Chapter 13 of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories is here in full — 218 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories is here in full — 218 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Well, then, I hate to be wrapped in cotton wool; I want to breathe. If I come to grief, it's my own affair; nobody need mind.” Mr. Treffry's fingers sought his beard. “Ah! yes. Just so!”
Chapter 13 of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories is here in full — 218 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading “If I come to grief, it's my own affair; nobody need mind.””
the hair growing on the lower part of a man's face
From this reading “Mr. Treffry's fingers sought his beard.”
draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs
From this reading ““Well, then, I hate to be wrapped in cotton wool; I want to breathe.”
soft silky fibers from cotton plants in their raw state
From this reading ““Well, then, I hate to be wrapped in cotton wool; I want to breathe.”
intense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one (especially by death)
From this reading “If I come to grief, it's my own affair; nobody need mind.””
the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
From this reading ““Well, then, I hate to be wrapped in cotton wool; I want to breathe.”
a fabric made from the hair of sheep
From this reading ““Well, then, I hate to be wrapped in cotton wool; I want to breathe.”
covered with or as if with clothes or a wrap or cloak
From this reading ““Well, then, I hate to be wrapped in cotton wool; I want to breathe.”
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.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading If I come to grief, it's my own affair; nobody need mind.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Ah! yes.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “Well, then, I hate to be wrapped in cotton wool; I want to breathe.
the hair growing on the lower part of a man's face
From this reading Mr. Treffry's fingers sought his beard.
draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs
From this reading “Well, then, I hate to be wrapped in cotton wool; I want to breathe.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading If I come to grief, it's my own affair; nobody need mind.”
soft silky fibers from cotton plants in their raw state
From this reading “Well, then, I hate to be wrapped in cotton wool; I want to breathe.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading Mr. Treffry's fingers sought his beard.
intense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one (especially by death)
From this reading If I come to grief, it's my own affair; nobody need mind.”
the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
From this reading “Well, then, I hate to be wrapped in cotton wool; I want to breathe.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Mr. Treffry's fingers sought his beard.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Well, then, I hate to be wrapped in cotton wool; I want to breathe.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If I come to grief, it's my own affair; nobody need mind.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Well, then, I hate to be wrapped in cotton wool; I want to breathe.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If I come to grief, it's my own affair; nobody need mind.”
and nothing more
From this reading Just so!”
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading If I come to grief, it's my own affair; nobody need mind.”
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Treffry's fingers sought his beard.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading If I come to grief, it's my own affair; nobody need mind.”
a condition requiring relief
From this reading If I come to grief, it's my own affair; nobody need mind.”
no person; not anyone
From this reading If I come to grief, it's my own affair; nobody need mind.”
have ownership or possession of
From this reading If I come to grief, it's my own affair; nobody need mind.”
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Just so!”
that is looked for
From this reading Mr. Treffry's fingers sought his beard.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading “Well, then, I hate to be wrapped in cotton wool; I want to breathe.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Well, then, I hate to be wrapped in cotton wool; I want to breathe.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr. Treffry's fingers sought his beard.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading “Well, then, I hate to be wrapped in cotton wool; I want to breathe.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “Well, then, I hate to be wrapped in cotton wool; I want to breathe.
a fabric made from the hair of sheep
From this reading “Well, then, I hate to be wrapped in cotton wool; I want to breathe.
covered with or as if with clothes or a wrap or cloak
From this reading “Well, then, I hate to be wrapped in cotton wool; I want to breathe.
an affirmative
From this reading “Ah! yes.
Chapter 13 of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories by John Galsworthy holds 218 sentences, grouped into 44 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 13 holds 218 sentences of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories by John Galsworthy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 218 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 13 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 Villa Rubein, and Other Stories by John Galsworthy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7123 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2639 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2639, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 593 minutes of reading across 1425 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Villa Rubein, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of Villa Rubein, and Other Stories 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 Villa Rubein, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
