Chapter 18 of A Chambermaid's Diary is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of A Chambermaid's Diary is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry: "My silver service! My God! Is it possible? My silver service!"
Chapter 18 of A Chambermaid's Diary is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
plural of “box” — a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading “Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:”
motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling
From this reading “Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:”
subject to guidance or control especially after launching
From this reading “Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:”
leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904)
From this reading “Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:”
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading “Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:”
a soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal; occurs in argentite and in free form; used in coins and jewelry and tableware and photography
From this reading “"My silver service!”
not established or confirmed
From this reading “Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:”
communicated in words
From this reading “Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:”
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 “Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:”
In this reading “Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:”
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 Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
plural of “box” — a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading My God!
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
subject to guidance or control especially after launching
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Is it possible?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Is it possible?
leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904)
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
title used for a married Frenchwoman
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "My silver service!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
capable of happening or existing
From this reading Is it possible?
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
work done by one person or group that benefits another
From this reading "My silver service!
an instance of visual perception
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
a soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal; occurs in argentite and in free form; used in coins and jewelry and tableware and photography
From this reading "My silver service!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
not established or confirmed
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
communicated in words
From this reading Guided by Joseph into the servants' hall, Madame, at sight of the three boxes unsealed, made a great gesture, uttered a great cry:
Chapter 18 of A Chambermaid's Diary by Octave Mirbeau holds 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 18 holds 414 sentences of A Chambermaid's Diary, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of A Chambermaid's Diary by Octave Mirbeau exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 18 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 Chambermaid's Diary by Octave Mirbeau on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7550 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44303 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44303, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1510 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Chambermaid's Diary section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of A Chambermaid's Diary 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 Chambermaid's Diary, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
