Chapter 13 of The Return of the Native is here in full — 212 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of The Return of the Native is here in full — 212 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“It is possible. But I will put a pebble in my mouth to make is less likely. Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff. I don’t want you any longer now.” Charley departed, and Eustacia felt more and more interest in life.
Chapter 13 of The Return of the Native is here in full — 212 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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.
past form of “allow” — make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
From this reading “Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.”
well in the past; former
From this reading “Charley departed, and Eustacia felt more and more interest in life.”
put on clothes
From this reading “Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.”
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
From this reading “But I will put a pebble in my mouth to make is less likely.”
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading “But I will put a pebble in my mouth to make is less likely.”
a small smooth rounded rock
From this reading “But I will put a pebble in my mouth to make is less likely.”
personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task
From this reading “Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.”
a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
From this reading “Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.”
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 But I will put a pebble in my mouth to make is less likely.
past form of “allow” — make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
From this reading Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading I don’t want you any longer now.”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I will put a pebble in my mouth to make is less likely.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Charley departed, and Eustacia felt more and more interest in life.
well in the past; former
From this reading Charley departed, and Eustacia felt more and more interest in life.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I don’t want you any longer now.”
put on clothes
From this reading Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Charley departed, and Eustacia felt more and more interest in life.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading Charley departed, and Eustacia felt more and more interest in life.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading But I will put a pebble in my mouth to make is less likely.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading But I will put a pebble in my mouth to make is less likely.
a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something
From this reading Charley departed, and Eustacia felt more and more interest in life.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “It is possible.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “It is possible.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading But I will put a pebble in my mouth to make is less likely.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Charley departed, and Eustacia felt more and more interest in life.
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
From this reading But I will put a pebble in my mouth to make is less likely.
for more time
From this reading I don’t want you any longer now.”
engage in
From this reading But I will put a pebble in my mouth to make is less likely.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Charley departed, and Eustacia felt more and more interest in life.
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading But I will put a pebble in my mouth to make is less likely.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading But I will put a pebble in my mouth to make is less likely.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading I don’t want you any longer now.”
a small smooth rounded rock
From this reading But I will put a pebble in my mouth to make is less likely.
capable of happening or existing
From this reading “It is possible.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading But I will put a pebble in my mouth to make is less likely.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.
in the near future
From this reading Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.
personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task
From this reading Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.
a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
From this reading Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But I will put a pebble in my mouth to make is less likely.
precisely as stated
From this reading Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading I don’t want you any longer now.”
(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 Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading But I will put a pebble in my mouth to make is less likely.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Very well; you shall be allowed to have my hand as soon as you bring the dress and your sword and staff.
Chapter 13 of The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy holds 212 sentences, grouped into 43 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 13 holds 212 sentences of The Return of the Native, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 212 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 13 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 of the Native by Thomas Hardy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8619 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #122 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #122, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1724 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Return of the Native section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Return of the Native 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 of the Native, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
