Chapter 29 of A Blot on the Scutcheon is here in full — 172 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIX
Chapter 29 of A Blot on the Scutcheon is here in full — 172 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I AM THE MARQUIS DE VARENAC" A moment's hush, then again the mighty cry: "Citoyen Varenac! Citoyen!" Morice leant forward into the darkness. Behind him lights gleamed, from below a few torches lit up the surrounding gloom.
Chapter 29 of A Blot on the Scutcheon is here in full — 172 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.
past form of “gleam” — be shiny, as if wet
From this reading “Behind him lights gleamed, from below a few torches lit up the surrounding gloom.”
become quiet or still; fall silent
From this reading “"I AM THE MARQUIS DE VARENAC" A moment's hush, then again the mighty cry:”
inflected form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading “Morice leant forward into the darkness.”
provided with artificial light
From this reading “Behind him lights gleamed, from below a few torches lit up the surrounding gloom.”
humorist who wrote about the imaginary life of cockroaches (1878-1937)
From this reading “"I AM THE MARQUIS DE VARENAC" A moment's hush, then again the mighty cry:”
possessive form of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading “"I AM THE MARQUIS DE VARENAC" A moment's hush, then again the mighty cry:”
closely encircling
From this reading “Behind him lights gleamed, from below a few torches lit up the surrounding gloom.”
plural of “torch” — a light usually carried in the hand; consists of some flammable substance
From this reading “Behind him lights gleamed, from below a few torches lit up the surrounding gloom.”
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.
In this reading “Morice leant forward into the darkness.”
In this reading “Behind him lights gleamed, from below a few torches lit up the surrounding gloom.”
In this reading “Morice leant forward into the darkness.”
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 "I AM THE MARQUIS DE VARENAC" A moment's hush, then again the mighty cry:
anew
From this reading "I AM THE MARQUIS DE VARENAC" A moment's hush, then again the mighty cry:
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "I AM THE MARQUIS DE VARENAC" A moment's hush, then again the mighty cry:
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Behind him lights gleamed, from below a few torches lit up the surrounding gloom.
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading Behind him lights gleamed, from below a few torches lit up the surrounding gloom.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Citoyen Varenac!
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "I AM THE MARQUIS DE VARENAC" A moment's hush, then again the mighty cry:
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Morice leant forward into the darkness.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading "I AM THE MARQUIS DE VARENAC" A moment's hush, then again the mighty cry:
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Behind him lights gleamed, from below a few torches lit up the surrounding gloom.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading Morice leant forward into the darkness.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Behind him lights gleamed, from below a few torches lit up the surrounding gloom.
past form of “gleam” — be shiny, as if wet
From this reading Behind him lights gleamed, from below a few torches lit up the surrounding gloom.
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading Behind him lights gleamed, from below a few torches lit up the surrounding gloom.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Behind him lights gleamed, from below a few torches lit up the surrounding gloom.
become quiet or still; fall silent
From this reading "I AM THE MARQUIS DE VARENAC" A moment's hush, then again the mighty cry:
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I AM THE MARQUIS DE VARENAC" A moment's hush, then again the mighty cry:
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Morice leant forward into the darkness.
inflected form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading Morice leant forward into the darkness.
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading Behind him lights gleamed, from below a few torches lit up the surrounding gloom.
provided with artificial light
From this reading Behind him lights gleamed, from below a few torches lit up the surrounding gloom.
humorist who wrote about the imaginary life of cockroaches (1878-1937)
From this reading "I AM THE MARQUIS DE VARENAC" A moment's hush, then again the mighty cry:
having or showing great strength or force or intensity
From this reading "I AM THE MARQUIS DE VARENAC" A moment's hush, then again the mighty cry:
possessive form of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading "I AM THE MARQUIS DE VARENAC" A moment's hush, then again the mighty cry:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Morice leant forward into the darkness.
closely encircling
From this reading Behind him lights gleamed, from below a few torches lit up the surrounding gloom.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "I AM THE MARQUIS DE VARENAC" A moment's hush, then again the mighty cry:
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "I AM THE MARQUIS DE VARENAC" A moment's hush, then again the mighty cry:
plural of “torch” — a light usually carried in the hand; consists of some flammable substance
From this reading Behind him lights gleamed, from below a few torches lit up the surrounding gloom.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Behind him lights gleamed, from below a few torches lit up the surrounding gloom.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I AM THE MARQUIS DE VARENAC" A moment's hush, then again the mighty cry:
Chapter 29 of A Blot on the Scutcheon by Mabel Winifred Knowles holds 172 sentences, grouped into 35 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 29 holds 172 sentences of A Blot on the Scutcheon, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 29 of A Blot on the Scutcheon by Mabel Winifred Knowles exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 172 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 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.
Common questions about reading A Blot on the Scutcheon by Mabel Winifred Knowles on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4268 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34164 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34164, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 355 minutes of reading across 854 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Blot on the Scutcheon section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of A Blot on the Scutcheon 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 A Blot on the Scutcheon, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
