Chapter XL of The reigning belle, “Our Child,” is here in full — 1575 sentences across 315 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XL
Chapter XL of The reigning belle, “Our Child,” is here in full — 1575 sentences across 315 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A moment after these words left her lips, Mrs. Lambert started up. The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant. “She is alive!—your child and mine! Alive! and you have found her for me! A child given to my bosom—a sin lifted from my soul!
Chapter XL of The reigning belle, “Our Child,” is here in full — 1575 sentences across 315 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/315 · 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.
possessing life
From this reading ““She is alive!—your child and mine!”
the chest considered as the place where secret thoughts are kept
From this reading “A child given to my bosom—a sin lifted from my soul!”
lacking in variety and interest
From this reading “The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.”
a cgs unit of illumination equal to the brightness of a perfectly diffusing surface that emits or reflects one lumen per square centimeter
From this reading “A moment after these words left her lips, Mrs. Lambert started up.”
held up in the air
From this reading “A child given to my bosom—a sin lifted from my soul!”
radiating or as if radiating light
From this reading “The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.”
past form of “seize” — take hold of; grab
From this reading “The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.”
estrangement from god
From this reading “A child given to my bosom—a sin lifted from my soul!”
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 “The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.”
In this reading “The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.”
get going or set in motion
In this reading “A moment after these words left her lips, Mrs. Lambert started up.”
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 A moment after these words left her lips, Mrs. Lambert started up.
later than; following
From this reading A moment after these words left her lips, Mrs. Lambert started up.
possessing life
From this reading “She is alive!—your child and mine!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “She is alive!—your child and mine!
the chest considered as the place where secret thoughts are kept
From this reading A child given to my bosom—a sin lifted from my soul!
a young person of either sex
From this reading The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.
lacking in variety and interest
From this reading The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.
a powerful effect or influence
From this reading The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.
set up or found
From this reading Alive! and you have found her for me!
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading A child given to my bosom—a sin lifted from my soul!
acknowledged as a supposition
From this reading A child given to my bosom—a sin lifted from my soul!
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Alive! and you have found her for me!
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading A moment after these words left her lips, Mrs. Lambert started up.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “She is alive!—your child and mine!
a cgs unit of illumination equal to the brightness of a perfectly diffusing surface that emits or reflects one lumen per square centimeter
From this reading A moment after these words left her lips, Mrs. Lambert started up.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading A moment after these words left her lips, Mrs. Lambert started up.
held up in the air
From this reading A child given to my bosom—a sin lifted from my soul!
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading A moment after these words left her lips, Mrs. Lambert started up.
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Alive! and you have found her for me!
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “She is alive!—your child and mine!
a particular point in time
From this reading A moment after these words left her lips, Mrs. Lambert started up.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading A moment after these words left her lips, Mrs. Lambert started up.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading A child given to my bosom—a sin lifted from my soul!
radiating or as if radiating light
From this reading The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.
past form of “seize” — take hold of; grab
From this reading The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “She is alive!—your child and mine!
estrangement from god
From this reading A child given to my bosom—a sin lifted from my soul!
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading A child given to my bosom—a sin lifted from my soul!
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading A moment after these words left her lips, Mrs. Lambert started up.
not in physical motion
From this reading The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading A moment after these words left her lips, Mrs. Lambert started up.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A child given to my bosom—a sin lifted from my soul!
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading A moment after these words left her lips, Mrs. Lambert started up.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The idea that her child lived had seized upon her with force; for the first time, her face, still colorless, was radiant.
the words that are spoken
From this reading A moment after these words left her lips, Mrs. Lambert started up.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Alive! and you have found her for me!
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “She is alive!—your child and mine!
Chapter 40 of The reigning belle by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens holds 1575 sentences, grouped into 315 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 40 holds 1575 sentences of The reigning belle, unabridged, divided into 315 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 40 of The reigning belle by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1575 sentences, grouped into 315 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 315 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 315 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 40 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
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How to work through The reigning belle section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The reigning belle, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
