Chapter 9 of The Ward of King Canute is here in full — 83 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Ward of King Canute is here in full — 83 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
No one turns from good, if it can be got. Hávamál. Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her. Raising her heavy lids, eyes rested on a man’s face, showing dimly in the dusk of the starlight. He said in English, “Canute’s page, by the Saints!”
Chapter 9 of The Ward of King Canute is here in full — 83 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/16 · 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.
in a dim indistinct manner
From this reading “Raising her heavy lids, eyes rested on a man’s face, showing dimly in the dusk of the starlight.”
past form of “drown” — cover completely or make imperceptible
From this reading “Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.”
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading “Raising her heavy lids, eyes rested on a man’s face, showing dimly in the dusk of the starlight.”
plural of “lid” — either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
From this reading “Raising her heavy lids, eyes rested on a man’s face, showing dimly in the dusk of the starlight.”
plural of “saint” — a person who has died and has been declared a saint by canonization
From this reading “He said in English, “Canute’s page, by the Saints!””
a person, without saying who
From this reading “Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.”
the light of the stars
From this reading “Raising her heavy lids, eyes rested on a man’s face, showing dimly in the dusk of the starlight.”
having the back and shoulders rounded; not erect
From this reading “Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.”
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 Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading No one turns from good, if it can be got.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading He said in English, “Canute’s page, by the Saints!”
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading No one turns from good, if it can be got.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He said in English, “Canute’s page, by the Saints!”
an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself and your situation
From this reading Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.
neither warm nor very cold; giving relief from heat
From this reading Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.
in a dim indistinct manner
From this reading Raising her heavy lids, eyes rested on a man’s face, showing dimly in the dusk of the starlight.
past form of “drown” — cover completely or make imperceptible
From this reading Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading Raising her heavy lids, eyes rested on a man’s face, showing dimly in the dusk of the starlight.
an Indo-European language belonging to the West Germanic branch; the official language of Britain and the United States and most of the commonwealth countries
From this reading He said in English, “Canute’s page, by the Saints!”
opinion or judgment
From this reading Raising her heavy lids, eyes rested on a man’s face, showing dimly in the dusk of the starlight.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Raising her heavy lids, eyes rested on a man’s face, showing dimly in the dusk of the starlight.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading No one turns from good, if it can be got.
a young female
From this reading Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading No one turns from good, if it can be got.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading No one turns from good, if it can be got.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He said in English, “Canute’s page, by the Saints!”
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading Raising her heavy lids, eyes rested on a man’s face, showing dimly in the dusk of the starlight.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hávamál.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading No one turns from good, if it can be got.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading No one turns from good, if it can be got.
plural of “lid” — either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
From this reading Raising her heavy lids, eyes rested on a man’s face, showing dimly in the dusk of the starlight.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Raising her heavy lids, eyes rested on a man’s face, showing dimly in the dusk of the starlight.
not any; not one
From this reading No one turns from good, if it can be got.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Raising her heavy lids, eyes rested on a man’s face, showing dimly in the dusk of the starlight.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Raising her heavy lids, eyes rested on a man’s face, showing dimly in the dusk of the starlight.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading No one turns from good, if it can be got.
above and across; more than
From this reading Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.
one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
From this reading He said in English, “Canute’s page, by the Saints!”
the event of something being raised upward
From this reading Raising her heavy lids, eyes rested on a man’s face, showing dimly in the dusk of the starlight.
not tired; refreshed as by sleeping or relaxing
From this reading Raising her heavy lids, eyes rested on a man’s face, showing dimly in the dusk of the starlight.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading He said in English, “Canute’s page, by the Saints!”
plural of “saint” — a person who has died and has been declared a saint by canonization
From this reading He said in English, “Canute’s page, by the Saints!”
the display of a motion picture
From this reading Raising her heavy lids, eyes rested on a man’s face, showing dimly in the dusk of the starlight.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.
a person, without saying who
From this reading Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.
the light of the stars
From this reading Raising her heavy lids, eyes rested on a man’s face, showing dimly in the dusk of the starlight.
having the back and shoulders rounded; not erect
From this reading Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.
plural of “turn” — a circular segment of a curve
From this reading No one turns from good, if it can be got.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Lying drowned in cool silence, the girl came slowly to a consciousness that someone was stooping over her.
Chapter 9 of The Ward of King Canute by Ottilie A. (Ottilia Adelina) Liljencrantz holds 83 sentences, grouped into 17 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 9 holds 83 sentences of The Ward of King Canute, unabridged, divided into 17 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Ward of King Canute by Ottilie A. (Ottilia Adelina) Liljencrantz exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 83 sentences, grouped into 17 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 17 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 17 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 9 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 Ward of King Canute by Ottilie A. (Ottilia Adelina) Liljencrantz on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5200 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3323 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3323, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 433 minutes of reading across 1040 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Ward of King Canute section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of The Ward of King Canute 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 Ward of King Canute, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
