Chapter 36 of The Way of the Strong is here in full — 276 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVI
Chapter 36 of The Way of the Strong is here in full — 276 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE DAWN OF HOPE Alexander Hendrie started round at the sound of the servant's voice. He was in the library. Night had fallen, and the room was in darkness. He had been staring blankly at one of the windows, across which the curtains had not yet been drawn. For hours his mind had been concentrated upon the one eternal problem which confronted him.
Chapter 36 of The Way of the Strong is here in full — 276 sentences across 56 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.
European herb somewhat resembling celery widely naturalized in Britain coastal regions and often cultivated as a potherb
From this reading “THE DAWN OF HOPE Alexander Hendrie started round at the sound of the servant's voice.”
in a blank and uncomprehending manner
From this reading “He had been staring blankly at one of the windows, across which the curtains had not yet been drawn.”
gathered together or made less diffuse
From this reading “For hours his mind had been concentrated upon the one eternal problem which confronted him.”
past form of “confront” — oppose, as in hostility or a competition
From this reading “For hours his mind had been concentrated upon the one eternal problem which confronted him.”
plural of “curtain” — hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading “He had been staring blankly at one of the windows, across which the curtains had not yet been drawn.”
continuing forever or indefinitely
From this reading “For hours his mind had been concentrated upon the one eternal problem which confronted him.”
a room where books are kept
From this reading “He was in the library.”
a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading “For hours his mind had been concentrated upon the one eternal problem which confronted him.”
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 “He was in the library.”
In this reading “For hours his mind had been concentrated upon the one eternal problem which confronted him.”
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.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading He had been staring blankly at one of the windows, across which the curtains had not yet been drawn.
European herb somewhat resembling celery widely naturalized in Britain coastal regions and often cultivated as a potherb
From this reading THE DAWN OF HOPE Alexander Hendrie started round at the sound of the servant's voice.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Night had fallen, and the room was in darkness.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading THE DAWN OF HOPE Alexander Hendrie started round at the sound of the servant's voice.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He had been staring blankly at one of the windows, across which the curtains had not yet been drawn.
in a blank and uncomprehending manner
From this reading He had been staring blankly at one of the windows, across which the curtains had not yet been drawn.
gathered together or made less diffuse
From this reading For hours his mind had been concentrated upon the one eternal problem which confronted him.
past form of “confront” — oppose, as in hostility or a competition
From this reading For hours his mind had been concentrated upon the one eternal problem which confronted him.
plural of “curtain” — hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading He had been staring blankly at one of the windows, across which the curtains had not yet been drawn.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Night had fallen, and the room was in darkness.
the first light of day
From this reading THE DAWN OF HOPE Alexander Hendrie started round at the sound of the servant's voice.
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading He had been staring blankly at one of the windows, across which the curtains had not yet been drawn.
continuing forever or indefinitely
From this reading For hours his mind had been concentrated upon the one eternal problem which confronted him.
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading Night had fallen, and the room was in darkness.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For hours his mind had been concentrated upon the one eternal problem which confronted him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Night had fallen, and the room was in darkness.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was in the library.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE DAWN OF HOPE Alexander Hendrie started round at the sound of the servant's voice.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading For hours his mind had been concentrated upon the one eternal problem which confronted him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading For hours his mind had been concentrated upon the one eternal problem which confronted him.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading THE DAWN OF HOPE Alexander Hendrie started round at the sound of the servant's voice.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading For hours his mind had been concentrated upon the one eternal problem which confronted him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He was in the library.
a room where books are kept
From this reading He was in the library.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading For hours his mind had been concentrated upon the one eternal problem which confronted him.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Night had fallen, and the room was in darkness.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He had been staring blankly at one of the windows, across which the curtains had not yet been drawn.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE DAWN OF HOPE Alexander Hendrie started round at the sound of the servant's voice.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading He had been staring blankly at one of the windows, across which the curtains had not yet been drawn.
a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading For hours his mind had been concentrated upon the one eternal problem which confronted him.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Night had fallen, and the room was in darkness.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading THE DAWN OF HOPE Alexander Hendrie started round at the sound of the servant's voice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE DAWN OF HOPE Alexander Hendrie started round at the sound of the servant's voice.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading THE DAWN OF HOPE Alexander Hendrie started round at the sound of the servant's voice.
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading He had been staring blankly at one of the windows, across which the curtains had not yet been drawn.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading THE DAWN OF HOPE Alexander Hendrie started round at the sound of the servant's voice.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE DAWN OF HOPE Alexander Hendrie started round at the sound of the servant's voice.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading For hours his mind had been concentrated upon the one eternal problem which confronted him.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading THE DAWN OF HOPE Alexander Hendrie started round at the sound of the servant's voice.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was in the library.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading He had been staring blankly at one of the windows, across which the curtains had not yet been drawn.
(trademark) an operating system with a graphical user interface
From this reading He had been staring blankly at one of the windows, across which the curtains had not yet been drawn.
but in spite of that
From this reading He had been staring blankly at one of the windows, across which the curtains had not yet been drawn.
Chapter 36 of The Way of the Strong by Ridgwell Cullum holds 276 sentences, grouped into 56 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 36 holds 276 sentences of The Way of the Strong, unabridged, divided into 56 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 36 of The Way of the Strong by Ridgwell Cullum exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 276 sentences, grouped into 56 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 56 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 56 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 36 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 Way of the Strong by Ridgwell Cullum on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13505 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35776 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35776, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2701 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Way of the Strong section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Way of the Strong 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 Way of the Strong, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
