Chapter 25 of Wilfrid Cumbermede is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXV
Chapter 25 of Wilfrid Cumbermede is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A DREAM. My room looked dreary enough. There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation. The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses. But I was not in an imaginative mood.
Chapter 25 of Wilfrid Cumbermede is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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 vertical flue that provides a path through which smoke from a fire is carried away through the wall or roof of a building
From this reading “The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.”
lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise
From this reading “My room looked dreary enough.”
past form of “howl” — emit long loud cries
From this reading “The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.”
(used of persons or artifacts) marked by independence and creativity in thought or action
From this reading “But I was not in an imaginative mood.”
plural of “lead” — an advantage held by a competitor in a race
From this reading “The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.”
a small contrasting part of something
From this reading “There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.”
something that resembles a tapestry in its intricacy
From this reading “There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.”
the sound of heavy treading or stomping
From this reading “The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.”
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 A DREAM.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I was not in an imaginative mood.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.
a vertical flue that provides a path through which smoke from a fire is carried away through the wall or roof of a building
From this reading The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.
a state of deterioration due to old age or long use
From this reading There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.
separated in space or coming from or going to a distance
From this reading The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.
A series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.
From this reading A DREAM.
lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise
From this reading My room looked dreary enough.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading My room looked dreary enough.
in fear
From this reading The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.
start firing a weapon
From this reading There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.
plural of “horse” — solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.
past form of “howl” — emit long loud cries
From this reading The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading But I was not in an imaginative mood.
(used of persons or artifacts) marked by independence and creativity in thought or action
From this reading But I was not in an imaginative mood.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.
plural of “lead” — an advantage held by a competitor in a race
From this reading The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading My room looked dreary enough.
something that is lost
From this reading There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading But I was not in an imaginative mood.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My room looked dreary enough.
not any; not one
From this reading There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But I was not in an imaginative mood.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.
a small contrasting part of something
From this reading There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.
water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
From this reading The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.
a protective covering that covers or forms the top of a building
From this reading The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading My room looked dreary enough.
something that resembles a tapestry in its intricacy
From this reading There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.
the sound of heavy treading or stomping
From this reading The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading There was no fire, and the loss of the patch of tapestry from the wall gave the whole an air of dilapidation.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading The wind howled fearfully in the chimney and about the door on the roof, and the rain came down on the leads like the distant trampling of many horses.
Chapter 25 of Wilfrid Cumbermede by George MacDonald holds 100 sentences, grouped into 20 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 25 holds 100 sentences of Wilfrid Cumbermede, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 25 of Wilfrid Cumbermede by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 100 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 25 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 Wilfrid Cumbermede by George MacDonald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10072 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9183 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9183, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2015 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Wilfrid Cumbermede section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Wilfrid Cumbermede 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 Wilfrid Cumbermede, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
