit it,” said Mrs Laurie.
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading And with hasty steps Mrs Laurie paces backward and forward the narrow room.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
carry out
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
disclosing unintentionally something concealed
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And with hasty steps Mrs Laurie paces backward and forward the narrow room.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
in the company of; together with
From this reading And with hasty steps Mrs Laurie paces backward and forward the narrow room.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Menie, is this all that your mother deserves at your hands? to take such a step as this without even telling me--without giving me an opportunity of remonstrance?
Chapter 27 of The Quiet Heart by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant holds 35 sentences, grouped into 7 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 27 holds 35 sentences of The Quiet Heart, unabridged, divided into 7 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of The Quiet Heart by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 35 sentences, grouped into 7 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 7 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 7 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 27 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 Quiet Heart by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2523 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59326 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59326, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 210 minutes of reading across 505 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Quiet Heart section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of The Quiet Heart 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 Quiet Heart, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
