Chapter 40 of Wives and Widows is here in full — 786 sentences across 158 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XL
Chapter 40 of Wives and Widows is here in full — 786 sentences across 158 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE CASKET OF DIAMONDS. "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day. "'Where is our master now?' I said. 'What time is it?'
Chapter 40 of Wives and Widows is here in full — 786 sentences across 158 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/157 · 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.
box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
From this reading “THE CASKET OF DIAMONDS.”
plural of “diamond” — a transparent piece of diamond that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem
From this reading “THE CASKET OF DIAMONDS.”
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading “"When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.”
a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations
From this reading “"When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.”
a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice
From this reading “"When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.”
the literary culture
From this reading “"When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.”
an artist of consummate skill
From this reading “"'Where is our master now?'”
bound or secured closely
From this reading “"When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.”
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.
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 "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
From this reading THE CASKET OF DIAMONDS.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
plural of “diamond” — a transparent piece of diamond that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem
From this reading THE CASKET OF DIAMONDS.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading 'What time is it?'
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
the literary culture
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
an artist of consummate skill
From this reading "'Where is our master now?'
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "'Where is our master now?'
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE CASKET OF DIAMONDS.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading "'Where is our master now?'
above and across; more than
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading I said.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE CASKET OF DIAMONDS.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
bound or secured closely
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading 'What time is it?'
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading 'What time is it?'
at the time that
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
in or at the place that
From this reading "'Where is our master now?'
which person or people
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "When we had read the letters and the journal, I tied them together, and sat down to talk the matter over with James, who is as good as a lawyer any day.
Chapter 40 of Wives and Widows by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens holds 786 sentences, grouped into 158 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 40 holds 786 sentences of Wives and Widows, unabridged, divided into 158 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 40 of Wives and Widows by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 786 sentences, grouped into 158 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 158 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 158 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 40 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 Wives and Widows by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7751 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36374 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36374, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1551 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Wives and Widows section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Wives and Widows 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 Wives and Widows, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
