Chapter 29 of The Valley of Squinting Windows is here in full — 275 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIX
Chapter 29 of The Valley of Squinting Windows is here in full — 275 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place. But no sign of Ulick did she find. She peered longingly into the sea of white fog, but he did not come.... What in the world was happening to him at all? Never before had he missed this night of the week....
Chapter 29 of The Valley of Squinting Windows is here in full — 275 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/55 · 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 “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading “After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.”
droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading “She peered longingly into the sea of white fog, but he did not come....”
an event that happens
From this reading “What in the world was happening to him at all?”
in a yearning manner
From this reading “She peered longingly into the sea of white fog, but he did not come....”
not caught with the senses or the mind
From this reading “Never before had he missed this night of the week....”
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “She peered longingly into the sea of white fog, but he did not come....”
(Old Testament) wife of Isaac and mother of Jacob and Esau
From this reading “After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.”
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading “After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.”
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 “After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.”
In this reading “She peered longingly into the sea of white fog, but he did not come....”
In this reading “She peered longingly into the sea of white fog, but he did not come....”
In this reading “What in the world was happening to him at all?”
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.
later than; following
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
(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 What in the world was happening to him at all?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading What in the world was happening to him at all?
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Never before had he missed this night of the week....
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But no sign of Ulick did she find.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading She peered longingly into the sea of white fog, but he did not come....
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading But no sign of Ulick did she find.
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading But no sign of Ulick did she find.
droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading She peered longingly into the sea of white fog, but he did not come....
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
an event that happens
From this reading What in the world was happening to him at all?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She peered longingly into the sea of white fog, but he did not come....
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading What in the world was happening to him at all?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading What in the world was happening to him at all?
moving to the inside of something
From this reading She peered longingly into the sea of white fog, but he did not come....
in a yearning manner
From this reading She peered longingly into the sea of white fog, but he did not come....
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
not caught with the senses or the mind
From this reading Never before had he missed this night of the week....
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Never before had he missed this night of the week....
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Never before had he missed this night of the week....
not any; not one
From this reading But no sign of Ulick did she find.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She peered longingly into the sea of white fog, but he did not come....
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading But no sign of Ulick did she find.
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading She peered longingly into the sea of white fog, but he did not come....
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
(Old Testament) wife of Isaac and mother of Jacob and Esau
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading She peered longingly into the sea of white fog, but he did not come....
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading But no sign of Ulick did she find.
carry out
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Never before had he missed this night of the week....
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But no sign of Ulick did she find.
occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading After she had failed to take her tea Rebecca walked the valley road many times, passing and repassing their usual meeting place.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What in the world was happening to him at all?
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading Never before had he missed this night of the week....
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What in the world was happening to him at all?
a Caucasian
From this reading She peered longingly into the sea of white fog, but he did not come....
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading What in the world was happening to him at all?
Chapter 29 of The Valley of Squinting Windows by Brinsley MacNamara holds 275 sentences, grouped into 55 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 29 holds 275 sentences of The Valley of Squinting Windows, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 29 of The Valley of Squinting Windows by Brinsley MacNamara exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 275 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 29 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 Valley of Squinting Windows by Brinsley MacNamara on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4490 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61102 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61102, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 374 minutes of reading across 898 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Valley of Squinting Windows section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of The Valley of Squinting Windows 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 Valley of Squinting Windows, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
