Chapter 18 of A Double Knot is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of A Double Knot is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants. But why should he trouble them? Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down. Ruth, perhaps, was with her. He would go up and see.
Chapter 18 of A Double Knot is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
causing a dull and steady pain
From this reading “Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.”
comparative of “brave” — possessing or displaying courage; able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching
From this reading “It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.”
make calm or still
From this reading “It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.”
freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities
From this reading “It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.”
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading “Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.”
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
From this reading “Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.”
United States professional baseball player famous for hitting home runs (1895-1948)
From this reading “Ruth, perhaps, was with her.”
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading “It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.”
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.
assume a reclining position
In this reading “Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.”
move upward
In this reading “He would go up and see.”
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 Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.
causing a dull and steady pain
From this reading Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.
comparative of “brave” — possessing or displaying courage; able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching
From this reading It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But why should he trouble them?
make calm or still
From this reading It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.
freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities
From this reading It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading He would go up and see.
destroyed or killed
From this reading Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
From this reading Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.
by chance
From this reading Ruth, perhaps, was with her.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.
United States professional baseball player famous for hitting home runs (1895-1948)
From this reading Ruth, perhaps, was with her.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He would go up and see.
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading But why should he trouble them?
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Poor sweet! her head had been aching a good deal that day, she said, and she had gone to lie down.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading But why should he trouble them?
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.
a source of difficulty
From this reading But why should he trouble them?
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He would go up and see.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Ruth, perhaps, was with her.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading But why should he trouble them?
in the company of; together with
From this reading Ruth, perhaps, was with her.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading It would be braver and better to do so, he thought, and would show his calm confidence to his servants.
Chapter 18 of A Double Knot by George Manville Fenn holds 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 403 sentences of A Double Knot, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of A Double Knot by George Manville Fenn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Double Knot by George Manville Fenn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7835 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34140 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34140, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1567 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Double Knot section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of A Double Knot 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 Double Knot, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
