Chapter 25 of The Rise of Silas Lapham is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXV
Chapter 25 of The Rise of Silas Lapham is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"You know I can't tell you. Can you say--can you put your hand on your heart and say that--you--say you never meant--that you meant me--all along?" "Yes!--yes! Who else? I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?
Chapter 25 of The Rise of Silas Lapham is here in full — 204 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.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading “Can you say--can you put your hand on your heart and say that--you--say you never meant--that you meant me--all along?"”
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?”
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading “I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?”
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading “I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?”
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “Can you say--can you put your hand on your heart and say that--you--say you never meant--that you meant me--all along?"”
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading “Can you say--can you put your hand on your heart and say that--you--say you never meant--that you meant me--all along?"”
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading “I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?”
an affirmative
From this reading “"Yes!--yes!”
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.
(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 Can you say--can you put your hand on your heart and say that--you--say you never meant--that you meant me--all along?"
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading Can you say--can you put your hand on your heart and say that--you--say you never meant--that you meant me--all along?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Can you say--can you put your hand on your heart and say that--you--say you never meant--that you meant me--all along?"
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Can you say--can you put your hand on your heart and say that--you--say you never meant--that you meant me--all along?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You know I can't tell you.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Who else?
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Can you say--can you put your hand on your heart and say that--you--say you never meant--that you meant me--all along?"
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading Can you say--can you put your hand on your heart and say that--you--say you never meant--that you meant me--all along?"
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "You know I can't tell you.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "You know I can't tell you.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Can you say--can you put your hand on your heart and say that--you--say you never meant--that you meant me--all along?"
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading Can you say--can you put your hand on your heart and say that--you--say you never meant--that you meant me--all along?"
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Can you say--can you put your hand on your heart and say that--you--say you never meant--that you meant me--all along?"
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Can you say--can you put your hand on your heart and say that--you--say you never meant--that you meant me--all along?"
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Can you say--can you put your hand on your heart and say that--you--say you never meant--that you meant me--all along?"
express in words
From this reading Can you say--can you put your hand on your heart and say that--you--say you never meant--that you meant me--all along?"
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?
express in words
From this reading "You know I can't tell you.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Can you say--can you put your hand on your heart and say that--you--say you never meant--that you meant me--all along?"
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?
which person or people
From this reading Who else?
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading I came here to see your father, and to tell him that I wished to tell you this--to ask him----But what does it matter?
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes!--yes!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You know I can't tell you.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Can you say--can you put your hand on your heart and say that--you--say you never meant--that you meant me--all along?"
Chapter 25 of The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells holds 204 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 25 holds 204 sentences of The Rise of Silas Lapham, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 25 of The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 204 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 25 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 Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8158 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #154 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #154, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1632 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Rise of Silas Lapham section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Rise of Silas Lapham 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 Rise of Silas Lapham, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
