Chapter 19 of The Return is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of The Return is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The baker’s wife glanced up at him with clear, reflective eyes. ‘Mr Herbert’s?—that must be some little way off, sir. I don’t know any such name, and I know most, just round about like.’ ‘Well, yes, it is,’ said Lawford, rather foolishly; ‘I hardly know why I asked. It’s past the churchyard at Widderstone.’
Chapter 19 of The Return is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
possessive form of “baker” — someone who bakes commercially
the yard associated with a church
From this reading “It’s past the churchyard at Widderstone.’”
rid of obstructions
From this reading “The baker’s wife glanced up at him with clear, reflective eyes.”
without good sense or judgment
From this reading “‘Well, yes, it is,’ said Lawford, rather foolishly; ‘I hardly know why I asked.”
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading “The baker’s wife glanced up at him with clear, reflective eyes.”
only a very short time before
From this reading “‘Well, yes, it is,’ said Lawford, rather foolishly; ‘I hardly know why I asked.”
possessive form of “herbert” — United States musician and composer and conductor noted for his comic operas (1859-1924)
deeply or seriously thoughtful
From this reading “The baker’s wife glanced up at him with clear, reflective eyes.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading I don’t know any such name, and I know most, just round about like.’
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I don’t know any such name, and I know most, just round about like.’
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading I don’t know any such name, and I know most, just round about like.’
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading ‘Well, yes, it is,’ said Lawford, rather foolishly; ‘I hardly know why I asked.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The baker’s wife glanced up at him with clear, reflective eyes.
possessive form of “baker” — someone who bakes commercially
From this reading The baker’s wife glanced up at him with clear, reflective eyes.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading ‘Mr Herbert’s?—that must be some little way off, sir.
the yard associated with a church
From this reading It’s past the churchyard at Widderstone.’
rid of obstructions
From this reading The baker’s wife glanced up at him with clear, reflective eyes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I don’t know any such name, and I know most, just round about like.’
opinion or judgment
From this reading The baker’s wife glanced up at him with clear, reflective eyes.
without good sense or judgment
From this reading ‘Well, yes, it is,’ said Lawford, rather foolishly; ‘I hardly know why I asked.
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading The baker’s wife glanced up at him with clear, reflective eyes.
only a very short time before
From this reading ‘Well, yes, it is,’ said Lawford, rather foolishly; ‘I hardly know why I asked.
possessive form of “herbert” — United States musician and composer and conductor noted for his comic operas (1859-1924)
From this reading ‘Mr Herbert’s?—that must be some little way off, sir.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The baker’s wife glanced up at him with clear, reflective eyes.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I don’t know any such name, and I know most, just round about like.’
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ‘Well, yes, it is,’ said Lawford, rather foolishly; ‘I hardly know why I asked.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading ‘Well, yes, it is,’ said Lawford, rather foolishly; ‘I hardly know why I asked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It’s past the churchyard at Widderstone.’
and nothing more
From this reading I don’t know any such name, and I know most, just round about like.’
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading I don’t know any such name, and I know most, just round about like.’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘Well, yes, it is,’ said Lawford, rather foolishly; ‘I hardly know why I asked.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading I don’t know any such name, and I know most, just round about like.’
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading ‘Mr Herbert’s?—that must be some little way off, sir.
used to form the superlative
From this reading I don’t know any such name, and I know most, just round about like.’
a form of address for a man
From this reading ‘Mr Herbert’s?—that must be some little way off, sir.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading ‘Mr Herbert’s?—that must be some little way off, sir.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading I don’t know any such name, and I know most, just round about like.’
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading ‘Mr Herbert’s?—that must be some little way off, sir.
the time that has elapsed
From this reading It’s past the churchyard at Widderstone.’
on the contrary
From this reading ‘Well, yes, it is,’ said Lawford, rather foolishly; ‘I hardly know why I asked.
deeply or seriously thoughtful
From this reading The baker’s wife glanced up at him with clear, reflective eyes.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading I don’t know any such name, and I know most, just round about like.’
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading ‘Well, yes, it is,’ said Lawford, rather foolishly; ‘I hardly know why I asked.
term of address for a man
From this reading ‘Mr Herbert’s?—that must be some little way off, sir.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading ‘Mr Herbert’s?—that must be some little way off, sir.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading I don’t know any such name, and I know most, just round about like.’
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading ‘Mr Herbert’s?—that must be some little way off, sir.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The baker’s wife glanced up at him with clear, reflective eyes.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The baker’s wife glanced up at him with clear, reflective eyes.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading ‘Mr Herbert’s?—that must be some little way off, sir.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading ‘Well, yes, it is,’ said Lawford, rather foolishly; ‘I hardly know why I asked.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading ‘Well, yes, it is,’ said Lawford, rather foolishly; ‘I hardly know why I asked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It’s past the churchyard at Widderstone.’
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading The baker’s wife glanced up at him with clear, reflective eyes.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The baker’s wife glanced up at him with clear, reflective eyes.
an affirmative
From this reading ‘Well, yes, it is,’ said Lawford, rather foolishly; ‘I hardly know why I asked.
Chapter 19 of The Return by Walter De la Mare holds 201 sentences, grouped into 41 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 201 sentences of The Return, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of The Return by Walter De la Mare exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 201 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 Return by Walter De la Mare on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5551 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3075 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3075, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 462 minutes of reading across 1111 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Return section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Return 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 Return, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
