Chapter 37 of The Window-Gazer is here in full — 174 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVII
Chapter 37 of The Window-Gazer is here in full — 174 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Desire was waking. She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her. It was a long time since she had slept in a tent--a lifetime. She felt very drowsy and stupid. The brooding sense of fatality which had made her return so dreamlike still numbed her senses.
Chapter 37 of The Window-Gazer is here in full — 174 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
sitting on eggs so as to hatch them by the warmth of the body
From this reading “The brooding sense of fatality which had made her return so dreamlike still numbed her senses.”
a heavy, closely woven fabric (used for clothing or chairs or sails or tents)
From this reading “She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.”
resembling a dream
From this reading “The brooding sense of fatality which had made her return so dreamlike still numbed her senses.”
half asleep
From this reading “She felt very drowsy and stupid.”
a death resulting from an accident or a disaster
From this reading “The brooding sense of fatality which had made her return so dreamlike still numbed her senses.”
the period during which something is functional (as between birth and death)
From this reading “It was a long time since she had slept in a tent--a lifetime.”
past form of “numb” — make numb or insensitive
From this reading “The brooding sense of fatality which had made her return so dreamlike still numbed her senses.”
Risen from sleep; conscious.
From this reading “Desire was waking.”
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 She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
sitting on eggs so as to hatch them by the warmth of the body
From this reading The brooding sense of fatality which had made her return so dreamlike still numbed her senses.
a heavy, closely woven fabric (used for clothing or chairs or sails or tents)
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
taking a series of rhythmical steps (and movements) in time to music
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state
From this reading Desire was waking.
A series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
resembling a dream
From this reading The brooding sense of fatality which had made her return so dreamlike still numbed her senses.
half asleep
From this reading She felt very drowsy and stupid.
a death resulting from an accident or a disaster
From this reading The brooding sense of fatality which had made her return so dreamlike still numbed her senses.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading She felt very drowsy and stupid.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was a long time since she had slept in a tent--a lifetime.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a long time since she had slept in a tent--a lifetime.
plural of “leaf” — the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
the period during which something is functional (as between birth and death)
From this reading It was a long time since she had slept in a tent--a lifetime.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading It was a long time since she had slept in a tent--a lifetime.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The brooding sense of fatality which had made her return so dreamlike still numbed her senses.
past form of “numb” — make numb or insensitive
From this reading The brooding sense of fatality which had made her return so dreamlike still numbed her senses.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading The brooding sense of fatality which had made her return so dreamlike still numbed her senses.
a general conscious awareness
From this reading The brooding sense of fatality which had made her return so dreamlike still numbed her senses.
plural of “sens” — street names for marijuana
From this reading The brooding sense of fatality which had made her return so dreamlike still numbed her senses.
plural of “shadow” — shade within clear boundaries
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading It was a long time since she had slept in a tent--a lifetime.
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The brooding sense of fatality which had made her return so dreamlike still numbed her senses.
not in physical motion
From this reading The brooding sense of fatality which had made her return so dreamlike still numbed her senses.
lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity
From this reading She felt very drowsy and stupid.
a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)
From this reading It was a long time since she had slept in a tent--a lifetime.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading It was a long time since she had slept in a tent--a lifetime.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
precisely as stated
From this reading She felt very drowsy and stupid.
Risen from sleep; conscious.
From this reading Desire was waking.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Desire was waking.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The brooding sense of fatality which had made her return so dreamlike still numbed her senses.
a Caucasian
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
inflected form of “wake” — be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
in a curious and questioning manner
From this reading She had slept without a dream and woke wonderingly to the shadows of dancing leaves upon the white canvas above her.
Chapter 37 of The Window-Gazer by Isabel Ecclestone Mackay holds 174 sentences, grouped into 35 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 37 holds 174 sentences of The Window-Gazer, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 37 of The Window-Gazer by Isabel Ecclestone Mackay exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 174 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 37 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 Window-Gazer by Isabel Ecclestone Mackay on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7711 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4284 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4284, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1543 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Window-Gazer section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of The Window-Gazer 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 Window-Gazer, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
