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To Have and to Hold
To Have and to Hold

Chapter XXIX · Chapter 29

Chapter 29 of To Have and to Hold is here in full — 269 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for To Have and to Hold
Context Illustration Reading 1/53 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE sun dropped below the forest, blood red, dyeing the river its own color.
There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.
The color faded and the night set in, a night of no wind and of numberless stars.
On the hearth burned a fire.
I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.
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LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

To Have and to Hold

Chapter XXIX · Chapter 29

Chapter 29 of To Have and to Hold is here in full — 269 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/53 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE sun dropped below the forest, blood red, dyeing the river its own color.
/ðə sʌn drɑːpt bɪˈloʊ ðə ˈfɔːrəst blʌd red ˈdaɪɪŋ ðə ˈrɪvər ɪts oʊn ˈkʌlər/
Line 2
There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.
Line 3
The color faded and the night set in, a night of no wind and of numberless stars.
Line 4
On the hearth burned a fire.
/ɑːn ðə hɑːrθ bɜːrnd ə ˈfaɪər/
Line 5
I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.
/aɪ left ðə ˈwɪndoʊ ənd sæt bɪˈsaɪd ɪt ənd ɪn ðə ˈhɑːloʊz bɪˈtwiːn ðə red ˈembərz meɪd ˈpɪktʃərz æz aɪ juːzd tuː meɪk ðem wen aɪ wɑːz ə bɔɪ/

Learner Dictionary

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.

climbing noun US /ˈklaɪmɪŋ/

an event that involves rising to a higher point (as in altitude or temperature or intensity etc.)

From this reading “There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.”

crimson adjective US /ˈkrɪmzən/

of a color at the end of the color spectrum (next to orange); resembling the color of blood or cherries or tomatoes or rubies

From this reading “There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.”

dyeing noun US /ˈdaɪɪŋ/

the use of dye to change the color of something permanently

From this reading “THE sun dropped below the forest, blood red, dyeing the river its own color.”

embers noun US /ˈembərz/

plural of “ember” — a hot fragment of wood or coal that is left from a fire and is glowing or smoldering

From this reading “I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.”

hearth noun US /hɑːrθ/

an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built

From this reading “On the hearth burned a fire.”

hollows noun US /ˈhɑːloʊz/

plural of “hollow” — a cavity or space in something

From this reading “I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.”

paint verb US /peɪnt/

make a painting

From this reading “There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.”

zenith noun US /ˈziːnəθ/

the point above the observer that is directly opposite the nadir on the imaginary sphere against which celestial bodies appear to be projected

From this reading “There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.”

All words in this reading · 61

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

againstprepositionUS /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading The color faded and the night set in, a night of no wind and of numberless stars.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

belowprepositionUS /bɪˈloʊ/

at or to a lower level than something

From this reading THE sun dropped below the forest, blood red, dyeing the river its own color.

besideprepositionUS /bɪˈsaɪd/

next to; at the side of

From this reading I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.

betweenprepositionUS /bɪˈtwiːn/

in the space, time, or range separating two things

From this reading I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.

blackadjectiveUS /blæk/

being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

bloodnounUS /blʌd/

The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.

From this reading THE sun dropped below the forest, blood red, dyeing the river its own color.

boynounUS /bɔɪ/

a youthful male person

From this reading I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.

burnedadjectiveUS /bɜːrnd/

treated by heating to a high temperature but below the melting or fusing point

From this reading On the hearth burned a fire.

climbingnounUS /ˈklaɪmɪŋ/

an event that involves rising to a higher point (as in altitude or temperature or intensity etc.)

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

cloudsnounUS /klaʊdz/

plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

colornounUS /ˈkʌlər/

a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect

From this reading THE sun dropped below the forest, blood red, dyeing the river its own color.

crimsonadjectiveUS /ˈkrɪmzən/

of a color at the end of the color spectrum (next to orange); resembling the color of blood or cherries or tomatoes or rubies

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

droppedverbUS /drɑːpt/

inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground

From this reading THE sun dropped below the forest, blood red, dyeing the river its own color.

dyeingnounUS /ˈdaɪɪŋ/

the use of dye to change the color of something permanently

From this reading THE sun dropped below the forest, blood red, dyeing the river its own color.

embersnounUS /ˈembərz/

plural of “ember” — a hot fragment of wood or coal that is left from a fire and is glowing or smoldering

From this reading I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.

fadedadjectiveUS /ˈfeɪdəd/

having lost freshness or brilliance of color

From this reading The color faded and the night set in, a night of no wind and of numberless stars.

fireverbUS /ˈfaɪər/

start firing a weapon

From this reading On the hearth burned a fire.

forestnounUS /ˈfɔːrəst/

the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area

From this reading THE sun dropped below the forest, blood red, dyeing the river its own color.

greatadjectiveUS /ɡreɪt/

relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

hearthnounUS /hɑːrθ/

an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built

From this reading On the hearth burned a fire.

hollowsnounUS /ˈhɑːloʊz/

plural of “hollow” — a cavity or space in something

From this reading I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading THE sun dropped below the forest, blood red, dyeing the river its own color.

leftnounUS /left/

location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east

From this reading I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.

madeadjectiveUS /meɪd/

produced by a manufacturing process

From this reading I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.

makeverbUS /meɪk/

engage in

From this reading I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.

nightnounUS /naɪt/

the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside

From this reading The color faded and the night set in, a night of no wind and of numberless stars.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

numberlessadjective

too numerous to be counted

From this reading The color faded and the night set in, a night of no wind and of numberless stars.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

OnprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading On the hearth burned a fire.

onlyadverbUS /ˈoʊnli/

and nothing more

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

ownverbUS /oʊn/

have ownership or possession of

From this reading THE sun dropped below the forest, blood red, dyeing the river its own color.

paintverbUS /peɪnt/

make a painting

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

picturesnounUS /ˈpɪktʃərz/

plural of “picture” — a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface

From this reading I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.

rednounUS /red/

red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood

From this reading THE sun dropped below the forest, blood red, dyeing the river its own color.

rivernounUS /ˈrɪvər/

a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)

From this reading THE sun dropped below the forest, blood red, dyeing the river its own color.

satnounUS /sæt/

the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians

From this reading I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.

setverbUS /set/

put into a certain place or abstract location

From this reading The color faded and the night set in, a night of no wind and of numberless stars.

skynounUS /skaɪ/

the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

starsnounUS /stɑːrz/

plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior

From this reading The color faded and the night set in, a night of no wind and of numberless stars.

suffusionnoun

the process of permeating or infusing something with a substance

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

sunnounUS /sʌn/

the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system

From this reading THE sun dropped below the forest, blood red, dyeing the river its own color.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading THE sun dropped below the forest, blood red, dyeing the river its own color.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.

ThereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

usedadjectiveUS /juːzd/

employed in accomplishing something

From this reading I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.

warnounUS /wɔːr/

the waging of armed conflict against an enemy

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.

windnounUS /waɪnd/

air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure

From this reading The color faded and the night set in, a night of no wind and of numberless stars.

windownounUS /ˈwɪndoʊ/

a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air

From this reading I left the window and sat beside it, and in the hollows between the red embers made pictures, as I used to make them when I was a boy.

woodsnounUS /wʊdz/

the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

zenithnounUS /ˈziːnəθ/

the point above the observer that is directly opposite the nadir on the imaginary sphere against which celestial bodies appear to be projected

From this reading There were no clouds in the sky,--only a great suffusion of crimson climbing to the zenith; against it the woods were as black as war paint.

Chapter 29 of To Have and to Hold by Mary Johnston holds 269 sentences, grouped into 54 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.

What does chapter 29 of To Have and to Hold contain?

Chapter 29 holds 269 sentences of To Have and to Hold, unabridged, divided into 54 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 29 of To Have and to Hold by Mary Johnston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 269 sentences, grouped into 54 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.

How do I study chapter 29 of To Have and to Hold?

Work through the 54 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 54 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.

Can chapter 29 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading To Have and to Hold

Common questions about reading To Have and to Hold by Mary Johnston on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of To Have and to Hold?

Yes. All 6788 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2807 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of To Have and to Hold is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #2807, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does To Have and to Hold take to read?

About 565 minutes of reading across 1358 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read To Have and to Hold section by section

How to work through To Have and to Hold section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 39 chapters of To Have and to Hold to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in To Have and to Hold

Words and structures a reader meets early in To Have and to Hold, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Being
A word that appears in the opening chapter of To Have and to Hold; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Doorstep
A word that appears in the opening chapter of To Have and to Hold; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Awhile
A word that appears in the opening chapter of To Have and to Hold; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Evening
A word that appears in the opening chapter of To Have and to Hold; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.